I’m a senior product designer with 20+ years of experience, and for the last several years I’ve led end-to-end design across Blackpearl’s product portfolio. I’m especially drawn to product surfaces where UX decisions, design systems, and front-end implementation need to work together—so I often design the experience and then use AI-assisted development to create functional, testable prototypes without the usual handoff delay. I founded and scaled Pearl Diver from a simple web-visit-record tool into a full B2B audience intelligence and activation platform, building the design token system and component architecture that now underpins multiple products. I also rebuilt Bebop, supported customer research across the portfolio, and created tooling and flows—from sign-up and billing UX through to admin experiences—balancing craft, clarity, and real-world usability from concept through shipped prototype.

Ponui Patuaka

I’m a senior product designer with 20+ years of experience, and for the last several years I’ve led end-to-end design across Blackpearl’s product portfolio. I’m especially drawn to product surfaces where UX decisions, design systems, and front-end implementation need to work together—so I often design the experience and then use AI-assisted development to create functional, testable prototypes without the usual handoff delay. I founded and scaled Pearl Diver from a simple web-visit-record tool into a full B2B audience intelligence and activation platform, building the design token system and component architecture that now underpins multiple products. I also rebuilt Bebop, supported customer research across the portfolio, and created tooling and flows—from sign-up and billing UX through to admin experiences—balancing craft, clarity, and real-world usability from concept through shipped prototype.

Available to hire

I’m a senior product designer with 20+ years of experience, and for the last several years I’ve led end-to-end design across Blackpearl’s product portfolio. I’m especially drawn to product surfaces where UX decisions, design systems, and front-end implementation need to work together—so I often design the experience and then use AI-assisted development to create functional, testable prototypes without the usual handoff delay.

I founded and scaled Pearl Diver from a simple web-visit-record tool into a full B2B audience intelligence and activation platform, building the design token system and component architecture that now underpins multiple products. I also rebuilt Bebop, supported customer research across the portfolio, and created tooling and flows—from sign-up and billing UX through to admin experiences—balancing craft, clarity, and real-world usability from concept through shipped prototype.

See more

Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert

Language

Work Experience

Senior Product Designer at Blackpearl Group
January 1, 2020 - September 1, 2026
Sole designer across Blackpearl’s product portfolio (Pearl Diver, Bebop, RTS, Black Pearl Mail, Manage App) plus ownership of the company’s core brand identity. Owned decisions end-to-end from concept through shipped functional prototypes, often using AI-assisted development to convert designs directly into working front-end prototypes. Led product design systems work (design tokens and component architecture), defined navigation and user flows, redesigned key areas such as dashboards, Web Visitors, Activation, Integrations, and Settings, and shipped functional prototypes for multiple products. Conducted customer/user interviews to validate design decisions and tested flows directly with users. Mentored a junior designer for 18 months.
Senior Digital Designer at CLEMENGER.UNLTD
June 1, 2017 - June 1, 2019
Led the redesign of Toyota.co.nz by architecting a reusable template system that enabled Toyota’s internal team to publish new pages while maintaining consistency and reducing code issues from repeated agency updates. Audited the existing site to identify templatable pages and broke content into modular blocks tested across breakpoints before handover. Embedded onsite with the development team one day per week for six months to protect design integrity and resolve issues in real time. Designed and built a vehicle comparison tool, and contributed to the NZ Defence Force website applying the reusable-block methodology to unify multiple service areas with clear, intuitive navigation and colour coding. Crafted a NZ-inspired design language to support aspirational messaging for young New Zealanders.
Senior Digital Designer at Ocean Design Group
April 1, 2016 - March 1, 2017
Freelance Digital Designer at Self-employed
September 1, 2013 - April 1, 2016
Provided freelance digital design services across branding, web design, and digital campaigns for a range of clients.
Digital Designer at FCB Global
April 1, 2012 - September 1, 2013
Digital Designer & Developer at 99
November 1, 2010 - March 1, 2012

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design at Wanganui Design School
January 1, 2004 - September 1, 2026

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Software & Internet, Media & Entertainment, Government, Retail, Education, Professional Services