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James Shih-Gillen 🤟

@james_gillen

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🚀 Digital designer | UX + UI
🔮 Crafting experiences, one click at a time
⚡ DM for projects and collabs

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One final look at the 10 Years of Freelancing project. 💫

A quick visual wrap-up of the details that brought this milestone together—3D forms, custom typography, an experimental web gallery, and a limited run of physical keepsake cards sent out to a select few clients who’ve been part of the journey.

Swipe through for a peek behind the design.

🔗 Live site link in bio.

Can you find my cat hiding in the gallery?

Order is restored

#GraphicDesign #3DDesign #Typography #WebDesign #PrintDesign PackagingDesign DesignInspiration UIUX VisualIdentity FreelanceLife by @james_gillen

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Every year I design a graphic to mark another year of freelancing.

Ten years felt like it deserved more than one graphic, so I took a single style and pushed it across three animations.

Alongside it, I designed a small print run of matte-laminated, clear foil mailers and sent them out to a handful of people who've shaped the last decade 🔥

To house it all, I built a small site using Google Antigravity and Gemini to rapidly prototype and explore interactions—a workflow I'm really leaning into lately.

GSAP Flip for the morphing layouts, Lenis for a weighted scroll, and a cursor that reacts dynamically to the UI.

None of it is super complex on its own, but the way these details come together makes it feel special.

I even left a few easter eggs in there, bonus points if you find my cat 🐅

Huge thanks to everyone I've collaborated with over the past ten years.

🔗 Link in my bio

#agenticdev #celebration #freelance #typography #editorialdesign by @james_gillen

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Just like that... Ten years freelancing, a decade!

I'm officially 𝚘̶𝚕̶𝚍̶ experienced now...

Three cities, four laptops, countless projects, married, house, baby, same cat. 🐅

Deepest thanks to all the incredible clients and agencies that I've worked with.

I count myself very lucky to have a job working with such a varied client base, from solving deep UX problems and building systems, to pushing creative boundaries and everything in between. It's a wild ride.

I’m immensely grateful to the brilliant teams and individuals I’ve worked with over the years. Thank you.

To everyone else who has liked, followed, recommended, or reposted along the way, you're awesome. 🔥

#milestone
#typography
#neobrutalism
#editorialdesign
#motion by @james_gillen

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𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸. 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗺𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗲. 🚀

Every new Figma file starts the same way. Variables. Page structure. Base frames. Annotation components. Cover slide.

Twenty minutes of setup before a single design decision gets made. If you're a product designer, you'll know exactly what I mean.

𝗦𝗼 𝗜 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝗴𝗶𝗻. Meet Starter, one click, and your entire foundation is ready.

→ Core variables: Typography, grids, spacing, and colours
→ Page structure: A clean, organised file hierarchy
→ Base frames: Pre-configured frames hooked up to your grids
→ Helper components: Sticky notes and status labels for quicker documentation
→ Base cover: A customisable project thumbnail

Find it on the @figma community 👌 by @james_gillen

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4 months ago

Here are some screens from Starter, my new @figma plugin.

I wanted the tool to feel incredibly premium, with fluid state changes and a clean dark mode aesthetic. Behind the sleek UI, it’s doing the heavy lifting: automating your Figma variables, file structures, and base components in a single click.

Grab it for free on the Figma Community.

#InteractionDesign #UI #FigmaCommunity #ProductDesign #designsystems by @james_gillen

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5 months ago

A look at the UI for my new @figma plugin, Starter. I wanted to build a tool that completely automates the tedious boilerplate setup of new design files, so you can bypass the manual work and get straight to the craft.

In one click, it generates your core variables, page structure, base frames, and helper components.

Available for free on the Figma Community. Search for Starter 🔎

#figmaplugin
#figma
#designsystems
#uidesign by @james_gillen

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Excited to share the mobile app interface designed for Polkadot in collaboration with @wreelagency

We focused on creating a bold, intuitive experience utilising the brands electric accents to highlight key features like identity verification and earning dashboards.

The dark sections make the financial data pop, keeping the interface both stylish and highly functional. Truly bespoke.

#UIDesign #AppDesign #Web3Design #FintechUI #MobileApp by @james_gillen

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The step-by-step configurator 🚀

The final in the Modoplay series with a look at the core of the user experience: the builder. The Ul uses a linear, step-by-step flow to guide users through the hardware customisation process. By integrating high-fidelity 3D visuals directly into the interface, the user gets real-time feedback as they swap components, moving from faceplates, joysticks, d-pad to specific mechanical buttons and so on.

All visuals were created with Nano Banana. 🍌
Graphics created with craft.🎨

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#handheldgaming #techwear #industrialdesign #3DUI less by @james_gillen

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Modoplay, a modular gaming experience 🎮

Diving into the world of industrial-led UI with Modoplay. This project is a fictional exploration into the intersection of customisable hardware and a stripped-back, tactile interface.

The goal was to create a design system that feels as rugged modular, and technical as the device itself. Swipe to see the initial layout and hardware integration.

All visuals were created with Nano Banana. Graphics created with craft.

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#ui #ux #interfacedesign #handheldgaming #brutalistdesign

@usemuzli @ui.mob @theuinspo by @james_gillen

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