22 years of UI/UX, branding and front-end. I design in Figma, build on Elementor Pro, and use Claude Code to get through the slow parts faster.
“Hey, thanks for dropping by. I’m Paul, a freelance UI designer and WordPress developer working with agencies across the UK and US.”
Paul Dowd Founder, Floatleft · 22 years experienceexport default {
name: 'Paul Dowd',
role: ['UI/UX Designer', 'WordPress Developer'],
experience: '22 years',
basedIn: 'Chiang Mai, Thailand',
hours: '14:00–22:00 ICT', // 08:00–16:00 UK
stack: ['Figma', 'Elementor Pro', 'Tailwind', 'Claude Code'],
openTo: ['agencies', 'freelance', 'retainers'],
available: true,
}
Trusted by teams at
I started as a junior designer and worked up to Creative Director and Managing Director at established Manchester agencies. That means I can balance creative ambition with commercial reality, hit deadlines without drama, and talk to your clients like a human being.
We’ve worked with Paul on many projects and have never been let down. His professional approach and vast online understanding make for a smooth-running, within-budget job.
Paul is the perfect freelance web designer. He is quick, reliable and works independently on solutions. If a company works directly with him they get the biggest gain, because they are getting the quality of work London agencies would charge double for.
Paul is a great front-end HTML/CSS coder. He’s fast, he writes good standards-compliant code and he’s flexible. He’s good at recommending different approaches, without putting anyone’s back up. I’ve hired him several times and would do so again.
Always good quality and done in good time. Paul has a ‘can do’ attitude. Would be happy to use again and refer you.
I would highly recommend Paul. He has great attention to detail and always delivers on time and on budget. He is always open to new ideas and pushing the boundaries of online design.
We have worked on many projects together. Paul is able to translate techie-lingo into plain, understandable English. Recommended to anyone looking for a professional web company.
UI/UX Design
User-first interfaces, designed to work for the business as well as look good. Wireframes, interactive prototypes and tested UX flows, delivered as clean, annotated Figma files ready for dev handoff. Good UX is invisible. You only notice it when it’s missing.
Learn more ›## Hero
Layout 12-col grid, content cols 2–8
Heading Inter 800 / 66px / -0.045em
Lede 18px / 1.7 / slate-500
CTA 44px high, radius 10
### States
- hover opacity .9
- focus 2px ring, accent, offset 3
- active translateY(1px)
### Breakpoints
- ≥1024 two-column showcase
- ≥768 stacked, quote above code
- <480 portrait above quote
WordPress & Elementor
Production-ready builds on the Hello theme with Elementor Pro. No bloated theme kits and no inherited mess. Custom theming from a blank canvas, clean templates and Loop-driven architecture that keeps everything fast and organised.
The editor gets as much attention as the front end, so your clients can update content without calling you every five minutes.
Get started ›:root {
/* Elementor V4 global variables */
--tw-font: 'Inter';
--tw-bg: #ffffff;
--tw-fg: #0f172a;
--tw-accent: #5b4f9e;
--twd-bg: #0b1120;
}
.tw-flip {
/* swap to the opposite palette */
--tw-bg: var(--twd-bg);
--tw-fg: var(--twd-fg);
}
Front-end development
Semantic HTML5 and CSS with Sass, Bootstrap or Tailwind, plus JavaScript where it’s genuinely needed. Every line is written with accessibility and performance in mind. Easy to read, easy to maintain, and it fits your existing dev process. I’ve been writing front-end code since 2002.
Learn more ›<section class="py-24 bg-white">
<h1 class="text-6xl font-extrabold
tracking-tight text-slate-900">
Senior UI design…
</h1>
<a href="/work" class="btn">See my work</a>
</section>
Terminal
› npm run build
Purging unused CSS…
✓ dist/site.css 9.8 kB (gzip 3.1 kB)
✓ Lighthouse 100 · 100 · 100 · 100
.py-24 {
padding-top: 6rem;
padding-bottom: 6rem;
}
.tracking-tight {
letter-spacing: -0.025em;
}
.btn:focus-visible {
box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px var(--ring);
}
AI-augmented
Not as a gimmick, and not to write bad copy. Claude and Claude Code are genuine tools in my design and development workflow. Faster UX research, cleaner front-end code, better decisions. You get more thinking and better quality without the inflated price tag.
Read how I use it ›
› audit the homepage for accessibility issues
Reading 14 templates…
✓ Heading order is valid on all pages
! 3 icons are missing alt text
! Nav text is 4.1:1 on the teal hero
needs 4.5:1, suggest rgba(255,255,255,.92)
✓ Focus states visible on every link
› fix the alt text and the contrast
✓ Updated 4 elements. Ready for review.
Remote-first
I’m based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, one of the best places in the world to work remotely. The low cost of living means genuinely competitive rates without cutting corners. You get 22 years of senior-level experience.
I work 2pm to 10pm Thailand time, Monday to Friday. That covers the UK working day: real-time comms, fast turnarounds, and no time zone excuses.
See prices ›
✓ Every hour I work falls inside the UK business day.
Notes on design, WordPress, AI and working remotely from Thailand.
Taking new projects for November
Agency partnerships, freelance briefs and monthly retainers. I reply within one working day.
