Design With Impact

Design is where creativity meets clarity.
I lead teams at Arctic Leaf, turning ideas into brands and products that connect. Explore the work and the stories behind it through videos and walkthroughs.

Projects

A digital wireframe illustration of an igloo with a geometric flag on top, glowing in cool blue tones against a starry background. The text ‘Arctic Base Design System’ appears below the graphic.

Arctic Base Design System

Arctic Base is a multi year design system project that transformed how our team builds scalable, research driven e commerce experiences.

Arctic Leaf Agency Rebrand

This rebrand brings Arctic Leaf’s evolving team, capabilities, and personality into sharp focus.

A laptop and phone showing the Zen variation of the Bamboo Bigcommerce theme

Bamboo Theme for BigCommerce

Bamboo began as a way to make our e commerce expertise more accessible, and grew into a fully branded, research driven BigCommerce theme now used by merchants across a wide range of industries.

Clint Pharmaceuticals Brand Refresh

Clint Pharmaceuticals needed a brand and e-commerce update that honored their legacy, and I led the creative direction to bring a modern yet timeless identity to life.

About Natalie

I’m a curious and driven creative, fascinated by how design can create lasting impact; whether it’s the invisible elegance of a frictionless checkout or the unforgettable presence of a brand that truly resonates. As Creative Director at Arctic Leaf, I get to live that passion every day, guiding strategy, shaping experiences, and mentoring a team of world-class creatives.

Outside the studio, I’ve traded my native England for the forests of Canada, where I built a sauna in a treehouse on my property last year. I volunteer as a community first responder to bridge the gap while emergency services reach our remote area, and I’m working to expand the program to empower other rural Canadian communities. When I’m not designing or responding to calls, you’ll find me hiking or canoeing with my two huskies by my side.

Articles

My articles are a mix of insights, experiments, and reflections on life in the creative industry. You’ll find thoughts on leadership and mentorship, behind-the-scenes looks at agency life, explorations of branding and UX/UI, hands-on design tutorials, and my ongoing journey with AI tools. If it shapes the way we work, design, or lead, you’ll probably see it here.

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Arctic Base: A Six-Year Journey to a Better E Commerce Design System

Arctic Base began as a way to stop rebuilding the same elements for every e-commerce project. It grew into a full design system that unifies research, documentation, templates, and developer collaboration. Over five years it transformed how our team designs, builds, and scales custom storefronts, giving us a reliable foundation for better, faster work.

Dragging Real Answers Out of Clients Before You Design a Bloody Thing

How to cut through vague nonsense, pin clients down, and stop rebrands turning beige.

A pink cocktail with 90% drink and 10% foam on top

Stop Collecting Buzzwords. Start Building Skills.

We’ve never had more access to knowledge, and yet many of us are stuck in what I call the cocktail party trap: knowing just enough to drop a buzzword in conversation, but not enough to apply it under real-world pressure. The solution isn’t to learn more things faster, it’s to learn fewer things deeper. In my world, that looks like the 10/90 rule: 10% training as the spark, 90% application in the work you’re already doing. No extra “learning projects,” just a habit of spottin