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London Reid

UX/Product Designer

email@with.london

linkedin.com/in/heylondon

Howdy world!

my name is london.

I'm a designer at work and a creator at heart.

read a case study:

Integrated Engineering

ecommerce website redesign

A detailed look at my entire design process from beginning to end.

Read it >

Integrated Engineering

atomic design system for emails

Find out how I developed a brand new design system from scratch!

Read it >

BodyGuardz

product replacement interface

A quick(er) read about balancing a UI between business and user needs.

Read it >

working hard to hardly work.

My career is dedicated to working hard so others don’t have to. Usually a UX Designer, and sometimes a Product Designer, my work is best defined by the experiences, design systems, and interfaces I create—all focused on making so that others (myself, my coworkers, and our users) can work easier going forward.

what it's like to work with me:

“London is extremely innovative when it comes to UX and UI design, unbelievably detailed in his project hand-offs to developers, has a PHD in organization and asks all the right questions when given a new task.”

Alison Reighard
Marketing Manager @ Integrated Engineering

“London designed methods of communication, organization, and tools that the company continues to use today and benefit from. BGZ is forever positively impacted by London’s involvement.”

JJ Gunnel | Digital Marketing Manager @ BodyGuardz

“In addition to his top-notch creative abilities, London is incredibly good at organization and systems. His approach to managing, organizing, and streamlining work is on par with any project manager I’ve met.”

Tom Watson | Creative Director @ BodyGuardz

what it's like to work with me:

Alison Reighard
Marketing Manager @ Integrated Engineering

“London designed methods of communication, organization, and tools that the company continues to use today and benefit from. BGZ is forever positively impacted by London’s involvement.”

JJ Gunnel | Digital Marketing Manager @ BodyGuardz

Tom Watson | Creative Director @ BodyGuardz

a few skills i've developed:

get in touch with me:

Send me an email >

email@with.london

Connect on LinkedIn >

linkedin.com/in/heylondon

Work

my work.

in-depth ux/product design case studies:

Integrated Engineering

ecommerce website redesign

A detailed look at my entire design process from beginning to end.

Read it >

Integrated Engineering

atomic design system for emails

Find out how I developed a brand new design system from scratch!

Read it >

BodyGuardz

product replacement interface

A quick(er) read about balancing a UI between business and user needs.

Read it >

Philosophy

creative
philosophy.

first, romance.

romance is creation fueled by passion.

I consider myself a romantic. I like making a hot cup of tea and reading a book on a rainy day, as if the storm is just for me. I like writing poems for my wife and sneaking them into her lunches, then I look forward to her text when she finds them. I like designing interfaces that follow an 8-point grid so that everything snaps perfectly into place, even if nobody else might notice.

Taking ordinary things and giving them depth and meaning is romance. It’s what makes a rainstorm an occasion of self-care, a lunch an expression of love, and a design a work of art.

In a world where the loudest, flashiest, and most absurd float to the top, others’ acts of romance can make our own feel inadequate. But those grand romantic gestures are unsustainable and can leave you in a lapse of creative fatigue and frustration.

Finding romance in small day-to-day things can be consistently fulfilling, and it’s a skill that can be developed.

Romance starts with passion—to give actions a meaning (or a story)—whether it’s made up or borrowed—and to add depth to that meaning by reconfirming it over time.

If you create a story about yourself that says, “I write music because it expresses emotions that words cannot,” and then you write songs about your emotions, you’re adding depth to a meaning you created. Now you’re passionate about songwriting.

If you tell yourself, “I love how a clean kitchen smells,” and then you notice the scent every time the kitchen is cleaned, you’re adding depth to a meaning you created. Now you’re passionate about clean kitchen scents and maybe even cleaning the kitchen.

Romance—the key to fulfillment—is creation—transforming something from one state to another—fueled by passion—the assignment of meaning and depth to your actions.

second, creation.

Fueled by passion, create something that is beautiful, satisfying, and surprising.

This looks

pleasant
pretty
neat
cool
easy
right

beautiful

Create something that pleases the human eye

and makes the world more beautiful

while being simple and easy to understand (without interaction)

I like how this

feels
sounds
works
smells
tastes
moves

satisfying

Create something that refreshes the human mind

and functions as well as expected

while being empowering and enjoyable to interact with

Wow, that's really

nice
fast
good
awesome
simple
fun

surprising

Create something that gently disrupts the human stupor

and pleasantly outperforms expectations

while being innovative and straightforward in use

third, learning.

One of your greatest passions should be to learn. Learning enriches life by allowing you to create new passions and find more fulfillment.

learn from your work.

