AB

Amy-Leigh Braaf

Head of UX · Fine Artist

Cape Town, South Africa

Lena Hartwell

Head of UX at an app development company, leading a team of UX designers. I manage the design process on every app we deliver, from personas and user flows to high-fidelity Figma design and prototype, and I review all design work before it reaches leadership. I grow designers into strong thinkers who understand scope, business value and the client, not only screens. Alongside this I'm a practising artist whose work has been funded by the National Arts Council of South Africa and commissioned by the Gates Foundation and Atlas of Uncertainty, exploring South African mixed heritage, migration and human connection.

Experience

2025

 – 

Now

App Developer Studios

Remote

Head of UX

Managing a hybrid design team across mobile and web platformss.

Managing daily reviews, client communications, and design to code delivery standard

Specialises in embedding AI toolchains - including Cursor, Figma AI, Gemini,

2025

 – 

2025

99C

Cape Town

Senior art director

Contributed senior creative direction to campaign work at one of South Africa’s leading advertising agencies.

2025

 – 

2025

Bree DesignLab

Cape Town

Art Director

Led art direction across brand and digital projects, overseeing creative output and team delivery.

2024

 – 

2024

10X Investments

Remote

Senior Graphic Designer

Designed across digital and print touchpoints for a leading South African investment platform, within a regulated fintech environment.

2024

 – 

2024

DigiCert

Remote

Senior Graphic Designer

Delivered senior-level design work for a global cybersecurity brand.

2023

 – 

2023

R17 Ventures AG

Cape Town

Creative Strategist

Developed creative strategy for client campaigns, aligning brand positioning with digital product direction.

2022

 – 

2023

Peach Payments

Remote

Designer

Designed UX and visual assets across a fast-moving fintech payment platform, contributing to product flows and brand consistency.

2020

 – 

2021

OSISA

Remote

Creative Designer

Designed visual identity and editorial illustrations for a COVID-19 awareness campaign

making statistical data emotionally legible across Southern Africa.

Working on assets for a podcast, and magazine, as well as writing a narrative essay.

Skills

Design leadership

Team coaching, UX department planning, review and approval systems, mentoring

Product & delivery

End-to-end product design, product thinking, client delivery and scope management, agile delivery in Jira

Design & tools

Figma, Figma AI, Figma MCP, design systems, Adobe Creative Suite, prototyping

AI & design to code toolchain

Cursor, Gemini, GitHub, Figma-to-code standards, AI-assisted design workflows with a human in the loop, Grok

Creative range

Illustration, fine art, film production, narrative writing, brand identity, editorial

Community practice

Art facilitation, youth mentoring, large-scale collaborative artwork

Education & languages

2014-2016

Bachelor of Arts, Film Production & English Literature

2020

User Experience Design

Red & Yellow Creative School of Business

Exhibitions

2024 - 2026

Johannesburg

2026 · Origin Centre – JHB South Africa · Group Exhibition for Atlas of Uncertainty

2026 · Constitution Hill | Gates Foundation · Group exhibition, Zero Is Greater

2024 · Brutal Gallery – Cape Town, South Africa · Bloom & Bliss Annual Illustration Exhibition

2024 · USURPA Gallery · Group exhibition and panel speaker, Spaces Africa / CR8TORCON

2024 · RMB Latitudes · Crispy Skateboards · Group exhibition

2024 · House Of Vans · Crispy Skateboards · Group exhibition

2024

Cape Town | Franschoek

2024 · Brutal Gallery – Cape Town South Africa · Solo Exhibition

2024 · Seapoint Promenade Mural – Cape Town South Africa · Public Mural

2024 · Wavescape Surfboard Auction – Cape Town South Africa · Group Exhibition for Atlas of Uncertainty

2024 · Aity Gallery – Franschoek · Group Exhibition | Metamorphosis Exhibition

2024 · Brutal Gallery – Cape Town, South Africa · Bloom & Bliss Annual Illustration Exhibition

2023

International

2023 · Studio Kura Exhibition – Fukuoka, Japan · Group exhibition

2023 · Uma Seminyak – Bali, Indonesia · Solo Exhibition

GRANTS + FUNDING

2025 - 2026

2026–2027 · NAC PESP7 Grant · Hakopike Lineage Narrative

2026 · Gates Foundation · Zero is Greater

2025–2026 · Atlas Of Uncertainty · Stitches of soulscapes

ART RESIDENCIES

2026

2026 Studio Kura – Fukuoka Japan · Artist in Residence

2026 Ketemy Project – Sukawati Indonesia · Artist in Residence

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© 2026 Hakopike

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