Hey, I’m Jim,

a UX/UI Design leader

in Naarm, Melbourne.

Photo of Jim Yencken against a white wall
Experience

Lead Product Designer
EQL

2022–Present

I've joined the exciting team at EQL, working on their hype commerce product — a launch platform that manages high demand goods, filters out bots and promotes fairness for fans.

Digital Director
Liquorice
2013–2022

I've 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’ve 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.

Founder + Digital Designer
Something Splendid
2007–2013

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.

Bachelor of Design
(Visual Communication)

Monash University
2007

An image of the Liquorice front door covered in Graffiti

Liquorice front door, Fitzroy

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.

View site

An image of the Kolmeo mobile apps

“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.”

– Narina Amvazas, Head of Brand, Kolmeo

An image of the Kolmeo mobile app ecosystem

UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Jayne Halsey and Steve Mitchell
Case study & team acknowledgements

Stallion Match

Stallion Match app

2021–2022

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.

Images of the Stallion Match mobile interface

“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

An image of the Stallion Search feature of the website

UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Will Batrouney and Steve Mitchell
Case study & team acknowledgements

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.

View site

An image of the ACMI Website

“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.”

— Seb Chan, Chief Experience Officer, ACMI

An image of the ACMI Shared Lens Visit

UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Peter Binek and Jayne Halsey
Case study & team acknowledgements

Values

Lead with vulnerability

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
Images of the ADF Community Hub websites
Alcohol and Drug Foundation Community app and website

UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Angus Tait, Peter Binek
Case study & acknowledgements

Craft Victoria website

UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Will Batrouney
Case study & acknowledgements

An image of the Geelong Arts Centre website
Geelong Arts Centre website

UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Peter Binek
Case study & acknowledgements

An image of the Dokio application
Dokio application and website

UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Angus Tait, Peter Binek, Jayne Halsey
Case study & acknowledgements

An image of the Man With A Van website
Man With A Van website

UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Peter Binek
Case study & acknowledgements

An image of the Thorne Harbour website
Thorne Harbour & Beyond Blue Dale community application

UX/UI Direction: Jim Yencken
UX/UI Design: Angus Tait
Case study & acknowledgements

Testimonials
An image of the ADF website

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.”

An image of the Craft Victoria Website

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.”

An image of the Thorne Harbour website

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.”

An image of the Geelong Arts Centre website

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.”

Contact