Work

About

Irfan Simons

Product Designer

I'm a London based product designer with 12 years of experience, working end to end from messy problem spaces through to shipped products. I care deeply about craft and bring the same attention to research as I do to execution. I build with AI, not just design alongside it. Good design still takes curiosity, care, and attention to get right.

I'm a product designer with 12 years of experience, working end to end from messy problem spaces through to shipped products. I care deeply about craft and bring the same attention to research as I do to execution. I
build with AI, not just design alongside it. Good
design still takes curiosity, care, and attention
to get right.

irfan@irfansimons.com

Nearmap

MapBrowser

Nearmap is a property intelligence company whose platform uses machine learning to identify and classify objects from high resolution aerial imagery. They hired me as their third designer in 2020 and during my time there we grew the team to eight.

I predominantly led the design of MapBrowser, the company’s core product, a web app for accessing high-resolution aerial imagery and AI derived property data. I drove continuous improvements and led a range of projects. During this time, monthly active users grew from 40K to over 110K.

Alongside the core product work, I also designed and launched several zero-to-one products inside Nearmap, taking early concepts from rough ideas through to shipped products used by customers.

During my time at Nearmap, the company was acquired by Thoma Bravo for AUD $1.05 billion in 2023.

I predominantly led the design of MapBrowser, the company’s core product, a web app for accessing high-resolution aerial imagery and AI derived property data. I drove continuous improvements and led a range of projects. During this time, monthly active users grew from 40K to over 110K.

Alongside the core product work, I also designed and launched several zero-to-one products inside Nearmap, taking early concepts from rough ideas through to shipped products used by customers.

During my time at Nearmap, the company was acquired by Thoma Bravo for AUD $1.05 billion in 2023.

Core product of Nearmap, MapBrowser
Redesigned layers panel for better alignment and easier scanning
AI-derived property insights
Refined components with the aim of saving space
Mini-MapBrowser, designed to integrate directly into partner platforms
Redesign of MapBrowser focusing on optimising the viewable map area
Updated UI components

Iterative redesign of MapBrowser

Years of design debt from legacy versions of MapBrowser had been overlooked, leading to compounded inefficiencies.

Alongside larger initiatives, I tackled these pain points through iterative improvements. Over time, these small changes made a big impact, transforming MapBrowser into a solid, user-friendly product.

By refining components and minimising UI clutter, we increased the viewable map area by an average of 30%, allowing users to focus on content rather than the interface, enhancing clarity and usability.

Nearmap

Project sharing

MapBrowser met individual user needs but fell short on team collaboration, which was a growing demand. I led research and design for one of our most requested features, project sharing and collaboration.

Working closely with the product owner, I built a business case to secure project backing, highlighting its value to customers and its potential to deepen MapBrowser’s adoption, driving user growth.


After launching project sharing and collaboration we grew our individual user base by 15% in the first 3 months.

MapBrowser met individual user needs but fell short on team collaboration, which was a growing demand. I led research and design for one of our most requested features, project sharing and collaboration.

Working closely with the product owner, I built a business case to secure project backing, highlighting its value to customers and its potential to deepen MapBrowser’s adoption, driving user growth.


After launching project sharing and collaboration we grew our individual user base by 15% in the first 3 months.

Updated projects panel for sharing
Updated projects panel for sharing
Selection of research
Early exploration for project sharing

"

I had the privilege of working alongside Irfan at Nearmap, where he was not only a key contributor across several strategic projects, but also my trusted second-in-command.

Irfan is a creative and conscientious designer who approaches problems from first principles. He pairs strong design craft with the leadership presence needed to drive a project forward and align stakeholders around a shared vision. Whether he was leading the redesign of our flagship product or delivering a complex partner integration, Irfan consistently produced work that was thoughtful, user-centred, and impactful.

He’s also a generous mentor and a steady hand in the team, someone who brings clarity, integrity, and a real sense of ownership to everything he does. I’m grateful for his contributions and would jump at the chance to work with him again.

Aaron Root

VP Design, Nearmap

"

I had the privilege of working alongside Irfan at Nearmap, where he was not only a key contributor across several strategic projects, but also my trusted second-in-command.

Irfan is a creative and conscientious designer who approaches problems from first principles. He pairs strong design craft with the leadership presence needed to drive a project forward and align stakeholders around a shared vision. Whether he was leading the redesign of our flagship product or delivering a complex partner integration, Irfan consistently produced work that was thoughtful, user-centred, and impactful.

He’s also a generous mentor and a steady hand in the team, someone who brings clarity, integrity, and a real sense of ownership to everything he does. I’m grateful for his contributions and would jump at the chance to work with him again.

Aaron Root

VP Design, Nearmap

Monte Carlo Simulator

I wanted to understand what it actually feels like to go from idea to shipped product with AI. A real, functional tool.

I used Figma Make to design and build an interactive Monte Carlo simulator from scratch, running thousands of randomised scenarios to model how trading performance varies across the same strategy. I tested a range of tools including v0, Replit, and Loveable before settling on Figma Make as the most fluid and predictable to work with.

What struck me most was the shift in role. Less time making, more time deciding. Evaluating what the AI produced, steering it, and knowing when to push further. That's where the interesting design work happens now.

You can try it for yourself https://mature-taper-78105242.figma.site.

