From Flash to Fable: Darren Kirk on Embracing Change and Continuous Learning
Meet Darren Kirk, a seasoned product designer who has thrived in the ever-changing tech landscape by continually evolving his skills. From his early days in the vibrant world of Flash to mastering UI design in the finance sector, Darren’s career is a testament to the power of upskilling and staying true to one’s creative passions.
We caught up with Darren to discuss his compelling career journey, the lessons learned from the rise and fall of Flash, how Fable fits into his toolkit at Commonwealth Bank, and his commitment to continuous learning in an industry that never stands still.
As always, the following conversations have been edited for clarity and brevity.
You've been in product design for a long time now. Could you describe your career journey a bit?
I was always that kid hanging out in the art and music departments. Eventually, I went to Billy Blue Graphic and Advertising School to really lean into my creativity. My first job was at an ad company during the dot-com boom, where I stumbled into FutureSplash, which later became Flash.
That cracked the web wide open for me. Seeing a logo appear on screen and realizing I could animate it honestly blew my mind. I threw myself into everything online.
For about ten years, Flash was my bread and butter. I moved from Sydney to London, then Singapore, and back to Sydney, working at Euro RSCG and contracting at agencies along the way.
When Flash died, I had to reskill. Design had always been sitting in my backlog, but as websites started to look more and more the same, my love for the web really faded. I lost interest in building websites and shifted toward mobile after taking a UX course at General Assembly. That’s when I realized I’m much more of a UI designer. So, I leaned into app design and prototyping, first with Sketch and then with tools like ProtoPie.
How did you transition into the financial sector, and what tools have you used along the way?
I got headhunted by a bank. If you’d asked me back then if I’d work for a bank, I’d have said no way. But the lifestyle was calmer—no more 2 AM pitches. Honestly, I can’t even imagine doing that now. I started with Sketch, switched to Figma, and later moved to 86 400, Australia’s first neobank. There, we wanted to compete with the big banks, so we started incorporating After Effects and Lottie animations into prototypes and the app.
After 86 400 was acquired, I joined LimePay and started using Webflow. Eventually, I landed at Commonwealth Bank, where I happily am now.
How did you find going from being a freelancer to working in-house?
Speed was the biggest difference. Startups might develop a feature in eight weeks; banks can take six months to a year because of red tape. The upside is having time for thorough research and testing, so once it’s out, you can confidently say, “Yeah, I ticked everything off.”
How have you been incorporating Fable into your recent work?
I handle most of the animations for the CommBank app, but working at a bank comes with a lot of security considerations. Early on, even using cloud-based tools like Figma required a lot of back-and-forth with IT, and getting approval for Adobe plugins took about a month.
Teaching After Effects to other designers was also a huge challenge. It’s an intimidating program — opening it can feel like opening Pandora’s box. It required a lot of oversight and became a bit of a headache.
Discovering Fable was a real aha moment. I love that I can export a GIF for prototypes and a Lottie file for developers from the same app. It saves time and lets me move really quickly. For example, I designed the loading sequence for the Commonwealth Bank app in Fable — a lock that loads and then unlocks once the data is ready, giving access to the app.
I’ve also started using Fable alongside Framer websites. Adding Lottie files in Framer is incredibly easy, and working in Framer feels like prototyping at a much larger scale. All these new tools have genuinely reignited my excitement for the web.
Any career highs?
The early Flash era was incredible. We started a small company, four or five of us, all massive nerds just trying to see what we could build and whether we could win design awards.
We won Macromedia’s Site of the Day twice. Once for a project promoting Aboriginal awareness in Australia, and later for the Sydney Morning Herald. That era of immersive, animated websites was special.
I also moved to London and worked on the Wallace and Gromit website, along with several Pixar sites. Working with companies I couldn’t access from Australia was eye-opening. Living overseas was definitely a career highlight.
Career lows?
When Flash died, I seriously questioned my career. I hadn’t upskilled beyond it enough to feel confident contracting. It was a tough moment, especially with UX emerging at the same time.
A lot of designers, myself included, assumed UX was just what we already did. Digging into it revealed a whole other discipline.
Now, working as a senior UI designer alongside a senior UX designer, I really appreciate the division; there are parts of UX I don’t love, so having someone brilliant handle that while I focus on what I do best works perfectly. I’m just happy to be teamed up with someone very good.
Any big takeaways from those experiences?
Upskilling is everything. The death of Flash taught me not to rely on a single tool. Now, with so many new programs emerging, I’m constantly learning, and it’s exciting.
AI is both thrilling and a little scary. It speeds up workflows like content and image generation, which is great. But tools that promise to design entire websites from a prompt make me pause. I think our roles may shift closer to art direction than hands-on building.
Do you see the web becoming homogeneous again, like it did post-Flash?
No, I actually think things are coming full circle. New technologies are enabling more immersive experiences again. For a while, everything felt locked into WordPress-style templates, but tools like Webflow and Framer are making the web exciting again. I think we’re about to see more expressive, responsive sites that don’t follow all the post-Flash rules.
Anything you've been into recently?
Mostly Framer and YouTube. We’re moving houses, so time’s limited, but I’ve been deep in learning Framer.
Check out stills from Darren's first Framer website, and make sure to watch the Lottie animation at the bottom of the page, made in Fable. 🤩
Anything you're excited about?
I’m excited to redo my portfolio. I’ve been bookmarking inspirational sites and feel like it’s time for a refresh.
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Darren is energized by tools that streamline creative work and make experimentation easier. His curiosity as a seasoned designer is both cool and contagious.
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To Darren, thanks for the insightful chat. We can’t wait to see your revamped portfolio!
Where to find Darren Kirk: