About - South Africa (GMT+2) - working globally
AlcottDube
Senior product designer and UX consultant. Design and production code, end to end.
Bio
I'm Alcott Dube - a Senior Product Designer and UX Consultant building digital products at the intersection of business strategy, human-centered design, and technical execution. I help startups and product teams move from scattered design decisions into cohesive, scalable product ecosystems that actually solve problems.
I like being in the middle of the messy stuff - product thinking, UX architecture, systems design, workflows, edge cases, conversion bottlenecks, developer handoff conversations, and the occasional “this entire flow needs to be rethought” moment. I zoom out to think about market positioning, onboarding friction, retention, and operational scalability - then zoom straight back in to obsess over interaction details and spacing systems.
Over the years I've collaborated with teams across Los Angeles, the UK, Denmark, Thailand, Italy, and Latin America. Working across cultures taught me that good UX is rarely about trends - it's about clarity, behavior, trust, and understanding how different people think, navigate, and make decisions.
I specialize in building 0-to-1 products, redesigning legacy platforms, and creating scalable UX systems for startups growing faster than their infrastructure. One recent PWA rebuild reduced user friction by more than 70% - mostly by removing complexity and resisting the universal startup temptation to put seventeen features on one screen.
Because of my technical background, I work unusually well with engineering teams. I understand how systems are structured, how products scale, and what makes developers silently question a designer's life choices. Clients bring me in when the product matters and the expectation is simple: think strategically, execute properly, and make the product measurably better.
Principles
- 01
Evidence-based design
Decisions backed by research, behaviour, and measurable outcomes - not aesthetics alone.
- 02
Systems before screens
Tokens, components, and patterns first. A coherent product is a coherent system.
- 03
Frictionless workflows
Remove steps, not features. The fastest path to value is the one the user never notices.
- 04
Build to ship
Designs that respect engineering - practical to build, maintain, and evolve over time.
Experience
2018 - Present
Senior Product Design & Automation Consultant
Independent · Remote · Global
Consulting for high-growth startups and enterprises across EdTech, PropTech, FinTech, and B2B SaaS. End-to-end UX strategy, design systems, and automation workflows that reduce manual overhead and increase conversion.
- →Architected a modular design system for Graduin's EdTech PWA - 70% reduction in application friction
- →Transformed raw geospatial data into investor-ready 3D marketing assets for AmTrust Realty (Manhattan)
- →Designed a secure, zero-latency real-time bidding portal for GIMS x Horizon
- →n8n automation workflows that remove manual overhead across client operations
2022
UI/UX Designer (Consultant)
Falcorp Technologies · Johannesburg
Embedded as a contract product designer across financial services and technology clients including Momentum Metropolitan and Grant Thornton. Delivered rapid UX sprints for fintech dashboards and internal tooling.
- →Led design of Momentum Metropolitan Africa's internal investment & insurance management portal
- →Coordinated a cross-functional team of 8 designers and developers
- →Built the Grant Thornton SA financial administration portal - complex data, strict security
2017 - 2021
Full Stack Designer & Developer
Alcott WebSpace · South Africa
Founded and led a boutique digital studio producing web design, branding, and front-end development for SME clients. Built a reputation for high-craft digital work and expanded into UX consulting as client complexity grew.
- →End-to-end ownership across branding, UI, and front-end build
- →Foundation in shipping functional, visually refined digital experiences
- →Transition point into product design and systems thinking
2016
Junior Web UI Designer
Tea and Coffee Studio · South Africa
Supported the design team across web planning, interface mockups, and production documentation under senior mentorship. Hands-on experience in visual design, layout systems, and early-stage digital product workflows.
- →Project management and design documentation
- →UI mockups in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe XD
- →Early exposure to structured product workflows
Toolkit
Practice
- Product strategy
- UX architecture
- Design systems
- 0-to-1 product execution
- SaaS architecture
- Conversion optimisation
- UX auditing
- WCAG accessibility
Craft
- Figma
- Adobe XD
- Adobe Dimension
- Framer
- Hotjar
- Maze
- UserTesting
- Miro
Code
- HTML & CSS
- JavaScript
- n8n automation
- Zapier / Make.com
- GA4 / Mixpanel / Amplitude
- Linear · Notion · Jira