Design systems & production automation

More output. Same team.

Systems that take the repetitive work off design and marketing teams.

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Ten companies, one pattern

Emmanuel De Fex has worked inside ten production teams since 2009, as artist, art director, and team manager. The work was different every time. The bottleneck rarely was.

Show the problem, or the fix
  • Artwork rebuilt by hand for every variant. One source. Every variant generated from it.
  • Final files living in one person's folder. One place, versioned, that the whole team can reach.
  • A campaign held up because the only person who knew how the file was built was on leave. The file explains itself. Nobody is a single point of failure.
  • Brand drift every time someone was in a hurry. The brand is held by the file, not by vigilance.
  • Output that could only grow by hiring. Output grows without the headcount.

The fix was the same shape each time. Rebuild the source so the repetitive half runs on its own, and give the team back the half that needs a designer.

None of these were people problems.

Twice it was the whole job. Those two are below.

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Years Working
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Companies & Roles
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Projects Delivered
AI
& Workflow Automation

Services

Three, and they stack in this order.

Source files rebuilt so a machine can generate from them and the brand still holds. This is the step the failed attempt usually skipped.

Design SystemsFigma SystemsFile ArchitectureComponent LibrariesDesign TokensBrand Systems

The repeated manual step becomes a tool. Thirty minutes of identical preparation before every export becomes one action.

Pipeline AutomationCustom Figma PluginsAutomated ExportsAI WorkflowsCustom Scripting

The output itself. Configurators, interfaces, and real-time environments, carried from design through to front-end implementation.

WebGL ConfiguratorsUnreal Engine 5ArchVizDigital ProductsVR/AR InterfacesBrand IdentityIllustration

Selected Work

Two production problems, in detail.

Lloyds Auctions

Enterprise design system and automation pipeline

The problem
Demand reached 150 complex assets a week, and the rest of the design team was dropping its own work to keep up. An earlier attempt at automation had failed, because the source files followed no consistent rules.
The work
He took technical custody of the file architecture and rebuilt it from scratch: rigid enough for a machine to generate against, structured enough to keep the brand intact.
The outcome
Output that would have required nine full-time designers now runs through one person. The handoff that had been abandoned shipped.
9× Output multiplier
150+ Assets a week
1 Person running it
A few of one day's auctions, two formats each.
Lloyds Auctions tiles and rotators: rows of generated banner pairs in several colourways, tilted in a wall around the Lloyds logo
A quiet day

Game Day Squad

Live-data card system and deployment pipeline

The problem
Hundreds of thousands of cards, each carrying live data across teams, positions, colours, and states. Drawn by hand they could not stay current, and development waited on design.
The work
He made every variable a rule rather than a redraw. Design became a source that developers generate from, at any volume, on demand.
The outcome
Card sets that had taken weeks became ship-ready in minutes, and stay correct on their own as the data changes.
100k+ Cards on demand
MIN Not weeks
1 Source of truth
Every variable is a rule. Colours, teams, positions, states.
A wall of Game Day Squad player cards in many team colours, around the Game Day Squad logo
One template, many teams

Shipped

Two products of his own, taken alone from the first idea through a prototype to something people use today.

01UI/UX & Web Software

FlowKeys

A language-learning app built around saying things, not drilling them. Designed, built and released by one person.

  1. Idea Spanish is his first language. In English he often knew exactly what he meant and ran out of words to say it.
  2. Prototype Lessons that build one useful connection at a time, with Spanish close by and English kept at the centre.
  3. Live Thirteen sections and 156 lessons planned, in an interface that switches between English and Spanish.
flowkeys.online
The FlowKeys site, full length: the lesson dashboard, the course ahead, and the story of why it was made

02Studio & Commerce

Edefex Arts

His own studio online: commissions, a shop, and AstroCraft, a wing of free printables for people who would rather make than scroll.

  1. Idea A full-time job and the screen had squeezed his own art down to almost nothing. He wanted a studio that gave it room again.
  2. Prototype A commission flow with no surprises: request for free, pay only once accepted, follow sketches and revisions from an account.
  3. Live Commissions, a shop, free cargo and a crew, with secure checkout and full-resolution delivery behind it.
edefexarts.space
The Edefex Arts commissions page, full length: the five-step process, the pricing tiers, the request form and the questions

3D VisualizationSince 2009

Buildings, rooms and objects, finished before they exist.

