Welcome to the Designasaurus Dig Site
20+ years in the strataAdobe craft meetsClaude-first velocity.
From vector-level Illustrator accuracy to AI-accelerated system architecture—built to deliver at epoch-shifting speed.
Jonathan Edward “Designasaurus” Nestler Senior Product Designer & Jr. Product Owner. UX/UI, product and AI integration, twenty years deep. The newest layer is AI-native.
Topsoil — The specimen
Twenty years.
Every era left a mark.
I started in print and brand, moved into web and motion, spent six years shipping iGaming products, and most recently owned product decisions at Astria Systems (2023–2026). I design with the whole system in view, then use AI to prove it works before anyone builds it.
Professional Diploma in UX Design — UX Design Institute, Dublin · 27 certifications
Clients & employers
Companies this Dino worked with
Software proficiency
Tools of the trade
The armoury. Wielded, not just installed — Claude first.
AI & emerging tools
- Claude AI
- Claude Code
- Figma MCP
- ChatGPT
- Gemini
- Figma AI
- Midjourney
- DALL·E
Design & prototyping
- Figma
- Miro
- draw.io
Adobe Creative Suite
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- After Effects
- Premiere Pro
- Adobe XD
- InDesign
- Lightroom
- Dreamweaver
Web & front-end
- HTML5
- CSS3
- JavaScript
- Bootstrap
- GitHub
Productivity & project management
- Monday.com
- Jira
- MS Office Suite
- Slack
- Notion
Credential · PDF · 1 pageUX Design Institute diplomaOpen PDF →
Formal qualification
Professional Diploma in UX Design
UX Design Institute, Dublin.
- 25 October 2023Awarded
- UXDI-0123-0606Student ID
- SCQF Level 8 · 20 creditsScottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
- Glasgow Caledonian UniversityCredit-rated by
Career timeline · 15 roles
Two decades. No two projects alike.
- Nov 2023 – Jul 2026Jr. Product OwnerAstria Systems (formerly Wonderlabz) · Remote
Promoted from Product Designer. Leading UX/UI product design for Wonderlabz, Playsafe, and Pantelotteriet portfolio brands. Integrating Claude AI into Figma-based design workflows. Driving CI development, slot game animations, and cross-platform UI prototyping.
- Oct 2018 – Nov 2023Product Designer — VFX · UX & UIWonderlabz SA (now Livescore SA) · Table View
Led design collateral across multiple portfolio brands. Delivered UI/UX prototyping, corporate identity development, illustrations, and animations for online slot games and digital media campaigns.
- Aug 2017 – Sep 2018Multimedia ConsultantEduBoard Interactive Classroom Solutions · East London
Full-service design: websites, all print/interactive media, video production, social media marketing, and SEO.
- Sep 2015 – May 2016Owner — Professional Freelance Designerjonathanedwardnestler.com · Jeffreys Bay
Full-service freelance: graphic design, web design, illustration, photography, and video production for diverse clients.
- Sep 2015 – May 2016Graphic ArtistThinklocal · Jeffreys Bay
Adverts for South African coastal and inland clients. Layout, proofing, print deadline management, CMYK file handling.
- Jun 2015 – Aug 2015Product Designer & WebKashan Advertising · Hatfield, Pretoria
Annual reports, web design, billboards, brochures, and logo design. Portfolio included Road Accident Fund, SABS, and SARS.
Dig deeper — 9 earlier roles, 2007–2013
- Aug 2013 – Jun 2015Web & Graphic DesignerFalcorp Technologies · Telkom SA · Pretoria
All design for Telkom's brand identity. Responsive websites using Bootstrap 2–3.2, HTML5/CSS3, ActionScript, and JavaScript.
- May 2013 – Jul 2013Product Designer & DTP · Part-timeBetelgeuse Advertising · Rosebank
CI development, corporate advertising, newsletters, TTL campaigns, and CMYK print management.
- Oct 2012 – Apr 2013Web & New Media DesignerXcellent Media · Woodstock, Cape Town
Flash animation, HTML5/CSS3 site implementation, logo design, illustration, and advanced photo editing.
