Michael Estiban Smith
UX & Design Director
research-grounded.
ai-accelerated.
craft-finished.
I design experiences that perform — for users and for the business. 19 years of hands-on UX leadership across ecommerce, retail, B2B, and complex digital services. I've spent the last eight years at Balance and Digitas Australia — staying hands-on, building capability, and delivering work that moves the needle. Most recently recognised as Campaign Agency of the Year in eCommerce, back to back.
Get in Touch
Find me on LinkedIn
Featured Work
Mitre 10
From MVP to award-winning ecommerce.
A five-year engagement that grew from a single replatforming project into an end-to-end redesign of the entire experience — touching every touchpoint, driven by evidence, and recognised as Campaign Agency of the Year in eCommerce.
7-Eleven Store Console
Designing confidence into the frontline.
When Pay&Go made it impossible to tell a genuine customer from a shoplifter, a simple tablet display gave team members the certainty to act — and what they did with that certainty was unexpected.
Johnny's Deli Kiosk
The best design work sometimes travels further than the brief.
A self-service kiosk designed to fix a broken ordering flow for a premium convenience sub-brand. The business was wound down before it launched — but the UX thinking directly shaped 7-Eleven's subsequent kiosk rollout.
Krispy Kreme
One experience. Two platforms. Zero visible complexity.
The Australian business couldn't adopt the global platform. The solution was a store-selection routing flow so seamless that customers never needed to know two separate systems were running underneath it.
How I work
I lead from within the work — setting direction, mentoring designers, and making critical design calls from early discovery through to post-launch iteration.
research-grounded
Every engagement starts with understanding — business goals, user needs, technical constraints, and the operational workflows that shape how a product must behave. Good design direction is only possible when the brief is truly understood.
ai-accelerated
I use AI tools practically and purposefully — for faster ideation, functional prototyping, and smarter iteration. It's how I help teams move faster without losing the craft that makes work worth doing.
craft-finished
Direction is only half the job. I stay hands-on through to the final interface — hierarchy, accessibility, motion, responsiveness — making sure the quality of the thinking shows in every detail of the output.
About
I'm a UX and design leader with 19 years of hands-on experience — from discovery and research through to interaction design, UI direction, and design systems. I lead from within the work, not above it.
I've spent the last eight years at Balance and Digitas Australia building and leading UX and design capability — growing practice, embedding research, and delivering across some of Australia's most recognised brands. That work contributed to Balance being awarded Campaign Agency of the Year in eCommerce in 2024, and Digitas Australia taking out the same award the following year.
Let's talk
If you're building a design-led digital practice and need someone who'll get into the work, raise the quality, and help shape where the agency goes next — I'd love to talk.
Get in Touch
Find me on LinkedIn
Michael Estiban Smith
UX & Design Director
research-grounded.
ai-accelerated.
craft-finished.
I design experiences that perform — for users and for the business. 19 years of hands-on UX leadership across ecommerce, retail, B2B, and complex digital services. I've spent the last eight years at Balance and Digitas Australia — staying hands-on, building capability, and delivering work that moves the needle. Most recently recognised as Campaign Agency of the Year in eCommerce, back to back.
Get in Touch
Find me on LinkedIn
Featured Work
Mitre 10
From MVP to award-winning ecommerce.
A five-year engagement that grew from a single replatforming project into an end-to-end redesign of the entire experience — touching every touchpoint, driven by evidence, and recognised as Campaign Agency of the Year in eCommerce.
7-Eleven Store Console
Designing confidence into the frontline.
When Pay&Go made it impossible to tell a genuine customer from a shoplifter, a simple tablet display gave team members the certainty to act — and what they did with that certainty was unexpected.
Johnny's Deli Kiosk
The best design work sometimes travels further than the brief.
A self-service kiosk designed to fix a broken ordering flow for a premium convenience sub-brand. The business was wound down before it launched — but the UX thinking directly shaped 7-Eleven's subsequent kiosk rollout.
Krispy Kreme
One experience. Two platforms. Zero visible complexity.
