Designer &
Digital Consultant
A seasoned designer of the problem-solving kind, having an eye for clean aesthetics and good detail. I work mostly in visual design for marketing and brand communications.
In my digital consulting work, I help clients with new tools and data workflows. I still call it designing, it just uses more of a systems and product mindset. I love tech products and the people in the community, from startups to solo makers and entrepreneurs.
Visual design
If your business needs help with marketing communications, building websites, designing brand identities or data-driven graphics you can see my work and services at bowley.design.
Digital tools
Does your business needs help with modern digital tools and automated workflows? I can help with training, setup, design and building. Please get in touch for more information.
More about me
My career’s core focus has been around making things, and making things better. This is probably why I became a designer and why I try to be useful to others, or build things that are.
I enjoy getting involved in helping business builders in all sorts of ways – both creative and technical. This can mean anything from education and training, project planning and research, ideas and concepts, design detailing, to technical integrations and automated processes.
Find me on Twitter / say hello
Career history
I started out in the mid-90s designing and developing brands and marketing communications at well known design agencies in London, including The Team, Lambie-Nairn, Brand Union and Turnbull Ripley. You can read more about this part of my career on my LinkedIn profile.
In 2014 I went freelance, spending 5 years contracted to various design agencies across London. This gave me exposure to a huge variety of ideas, work and people, accelerating my design knowledge and teamwork skills.
Between 2009 and 2014 I was mostly contracted in-house for Carphone Warehouse. This involved design leadership (product, UI & UX) on their My Hub web and mobile apps, including a number of trips to California to oversee implementation. Whilst at Carphone I also lead the redesign of the Geek Squad UK website, and provided UX and design planning for a mobile insurance product.
Current work
Since 2014 I’ve worked for my own clients at Bowley Design, in partnership with my wife. We help content creators and publishing organisations maximise visual impact and digital efficiency. That can mean anything from brand design, custom graphics and report design to managing digital marketing tools.
On Deck fellowship
From January to March 2021 I will be a fellow on the first On Deck No-Code Fellowship. This is a community-led 10 week intensive learning programme aimed at developing skills and launching products with digital tools.
Design content
I’ve been working to help fellow online makers with design in the last year. I’ve created the following products as a starting point:
Design work
EcoApp
Brand design for an app in pre-launch stage, which connects people with climate campaigns & advocacy organisations.
Brandpage
Brand design update and illustrations for a web app aimed at design agencies & remote teams.
GovApp
Brand design and consultancy for a new global collaboration tool, created for civil servants.
Design products
Products I’ve built to help other creators and makers with design.
Tiny Design Lessons
A platform and product I’ve created to help indie makers with visual and usability design principles.
Maker Design Tools
A database product I’ve created to help indie makers find design resources for their projects.
Deck of Carrd
A curated design gallery I’ve created, featuring the best Carrd websites.
Extras for Carrd
A tutorial website I’ve created, featuring ways to add extras to your Carrd websites.
Design help for online makers & entrepreneurs
Fellow no-code makers and founders have been telling me it’s hard to understand or implement good design whilst building their ideas and MVPs.
They currently have limited options. In some tools, they’re are faced with a choice between ready-made templates and a blank canvas they can’t paint on. In others the design is fixed, which leaves no easy way of differentiating your product from others.
If they are to succeed as a new generation of product makers, they need to just enough design knowledge to bridge the gaps.
How can we enable makers with design skills at the same speed and ease that no-code tools enable them to build?
But that’s easier said than done. They’re taking on so many roles already (engineer, product manager, marketer, etc.) they don't have time to study design too, as a practice. So I'm working on how this can be solved – how can we enable makers with design skills at the same speed and ease that no-code tools enable them to build?
Update: I’ve now created 2 products as a result of this research:
Follow me on Gumroad to hear about new products:
#NoCode Infomercial: Are you great at building, but terrible at designing? Do you pine for design that tells your story beyond, "look how fast I built this thing?" Meet @markbowley, he's here to help. Order now and he will throw in free shipping and handling. #ShipItBetter
— Philip Lakin (@PhilipLakin) May 21, 2020
Yeah struggling with design - me 🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️
— Büşra Coşkuner (@_beesea_) June 15, 2020
@markbowley is awesome :) #nocode #design
— Felix Wong (@felix12777) June 24, 2020
Happy to chat! Struggle with design
— Shomik Roy (@RoyShomik) June 15, 2020
Done. Looking forward to learning more from you Mark.
— Jon Baxter (@JonBaxter17) June 24, 2020
Really excited to see you bring this to life! 🙂
— Andrew Davison (@AndrewJDavison) June 25, 2020
Thanks!
Just one more thing 👇
Check your Inbox (or Spam) for a confirmation email from me, or you might miss out on future emails.
Add yourself to my mailing list to stay updated👇
Will only be used for updates – Inboxes respected
Launch list
Digital products and demos I’ve launched myself.
| No-code Examples | Gallery | Live | 2020 |
| House App | Mobile app demo | Live | 2020 |
| Maker Design Tools | Database | Live | 2020 |
| Tiny Design Lessons | Content platform & ebook | Live | 2020 |
| Extras for Carrd | Demo gallery | Live | 2020 |
| Deck of Carrd | Website gallery | Live | 2020 |
| Croxley App | Mobile app | Live | 2020 |
| Good Venues | Directory website | Live | 2020 |
| Calm Corners | Mobile app | Live | 2019 |
| Moodbot | Chat bot demo | Live | 2019 |
| Brand Stack | Directory website | Closed | 2017 |
| Brandpage | Web app (co-founder) | Live | 2016 |
| Continu | iOS app | Closed | 2013 |
| Freelance Five | Interview blog | Closed | 2011 |
| Creative Agency Freelancing | Freelance blog | Sold | 2009 |