Currently designing how humans and AI relate to each other – particularly in regulated industries. I split my time between the UK and USA. Previously founded a fintech and worked for a decade in London's ad agencies.
About
I haven’t always worked in tech, but I have always had a deep fascination with how people engage with the technology and media around them.
I spent a decade as a Creative in London's ad agencies — directing campaigns, launching brands and harnessing persuasion, public perception, cultural undercurrent and craft to make ideas land with strangers in seconds.
Then in 2018 a mate called with a startup idea and I said yes. That became Dozens, an ethical fintech I co-founded and ran for six years. We raised £35m, secured two FCA licences, built our own banking platform, and launched products that genuinely aimed to do right by customers. We navigated leading a team through Covid and managing customer trust through the Wirecard collapse. And eventually a clean, controlled wind-down that I'm still proud of.
More recently I've been at Jiffy.AI, where I led design on Finley — an AI financial advisor built to work within the real constraints of regulated advice and authored the whitepaper.
I write about human–AI experience at Astronauts of AI — on trust, legitimacy, and the unwritten contracts between products and the people who use them.
I love to set up and run creative projects... and lead the teams who deliver them.
If any of this sounds useful to you, get in touch.
work
A few bits I'm proud of
Then there's when I nearly got arrested trying to get George Osborne to drive a Dacia. The exhibition in Paris in the year 2062. Oh, and the wearable camera series in North Korea. But those are probably best told over a drink.
Writing
21 Sept 2025
4 Sept 2025
17 June 2025
31 May 2025
RECOS
Some kind things people have said
"Not a typical designer and not a typical product leader… Julia should be one of the leading design voices globally, especially as the world grapples with defining (and redefining) Human-Centred AI in the decade ahead." →
Aritra Chakravarty, Group Head of Agentic AI @ Lloyds Banking Group
"…This is one of the things that made her so effective at an organisational level — Julia could lead on both internal and external product design while being a user representative at the executive level on other topics affecting the customer." →
Sam Dunford-Baker, Founder @ Bird in the Hand
"Julia is a rare talent, combining excellent creative and technical skills with a genuine fascination for people and the way they think, move, talk and feel."
Ken Muir, Founder @ Mohawk
"The VP who manages to best demonstrate the ability to manage a team well, whilst also having personal and team impact on the wider company."
360 peer review @ Dozens
"…a great laugh too. If only more creative departments had more people like her. They’d be a lot richer for it." →
Sid Gordon, Creative Director @ Rapp
While I have a somewhat captive audience – just a little promotion for a local South London museum where I volunteer: Bethlem Museum of the Mind and Gallery.
Bethlem is one of the world's oldest psychiatric hospitals. It's museum holds a huge archive of mental health history and the gallery supports artists who have been patients or service users. A hidden gem and well worth a visit if you haven't already.
Image: © Benji Reid