The Australian business couldn't adopt the global platform. The solution was a store-selection routing flow so seamless that customers never needed to know two separate systems were running underneath it.
How I work
I lead from within the work — setting direction, mentoring designers, and making critical design calls from early discovery through to post-launch iteration.
research-grounded
Every engagement starts with understanding — business goals, user needs, technical constraints, and the operational workflows that shape how a product must behave. Good design direction is only possible when the brief is truly understood.
ai-accelerated
I use AI tools practically and purposefully — for faster ideation, functional prototyping, and smarter iteration. It's how I help teams move faster without losing the craft that makes work worth doing.
craft-finished
Direction is only half the job. I stay hands-on through to the final interface — hierarchy, accessibility, motion, responsiveness — making sure the quality of the thinking shows in every detail of the output.
About
I'm a UX and design leader with 19 years of hands-on experience — from discovery and research through to interaction design, UI direction, and design systems. I lead from within the work, not above it.
I've spent the last eight years at Balance and Digitas Australia building and leading UX and design capability — growing practice, embedding research, and delivering across some of Australia's most recognised brands. That work contributed to Balance being awarded Campaign Agency of the Year in eCommerce in 2024, and Digitas Australia taking out the same award the following year.
Let's talk
If you're building a design-led digital practice and need someone who'll get into the work, raise the quality, and help shape where the agency goes next — I'd love to talk.
Get in Touch
Find me on LinkedIn
Michael Estiban Smith
UX & Design Director
research-grounded.
ai-accelerated.
craft-finished.
I design experiences that perform — for users and for the business. 19 years of hands-on UX leadership across ecommerce, retail, B2B, and complex digital services. I've spent the last eight years at Balance and Digitas Australia — staying hands-on, building capability, and delivering work that moves the needle. Most recently recognised as Campaign Agency of the Year in eCommerce, back to back.
Get in Touch
Find me on LinkedIn
Featured Work
Mitre 10
From MVP to award-winning ecommerce.
A five-year engagement that grew from a single replatforming project into an end-to-end redesign of the entire experience — touching every touchpoint, driven by evidence, and recognised as Campaign Agency of the Year in eCommerce.
7-Eleven Store Console
Designing confidence into the frontline.
When Pay&Go made it impossible to tell a genuine customer from a shoplifter, a simple tablet display gave team members the certainty to act — and what they did with that certainty was unexpected.
Johnny's Deli Kiosk
The best design work sometimes travels further than the brief.
A self-service kiosk designed to fix a broken ordering flow for a premium convenience sub-brand. The business was wound down before it launched — but the UX thinking directly shaped 7-Eleven's subsequent kiosk rollout.
Krispy Kreme
One experience. Two platforms. Zero visible complexity.
The Australian business couldn't adopt the global platform. The solution was a store-selection routing flow so seamless that customers never needed to know two separate systems were running underneath it.
How I work
I lead from within the work — setting direction, mentoring designers, and making critical design calls from early discovery through to post-launch iteration.
research-grounded
Every engagement starts with understanding — business goals, user needs, technical constraints, and the operational workflows that shape how a product must behave. Good design direction is only possible when the brief is truly understood.
ai-accelerated
I use AI tools practically and purposefully — for faster ideation, functional prototyping, and smarter iteration. It's how I help teams move faster without losing the craft that makes work worth doing.
craft-finished
Direction is only half the job. I stay hands-on through to the final interface — hierarchy, accessibility, motion, responsiveness — making sure the quality of the thinking shows in every detail of the output.
About
I'm a UX and design leader with 19 years of hands-on experience — from discovery and research through to interaction design, UI direction, and design systems. I lead from within the work, not above it.
I've spent the last eight years at Balance and Digitas Australia building and leading UX and design capability — growing practice, embedding research, and delivering across some of Australia's most recognised brands. That work contributed to Balance being awarded Campaign Agency of the Year in eCommerce in 2024, and Digitas Australia taking out the same award the following year.
Let's talk
If you're building a design-led digital practice and need someone who'll get into the work, raise the quality, and help shape where the agency goes next — I'd love to talk.
Get in Touch
Find me on LinkedIn