Architectural, interior and product visualization for developers, architects and brands. He learned the craft at D‑voxel, grew with the studio, and went on to lead its art team.

The same eye for light, material and space goes into every interface he designs.

  • Architecture
  • Interiors
  • Landscape
  • Product film
  • Real-time
D-voxel
Holden 48-215. A product film: the car in the round, the details, the cabin and the engine bay.

How it goes

Three steps, in this order.

  1. Audit

    Two weeks in the real files and the real calendar, not the org chart.

  2. Rebuild

    File architecture first, then the tooling on top of it.

  3. Handoff

    The team runs it without him. Documented, or it did not happen.

Contact

Two paths below: a production problem, or a role.

Taking on production and design system work now. Remote by default, across time zones.
  • Remote by default, working across time zones.
  • Northern Rivers, NSW. On site from Tweed Heads to Byron Bay.
  • Edefex Arts

Enquiries

For roles, projects, or questions.

Send Email Connect on LinkedIn

References

Three CEOs he has worked for.

View references (PDF)

"Highly skilled and talented in his areas of expertise."

Kirstie Minifie CEO Ignite Labs

"He has led the development of intuitive user interfaces and crafted seamless digital experiences."

Kosala Aravinda CEO Blockstars Technology

"His ability to translate 2D concepts into stunning 3D models […] is rare."

Bruce Dell CEO Axiom Holographics

Career

Ten companies since 2009. Ten production pipelines, seen from the inside.

Résumé (PDF)
Edefex Arts Jul 2026 to now · Self-employed
Independent Designer & Developer (Current)

Client work in product design, real-time 3D, and pipeline automation, alongside applications and tools of his own.

Digital Product Design Real-Time 3D Pipeline Automation Own Products
Ignite Labs Sep 2024–Jul 2026 · Full-time
Digital Product Designer & WebGL Lead

Led product design on an interactive configurator where people design homes and portable housing in real time, and extended the same assets into VR walkthroughs.

Digital Product Design UI/UX Systems Blender WebGL VR Walkthroughs
Lloyds Auctions Jul 2022–Sep 2024 · Full-time
Graphic Designer & UI/UX Workflow Automation

Owned the design system and the automation pipeline behind large-scale auction campaigns. Case study above.

UI/UX Design Design Systems Social Media Ads Process Automation
Blockstars Mar–Jun 2022 · Full-time
2D / 3D Artist & UI/UX Specialist

3D modelling, rendering and post-production for game titles, plus concept art, character rigging and interface design.

3D Modelling Unreal Engine Character Rigging Concept Art
Axiom Holographics Mar 2021–Mar 2022 · Part-time
CG Artist & 3D Environment Specialist

Holographic and augmented reality property experiences. Clients walked through buildings that did not exist yet.

Holographic Rendering AR / VR Real Estate Blender Unreal Engine
D-voxel Jun 2018–Oct 2019 and 2012–2014
Senior Arch-Visualizer & Art Team Manager

Ran the art team and built the modular asset libraries each new project started from.

Art Team Manager DWG CAD to 3D ArchViz 3ds Max
Arqtek3D Feb–Nov 2017 · Full-time
3D Artist & CAD Workflow Specialist

Architectural visualization, turning technical drawings into images clients could decide from.

CAD to 3D Post-Production Architectural Render
TNT Marketing Feb 2016–Jan 2017 · Full-time
Graphic Designer

Web templates, digital campaigns, and social advertising creative.

Web Templates Digital Marketing Social Ads
Eventos Efectivos (Ee) 2015 · Full-time
2D / 3D Artist & Ephemeral Architecture Designer

Printable brand artwork, plus modelling and rendering for ephemeral architecture at commercial events.

Branding Artworks Ephemeral Architecture ATL & BTL
Blazing Soft Feb 2011–Feb 2012 · Full-time
Art Director

Ran the art team across concept, illustration, modelling, texturing and character rigging for mobile titles.

Art Director Mobile Games Character Rigging Illustration
Freelance & Contract 2009 to now
CG Artist & 3D Environment Specialist

Photorealistic environments, real-time optimisation, and the pipelines behind them.

Unreal Engine 5 Corona Renderer Photogrammetry VR Optimization
The RE8 mark, on its brand card
The Ignite Labs logo and wordmark lockup
The Blockstars mark, on its brand card
The RE8 logo and wordmark lockup
The Ignite Labs mark, on its brand card
The Blockstars logo and wordmark lockup