To whom it may concern,
I am very pleased to provide this reference for René, who currently serves as a senior UX/UI Designer at Capitec Bank. I have had the privilege of working closely with her across multiple complex, high-visibility projects and I can say with full confidence that she is one of the most well-rounded and strategically capable designers I have worked with.
Professionally, she is an exceptionally strong hybrid designer, combining deep UX insight with high-craft UI execution. She exhibits an uncommon technical fluency that enables seamless collaboration with developers - making her a trusted partner to our engineering team and significantly accelerating multiple component-driven initiatives.
One of her standout contributions has been her work on Capitec’s components library. She not only led the research and design of the system but also collaborated closely with designers and developers to align on practical use cases, interaction patterns, structural logic, and implementation needs. Her ability to speak “developer” fluently, and to translate design principles into actionable technical instructions, has made her instrumental in bridging gaps across the product ecosystem.
She also delivered one of the most complex insurance-related design projects we’ve had, despite receiving minimal initial requirements. She proactively aligned with product owners and business analysts to extract the necessary context, mapped out the business logic, and planned the full workflow architecture. What she produced was an exceptional, deeply considered Figma file that functioned as a single source of truth: working prototype, end-to-end flows, logic mapping, component documentation and build guidance.
She also demonstrates strong leadership qualities. She manages stakeholder expectations with maturity, addresses difficult conversations head-on, and consistently raises risks or gaps early so that they can be solved, not buried. She is solution-orientated, fast-thinking, and deeply committed to producing work that is both strategically sound and practically executable.
Beyond her project work, she is the type of colleague who shows up for the team in meaningful ways. When I had to undergo knee surgery, she volunteered, without hesitation, to run my in-branch user testing on my behalf. She not only conducted the full research, but documented the process in detail, added her own insights, fixed a broken Maze export, and made herself available to support me during a presentation to senior executives. That is the kind of teammate she is: steady, dependable, proactive, and deeply considerate.
She has also played a significant role in strengthening our team culture. She manages our birthday fund and handles everything from finances to sourcing thoughtful, personalised gifts for each team member - always with care, creativity and attention to detail. Her contributions have created a sense of warmth and cohesion across the team, and we all look forward to her creations.
Professionally, she is what I would describe as a UX unicorn:
- Strong in UX research and evidence-driven decision-making
- Strong in journey mapping, information architecture and systems thinking
- Strong in UI design, component design, and design system governance
- Strong technically, with a working understanding of code
- Strong interpersonally, able to navigate and influence senior stakeholders
- Strong operationally, capable of leading streams and managing work independently
She is principled, values-driven, and demonstrates integrity in her work and interactions. She learns quickly, applies new knowledge effectively, and consistently produces work that reflects both skill and thoughtfulness. She is a self-starter, works well with minimal supervision, and can manage complex projects and people with maturity and precision. She is charismatic, strategic, relentlessly determined, and able to bring people with her toward a shared goal. She plans thoroughly, executes decisively, and never lets challenges derail progress. She sets high standards for herself and consistently meets them.
In short, she is an asset to any team - not only as a designer, but as a leader, collaborator and culture-builder. I would highly recommend her for any senior UX/UI, product design, or design systems role. Any organisation would be fortunate to have her.
Please feel free to contact me should you require any additional information.
Warm regards,
Laura de Villiers
Product & Experience Designer
Entelect – Software Engeneering
Reference written under my maiden name, René du Plooy. Contact details omitted.