Rebecca Hayter is the Associate Creative Director of Design at Poirier Agency, bringing a multidisciplinary background shaped by creative agencies, academic collaboration, international freelance work, and global brands. Her career has been driven by a strong sense of ethics, purpose, and a commitment to meaningful creative work.
Before joining Poirier Agency, Rebecca worked across a wide range of environments, including creative agencies in South Africa, project-based work with Nelson Mandela University’s anthropology department, and freelance roles for overseas clients. These experiences exposed her to editorial design, photography, book design, and early-stage UX thinking, while reinforcing the importance of integrity and values-led decision-making in creative careers.
Her path eventually led her to Cape Town and to Poirier Agency, where she deepened her expertise in digital design, UI/UX, and brand systems, and where she has grown into a leadership role grounded in empathy, clarity, and creative direction.
Brand Identity, UI/UX & Creative Direction
Rebecca specializes in brand identity creation, UI/UX design, and creative direction, with a strong focus on how people experience and interact with design across digital touchpoints. Her work balances visual storytelling with structure and usability, ensuring brands are not only expressive but intuitive and accessible.
She brings extensive experience working with:
- Addiction rehabilitation and behavioral health brands
- Hospitality and experience-led businesses
- Environmental sustainability and purpose-driven initiatives
Rebecca’s approach integrates design thinking, user behavior, and visual systems to create work that feels intentional, cohesive, and human.
Creative Recognition & Editorial Work
Alongside her leadership role, Rebecca has maintained a strong independent creative practice. She is currently ranked among the Top 25 graphic designers on CreativePool and has won the Amplifier.org poster competitions during the COVID-19 period. She has also designed and creatively directed three published books, an experience that continues to inform her approach to editorial structure, storytelling, and detail-driven design.
Rebecca is particularly proud of maintaining her illustration practice alongside her professional career, viewing it as a core part of her creative identity and long-term growth as a designer.
A Clarity-Driven, User-Respecting Philosophy
Rebecca’s design philosophy centers on respect for the user. She believes in optimizing for clarity without condescension, trusting that people can understand well-designed experiences when the thinking behind them is strong.
Rather than oversimplifying or over-directing users, her work prioritizes thoughtful structure, clear hierarchy, and intuitive flow. This clarity-first approach underpins her work in UI/UX, brand systems, and digital design, ensuring experiences feel confident, accessible, and purposefully crafted.
