Thomas McAuley
UI/UX Designer & Visual Strategist
UI/UX Design
Portfolio
UI/UX design is unique among design disciplines because it bridges functionality and aesthetics, demanding a seamless blend of user empathy, technical precision, and visual storytelling. What sets my approach apart is how my diverse experience across branding, graphic design, app design, storytelling, and more informs my decisions. It’s a broad perspective that allows me to craft interfaces that are visually engaging, deeply intuitive, and both purpose- and data-driven.
On this page, you’ll find a curated selection of projects showcasing my commitment to user-centered design, accessibility, and creating seamless digital experiences.
About Design Thinking
Empathize • Define • Ideate • Prototype • Test
Every project and design phase showcased on this site is grounded in human-centered design, design thinking, and user experience best practices. My approach integrates user research, iterative prototyping, usability testing, accessibility standards (WCAG), and data-driven decision-making to create intuitive, user-friendly experiences. I apply interaction design, information architecture, journey mapping, heuristic analysis, and A/B testing to refine workflows and optimize engagement across web, mobile, and SaaS applications.
For a reasonably complete example how I put this into action, view my Waltr app case study and others on this site.
Primary skills I bring to UI/UX design
- User Research & Empathy
- Information Architecture
- Wireframing & Prototyping
- Visual Design
- Interaction Design
- Usability Testing
- Responsive Design
- Accessibility
- Collaboration & Communication
- Attention to Detail
For a full list see Related Skills below.
More to see
- Read my article, Yoga Notes: Transforming Simplicity into a Seamless App Experience.
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View my App Design page where you’ll find more UI/UX examples.
About secure and semi-secure projects
Working on secure projects is a prestigious opportunity to serve my country, but strict confidentiality constraints limit the details I can share in this UX/UI design portfolio. In the case of NGA below, I have obscured placeholder information out of an abundance of caution, respecting the agency’s operational and security standards.
THE PRODUCT VISION
The vision for the NGA Internal Management System is multifaceted. It centers on the creation of a comprehensive, user-centric, and secure platform. The challenge lay in creating a marriage of NGA’s graphical standards with Google Material design, a mid-stream workaround due to where other development teams had arrived prior to proper UX/UI guidance. Now work proceeds with clearly-established visual standards, an accessible toolset, and easy-to-understand documentation.
THE ORIGIN
This NGA project is an ongoing endeavor, involving multiple specialized teams distributed across the nation joining together to construct a sophisticated management system tailored to the specific needs of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). NGA added our team weeks after other teams had started, so I needed to adapt quickly, adjust my designs to merge with existing ones, and coordinate with other NGA departments to align UI that other teams failed to do.
THE PROCESS
Empathize: In the absence of direct user interviews, I dove deeply into NGA’s provided documentation, and I have taken meticulous note during all meetings and presentations to aid in empathizing with the NGA’s unique requirements.
Define: Revisiting past work on management systems provided valuable insights into the project’s scope. Understanding the legacy systems and recognizing opportunities for modernization proved invaluable.
Ideate: Though comprehensive collaboration with our team’s programmers and the client’s project managers, I sketched and refined initial interfaces, resulting in approved designs and the above-mentioned combined design system.
Prototype: I prototyped functionalities, from page expansions to data entry wizards, and behavior nuances that wouldn’t be immediately apparent in the static mockups. Leveraging Figma’s recently-enhanced functionality enabled me to illustrate in more detail the different aspects of the design.
Handoff/DX: Maintaining meticulous documentation and preserving confidentiality are paramount in a secure project like the NGA Internal Management System. This includes well-organized and annotated design documents that are regularly shared with programmers. Continuous availability for clarifications and adjustments ensures a smooth development process.
Test: Iterative feedback loops of usability testing continue at every step of the process to ensure user-centricity and alignment with NGA’s evolving needs
THE OUTCOME
Continued collaborationa and positive progress continues daily toward achieving all of the client’s established goals and requirements. Significant milestones have already been achieved, and the client has repeatedly expressed their gratitude and satisfaction with the design and development, but also the outside-the-box suggestions I’ve made regarding pain points and opportunities that come to my attention during the ideation and prototype stages (below).
LESSONS LEARNED
This project further emphasizes the importance of staying current with rapidly evolving prototyping tools, such as Figma, is crucial for efficient design and collaboration. The formal and comprehensive addition of strict UX/UI into our team has led to its adoption by other teams, which has improved the overall quality of the project.
THE PRODUCT VISION
The vision for the USAF Interface Modernization was clear: transform an outdated interface into a modern, user-friendly system while retaining essential symbology and familiarity for previous generations of users. The goal was to leverage advancements in screen resolutions, computing power, and programming complexity to create an intuitive, clean, yet contextually relevant interface.
THE ORIGIN
This USAF project emerged from the need to update a widely-used but outdated interface utilized by the United States Air Force. The client approached Webhead, a longtime partner company, to revamp the interface concurrently with ongoing code forensics and reconstruction. Due to the sensitive and secure nature of the project, limited interviews with retired Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) provided a mid-level understanding of the system. This was a six-month project with the potential for continuation, although the client chose not to proceed at that time.
THE PRODUCT VISION
The vision for the USAF Interface Modernization was clear: transform an outdated interface into a modern, user-friendly system while retaining essential symbology and familiarity for previous generations of users. The goal was to leverage advancements in screen resolutions, computing power, and programming complexity to create an intuitive, clean, yet contextually relevant interface.
THE OUTCOME
The project team excelled in achieving its objectives to the client’s strong satisfaction. An exhaustive 20+-page document was created, detailing every instance and opportunity for improvement in the existing interface from a user-centric perspective. The modernized user interface successfully bridged the gap between tradition and innovation.
