Brandon is the Founder of Webstreet Digital, a full-service digital agency. He is also a Webflow Global Partner and the host of the podcast Navigate the Web. He has held positions as the MD of Boost UK, Communications Director for Business Unite and the MD of Real Success.
Xandor Schiefer is a developer, but don’t let that fool you. He owns books like “The Elements of Typographic Style” and “Grid Systems in Graphic Design”. He built his first website in ’99, grew up with the industry. He’s spent time working at companies on in-house products and at digital ad agencies before hanging out his shingle as an independent consultant @ Pixel Theory.
Sivan is a seasoned design leader in financial services and fintech with 20 years of experience across physical and digital experience design. Currently, she is the Senior Design Director for Digital Banking at Absa. Since taking on this role, Sivan has helped Absa’s digital banking grow its user base to over 3 million users, while winning numerous awards. Sivan studied multimedia design, with a focus on how experiences are key to building strong brands. Her academic endeavours culminated with her Master’s thesis “Building Trust Through Authentic, Human Brands‚Äù, which was published in multiple international journals. Sivan is now known for being innovative and fostering intrapreneurship within Absa. She has been a driving force in market-leading innovations. Her work on biometric authentication has seen massive adoption and is used by over 2 million customers to keep their banking safe. Sivan also played a pivotal role in the design and launch of PayShap (rapid payments) in South Africa. Most recently, Sivan played an instrumental role in Absa’s ChatWallet, a first-to-market product that enables Absa and non-Absa customers to create a mobile wallet and bank entirely in WhatsApp. This initiative brings together Sivan’s expertise in payments and her passion for financial inclusion, and is now one of Absa‚Äôs key ESG focus points. Despite her busy schedule and numerous achievements, Sivan mentors designers at all levels in their careers and is committed to building the next generation of design leaders.
Natalie is a proud Portuguese-South African, and passionate product designer and manager. Her design journey started in the User Experience realm, where she quickly learned to leverage design as a powerful medium to help create relevant and meaningful experiences for end users. From there, her role evolved with a deeper focus into digital product and service development. Her core skills center around research and design thinking, wireframing, prototyping, and strategic UX and UI design application. Currently, she focuses her efforts and energy into creating scalable digital products and services for e-commerce retailers, and manages an incredible team of design practitioners to do the same. She has a deep passion for harnessing the power of design to drive business value. By weekend, she’s also a RYT qualified Vinyasa Yoga Instructor who loves a good spreadsheet, has an extensive allergy list, and is always keen for a sunrise gym session!
Nadia is a service designer with 20+ years in the design industry. Her career has come full circle: starting with web design, diving into coding, mastering customer experience (CX), and now back to her true passion—crafting meaningful services that deliver.
Hi, I am Mika, a humanity-centred designer with a passion for sustainable interaction design. Design impacts the way we use products and can influence the availability of natural resources on our planet. I believe that when products and systems are created, designers should consider the entire product lifecycle so as to develop a closed-loop system that is in line with a green future.
I did my honours in behaviour change theory and persuasive technology, being inspired by Leyla Acaroglu, BJ Fogg and Don Norman. In my honours year, I investigated how technology can influence people‚ behaviours for a pro-sustainability outcomes. Since then, I’ve worked at Glucode as an app designer and experience design lead, learning the ins and outs of what makes a good digital experience.
More recently I’ve been inspired by Don Norman’s book ‚’Design for a Better World’‚ and would love to open up the conversation about how design can impact the world in a positive way.
I am a senior UX Engineer at Entelect. I come from the branding and marketing world of design. I have always had a passion for design and how it impacts our lives everyday.
Starting off at SAB, Kayembe’s career spans across FMCG, Financial Services, Consulting, and 31 African countries where he led a product and business development team that created micro insurance capabilities in partnership with mobile network operators, retailers, and insurance companies. As the former Director in the Cloud & Digital capability at PwC, Head of Mobile Customer Solutions for Emerging Markets, Head of Digital Operations and Executive Head of Digital & Data Analytics for the SADC region at Old Mutual, and he has great insights into how digital, data analytics and digital marketing is shaping across the continent.
Kayembe has recently given a TEDx talk on leveraging experience design principles when creating a customer, employee, and leadership proposition, and was the Head of Digital and one of the directors of PocketFin, a financial literacy proposition which is now the sole provider of financial education to CNBC Africa.
On top of being a being the current Director of Business Consulting at Technicap Partners, Kayembe holds a qualification in Agile Leadership from the Namibia University of Science & Technology (NUST), an Honours from WITS Business School, and has just completed his Masters in Digital Business from WITS Business School. He and his team have been exploring the breakthroughs and wonders of AI to create memorable experiences for their customers and the firm.
Estee is a Senior UX Engineer at Entelect, renowned for her expertise in Service Design. With a keen eye for detail and a holistic approach to product development, she seamlessly integrates functionality with user experience, ensuring every design aspect meets user needs.
Beyond her role, Estee mentors future designers as a guest lecturer at the University of Pretoria since 2021, equipping them with crucial UX/UI skills. As a local leader at the Interaction Design Foundation, she leads discussions on cutting-edge design topics, fostering an innovative community.
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