I'm Chris Cotton, a Senior Product Designer with 18+ years’ experience designing complex, enterprise-scale digital products, specialising in growth, monetisation, and platform ecosystems. I partner with product, engineering, data, and executive stakeholders to accelerate time-to-value, improve adoption, and deliver scalable systems. I have deep experience across payments infrastructure, SaaS, security platforms, government, and consumer products, with a strong track record of translating ambiguity into clear product direction. I’m a hands-on designer, mentor, and storyteller who thrives in AI-first, experimentation-driven environments and loves building scalable systems, design systems, and ecosystem thinking. I bring robust experience shaping growth and monetisation across large-scale, multi-stakeholder ecosystems. I work effectively in cross-functional teams, translating strategy into actionable product direction and scalable design patterns, while maintaining a human-centred focus on usability and outcomes.…

Chris Cotton

I'm Chris Cotton, a Senior Product Designer with 18+ years’ experience designing complex, enterprise-scale digital products, specialising in growth, monetisation, and platform ecosystems. I partner with product, engineering, data, and executive stakeholders to accelerate time-to-value, improve adoption, and deliver scalable systems. I have deep experience across payments infrastructure, SaaS, security platforms, government, and consumer products, with a strong track record of translating ambiguity into clear product direction. I’m a hands-on designer, mentor, and storyteller who thrives in AI-first, experimentation-driven environments and loves building scalable systems, design systems, and ecosystem thinking. I bring robust experience shaping growth and monetisation across large-scale, multi-stakeholder ecosystems. I work effectively in cross-functional teams, translating strategy into actionable product direction and scalable design patterns, while maintaining a human-centred focus on usability and outcomes.…

Available to hire

I’m Chris Cotton, a Senior Product Designer with 18+ years’ experience designing complex, enterprise-scale digital products, specialising in growth, monetisation, and platform ecosystems. I partner with product, engineering, data, and executive stakeholders to accelerate time-to-value, improve adoption, and deliver scalable systems. I have deep experience across payments infrastructure, SaaS, security platforms, government, and consumer products, with a strong track record of translating ambiguity into clear product direction. I’m a hands-on designer, mentor, and storyteller who thrives in AI-first, experimentation-driven environments and loves building scalable systems, design systems, and ecosystem thinking.

I bring robust experience shaping growth and monetisation across large-scale, multi-stakeholder ecosystems. I work effectively in cross-functional teams, translating strategy into actionable product direction and scalable design patterns, while maintaining a human-centred focus on usability and outcomes.