- Jan 2010 – Oct 2012New Media DesignerDigineering · Randburg
Large-scale PowerPoint decks for blue-chip clients (GSK, BASF, Rand Show, JHB Motor Show). DVD menus, Flash animation, and web design.
- Oct 2009 – Jan 2010DesignerGlobal Designs · Pretoria
Retail advertising and promotional design for Greater Pretoria region clients.
- Jan 2009 – Aug 2009Mid Graphic & New Media Designer44 Stanley 1+1 Brand & Design · Bryanston
Motion graphics for LED perimeter boards at national stadiums during IPL & Currie Cup.
- Jul 2008 – Nov 2008Product Designer — Brand & Identity8 Image Brand Consulting · Bryanston
Brand development for Coca-Cola, Vodacom, MTN, Zain, Sprite, and others. Major work aligned to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
- Jun 2007 – Jul 2008Product Designer & DTP OperatorPeermont Global · Emperors Palace · Kempton Park
Casino-driven promotional advertising for Emperors Palace and the Peermont Group. Events and performer collateral.
- Mar 2007 – Jun 2007Middleweight Graphic DesignerShocking Pink · Fourways
Die-cut packaging for mouse pads and PVC stationery. Lenticular and stereoscopic design and printing.
& counting
Continuous learning
Still learning. Still hungry. Still Rex. Beyond the diploma — a standing habit of structured upskilling across UX research, product management, AI tooling and accessibility.
- UX Experience Design Fundamentals
- Become a Product Manager
- Gamification & Motivation Psychology
- Adobe XD Masterclass
- Product Management Frameworks
- Ultimate AI Art & Content Creation
- Web Accessibility & Inclusive Design (WCAG Principles)
- UX Design for DevelopersLinkedIn Learning · Nov 2023
- Using Style Guides to Bridge Design and DevelopmentLinkedIn Learning · Nov 2023
- Lithium FeaturesUdemy · Feb 2023
- AI Video Production: Create Videos 100% with AIUdemy · Mar 2025
The rest of the 27 are listed on LinkedIn → Licenses & certifications ↗
Field reports · 10 verified
From the people who dug with me
Managers, founders, mentors and teammates — tagged and hung out to read. Tap any tag for the full report.
Layer 00 — Surface
Specimens recovered
Four flagship digs. Each one logged: the brief, what AI proposed, what I kept and what came out of the ground.
Specimen 00 · Newest find · System map
One Platform, Three Portals
A food-ordering platform mapped around the one thing its customer, store and platform portals all share: the order. Lifecycle spine, portal lanes and a money band of its own — built in FigJam with Claude and Figma MCP.
How I approach a problem →Specimen 01 · Scandinavia · Mobile app + raffle site
The Recycling Lottery
A recycling lottery where every return is a ticket. Every flow was journey-mapped, then proven in a Claude Code prototype before engineering wrote a line.
Read the dig report →↙ live logic: tabs, countdown and state changes — built with Claude Code
Specimen 02 · iGaming · Astria Systems · 2018–2026
Reels, Rules & Revenue
Promoted from Product Designer to Jr. Product Owner. UX/UI across Wonderlabz, Playsafe and Pantelotteriet — backlog, flows and design system in one pair of claws.
Specimen 03 · Indiemode Rework · Fashion
A week of build in two days
Full-site redesign with Claude as build partner. I directed hierarchy and brand; Claude wrote the code.
Read the dig report →
Layer 01 — The AI stratum
AI is bedded in.
Judgment is mine.
Claude runs through every stage — chat, Claude Code, Figma MCP and custom skills — with ChatGPT and Gemini in the daily rotation. Here is exactly where AI sits, and where it doesn't.
never automated
- User interviews
- Prioritisation
- Final visual judgment
Tool strata — thickness = how much of the work it touches
Chat · Claude Code · Figma MCP · custom skills
Tools I've built with Claude
Designer-directed, Claude-built, shipped to GitHub Pages in push sessions.
A React command centre wired to Gmail through MCP.
Inbox triage that turns email into ClickUp tasks with Claude.
Custom Claude skills for Figma scripting and production.
Bedrock
You've hit bedrock.
Let's build on it.
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa · Remote worldwide · Open to relocate anywhere in South Africa
