Rob Helsby

Booking Q1 2027 engagements

Rob Helsby is a Strategy & Experience Director focused on brand and product decision-making.

I help leadership teams get the big calls right. That can mean choosing optimisation over change, leading the project that matters, or building the team that can do it without me.

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  • British Army
  • Lexus
  • Echodyne
  • BMA
  • Frasers Group
  • RIBA
  • British Council
  • Everlast
  • Co-op
  • British Cycling
  • United Nations
  • Morrisons
  • CIM
  • Pizza Hut
  • Youth Sport Trust
  • Sports Direct
  • Classic Football Shirts
  • The University of Manchester

What to hire me for

Senior design leadership for marketing and digital leaders at established brands, for as long as you need it.

Interim Design Leadership

For when you need a design leader now.

Your head of design has left, or a major programme has no one senior steering it. I step in, take ownership of the team and the work, and keep the big calls moving, whether it’s a new website, a rebrand or a product launch.

I’ll take on

  • Leading your design team
  • Owning a major programme end to end
  • Managing stakeholders and the board
  • Hiring and onboarding your permanent lead

3–6 months, 2–4 days a week. When I leave, the work is on track and your team is ready to carry it.

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Fractional Design Director

For when you need senior judgement, not another full-time hire.

Your team can deliver, but no one at the top is setting the standard or challenging the big decisions. As your fractional Design Director, I provide that senior oversight across the work, the people and the wider business.

I can help with

  • Strategic planning
  • Creative direction and quality
  • Team development
  • A design voice in leadership decisions

1–2 days a week, starting with a three-month commitment.

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Decision Audit

For when you’re about to make a big call.

A new website, rebrand or product launch is a major investment, and getting it wrong is the kind of call people lose jobs over. I help you understand the problem, test the options and establish what the project really needs.

What you’ll know

  • If you’re starting the right project
  • What should change, and what shouldn’t
  • What the investment will really involve
  • What doing nothing could cost you
  • What action to take

2–10 days, with a fixed scope.

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Not sure which fits? Get in touch and I’ll tell you honestly, even if the answer is none of them.

Who I’ve worked with

British Army

Research wall pinned with the three guiding principles: Modernity, Excitement and Unity
Wireframes and page designs for the British Army website pinned to a wall
British Army website page for the Second Lieutenant rank, with its rank insignia
British Army website screens showing statistics, a news spotlight and careers content
Soldier Magazine archive on the British Army website, with covers from the 1940s

Aligned stakeholders to deliver an award-winning website, on time and on budget

The DecisionAlign every stakeholder to three guiding principles before designing anything.

The British Army website serves millions of people a year, from serving soldiers’ families to a new generation discovering military history. Brand, Comms and Military Leadership all wanted different things, so I aligned them around three principles (Unity, Modernity, Excitement) and measured every decision against them. I also proposed an archive-led experience for Soldier Magazine. The site received the Award of Excellence from the International Communicator Awards.

RIBA

RIBA design system components, including buttons, icons and colour palettes
riba.org homepage with a lakeside house and the headline Make the future a better place
RIBA Journal homepage featuring an Edwardian house extension
The RIBA website on a laptop
User journey maps and flow diagrams for the RIBA website

Reduced development and design costs by 50%

The DecisionOne design system for every RIBA product, built to outlast any agency.

I led the translation of a new visual identity into a single design system for riba.org, the RIBA Journal and the wider product portfolio. Each new project starts from existing components, investing in new functionality only where it’s essential, and the engagement grew into scoping RIBA’s multi-year digital transformation.

Frasers Group

Flannels app screens for onboarding and account registration
App screens across Frasers Group brands, including Sports Direct, House of Fraser and Flannels
Sports Direct product page for football boots on a tablet

A 400% increase in sign-ups in the first week of launch

The DecisionMove account registration into the app’s onboarding flow.

