About
I am an award-winning designer with over 20 years of commercial experience in the design and defence industry. Clients include: Google, The British Army, Adidas, HP, Aardman, and the BBC
Since 2004 I have created designs for user interfaces, digital campaigns, interactive games, music videos, and storybooks.
I've instructed both traditional art and digital design at secondary schools and universities, while also dedicating my spare time to crafting art.
Originally from West Wales, I've been fortunate to collaborate with clients from Auckland to San Francisco. But I now call Swansea, near the seaside, my home.
Please get in touch if you would like my latest CV
Awards include: FWA & Adobe site of the day.
Exhibitions
Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff - Printed Festival 8-9 June 2024
Royal Cambrian Academy - Mini Print Wales March 2024
Glynn Vivian Gallery ‘Swansea Open’ Group show 03.02.24 - 19.04.24
Mission Gallery ‘Mini Print Wales’ Group show 30.09.23 - 28.10.23
SHO Gallery ‘Grow Exhibition’ Group show 16.10.21 - 27.10.21
SHO Gallery ‘Magic’ Group show 04.06.19 - 04.07.19
SHO Gallery ‘Show Dog’ Group show 09.06.18 - 09.08.18
Grounded Bristol ‘Presents Sarah Defriend’ Solo shows across six Bristol stores 2015-2017
Margot May Gallery ‘Sarah Defriend’ Solo show 15.07.16 - 15.10.16
Hamilton House Art Gallery ‘Coexist in house’ Group show 01.12.15 - 22.12.15
SHO Gallery ‘High Five’ Group show 10.10.15 - 10.12.15
Roper Bath Gallery ‘Good Impression’ Group show 31.07.15 - 05.08.15
SHO Gallery ‘Sarah Defriend’ Solo show 12.09.11 - 12.11.11
Talks
International DesignOps Global Conference ‘DesignOps in Defence’ 08.06.21
Ministry of Defence (DE&S) HFI Symposium ‘Developing an open-architecture communication and data management system’ 28.01.2019 Photo by Tamara Callender (Maynard)
Watershed Bristol ‘UX and HFI in Defence’ 21.03.19
Testimonials
“An excellent designer who was quick to tailor her approach to a very demanding and multi-faceted customer, the British Army. Sarah made a genuine tangible impact to the development of User Centred Design within Army Digital procurement.”
Major Andrew Campbell, D-info UCD Lead
“Sarah is a highly qualified and very talented Designer with a wealth of professional experience and expertise in the field. She was able to deliver some superb design work for our team and has a real passion for this area. She has previously led content design teams and has also worked as part of smaller multi-disciplinary teams. She is a pleasure to work with and an artist at heart.”
Major Christopher Bulmer, UCD Lead, Land Deployed Applications
"Sarah had an impressive ability to manage a series of complex UX projects, working with multiple and mixed teams, user groups, government departments and military stakeholders. She did this with professionalism, whilst commanding respect from everyone on the project, from senior and private officers; to MoD stakeholders to highly technical engineers."
David Yates, Head of UXUI Ltd
“Absolutely amazing! There are no words to explain how talented Sarah is. Really quick turnaround and fantastic quality. She paid detailed attention to the brief and produced outstanding images. Will hopefully be using Sarah for years to come. Very happy!”
Rachel Fay, Director of Little Learners
“Working with Sarah was a delight: she’s talented, enthusiastic, and highly professional. Looking forward to the chance to work with her again.”
Anton Abrahams, Strategic Director, Solaris Health
“Sarah did an excellent job of taking a very loose brief and not only did she deliver but she added a great deal of flair that lifted the whole piece. I hope to work with Sarah again in the future.”
Darren Amer, User experience designer
“Wow, we all love it! People comment on the quality of the artwork all the time and everyone in the office is raving about it!”
Adam Jones, Marketing Officer Sherman Cymru
“We approached Sarah to help us with a game we were developing for a new client. Sarah was easy to work with, quick to understand what we needed, and delivered above and beyond what we were expecting. Her attitude and amazing illustration talent made the job really enjoyable and the end result was awesome!”
Chris Lawson, Creative Director of Plump Digital
“Working with Sarah has been an absolute pleasure – she’s quick to grasp the big picture, is exceptionally efficient, and offers bundles of creative ideas. Perhaps most importantly she delivers on time and to brief.”
Lisa Innes, Head of Marketing at Box UK
“A genuine pleasure to work with from (project) start to finish, Sarah displays an impressive grasp of her craft whatever the design brief. Extremely dependable and always professional, we’d recommend her without hesitation.”
Anthony Percival, Systems Manager at Greenlands Insurance
“Sarah’s an extremely talented designer – great a producing fresh, stunning designs that will really set your product apart. Working with Sarah on our recent product launch has been a pleasure. We’ve been delighted with her work and her professional approach. Highly efficient, she ensured we got exactly what we needed at each point in the project, despite the tight timescales. Highly recommended.”
Laura Adams, Marketing Manager, ActiveStandards
“Sarah’s work is stunning, with the exact look we were going for. And all despite a tight deadline. Great job in all respects!”
Stefan Thomas, Founder at WeUseCoins
“Sarah Defriend has consistently produced great work for us across both web and print-based media. Not only is she a highly skilled illustrator and designer but she can incorporate her creative talent with the practical needs of a business. Her efficient, positive, and friendly approach makes every project we work on a very enjoyable experience.”
Fiona McLaren, Director of Bobadeg Ltd
“Sarah Defriend has remarkable creative ability and judgment matched with a speedy, professional, and friendly personality. I will wholeheartedly recommend her to everyone.”
Sadie Spikes, Director of The Curious Cabinet
“When you hire Sarah you get creative ideas and quirky illustrations coupled with commercial experience and a professional attitude that suits a range of projects and styles. She is a pleasure to work with!”
Tom Tribe, Managing Director of Design Tribe
“The standard of Sarah’s work is very high, and she was very efficient at turning the work around within the timescales outlined. I’d be happy and hope to work with her again.”
Coris Leachman, Director of Calm Design
“Sarah’s a great designer and talented illustrator, I regularly work with her to develop the graphic identity for websites and I thoroughly recommend her.”
Tom Beardshaw, Co-founder of Native HQ
“Having worked with Sarah on a good few occasions she produces consistently brilliant results. From the merest of briefs, she was able to create several stunning sites within the narrow time scales.”
Matt Bridger, Director of Hallmark Direct
“Sarah is a smart, articulate designer with impeccable professionalism and a big smile. She jumped in with us on a job mid-flow, and immediately grasped the situation and added to the outcomes.”
Warren Fauvel, Director of FauvelKhan