Paul James

In my freelancing work, I have been designing and improving SaaS products with a focus on usability, clarity, and accessibility. A large part of my projects involves auditing existing platforms, identifying usability issues, and delivering detailed reports with prioritised recommendations that product teams can act on. I frequently redesign onboarding flows so users reach first value faster, cutting down drop-off and improving conversion. I also work on dashboards and reporting pages, reorganising complex data into layouts that are clear, meaningful, and easy to act on.

Accessibility has been a constant part of my work. I review SaaS products against WCAG 2.2 AA standards, highlight compliance gaps, and redesign interfaces to make them inclusive and ready for upcoming WCAG 3.0 requirements. This includes adding proper structure, ensuring colour contrast, designing for keyboard navigation, and delivering developer-ready notes that make implementation straightforward.

My deliverables typically include annotated Figma files, clickable prototypes, and scalable design systems that development teams can use to build consistently. I also provide supporting documentation such as action plans, accessibility checklists, and handoff guides, so nothing is left unclear.

Across projects, I collaborate directly with founders, product managers, and developers, aligning on goals and making sure design decisions balance business needs with user experience. The result of my work is cleaner onboarding, clearer dashboards, compliant interfaces, and design systems that set teams up for faster future growth.

• Led UX for SaaS platforms in sustainability and compliance, delivering responsive dashboards, calculators, and workflow tools.

• Facilitated user research, focus groups, and workshops to uncover needs and align teams.

• Built prototypes in Figma to visualize multi-role journeys and support integration across data systems.

• Championed accessibility and WCAG compliance, ensuring inclusive user experiences.

• Defined design KPIs, leveraging analytics and A/B tests to measure adoption and inform iteration.

Impact:

• LCA Calculator became the 2nd most-used tool in the Anthesis Hub within a year.

• Survey Tool redesign increased user engagement by 7%.

• ABI tool reduced average planning permission timelines by 5 weeks.

• Designed and delivered a cross-platform booking app for web, iOS, and Android, ensuring seamless user experiences across devices.

• Conducted in-depth UX research (personas, flows, SWOT, usability testing) to validate features and optimize journeys.

• Created interactive prototypes that communicated functionality and secured stakeholder buy-in. Drove Agile delivery by coordinating design sprints, managing milestones, and aligning design outputs with KPIs.

Impact:

• Reduced booking flow friction, leading to higher user completion rates.

• Established a design system that accelerated future product iterations.