UI/UX Design

Prototyping

Creative Direction

Creative Tech

Creative Technologist, Interactive Experience Designer and Director

Kim-Leigh Pontin

© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS DESIGN
ACROSS DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL PRODUCTS
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ACROSS DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL PRODUCTS
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
ACROSS DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL PRODUCTS

Experience Direction

Interaction Design

Prototyping

Collaborative Ideation

15+ years of experience design, human interactions, creative curiosity and development.

© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS DESIGN
Creative Development
© Featured Projects
Creative Development
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Creative Development

Every project is a chance to blend design and development, shaping bold interactive ideas into physical + digital
realities —
built with intent, curiosity, and a desire for FUN that resonates with mainstream audiences.

© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS DESIGN
Creative Tech
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
Creative Tech

Services

(6)

Precise

Structured

Focused

Visual Language

01

Creative Interaction Direction

I guide every visual and interaction design decision from start to finish, ensuring cohesive narrative emotional takeaway, game mechanic systems and spatially understood user flow across every touchpoint.

02

Rapid Prototype

Rapid prototyping of immersive, interactive experiences real-time engines. Proficient with AI tools to assist rapid concepting and prototyping.

03

Volumetric Direction

Directing actor performances for volumetric capture, translating nuanced character work into spatial, immersive storytelling optimised for real-time and interactive environments.

04

Spatial UI

Spatial interface Design + UX for TV / Kiosks / VR / XR

Creative Interaction Direction

I guide every visual and interaction design decision from start to finish, ensuring cohesive narrative emotional takeaway, game mechanic systems and spatially understood user flow across every touchpoint.

Rapid Prototype

Rapid prototyping of immersive, interactive experiences real-time engines. Proficient with AI tools to assist rapid concepting and prototyping.

Volumetric Direction

Directing actor performances for volumetric capture, translating nuanced character work into spatial, immersive storytelling optimised for real-time and interactive environments.

Spatial UI

Spatial interface Design + UX for TV / Kiosks / VR / XR

Creative Interaction Direction

I guide every visual and interaction design decision from start to finish, ensuring cohesive narrative emotional takeaway, game mechanic systems and spatially understood user flow across every touchpoint.

Rapid Prototype

Rapid prototyping of immersive, interactive experiences real-time engines. Proficient with AI tools to assist rapid concepting and prototyping.

Volumetric Direction

Directing actor performances for volumetric capture, translating nuanced character work into spatial, immersive storytelling optimised for real-time and interactive environments.

Spatial UI

Spatial interface Design + UX for TV / Kiosks / VR / XR

© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS DESIGN
Creative Development
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
Creative Development
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
Creative Development

Designing immersive physical and digital experiences through emerging technology and creative foresight  building worlds and shaping audience interaction through UI, motion, spatial prototyping, and volumetric direction. 

Designing immersive physical and digital experiences through emerging technology and creative foresight  building worlds and shaping audience interaction through UI, motion, spatial prototyping, and volumetric direction. 

I bridge creative direction with real-world execution, combining design and development into one seamless workflow to deliver digital experiences that are thoughtful, fast, and built to perform.

© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS DESIGN
Creative Development
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
Creative Development
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
Creative Development

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Man On The Chair

Global

Creative Collabs

Studio

Creative Partnerships

Merlin

2025 – Present

Interactive Experience Creative Lead

London

Meta Reality Labs

2022 – 2025

Art Dept Manager + Creative Lead

London

Nexus Studios

2020 – 2022

Creative Director

London

Sky

2013 – 2020

Interaction Lead + Creative Interaction Director

London

Apple

2016 – 2016

Interaction Designer + Prototyper

Cupertino

Merlin

2025 – Present

Interactive Experience Creative Lead

London

Meta Reality Labs

2022 – 2025

Art Dept Manager + Creative Lead

London

Nexus Studios

2020 – 2022

Creative Director

London

Sky

2013 – 2020

Interaction Lead + Creative Interaction Director

London

Apple

2016 – 2016

Interaction Designer + Prototyper

Cupertino

Merlin

2025 – Present

Interactive Experience Creative Lead

London

Meta Reality Labs

2022 – 2025

Art Dept Manager + Creative Lead

London

Nexus Studios

2020 – 2022

Creative Director

London

Sky

2013 – 2020

Interaction Lead + Creative Interaction Director

London

Apple

2016 – 2016

Interaction Designer + Prototyper

Cupertino

© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS DESIGN
Creative Development
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
Creative Development
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
Creative Development

Kim-Leigh always displayed an infectious and nerveless enthusiasm for taking on new challenges. She has a talent for thinking big but always having a keen eye on detail. She thrives on being set a challenge. She likes to respond to a brief, digging into the detail, understanding a project from as many angles as possible so that she can deliver the best product/content or experience possible. She’s passionate about her work and wants to be at the forefront of innovative storytelling. She works fast, is focused, she’s endlessly curious and best of all shares knowledge and involves people in her discoveries. Super talented. Greatly missed!

