Sam Briars

As a senior designer at a consultancy, I lead the end-to-end design process for major enterprise and government products. Partnering closely with product and engineering, my role involves defining project scope, leading mixed-methods research, translating insights into strategy and polished UI, managing senior stakeholders, and mentoring other designers.

Selected Client Engagements:

• Woolworths Group

  • Led the strategy and redesign of the internal corporate staff platform, driving weekly active users from under 50 to tens of thousands and achieving company-wide (94%) adoption.
  • This transformation contributed to the team winning the Internal Group Innovation Award two years in a row.
  • Established a durable, design and user-first culture within the team, embedding a continuous cadence of research and testing that persists after my tenure.

• Queensland Government

  • Realigned an at-risk project by rapidly synthesising research and delivering a new UI direction under a tight, two-week deadline, which secured a contract for a larger engagement.
  • Owned the subsequent research, product strategy, and UX/UI design for a critical system used by Queensland's commercial water users via an online system and a mobile app.
  • Led the project through significant client-side instability, successfully re-establishing buy-in after a complete change in stakeholders to deliver a full strategic roadmap that is now being implemented.

• Macquarie University

  • Rebuilt the university’s primary Figma design system from the ground up, implementing best practices for tokens, variables, and component architecture to resolve critical maintainability issues.
  • Onboarded and trained the in-house designer, establishing workflows that enabled the system to be used sustainably.

• Other clients include: Woolworths Supermarkets, Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, APRA AMCOS, Zip Water, UNSW

Supported the delivery of the UX Design Immersive program by facilitating classes, mentoring students, and providing feedback on capstone projects.

Led student engagement programs and built feedback loops to improve the student journey, strengthening skills in cross-cultural communication, facilitation, and program delivery.

Developed core skills in facilitation and clear communication while working with diverse international students and stakeholders.

Grounded my design approach in rigorous, evidence-led research, validation and systems thinking.

An intensive, project-based course covering the fundamentals of end-to-end UX design, from research and synthesis to prototyping and testing.