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Laurel Beyers
Consultant at Curionaut
Posted on 12 Mar, 2026
What tools do you use to help you design?
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How did you get started in your role?
Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved art, craft, drawing and making things. While I found creative ventures fun, I only ever pictured myself doing a regular ‘stable’ office job at a big company, because that’s what adults do right?
At the end of high school I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do, or even what was out there, so I just followed a few of my friends into computer science at UNSW.
University was tough, but it gave me the opportunity to score an IT internship at a big company. I jumped around different areas of the IT department, until I landed in the website design team. I loved the combination of digital art and programming and I was instantly hooked.
From that point on, I started building and experimenting with all sorts of different websites. They weren’t great at first, but I used every project to land more clients, build my portfolio and gain further experience.
What apps do you use to help you design?
How do you incorporate the apps in your design process?
Design apps change over time, so I try not to become too reliant on any one in particular. When I started out in design, product designers were using Photoshop. Then Sketch came out which made life a lot easier. Now Figma is the go-to app for most, although AI tools are changing things pretty quickly.
The one thing that remains constant are the fundamental principles of design, which are unfortunately being forgotten over time. That's one of the main reasons I wrote my UI design book, Practical UI, to document my logic-driven approach to design.
What books do you recommend?
What advice would you give to your younger self trying to get into the field of design?
Done is better than perfect. If you’re like me, you’re probably a stickler for detail. This can however eat up valuable time and money, so I’ve learned that it’s usually better to get a product out there as soon as you can, learn from it and improve it over time. This isn’t an excuse to create crap, but more of a reminder that perfectionism can actually get in the way of designing a great product.
As a designer how do you stay inspired?
In any profession, it’s easy to stagnate and get comfortable. It’s important for me to read and absorb as much as I can to stay passionate about my craft and to continue to challenge myself and those around me. I follow lots of great designers on social media and try to set aside some time each morning to read and learn something new.