Daniel Bougourd

Screenwriter, Producer & Director

Her work on user interface and interaction design—years before the iPhone came to exist—was full of great ideas. She also brought much fun and zest to the studio. Since then I've seen her go on to even greater things, continuing to work at the cutting edge of interaction and prototyping. I can only hope we'll get to work together again in the future and I recommend her unreservedly.

Man B&W

Matt Sephton

Games & Apps, ex-Apple

Kim-Leigh is a tremendous talent who was invaluable in translating our vision for HuffPost Live into a truly innovative UX and Design. She is collaborative, smart, and opinionated in the best ways possible. She worked at startup speed without sacrificing quality or care, and never shied away from rolling up her sleeves to tackle whatever challenge we presented to her. Kim-Leigh would be a welcome addition to any team looking for top-tier talent.

Black Man

Gabriel Lewis

SVP, Programming & Curation, Disney+ at The Walt Disney Company

Kim is a delight to work with. She is an excellent designer, and brings a great deal of experience to her work. I have worked with Kim on innovative projects with tough deadlines, and am happy to recommend her. She also brings a lot to teams and working cultures, always with a smile and great attitude. Kim is a designer's designer, a problem solver, and her work is of a very high quality.

Woman Side Pose

Dale Herigstad

Advanced Interaction Consultant

Having Kim-Leigh around makes your world a better place, that's all there is to it. She's unbelievably creative, collaborative, hardworking and fun. She genuinely cares about the work - not just the 'what' but the 'why' behind it. Her output is consistently exciting, visually stunning, well beyond expectations. She really gets television platforms, which few people do. Her genius is versatile. You'll love her. I do.

Woman Laughing

Louisa Heinrich

Consultant, global keynote speaker, fractional CXO/CSO.

© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS DESIGN
Creative Development
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
Creative Development
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
Creative Development

Awards

(5+)

Awwwards

CSSD

Framer

Dribbble

2x

D&AD

1_ Awarded by Steve Jobs for Interactive TV design (Spooks). Role: Designer. 2_ David Attenborough's "Hold the World" at the Natural History Museum (F42), Role: Interaction Consultant

Black Man
Steve Jobs awarding Kim-Leigh Pontin a D&AD
Hallway

1x

BAFTA

Spooks Interactive TV

Woman Side Pose

1x

Emmy

BBCi Interactive TV Service

Woman Flowers

1x

Museums + Heritage Awards

Storytrails: Augmented Reality history trails

Blue Hall
Car
African Man
Man Casual

2x

D&AD

Black Man
Steve Jobs awarding Kim-Leigh Pontin a D&AD
Hallway

1x

BAFTA

Woman Side Pose

1x

Emmy

Woman Flowers

1x

Museums + Heritage Awards

Blue Hall
Car
African Man
Man Casual

2x

D&AD

Black Man
Steve Jobs awarding Kim-Leigh Pontin a D&AD
Hallway

1x

BAFTA

Woman Side Pose

1x

Emmy

Woman Flowers

1x

Museums + Heritage Awards

Blue Hall
Car
African Man
Man Casual
© Visual Journal ジャーナル
EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS DESIGN
Creative Development
© Visual Journal ジャーナル
Creative Development
© Visual Journal ジャーナル
Creative Development

Spatial Computing

(5)

© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS DESIGN
Creative Technology
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
Creative Technology
© RARE BIRD STUDIOS
Creative Technology
Minecraft Chessington
Man Side Pose
Pool Area
StoryTrails
Minecraft Chessington
Man Side Pose
Pool Area
StoryTrails
Kim-Leigh Pontin
Creative Technology
Digital Physical Systems Design
Kim-Leigh Pontin
Digital Physical Systems Design
Kim-Leigh Pontin
Digital Physical Systems Design