About · Sydney

A lead product designer, with depth.

I'm Michael, a lead UX/UI designer in Sydney working end-to-end across product and design systems. I trained in industrial design, but the work I ship is digital.

Portrait of Michael Papanikolaou.

I lead UX/UI work end-to-end, from research through to dev hand-off, on products that ship at scale. Hello Molly, Bed Threads, BWS, Lessy. Recent outcomes include sign-ups up 25%, support tickets down 20%, and average order value lifted by $128.

Before digital, I trained as an industrial designer and exhibited furniture at Milan Design Week at 23. That's where my eye sharpened, and it's why I care about every aspect of the work I produce. It's an extension of myself and my personality. Outside of work, you'll find me walking the coast with my King Charles cavalier Carmelo, hiking, painting non-objective abstracts, and salsa dancing.

The journey

Industrial design first, digital second. The bridge happened in 2017, when I started taking UX seriously. The same considered approach I'd been applying to a stool's silhouette, now applied to a checkout flow.

2025 — Now

Senior Product Designer · Live Payments

Leading product design across web, merchant platforms, and POS hardware.

2024 — 26

Senior Product Designer · Taper / Insitchu

Redesigned the core Made-to-Measure platform — orders and garment visualiser.

2024

Lead Product Designer · Hello Molly

Led the accounts and returns redesign for a global fashion brand across AU, US, and UK.

2023

Lead Product Designer · Lessy

Designed the sign-up flow, LLM-powered dashboard, and design system alongside the founder.

2025

Lead Product Designer · Endeavour X · BWS · Dan Murphy's

Redesigned the order-tracking experience across native, web, and messaging.

2021 — 22

Lead Product Designer · Bed Threads

Shaped the eCommerce experience across AU, US, and UK — product page, BYOB, design system, homepage.

2021

Lead Product Designer · Skechers · Accent Group

Mobile-first PDP redesign for a key Accent Group client; iconography and responsive scale-up.

2020

Product Designer · Jimmy Brings

Native-app order experience for a premium delivery brand: research, personas, and final design.

2018

Product Designer · RØDE Microphones

Designed the RØDECaster Pro Shows feature for multi-host podcast studios.

2017

Lead Product Designer · Zest · Inner Art Inner Soul · Stomble

Three early-stage product teams across hospitality, CMS, and B2B video.

2018 — 20

Bespoke Furniture Designer · Freelance

Exhibited furniture at Din Design Milan and on the Vivid finalist circuit.

What I believe

Four principles, applied to every project:

Lateral thinking

The obvious answer is rarely the best one. I look sideways before I look straight.

Pixel-perfect

If something's misaligned or the brand colour is wrong, I'll spot it. And then I'll fix it.

Creative flair

Beautiful is necessary. Different is what makes you remembered.

Outcomes that count

Sign-ups up, support tickets down, AOV up. The work should lift a number.

Got something in mind?

I'm open to senior product roles, considered briefs, and the occasional commission. If your problem is interesting and the people are kind, I'd love to hear about it.

Get in touch