Inside The Delta: Meet Alvin Finnemore — Our Head of UI Design
At the Delta, we know that people ignore design that ignores people. This is why we ensure that ours is simple but significant. Heading up the UI team is seasoned designer, Alvin Finnemore, where he oversees the making of adaptable design systems that create engaging and consistent user-friendly experiences. By combining design sprints with user research, we are able to produce two to five original venture or product concepts in a week, complete with mockups, using our unique design-thinking methodology.
According to Alvin, the core function of the UI team at The Delta is to convert ideas into tangible solutions and products that people want to use. They work closely with product managers and owners, UX team members, developers, marketing and clients in order to solve problems for consumers.
In case you’re not clear yet on what a UI designer does, in a nutshell, they specialise in the design of all brand collateral, not just user-interface design but everything from branding to visuals for marketing material, and to make sure that our brand and those of our clients reaffirm the same credibility as their products. If a brand was a person, he’d be the stylist, makeup artist, lighting specialist and wardrobe expert — everything you need to make the visuals pop. After having tried everything from print, packaging, branding, marketing and 3D (and being nominated for four prestigious Loerie Awards) he found his calling in UI/UX and product design, where he gets to make sense of things and create impactful experiences.
The biggest thing that Alvin has learnt from working closely with corporates is that innovation is born out of passion. Corporates have big visions and big ideas which can vary vastly in scope and complexity, but it’s up to him and his team to find ways to bring them to life. And this doesn’t always come without its fair share of hurdles. He claims that one of the biggest challenges faced in UI is to quantify the value of design and the impact it has on users and products. There are many studies out there that stipulate the benefits and yet it’s still difficult to convince clients, and sometimes even internal stakeholders, to allow us to spend the time (and, of course, money) to increase the quality of our design work. This doesn’t, however, stand in the way of his team outdoing themselves time and time again when it comes to creating memorable and meaningful brands and products.
The Delta is dedicated to creating products that solve the true needs of customers, and Alvin feels that it is up to us to raise the bar of what is possible in UI design. It’s about much more than just creating appealing artwork using nice colours and fancy fonts. It’s about working together to create experiences for users that make them want to come back for more. It builds trust, creates brand equity, and most importantly, makes people want to use our clients’ services and buy their products before considering a competitor, helping them to gain and retain customers and meeting their corporate-venturing goals.
