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Hello! I’m Mikayla, a Senior UX/UI Designer based in South Africa; focused on building clear, functional, and conversion-driven digital products. I work closely with founders, product teams, and engineers to turn complex ideas into simple, scalable user experiences. I don’t just design screens, I design systems that help products make sense, feel intuitive, and perform better. ✅ Senior UX/UI Designer (Product) ✅ End-to-end SaaS & Digital Product Specialist ✅ UX Strategy ᐧ UI Design ᐧ Design Systems 🎯 Current Focus: SaaS Platforms • Vibe-coding • Conversion-driven Web Experiences - WHAT I BRING TO YOUR PRODUCT AS A UX/UI DESIGNER (PRODUCT): 👩‍💻 UX Strategy & Product thinking: I design with structure first: user flows, journey mapping, information architecture, and experience strategy. My focus is always on reducing friction and improving clarity across the product. I LOVE research. 👩‍💻 UI design for REAL products: Clean, scalable interfaces for SaaS dashboards, mobile apps, and responsive web platforms. Built to be consistent, usable, and easy to extend as products grow. 👩‍💻 Figma Expertise & Design Systems: Advanced Figma workflows including components, auto-layout, variables, and scalable design systems. As a former developer, I create structured files that make developer handoff smooth and reduce back-and-forth. 👩‍💻 Dev-handoff ready design I collaborate closely with developers and provide clear specs, interaction states, and structured Figma files that translate cleanly into code. 📌 SELECTED EXPERIENCE • SaaS Redesigns: Improved usability of complex workflows by simplifying navigation and restructuring core user journeys. • Mobile App UX Overhaul: Streamlined onboarding and key flows to reduce friction and improve task completion. • Web Conversion Improvements: Redesigned landing pages and product flows to improve clarity and user decision-making. • Web & Landing Pages: Website & landing page design Prototypes with Loveable Design with Figma 🧠 HOW I WORK Discovery & Research → understand goals, users, constraints & pain-points. UX Mapping → flows, journeys, structure Wireframes → rapid layout exploration UI Design & Branding → clean, scalable visual system, graphics, custom icons • If possible, this is where I would collaborate with the dev team to ensure the UI is feasible & viable. Prototype → test and refine interactions, use external vibe coding tools if desired Handoff → developer-ready Figma + documentation through HTML or React code documentation. 💡 WHY CLIENTS WORK WITH ME I balance product thinking with strong visual design. My focus is not just making things look good, but making them work better; for users and for the business. If you need a designer who can think, structure, and execute across the full product lifecycle, I can help. Multi-disciplinary designer: I have worn many hats and I'm here to use them to ensure the best possible experience for my clients. "But now Mikayla, why are your rates so low?" - Simple, I live in a third world country when my currency is weaker than anywhere else in the world. Now lets get talking :) [Keywords: Figma Designer, Figma Expert, Figma to Loveable, Figma To Wordpress, Web to Figma, Web Design Expert, SaaS Design, Responsive Web Design, Figma, Figma Prototyping, AI Development, AI Vibe Coding, Design Systems, Web to Figma, App to Figma, Mobile Design, Insurance, Banking, B2B, Product Designer, B2B2C Product Designer, UX Research, UX Design, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, Loveable, Claude, Framer, UX Designer, UI Designer, UX/UI Designer, Interaction design, Landing Page Designer, Mockups, Digital Design]

I'm a young UX/UI designer with certifications from the University of Michigan, Meta, and Google. I began my career as a freelancer for a SaaS startup. Since then, I have been working as a freelancer professionally, both on my own and on several websites like Freelancer, Braintrust, and now Upwork. I love working for companies all around the world and would love to join your team! • I follow the "empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test, repeat" process • I believe in making good UX and UI affordable • I specialize in all things UX and UI - from start to finish. • Regular communication is the key to success • I bring what YOU want to life

I help founders turn good ideas into brands and digital products people can understand, trust, and remember. When a business isn't landing the way you expected, the problem isn't always the execution. Sometimes the positioning isn't clear, the brand doesn't reflect the value of the product, or the experience makes it harder for people to understand what to do next. That's where I come in. I start with the business, audience, and problem before jumping into design. I'll look at what you're communicating, how your brand is currently perceived, where the product experience creates friction, and what needs to change before translating that thinking into a clear creative direction. What I can help with → Brand Strategy & Identity - Positioning, visual direction, logo systems, typography, colour, brand guidelines, and digital brand applications → Product Strategy - Product audits, UX research, customer journeys, opportunity mapping, experience strategy, and recommendations for improving the product → Brand-to-Product Experience - Connecting your positioning and visual identity to the way your digital product actually looks, feels, and communicates → Rapid Product Validation - Turning strategic direction into prototypes and working concepts quickly using Figma and AI-assisted tools My background spans financial services, SaaS, AI products, enterprise platforms, and digital experiences, so I'm comfortable working on products where clarity, trust, and a strong system matter. I've developed brand identities and guidelines, designed SaaS systems, researched digital experiences, and taken product concepts from brief to working prototype. I also use tools such as Figma, Claude, Figma Make and Lovable to explore and validate ideas quickly without letting the tools drive the strategy. Selected experience • FinTech brand identity - Developed a visual identity and guidelines for a personal finance product, extending the brand into its digital product and data visualisation • SaaS design system - Built a reusable component library to create greater consistency across product and engineering • B2B research publication - Transformed complex business information into a structured editorial publication with data visualisation and information design • AI SaaS MVP - Took a research brief through strategy, product design, and a working prototype in 7 days I work directly with founders and small product teams and take on 1–2 projects at a time so I can stay closely involved in the work. If you're launching, repositioning, or improving a brand or digital product, send me your project overview. I'll give you an honest read on what I think is working, what needs attention, and where I'd start.

I’m a graphic designer, UI/UX designer, and digital marketer with experience creating clean, eye-catching design that helps brands communicate clearly and stand out. I work across branding, print, digital design, and UI/UX, delivering thoughtful visuals that balance creativity with usability. My approach is detail-driven and practical, ensuring every design not only looks good but works effectively across platforms. I value clear communication, reliable delivery, and building long-term working relationships with clients.