After every creation, ask yourself what went right, what went wrong, why those things are right or wrong, and if you’d do it differently next time.

learn from other people.

Learn to ask people what they think of your creations, what they like and don’t like, why they think those things, and what they would do differently.

learn from other resources.

Find other ways to learn. Whether it’s by going to school, reading books, watching videos online, or some other way. Be aware of the resources available. Be open to opinions and points of view that differ from your own.

learn from yourself.

Ask yourself if you agree with what other people are saying about your creations. Ask yourself if you agree with the things you see online or hear in class. Ask yourself if you’re wrong about things or if there are perspectives you’re not considering.

Be honest with yourself. Being dishonest prevents opportunities for growth and self-improvement. You need to be willing to admit when you’re wrong or to admit you like something that nobody else does. You need to be okay with the answer.

You need to be honest with yourself about your passions and the meanings that drive them. If you’re passionate about something for the wrong reason (like wanting others to like you) it may lead to a lot of pain and frustration, especially if the outcome is something that you cannot control.

If you can master the ability to learn, you can learn to master anything, whether it’s your creative abilities, your career, your relationships, or your own happiness.

then, restart.

romance creation learning romance creation learning romance creation learning romance creation learning romance creation learning romance creation learning romance creation learning romance creation learning

About

about me.

I’m more than a designer, I’m a real boy!

Job titles and personal identities are often conflated. I think it's important to remember that we're so much more than human doers, we're human beings! This page scratches the surface of who I am. If you want to get to know me better, feel free to reach out at email@with.london.

I’m more than a designer, I’m a real boy!

how I spend my free time

I spend almost all of my free time with my wife and I love dabbling in new hobbies (more than I can keep track of). I’m passionate about books, writing, learning, food, movies, tv, and being a good friend. I love finding similarities that I share with others and discovering more about what makes us unique.

I’m curious about everything and learn as much as I can. While I’m washing dishes, I might be watching a BigThink video on quantum computing. While I’m exercising, I’m probably listening to an audiobook (usually horror or non-fiction). While I shower, I usually watch MasterClass videos on how to write a book (a goal I have on the side). This multitasking and curiosity probably has something to do with my ADHD—it’s made certain skills more challenging, but I embrace how much it has made me more systematic, intentional, and empathetic.

I have a head full of messy ideas with an urge to curate and share them. If you'd like to work together or think we'd be good friends, send me a message: email@with.london.

Things I like

reading

movies

tv shows

music

games

food

coffee

my wife

reading

what i'm reading:

Inferno
by Dante Alighieri

on my mind:

The Fisherman
by John Langan

movies

tv shows

music

games

food

coffee

my wife

Things I dislike

YouTube thumbnails
Liquid buildup in toothbrush holders
Scams and unethical business
Photos/videos of injuries or medical procedures
Disliking things
When I eat more than a little bit of shellfish

my career in design

Disovering digital design

I've loved making stuff since I was a kid—from doodles in the margins of my math homework to stopmotion Lego shorts. Growing up, most adults and aptitude tests told me I’d make a great architect. I had an eye for design and the organizational skills to do something with it. So I interned at an architecture firm. I didn’t like it. I felt too bogged down by building regulations, fire codes, and physics. Soon after, I discovered website design.

I loved the intersection between visual design and coding. Visual design tickled my desire to beautify the world and coding brought the satisfaction of an organized workflow. However, after a few years of designing hundreds of websites at agencies, I felt jaded. I felt like I was a robot manufacturing digital billboards for the endless void of the internet. So I briefly stepped away from digital design to work on projects I was passionate about.

Disovering human design

After winning a Battle of the Bands (here's a song I wrote), making a mosaic of Heracles out of rice (take a peek), successfully launching a crowdfunded board game (check it out), and starting a bespoke poetry service, I discovered that I cared a lot more about the humans involved than the product. At Battle of the Bands a good performance mattered more than perfect music. A rice mosaic doesn't just communicate an image, it makes you wonder about the Hurcelean task of creating it. Laughter with friends sells a board game better than a great advertisment. Perfectly metered love poems written by some guy you hired on the internet will never be as heartfelt as a “roses are red” poem you penned yourself.

This path of discovery led me to UX and product design where designing a user experience with beautiful visuals and satisfying interactions isn’t enough. It needs a third element—a little suprise to make users feel a little less robotic and a little more human. A beat that makes them dance, an art piece that makes them wonder, a board game that makes them laugh, or a poem that makes them blush. I’ve been working as a UX and product designer for 6 years and I still love creating things that make people smile and think something like, “wow, that’s really easy… and kind of fun too.”