Skip to content
Chris Dunn · Experienced Product Designer

Hey, I'm Chris. I lead design teams that make complex products feel simple.

With 23 years of experience, I'm currently focused on building agentic Design Systems by turning static libraries into smart, AI-driven tools. I help teams build faster, and focus their creativity on solving real user needs.

Chris Dunn

Who I've worked with

Over my career, I've tackled complex problems across a variety of industries, from construction software and industrial IoT to connected venues, public transport, and guest WiFi.

Selected work

01Design systems · Purple

Purple Design: Building an agentic design system

Using our design MCP, prototypes that once took months now take hours.

Read the case study →
The Purple Design documentation site, open on the foundations index
02Product · Purple

Purple Starter: Enabling self-serve customers

A free, self-serve guest WiFi management platform for small and medium businesses.

Case study in progress
The Purple Starter dashboard for a venue, showing guest WiFi status
03Mobile app

ConneX: Promoting seamless WiFi

The app gets you online automatically at 350,000+ venues. No passwords, no friction.

Case study in progress
The ConneX app on a phone, showing the venue map and the tab bar

Recommendations

1 of 4
Stephen HamilInnovation Director at Hubexo

I worked with Chris at NBS for over ten years. As part of this time I was his line-manager and also, on a number of occassions, the director on projects where Chris was the design lead.

His work was always first class - from his understanding of the problem and the brief, through to wireframe, concept and then detailed designs. It was also admirable how Chris picked up a good level of knowledge around front-end coding (scripting/stylesheets) for web application design.

Pete JobesLead Interaction Designer at Kin + Carta

Chris is a first rate designer with a strong focus on user needs, he has a great eye for detail and will really dig deep into a task to find the best solution. During my time at NBS, Chris showed strength across a wide variety of skill sets both in analysis of needs and problems and in production of wireframes, visuals and working prototypes. His work ethic is fantastic and he's a real asset to any project.

Kate WilsonProject Manager at Epic Games

I've worked with Chris on a number of projects since joining NBS in 2013. These projects have varied through the years but one thing which remains consistent is Chris's passion to deliver the best user experience.

Chris is always proposing new ideas to often challenging situations when in projects; both in his own remit and for others, he never fails to deliver high quality work and will strive for others to achieve this also. Chris provides honest, constructive feedback to his peers as he understands the value this brings to the business and its products.

The knowledge Chris brings to NBS is invaluable and is an asset to not only project teams but the business.

Andrew HayesSenior Front-End Developer at Hubexo

Chris performs at an extremely high level in the NBS Team. He is always looking to improve his skills and push the boundaries with his designs and ideas. He is very capable of coming out of his comfort zone to learn new skills even when he has no similar past experience.

As well as having his own heavy workload, he is always willing to take the time and effort to help others. He has personally played a huge role in helping me become comfortable with my own role in NBS as well as improving my own design skills. This is one of Chris's biggest strengths, helping others and having the ability to teach and explain effectively.

Career

Twenty-three years in design, from Design Assistant to leadership roles.

Leadership roles, 8 yrsHands-on design, 15 yrs
  1. 2024 to now2 yrs · leading

    VP Design, Purple

    Set the design direction across the products, and run the team that builds them.

  2. 2021 to 20243 yrs · leading

    Lead UX/UI Designer, Purple

    Product and interface design for the venue platform, across web and hardware.

  3. 2018 to 20213 yrs · leading

    Lead UX/UI Designer, ADLINK Technology

    Cloud and IoT tooling for international product teams. Built ADLINK's first design system.

  4. 2013 to 20185 yrs

    Senior Interface Designer, NBS

    UX, UI and front-end across the flagship products, including NBS Chorus. Built the first component library and the processes around it.

  5. 2007 to 20136 yrs

    Interface Designer, NBS

    Lead designer on RIBA Product Selector, and on the NBS BIM Toolkit, which won a £1m development contract and Most Innovative BIM Solution in 2015.

  6. 2003 to 20074 yrs

    Software Design Assistant, NBS

    First design job. NBS Building, Scheduler and Landscape, and the Construction Information Service with IHS.

Full CV