I lead Product Design vision and practice at Splose as a player-coach and manage our Product Designers. I enjoy having a mix of on-the-tools and leadership responsibilities, especially during this exciting transition as design tooling is being revolutionised by coding agents.
I am currently leading an AI Product Operating Model initiative to empower our Product teams using Claude workflows. PMs and Designers are prototyping changes in the codebase, submitting PRs directly, and collaborating with engineers on QA.
Splose is practice management software for the healthcare industry in AU/UK.
I joined EQL to build and lead Product Design, growing the team, managing designers, and introducing the processes needed to support multiple product squads. EQL is a hype commerce platform for fair, secure, and scalable high-demand launches, helping brands and retailers prevent bots, site crashes, overselling, and unreliable launch moments. My work spanned the Launch experience, Fans app, and retailer admin portal.
EQL web app for fans to discover product launches, manage their entries, and connect with their tribe.
I had the privilege of building and leading the immensely talented UX/UI design team at Liquorice, a digital and brand agency in Fitzroy, Australia. I led the team of talented creatives over 9 years as we worked on design research projects, digital strategies, applications and websites.
As a Director in a mid sized agency I've also worn a lot of other hats; on some projects I have also managed our developers, copywriters, and animators. I even had a decent stint as a design / product manager on our internally developed SAAS product, Dokio, before it spun off into its own sister company.
Liquorice had a distinctive front door on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, in a historic Ironmongers building. Photography by Liquorice
With friend and cofounder, Jonathan Bellew, I ran Something Splendid, a small digital and branding studio in Collingwood, Australia. We began working together on client projects as a side hustle in our final year of uni and both turned down real jobs with other studios when we landed our first big project just before graduation.
We quickly found our niche in designing and building beautiful websites for the cultural and arts sectors in Melbourne. We were lucky enough to work for diverse clients like Rooftop Cinema, Mr John Clarke, BKK Architects, Next Wave Festival and even Crimestoppers Victoria! From 2012 onwards we found ourselves doing website work almost exclusively for Liquorice, and in April 2013 we were acquired by them to build the digital side of their agency.
Something Splendid studio work for Melbourne cultural, arts, and independent creative clients.
Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication) Monash University 2007
Early visual communication work that fed into the Something Splendid studio years.
Splose is practice management software for the healthcare industry in AU/UK. EQL web app for fans to discover product launches, manage their entries, and connect with their tribe. Liquorice had a distinctive front door on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, in a historic Ironmongers building. Photography by LiquoriceSomething Splendid studio work for Melbourne cultural, arts, and independent creative clients.
Kolmeo
Kolmeo apps + marketing website
2020–2021
Kolmeo is a proptech startup with apps for property management for rental agencies, owners and tenants. I led the UX/UI team at Liquorice to build a design system for mobile and desktop app UI and design a marketing website to mirror the joy and fun of their new brand with bright colour, fun illustrations and detailed frontend animations.
Kolmeo's internal design and development teams were struggling with consistency and balancing the new brand with functional requirements. We were trusted by them to simplify design elements and add brand personality, ultimately delivering a Figma design system that included key design patterns, components, a brand style guide, iconography and illustrations.
“We had the pleasure to work with Jim and the Liquorice team who created our wonderful, vibrant and fun website and app UI. Our new look really represents the type of business we are building and we always get wonderful feedback on all the work, both internally and externally.”
Stallion Match is an analytics platform, directory and messaging system for horse breeders and stallion farms. I led the Liquorice UX/UI team on an extensive research and design project and delivered an extensive Figma design system to Stallion Match's development team. The heart of the platform is an analytical search algorithm for breeders to find suitable matches for their horses.
The complexity and detail of the data challenged us to present complex information in a way that was simple enough for hobbyist breeders and powerful enough for industry veterans. We conducted user testing on early prototypes with a mix of users in the industry and identified potential UX pain points and key features that needed further functionality.
“Partnering with Jim and the team at Liquorice to design our new web application, Stallion Match, was an enjoyable experience. Their extensive experience in UI and UX was evident from the outset. They were required to undergo extensive market research before the design phase - which they did expertly. Their enthusiasm, coupled with a passion for design, has resulted in the Stallion Match platform successfully marrying sophisticated analytics with a crisp and pleasurable user experience.”
– Matthew Ennis, Man. Director, Stallion Match
UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Will Batrouney and Steve Mitchell
ACMI
ACMI Website
2019–2022
I led the UX/UI team at Liquorice in designing the new website for ACMI, Australia's beloved national museum of screen culture. Not just a marketing or ticketing tool and much more than a digital museum collection; the goal was to extend visitors' journeys from the physical exhibition space into their homes.
Visitors to the museum can collect their favourite works using an RFID tag and explore deep information and curated recommendations on the website. A once in a lifetime opportunity to be involved in such an exciting museum and collaborate with their passionate staff.
“Jim and the Liquorice team's experience with websites, ticketing integrations and web applications for the Australian cultural sector was invaluable and we highly recommend him to others seeking the same expertise.”
High performing design teams require psychological safety in order to share ideas, make mistakes and iterate on difficult problems. Lead by example by being open, authentic and vulnerable.
Test early and often
Challenge assumptions with research at every opportunity - you'll learn more from a day of user tests than a month of revisions and finessing designs. After all, the most expensive thing you can build is the wrong solution to the problem.
Balance passion + curiosity
A thriving design culture is a balance of sharing things that inspire but also being curious about failure - every bad user experience is also an opportunity to create unexpected delight.
Culture before talent
The value of culture and kindness is higher than talent and ego - it's easier to build skills and experience in a healthy team than it is to repair a toxic workplace of rockstars.
Spread the praise, take the blame
Celebrate success as a team, recognise individual contributions and amplify other voices. Take responsibility for mistakes, look back with honesty in retrospectives and own the process of change.
More projects
Alcohol and Drug Foundation Community app and website
UX/UI Design: Angus Tait, Peter Binek, Jayne Halsey
Man With A Van website
UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Peter Binek
Thorne Harbour & Beyond Blue Dale community application
UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Angus Tait
Testimonials
Alcohol and Drug Foundation
Dothan Capsi, Digital Manager
“Jim and the Liquorice team have been integral partners because they strive to improve the way we collaborate, have an incredible eye for detail and a passion to understand our organisation to add meaning and depth to their work. From beautiful bespoke design to an empathic understanding of our audience, their work means we are reaching more Australians more effectively.”
Craft Victoria
Sarah Weston, Marketing Lead
“It's been a pleasure working with Jim and the Liquorice team on Craft's new website. From day one, they proved to be brilliant collaborators with an eye for detail and the nuances of user experience. They took the time to understand the depth and richness inherent in our organisation, designing thoughtful UX and a clean and beautiful website. We are thrilled to celebrate this next chapter with a new platform.”
Thorne Harbour Health
Caleb Hawk, Communications Manager
“Jim and the Liquorice team have been remarkable! They've collaborated with us to create innovative solutions that are tailored to fit our unique requirements. And it's been a partnership in the truest sense of the word. Over the years, we come to them with new ideas and problems to solve, and in return, they continue to come to us with new opportunities to improve how we engage with our communities.”
Geelong Arts Centre
Kate Brereton, Director, Development & Marketing
“Thanks so much for all your work on the website. From design to project management to development, Jim and the Liquorice team have been awesome to work with.”
