I'm James Peel, a senior product designer based in London. I've spent seven years shipping products across logistics, fintech, healthcare, and government. From tools that saved Amazon $250M to platforms showcasing 7,000 graduates' work, I care about craft, clarity, and making things that actually work for the people using them.
I'm most useful when I'm close to the problem. I like to understand the full picture before opening Figma: the business goals, the technical constraints, the user's actual behaviour. I prototype early, test often, and push for simplicity wherever possible.
I'm trained in IBM Enterprise Design Thinking, which shaped how I run workshops, align stakeholders, and frame problems around user outcomes. From my time at Amazon, I also adopted a Working Backwards approach: document-driven, starting from the customer and working back to the solution. PRFAQs, 6-pagers, and narrative docs before wireframes. It means the thinking is pressure-tested before a pixel gets placed.
I've worked as the first designer on engineering-led teams, as a consultant parachuted into complex client environments, and as a design lead shaping product strategy. The common thread is turning messy, complex domains into experiences that feel obvious in hindsight.
I regularly attend and speak at design conferences and events. My work at Xeneta was nominated at Future Product Days 2025 and won the Ship Technology Excellence Award. I've attended GOV.UK Design System Day, London Tech Week, and run internal AI workshops to help teams explore how design and AI intersect.
Long runs, strong coffee, and a cat who thinks she's helping. I'm always tinkering with side projects and experimenting with what good design looks like when AI is part of the interface.
Leading design on Xeneta's most strategic initiatives, turning 700 million crowdsourced freight rates across 170,000 trade lanes into clear, actionable insight for logistics giants like Walmart, Amazon, Coca-Cola, and Maersk.
Ship Technology Innovation Award 2025Led design on key accounts in public sector and hospitality, including redesigning Greene King's end-to-end booking journey across 3,600+ pubs. Developed user-centred solutions that streamlined operations and boosted engagement.
First designer on the team within Amazon's Global Transportation Technology org. Helped establish GTTX, the experience design function, and shipped Umbrella, a weather monitoring and logistics automation tool that saved over $250M in its first year.
Design consultant at IBM's worldwide business design consultancy. Shipped the official Liverpool FC app (2M+ downloads, 4.5-star rating) and led UI design on the UAL Graduate Showcase for 7,000 students across six colleges.