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Work Experience

Principal Strategic Product Designer at Australian Payments Plus
October 1, 2023 - Present
Leading a top-secret payments product project since October 2023, working closely with the Director and Head of Product. Responsibilities include CVP development, consumer analysis, usability testing, choice modelling, design mentoring, artifact development, and roadmap creation encompassing GTM and brand strategy. Mentoring young designers on human-centered design principles and managing various product backlogs and sprints.
UX + Product + Service Design Consultant, Leader and Mentor at Chris Cotton UX (Independent Consultant)
September 30, 2023 - August 18, 2025
From 2019 to 2023, led and mentored design projects across various clients including NSW government, JCDecaux, Australian Parliament House, FSANZ, Queensland Museum, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Digital Health Agency, NSW Planning Agency, Core Logic, and others. Responsibilities involved user research, IA audits, wireframing, prototyping, testing, team recruitment and mentoring, and UX strategy and delivery for SaaS, intranets, ecommerce, community apps, and government websites.
UX Lead + Product Marketing Manager at Storekat
December 31, 2019 - August 18, 2025
Led product design and marketing for a startup warehouse space platform similar to Airbnb. Duties included research, design, development sprint management, user acceptance testing, backlog shipping, strategic roadmap planning, and recruiting development teams. Platform was sold in 2022.
UX Designer at Sony Music London
December 31, 2013 - August 18, 2025
Created games, designs, and websites for major UK music artists such as Robbie Williams and Susan Boyle over a 4-year period. Delivered creative digital assets and UX solutions tailored to music industry needs.
Lead UX + Product Designer at Australia Post
December 31, 2017 - August 18, 2025
Led teams and projects improving parcel tracking dashboards and designing customer community websites integrated with Salesforce, enhancing user experience and engagement for Australia Post services. Delivered three key workstreams in Melbourne across 2017.
Strategic Product Designer at Australian Payments Plus
October 1, 2023 - Present
Current role across Eftpos, BPAY, NPP, PayID and more. Responsibilities include strategy and design for payment wallets, reimagining BPAY, stakeholder and member engagement, and analytics & reporting using MS suite including Power BI.
Lead Experience Designer at Ogilvy Sydney
July 1, 2023 - August 31, 2023
Supporting the head of UX, delivering projects for TAB, NSW GOV and multiple clients.
Lead Product Designer, UX & Strategy Design Consultant at Chris Cotton UX Remote
March 1, 2021 - July 31, 2023
Small UX consultancy employing two UX / Product Designers delivering solutions for Woolworths, Daikin, FSANZ, NDSS, Services Australia Gov, NSW RFS, JCDecaux, Digital Health Agency Aus Gov, Australian Parliament House, VCCC, ACT GOV, NSW GOV, and leading SAAS providers including Unscripted, Shaparency, Properti, Rapid Aim, Hummingbot, Curiious and more.
Remote Product Marketing Manager / Lead Product Designer at Storekat
July 1, 2020 - March 31, 2021
SAAS platform for decentralised warehousing, enabling a single global platform for logistics procurement teams to manage and coordinate warehouse space on the fly.
Lead Experience Designer at Ogilvy Sydney
September 1, 2018 - August 31, 2019
Led projects for IBM, AMEX, NSW IR, Uncle Tobys, KFC and others, delivering user-centered design across multiple engagements.
Head of Product, Sales, Founder at Troop
July 1, 2013 - March 31, 2019
Troop was a private community SAAS platform for alumni networks. As a bootstrapped founder I managed product, sales and marketing, and worked closely with resourcing and accounts. The MVP reached scale but the business ultimately shut down after being wedged out by larger competitors.
Lead UX / Product Design Consultant at Australia Post Melbourne
May 1, 2017 - September 30, 2017
Led four-month engagement delivering three key streams: uplifting parcel tracking dashboards and enhancing Salesforce self-service offering.
Product UX Designer at Sony Music Entertainment London
June 1, 2009 - December 31, 2012
Product UX Designer delivering apps and websites for branded artist campaigns; advised on corporate communications to attract new artists.
User Experience Designer at Virgin Media London
July 1, 2008 - February 28, 2009
Worked with an Experience and Innovation team to conceive innovative user journeys and branded content for core advertising clients.
User Experience Designer at Vodafone Global (via Empathise Group) London
April 1, 2009 - June 30, 2009
Completed multiple projects including Vodafone Family information portal and Vodafone Facebook app.
Art Director / Experience Designer at Junior Advertising (Acquired by Ogilvy) Brisbane
October 1, 2006 - August 31, 2007
Led UX across the Dell computers account, creating games, micro-sites and branded assets.
Product + UX Designer / Brand Designer / Front-End Developer at Cru Digital Brisbane
April 1, 2005 - October 31, 2006
First role spanning branding, UX, UI and front-end development across diverse digital projects.
Head of UX / Product Design at Yarn Group Melbourne
January 1, 2011 - May 31, 2017
Led UX/Product Design, growing the team from 1 to 3 with an overseas dev team; delivered for Suez, Australia Post, VicRoad, Lululemon, Acquire Learning, Fairfax Digital and others.
Lead Product Designer & Stakeholder Engagement Strategist at Australian Payments Plus
October 1, 2023 - March 1, 2026
Senior IC leading strategic growth and monetisation initiatives across Australia’s national payments infrastructure (eftpos, BPAY, NPP, PayID). Led value proposition strategy and end-to-end product design for Payment Wallets, including UX, prototyping, and early experimentation to explore future wallet experiences. Drove deep stakeholder engagement through wargaming, bilateral sessions, and executive workshops with Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB, ANZ, and other member institutions to align on adoption, incentives, and platform strategy. Reimagining BPAY 2.0: designed the future of bill payments at national scale, shaping modernised trust, flexibility, and payment flows. Designed internal product systems and change-management processes, contributing to a company-wide Product Development Framework. Led governance planning and software procurement change management; partnered with product, engineering, data, and leadership teams to accelerate time-to-value and support scalable growth.
Lead Experience Designer (Contract) at Ogilvy
July 1, 2023 - Present
Reimagined a core strategic area of the TAB mobile app as Owner Circle, a syndicate-focused experience, defining experience principles, interaction models, and product direction across complex multi-user workflows in a regulated betting environment. Delivered end-to-end UX for Uncle Tobys digital experiences and an IBM product-launch microsite, translating enterprise messaging into clear, user-centred narratives. Collaborated with strategy, product, and engineering to align business objectives with high-quality execution under tight timelines.
Lead Product, UX & Strategy Consultant at Chris Cotton UX
March 1, 2021 - June 1, 2023
Founder of a specialist product and UX consultancy delivering growth-focused, enterprise-grade digital products across SaaS, government, health, retail, and platform businesses. Led end-to-end product design for clients including Woolworths, Daikin, NDSS, Services Australia, NSW RFS, JCDecaux, Australian Parliament House, and leading SaaS startups. Designed onboarding, conversion, and retention experiences informed by research, analytics, and experimentation. Established scalable design systems, delivery frameworks, and collaboration models across multidisciplinary teams.
Product Marketing Manager & Lead Product Designer at Storekat
July 1, 2020 - March 1, 2021
Led product and growth design for a decentralised warehousing SaaS platform. Owned positioning, onboarding flows, pricing experiences, and GTM strategy. Balanced commercial viability with usability across complex logistics workflows.

