Senior Digital Designer — Web & Product

Critical Playground LLC; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

3800 is seeking an experienced digital designer to shape websites and digital products for clients and our own studio. You’ll own projects from early thinking through launch, collaborating with researchers, strategists and developers to deliver high‑craft experiences.

You’ll work across research, UX, UI, interaction and full Figma designs, pushing ideas and ensuring accessibility and polish. This is a hands‑on role with room to lead digital capability as the team grows.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years' experience across digital design, UX/UI, web or product design.
• Strong body of work demonstrating thinking and craft.
• Ability to own projects end-to-end and work with clients and developers.

Responsibilities

• Create thoughtful, distinctive digital experiences with high visual craft.
• Understand audiences, journeys, information architecture and accessibility.
• Plan and collaborate on UX research tasks, usability testing and analytics.
• Produce high‑fidelity Figma designs, prototypes, components and design systems.
• Consider animation, transitions and micro-interactions in UI.
• Collaborate with developers to translate designs into production.
• Work on websites, apps and other digital products beyond traditional sites.
• Present ideas clearly and guide clients in decision-making.
• Explore AI tools to improve research, design, prototyping and development workflows.

Skills

Visual design

UX/UI design

Research

Ownership

Collaboration

Tools

HTML

CSS

JavaScript

React

Next.js

Figma

Headless CMS

Job description

We're looking for an experienced digital designer to help shape the websites and digital products we create for our clients, and for 3800 itself.

This is a broad, hands-on role for someone who loves to be involved in every step of the process.

You'll work across research, UX, UI, interaction and full Figma designs, taking projects from early thinking through to launch and working closely with developers along the way.

We're not a high-volume digital agency. We'd rather make a handful of genuinely brilliant websites a year than churn through one every few weeks. That gives us the space to understand the organisation behind the website, the people using it, and what the experience really needs to do - then push the work as far as we can.

You'll have a lot of ownership here. You'll be expected to bring your own thinking, challenge ideas, shape the approach and care about the details right through to the finished product.

And as 3800 grows, there's a clear opportunity to help define how we approach digital work and, over time, lead that capability.

THE ROLE

Your work will span websites, apps and other digital products.

Digital design

Creating thoughtful, distinctive digital experiences with a high level of visual craft.

UX

Understanding audiences, journeys, information architecture, accessibility and how people need to move through an experience.

Research

Planning and collaborating on UXR tasks, from interviews and usability testing to analytics, competitor research and customer behaviour.

UI

Taking projects through to complete, high-fidelity Figma designs, prototypes, components and design systems.

Interaction

Considering how websites move and respond - animation, transitions, scroll behaviour, micro-interactions and the smaller details that shape the experience.

Development

Working closely with developers, writing clear briefs, understanding technical considerations and reviewing the finished build against the design.

Digital products

Working beyond traditional websites when the project requires it, including apps, tools, portals and other interfaces.

Clients

Presenting ideas clearly, contributing to workshops and helping clients make good decisions about their digital products.

AI & new workflows

Exploring where new AI tools can genuinely improve research, design, prototyping, production and development workflows.

3800

Helping improve our own website, digital tools, processes and the way we approach digital work as a studio.

You don't need to be a developer. But we're particularly interested in designers who understand how their work gets built, enjoy getting closer to the code, and can work confidently with development teams and technologies.

EXPERIENCE

You'll probably have around 5-10 years' experience working across digital design, UX/UI, web or product design. Importantly, you'll have a strong body of work that shows what you can do.

We care about depth more than volume, and would much rather see a handful of projects where you can explain the thinking and detail behind the work than fifty websites produced at speed.

You'll be comfortable taking significant ownership of projects, working directly with clients and collaborating closely with a 3800's creative lead, founder, and external developers.

ABOUT YOU

You care about how things work as much as how they look. You're a strong visual designer, but you want to understand the problem before opening Figma.

You move comfortably between the bigger picture and the smallest details, from working out what a digital product needs to achieve to refining the way a button, transition or page behaves.

You're curious about people and comfortable asking questions, conducting research and challenging assumptions when something doesn't feel right.

You immerse yourself in an organisation and bring your own thoughts, ideas and approaches to the table.

You're confident working independently, but enjoy collaborating with strategists, designers, filmmakers, clients and developers to make the work better.

You're interested in where digital design is heading and actively exploring how AI and new technology can improve the way you work - without losing the judgement, craft and thinking that makes the work good in the first place.

You want to make work you're proud of. And, as 3800 grows, you're interested in helping shape what our digital capability becomes.

DIVERSITY

As people and as a studio, we see the power and potential of a diverse team. As we grow, we're actively looking for the best people to join us in our inclusive space. So if you're committed, caring and honest, you'll be welcomed with open arms, whatever your identity, orientation, ethnicity, faith or abilities.

As a bonus

• A good working knowledge of HTML, CSS and JavaScript
• Experience working with modern front-end frameworks such as React or Next.js
• Familiarity with headless CMS platforms
• The ability to prototype, experiment with or build front-end interactions yourself