Product Design · UX · Data · Strategy

I design the shortest useful path through complex information, data and digital experiences.

My background spans product design, analytics, data engineering, publishing and independent ventures. The recurring pattern is usability: I notice where people lose time, confidence or context, then restructure the system so the next action feels obvious.

Tiny plot twist

How many iterations do you think this portfolio took?

Pick one. No pressure, just vibes.

What I make

Different outputs. Same instinct: make the complicated thing easier to use.

Selected product work

From problem framing to something people can actually use.

Okay this bit actually has a sensible explanation.

Lloyd’s Insights concept preview

Lloyds Banking App

A mobile banking concept built around a behaviour I repeatedly experienced: forgetting the context behind transactions. The design turns transaction history into usable financial memory.

Product Design · UX
Islamic Companion app concept preview

Islamic Companion App

A year round Muslim companion concept connecting Qur'an, trusted Islamic search, lectures, prayer guidance, Ramadan and reflection while keeping worship tracking completely optional.

Product Design · UX Strategy · Mobile Concept
Telekonnect app concept preview

Telekonnect

A research led wellbeing product that moved from a broad mental health question to a focused system for recognising patterns between technology use, daily activity and mood.

UX Research · Product Design · Computer Science
Power BI Dashboards icon Power BI dashboard preview

Power BI Dashboards

Decision products where the interface matters as much as the metric: filters, hierarchy, chart choice and interaction are designed around how stakeholders need to investigate and act.

Power BI · Data Analytics
Budget Planning Sheet icon 2027 budget planning sheet preview

Budget Planning Sheet

A planning system designed for low cognitive load, with several ways to organise the same financial reality so users are not dependent on one method of thinking.

Spreadsheet Design · Planning
Selected strategy and proposal work Selected strategy and proposal work detail

Brand + Content Design

A curated collection of campaign concepts, creative direction, editorial thinking and brand systems designed around real audiences rather than decoration.

Creative Direction · Campaigns · Visual Storytelling
Dina Aziz holding the Ramadan Planner book Ramadan Planner interior spread

Ramadan Planner · Product Designer & Published Author

A 208 page Penguin product built through rapid iteration, information architecture, inclusive planning patterns and daily emotional check ins designed around real fasting behaviour.

Product Design · Publishing · Information Architecture
Locked upcoming concepts Upcoming concept preview

Upcoming Concepts

Private brand concepts currently in development, including work for On Cloud and Fenty Beauty.

In Development · Private Concepts
THIS FELT NECESSARY.
Iteration 14. We do not discuss 1 through 13.

Personality

WHO AM I WHEN I MAKE THINGS?

SPENCER SHAY.

My best ideas normally start somewhere between “this could actually work” and “why has nobody stopped me?”

Random idea.Immediate obsession.Experiment.Break something.Understand why it broke.Make it better.Make it stranger.Make it useful.Ship it.

Could this have been simpler? Absolutely.

Currently investigating whether it needs to be slightly weirder.

Somehow this became the final version.

ADL Estate Planning

Helping a growing estate planning business become more digital, measurable and scalable.

I work across the seams between operations, data, client experience, business development and digital systems. Instead of organising the work by software, I organise it by the problem being removed.

Make client journeys clearer

Structure financial and legal information so clients and advisers know what happens next and what action is required.

Make performance measurable

Use reporting, CRM structure and analysis to make activity visible enough to improve rather than relying on instinct alone.

Remove repeated effort

Spot manual processes that can become reusable workflows, templates or automations without sacrificing judgement.

Make growth repeatable

Connect content, lead generation, digital strategy and operational follow through so growth does not depend on one person remembering everything.

Explore the ADL work

Presentations

Information design for rooms where the decision matters.

Strategy decks, proposals, data stories and stakeholder presentations designed to control the sequence of information, not just decorate slides.

View presentation work

I naturally look for repeated work, unclear choices, brittle processes and information that asks too much of the person using it. Across analytics and product work, I reduce that friction by defining the real problem, choosing the right structure, anticipating what the user will need next and building patterns that can be reused rather than solved from scratch each time.

My strongest design skill is not decoration. It is removing avoidable effort.

My work ranges from analytical dashboards and banking concepts to research led mobile products, brand proposals and independent ventures. The common thread is turning complicated information or behaviour into something clearer, more useful and easier to act on.

How I think

Usability starts before the interface.

I do not begin by asking what screen, chart or component to make. I begin by asking what is wasting time, what the current system is hiding, what the user is likely to misunderstand and which assumption would make the whole solution useless if it were wrong.

Notice what is missing

Look beyond the existing KPI, brief or requested output for patterns the organisation has not yet thought to measure.

Design the decision

Choose hierarchy, interaction and visual form around the decision a person needs to make, not around whichever chart is easiest to build.

Remove repeat effort

Turn one off problem solving into a reusable method, template, filter or workflow so the same thinking does not have to be repeated manually.

Test the assumption

Ask what would have to be true for the idea to work, then use behaviour, data, stakeholder feedback or usability testing to pressure test it.