Education

Bachelor of Design at Griffith University
February 1, 2000 - November 21, 2004
Digital, Advertising, Graphic, Brand
Bachelor of Design at Griffith University
January 1, 2001 - January 1, 2005
Bachelor of Design at Griffith University
January 11, 2030 - January 1, 2005
Summer Germinate Program - Venture programme at University Of Queensland
January 1, 2009 - January 1, 2009
Bachelor of Design at Griffith University
January 11, 2030 - May 19, 2026
Summer Germinate Venture Program at University of Queensland
January 11, 2030 - May 19, 2026

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Government, Computers & Electronics, Telecommunications, Energy & Utilities, Financial Services, Retail, Education, Media & Entertainment, Healthcare, Software & Internet, Transportation & Logistics, Consumer Goods, Professional Services
    uniE621 KFC ecommerce
    As part of Ogivly group, I redesigned and improve the checkout flows for the KFC home order delivery ecommerce website. Working closely with the business analyst at KFC we worked through the complexity of ordering variations, creating a design and layout system to easily include the huge array of ordering options available. designer…
    uniE621 Australia Post Parcel Tracking
    One of many projects completed for Australia Post, was to improve the parcel tracking dashboard to enhance product cross pollination from within the Australia Post product and service landscape. User flows for all steps were designed & prototyped in rapid prototype sprint lasting a few days, then presented back core experience leadership team, to see if enhancement and favourable ideas could ben found. designer…
    uniE621 NSW Rural Fire Service Fire prediction app for Firefighters
    As part of Kablamo, I mentored a team to bring the NSW RFS predictive fire management tooling to life. Working in daily sprints we reconfigured elements of the layout and tooling to best serve the operating environments of both field use and RFS headquarters, to ensure even with limited realestate the platform was simple and easy to use. designer…
    uniE621 Daikin Home Hub AirConditioning Controls
    Daikin asked me to help them with new touch screen controls. We developed three prototypes from which one was taken into testing and release. Introducing AirHub. They wanted to move from the classic button style remote control to a touchscreen interactive device. Breaking away from a manual button interface meant we could implement new ways of setting rooms and climate settings for those rooms. designer…