Ireland is one of the biggest tech hubs in Europe with companies like Google, Facebook and Apple all headquartered here. And there’s a lot of homegrown talent too.
Here are 8 Irish UX design leaders to add to your network.
1. Des Traynor
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Intercom, Des Traynor is one of the most renowned product professionals in the industry. He’s an in-demand speaker at conferences worldwide and you’ll also find him on the Intercom on Product podcast. Prior to Intercom he co-founded Exceptional and worked in UX design.
Follow: @destraynor
Listen: Intercom on Product
2. Lara Hanlon
Lara Hanlon is currently a Brand Experience Designer at IBM Research. She has delivered talks at TEDx and Why Design and is a contributing writer at 100 Archive, a platform for the Irish design community.
Follow: @lara_hanlon
Watch: Food to Feed the World
3. Brian Herron
Brian Herron is the Principal Designer and Director at Each&Other. He shares his wisdom on the Conversations with Each&Other podcast and is a member of the Design Enterprise Skillnet steering group. He’s also a member of the UX Design Institute’s Industry Advisory Council helping shape the course content for specialist courses.
Follow: @brianherron
Listen: Discovering What Matters Most with User Interviews
4. Kathryn Parkes
Originally from an engineering background, Kathryn has over 20 years experience in designing, developing and delivering user-centred experiences. She is currently Senior UX Researcher at Cisco, where she leads both qualitative and quantitative research studies.
Follow: @kathrynparkes
Watch: Interview with Kathryn Parkes
5. Catherine Madden
Catherine Madden is Co-founder and Director of UXDX conference, an event which brings together product, design and development professionals to discuss industry issues. It may have begun in Ireland but UXDX is now a global operation with events across North America, Europe and Asia.
Follow: @catherinemadde
So excited to have the lovely @SitniSitni coming to Dublin for @uxdxconf talking about product and team prioritisation. Loved meeting you in Stockholm and I am excited for others to learn from the successes of your work at@iZettle pic.twitter.com/zTceBBy2QH
— Catherine Madden (@catherinemadde) July 26, 2018
6. Donal O’Mahony
Donal O’Mahony is the Global Head of UX and Product Design at Verizon Connect. He’s also a lecturer in UX at Trinity College, Dublin and regular industry speaker at events such as Google I/O and UXDX.
Follow: @DonalOMahony
Watch: The Highs and Lows of Building a 30-person lean UX team in 1 year
7. Kim Mackenzie-Doyle
Founder of the Big Idea and WhyDesign, Kim Mackenzie-Doyle is a true advocate for greater diversity and social responsibility in design. She’s also founder of Mind Over Matter, an initiative that aims to create awareness of mental health issues in the Irish creative community.
Follow: @KimMacDoy
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Read: Viewpoints
8. Tom Cunningham
Tom Cunningham is a Senior Product Designer at Workday. Before joining his current team he worked with global brands like Vodafone, Goodyear and Zurich International. He also hosts Opacity, a podcast about working in design which covers a range of topics from kickstarting your career to the importance of ethics in UX.
Follow: @tomcdesign
Listen: Opacity podcast
