James Frewin

James Frewin

Updated Jan 19, 2026

British Designer living in Lisbon, PT.

I run OCTOBER, an independent design studio for startups and VCs. We ship products people actually want to use.

Design engineer. 11 years in Product Design, Brand and Marketing. I also build things: web apps, React Native apps, native SwiftUI for iOS and Mac, Chrome extensions, landing pages, funnels. 3 years and counting.

Through the studio I've led UI/UX and brand for VC funds, AI startups, fintech, beauty tech, consumer apps and B2B SaaS.

Clients include LinkedIn, Unilever, UK Government, UAE Government, Atlantic Records, K5 Global, Backed VC, Circle Rock Capital, Landscape, Amy.vc, AutogenAI, Proper, Versantus, Foster, Thingtesting, Every, Altbank, Outverse, MVPR, Imagen Insights, Rollups, Jack and Jill, Otel, OYL, Staff Only, Sable Bio, Beautystack, Tressly, Jolt, and TRIM-IT.

VC scout on the side. I meet early-stage founders and help them shape product, brand and pitch before they raise.

I've taught and spoken at LinkedIn, EY, BT, Kings College London, London Business School, Dubai 10X, National Film And Television School, Coventry University, and University of Gloucestershire. Available for consulting, workshops and speaking on design, AI strategy, and design engineering.

One of Cursor's first Ambassadors, helping designers and founders build production apps with AI. I teach at buildwithaicourse.com. I also made guidelines.sh, a guide to making AI-built products feel human, and NoReply, which writes complaint letters that actually get responses.

Outside of the screen I love taking photos of people, architecture, nature and cars with over 7.4 million views on my photos.

Designer at heart. I like shipping things that feel good to use. Outside work, Leeds United fan. Learning conversational Portuguese and making the most of Lisbon sunshine.

Say hi on X or LinkedIn.

I work best with forward-thinking teams building at the edge of what's possible. People who care deeply about craft and aren't afraid to move fast. If that sounds like you, let's talk.

Lisbon

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9:20 PM

Status

Available

Taking on new projects

More soon.