THE PROCESS
Define: Extensive research included studying numerous similar interfaces from various sources. This phase was crucial in identifying opportunities for improvement and defining the project scope.
Ideate: Wireframing the original interface advanced understanding and ideation. It allowed for the visualization of potential improvements and a fresh perspective on the system.
Prototype: An exhaustive glossary and set of diagrams were produced based on the provided interface documentation. These prototypes served as essential guides throughout the project.
Handoff/DX: In this secure/cleared project, meticulous documentation and adherence to confidentiality were critical. The project was completed to the client’s satisfaction, although the continuation was optional and not pursued.
Test: User-centricity was a key focus, and the modernized interface was subjected to rigorous usability testing. Feedback loops helped refine the design to meet user needs effectively.
LESSONS LEARNED
The USAF Interface Modernization project offered valuable insights into handling secure and cleared projects. It also provided lessons in approaching large projects from a forensic standpoint. In particular, the project taught the importance of balancing tradition with innovation in user interface design.
Website UI/UX
Aesthetics are a given, but website design is primarily understanding a client’s vision, target demos, needs, and goals.
The process involves creating detailed user personas and crafting experiences by designing every aspect with a human-centered, data-driven purpose to create an intuitive, accessible, and enjoyable site for all users.
Designing responsively and responsibly go hand in hand in creating digital experiences that are both inclusive and effective.
Responsive design ensures that interfaces adapt seamlessly across devices and screen sizes, providing an optimal user experience whether on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone. This approach not only enhances usability but also meets the expectations of today’s multi-device users.
Responsible design means adhering to WCAG guidelines, ensuring accessibility for individuals with disabilities. By prioritizing features such as proper color contrast, keyboard navigation, and screen reader compatibility, responsible design promotes inclusivity and broadens the reach of digital products to diverse audiences.
Together, these principles form the foundation for modern, user-centered design that respects and empowers all users.
Video Game UI/UX and DX
Video Game UI design is more than visual—it’s about custom-crafting every graphic and interactive element to support seamless gameplay and intuitive navigation.
From menus to HUDs, inventory screens, and notifications, I ensure that every component is carefully considered to communicate essential information without disrupting immersion.
I create video game interfaces that feel natural for players, enhancing engagement and accessibility, while streamlining workflows for developers, and making implementation and iteration as smooth as possible.
It comes down to balancing aesthetics with functionality, the best possible player experience (UX) that also supports efficient and effective development (DX).
Core UI/UX Design
User-Centered Design
Interaction Design
Visual Design
Information Architecture
Wireframing
Prototyping
User Journey Mapping
User Persona Development
Usability Testing
Task Flow Analysis
Heuristic Evaluation
A/B Testing
Responsive Design
Accessible Design
User Research
Data-Driven Design
Mobile-First Design
Cross-Platform UI Design
Behavioral Psychology in Design
Error State and Edge Case Design
Visual Design & Branding
Typography
Color Theory
Iconography
Custom Graphic Creation
Design System Creation
Style Guide Development
UI Animation
Microinteraction Design
UI Consistency Enforcement
Mood Board Creation
Design for Scalability
Design for Localization
Technical Skills
Figma
Adobe XD
Sketch
InVision
Zeplin
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Animate
MidJourney (AI-Assisted Visual Design)
ChatGPT (AI-Assisted Ideation and Copywriting)
HTML & CSS Awareness for Design Handoff
Design Handoff for Developers
Design Tool Proficiency for Collaboration
User Research Skills
User Interviews
Focus Groups
Surveys and Questionnaires
Heatmaps
Contextual Inquiry
Journey Mapping
Card Sorting
Competitor Analysis
Empathy Mapping
Behavioral Analytics
UI/UX Deliverables
Wireframes (Low, Mid, and High Fidelity)
Interactive Prototypes
Clickable Mockups
User Flows
Site Maps
Style Guides
Design Systems
Accessibility Checklists
Annotated Designs
UX Testing & Feedback
Usability Testing
User Feedback Collection
Iterative Testing
Eyetracking
Accessibility Testing
Remote User Testing
Field Testing
Scenario Testing
Cross-Platform & Industry-Specific Skills
Web UI Design
Mobile App UI Design
Desktop Software UI Design
Enterprise Application UI Design
E-Commerce UX Design
Dashboard and Data Visualization
SaaS UI/UX Design
Gaming UI Design
Healthcare UX Design
Education UX Design
Entertainment UX/UI
Government and Enterprise UX Design
Accessibility & Compliance
AI-Integrated App Design
Augmented Reality (AR) Interfaces
Virtual Reality (VR) Interfaces
Voice UI Design
Chatbot and Conversational Design
Emerging Tech
AI-Assisted UI/UX Design
Voice UI Design
AR/VR UI/UX Design
Conversational Design (Chatbots)
Gesture-Based Interfaces
Gamified Interfaces
Touch-Free Interactions
Collaboration & Project Management
Agile Methodologies
Scrum Collaboration
JIRA
Monday.com
Cross-Functional Team Collaboration
Stakeholder Presentation
Client Needs Assessment
Feedback Implementation
Requirement Gathering
Soft Skills & Problem Solving
Creative Problem Solving
Critical Thinking
Attention to Detail
Empathy in Design
Time Management
Adaptability
Collaboration Across Teams
Conflict Resolution
Clear Communication
Marketing & Business-Focused Design
Landing Page Design
Conversion Rate Optimization
Call-to-Action (CTA) Design
Retargeting Strategies
Customer Retention UX
Customer Journey Mapping