Interactive Monte Carlo simulator built with Figma Make

QBE Insurance

Accident & health broker portal

The Accident & Health Portal is QBE North America’s first online platform for brokers and policyholders to manage policies and make payments. Before this, policyholders posted cheques or paid by bank transfer. Bank transfers were hard to match to specific policies, payments were often incorrect, and the process created extra admin on both sides.

I led the design from discovery to testing. I worked with the product owner, BA, and engineering team to create two connected portals, one for brokers and one for internal admins.

Brokers can adjust policy details, make payments, track invoices, and manage multiple policyholders from one place.

We launched with a focused feature set and expanded it across three releases.

Even with limited onboarding during the first six months, the portal processed a significant volume:

• Payments processed – $2.6M
• Total active accounts – 50
• Zero refunds

These results showed early demand and gave the business confidence to scale onboarding in into 2026.

Accident & health sign-in
Policyholder dashboard
Policy overview showing payment history and quick actions for each billing period
Payment history screen for quick reference and transparency
Invoice view showing full payment breakdown and downloadable summary
Simple cart allowing bulk payment of selected invoices

Copyright Agency

Copyright Agency is a not-for-profit that helps authors, artists, and illustrators in Australia manage licensing and receive royalties.

Their team uses the ‘Works, Rights & Shares’ database to register publications, manage payments, and distribute royalties. The old system was slow, complicated, and didn’t integrate well with other tools.

I led design, working closely with their product owner, to build a new application to streamline processes, add automation, and make it easier for staff to use.

We were able to reduce the processing time of publication registration, the most common task, by an average of 24%. This improvement alone was estimated to make a huge difference to the efforts of the staff and lead to a large reduction in operating costs.

Work view
Work detail
Add account
Tasks
Admin sign-in page

"

I had the great pleasure of working with Irfan on a complete redesign of our Publication and Rights Management System and our Usage Data Processing System.

While I was impressed by his contemporary and creative UI design capabilities, it was his ability to support me by clearly and efficiently translating complex operational functions into a seamless user experience that proved most invaluable.

For this I am grateful, and highly doubt I could have delivered our successful business outcomes without his skill and expertise.

Damien Sims

Product Owner at Copyright Agency

A little about me

A little about me

I'm a product designer currently living in London, my home city, after spending the majority of the past decade in Sydney, Australia.

Over the past 12 years I've worked across finance, insurance, ecommerce, and geospatial, mostly on complex products where the problem space is as important as the solution.

I'm most excited by end to end product work, from framing messy problems to shipping things that feel simple and intuitive. Increasingly that means building with AI, not just designing around it. I use it to prototype faster, think through problems more clearly, and get to something real earlier in the process.

I think the best design gets out of the way. It should feel obvious, not clever. If someone has to stop and figure out how to use it, something's gone wrong.

Product design

End-to-end product design, making complex tasks simple

Website design

Clean, minimal design with a focus on business outcomes

AI prototyping & building

Building with AI as a core part of how I work

Building with AI as a core part of how
I work

Research & Strategy

Utilising research to understand business & user goals

I work end to end, from messy problem spaces to shipped products.

01

Fast and adaptable

I pick up new domains, tools, and team processes quickly. That lets me join projects at any stage and start contributing straight away.

02

Strategic approach

I align business objectives with user needs to create clear, goal-driven project plans. Good design without a clear purpose is just decoration.

03

Ensuring the right thing gets built

I draw on research when it’s needed, from interviews to competitive analysis, to uncover insights, identify key themes, and make sure we’re solving the problems that really matter.

04

I treat building as a design tool

With AI, moving from problem to functional prototype is faster than ever. I use that speed deliberately, to test ideas early and surface flaws that static designs often hide. Sometimes that means Figma, sometimes it means building something real.

05

Validation is essential

Design is only an assumption until tested. I run usability testing, synthesise feedback, and present findings to make sure decisions are grounded in evidence.

I work end to end, from messy problem spaces to shipped products.

01

Fast and adaptable

I pick up new domains, tools, and team processes quickly. That lets me join projects at any stage and start contributing straight away.

02

Strategic approach

I align business objectives with user needs to create clear, goal-driven project plans. Good design without a clear purpose is just decoration.

03

Ensuring the right thing gets built

I draw on research when it’s needed, from interviews to competitive analysis, to uncover insights, identify key themes, and make sure we’re solving the problems that really matter.

04

I treat building as a design tool

With AI, moving from problem to functional prototype is faster than ever. I use that speed deliberately, to test ideas early and surface flaws that static designs often hide. Sometimes that means Figma, sometimes it means building something real.

05

Validation is essential

Design is only an assumption until tested. I run usability testing, synthesise feedback, and present findings to make sure decisions are grounded in evidence.

I work end to end, from messy problem spaces to
shipped products.

01

Fast and adaptable

I pick up new domains, tools, and team processes quickly. That lets me join projects at any stage and start contributing straight away.

02

Strategic approach

I align business objectives with user needs to create clear, goal-driven project plans. Good design without a clear purpose is just decoration.

03

Ensuring the right thing gets built

I draw on research when it’s needed, from interviews to competitive analysis, to uncover insights, identify key themes, and make sure we’re solving the problems that really matter.

04

I treat building as a design tool

With AI, moving from problem to functional prototype is faster than ever. I use that speed deliberately, to test ideas early and surface flaws that static designs often hide. Sometimes that means Figma, sometimes it means building something real.

05

Validation is essential

Design is only an assumption until tested. I run usability testing, synthesise feedback, and present findings to make sure decisions are grounded in evidence.