One app scaled across 15 brands, from Sports Direct to Flannels. I led the UX and brand decisions for the rebuilt m-commerce experience, and moving registration into onboarding drove the uplift. One adaptable design system saved significant time and resource, with many brands rolled out without agency support.

Echodyne

Echodyne news story on a phone held over a laptop
Echodyne website pages arranged around the project brief
Webflow localisation settings beside the French version of the Echodyne website
Echodyne radar product pages and imagery

A site that scaled with the team, with 13 locales launched in year 1 to support expansion into new markets

The DecisionMove to Webflow instead of rebranding.

A defence-tech market leader that still looked like a startup. A rebrand was logical, but not the answer: the content team couldn’t move at the speed the business needed on their CMS. I made the case for Webflow, a lighter, more adaptable platform than Umbraco, enabling a three-month delivery in time for a key sales period.

How I work

Rob Helsby

It’s never been easier or cheaper to launch and ship, so let taste, quality and decisiveness be your unfair advantage.

The most expensive brand and product mistakes are made before a brief is written. Sixteen years of agency and client-side work taught me that the best outcomes come from better decisions, not more expensive projects. It’s what I teach design students at three Universities, and what I talk about on stage at industry events.

My independent practice works to three goals.

  1. Help leadership teams avoid expensive mistakes
  2. Make design an investment rather than a line item
  3. Build internal capability so brands become independent

“Rob’s dedication to fostering a happy, thriving team is second to none. He ensured we had enough time to improve as designers, and his attitude remained calm and positive whilst he juggled numerous responsibilities.”

Claudia Federico Former team member Now Senior Director of AI Transformation at Avalere Health

Questions

What kind of brands do you work with?

Established brands heading into their next phase of growth. You’ll usually have a solid visual identity and a working website in place already, run by an agency or your own marketing team. That’s where my work makes the biggest difference.

Do you work with startups?

Yes, when the timing’s right. I love helping startups reach their goals, and the right moment to bring me in is when you’re approaching, or have just closed, Series A funding.

We’re not sure which service we need.

As a rule of thumb: if you’re missing a design leader, it’s Interim Design Leadership. If your team delivers but needs senior judgement above it, it’s a Fractional Design Director. If you’re facing one big call, start with a Decision Audit.

Still unsure? Get in touch and I’ll tell you honestly what fits.

Won’t a Decision Audit just give us another strategy deck?

No. It ends in a decision: what to do, what not to do, and what it will realistically cost and return. You get a clear recommendation you can act on and defend to your board, not a document to file.

What is your pricing?

Hidden pricing is one of the most frustrating parts of finding a partner, so here’s mine. You’ll always know the cost before we start.

  • Interim Design Leadership From £600 a day. 2–4 days a week over 3–6 months.
  • Fractional Design Director From £3,500 a month for one day a week. Up to two days a week, starting with a three-month commitment.
  • Decision Audit From £6,000. A fixed fee for an agreed scope, usually 2–10 days.

All prices exclude VAT. Every engagement is scoped to your situation, so if you’re not sure what fits, get in touch and I’ll give you my honest advice. Sometimes the right answer is a smaller piece of work first.

Do you offer ongoing support or retainers?

Not open-ended ones. You’ll work with me for exactly as long as you need me, and no longer. A Fractional Design Director is the one ongoing arrangement, and even then the aim is to leave your team with the tools, knowledge and confidence to manage without me.

We’re not based in the UK. Can we still work together?

Absolutely. I’m based in the UK, but most of my work is delivered remotely. As long as you’re happy to work in English and collaborate online, we’re good to go.

What happens when we get in touch?

Email me with what you need help with, or book a 30-minute call and we’ll say hello properly. Before we speak, I’ll ask for a few key details, so neither of us wastes any time.

Get in touch

Tell me what you need and when. I’ll respond within 24 hours.

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Or book a 30-minute call

Based in Manchester, UK, and working with teams worldwide.