Lorna McFall
Freelance UI UX Designer
Lorna McFall is a Freelance UI/UX Designer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Having graduated with a First with Distinction in BDes (hons) Animation Degree, she initially worked within the Children’s Animation Industry before reskilling into the Video Games Industry via Northern Ireland Screen. In her 5 years within the games industry she has worked across 13 projects, 6 of which have been released.
At Lovewish Games she grew from being a Part Time Junior Game Developer to being the Full Time Studio Head of their Northern Ireland Division, Studio Witchstar. Within one year Studio Witchstar self published two games including ‘The Final Farewell’ and ‘Anchored Hearts: A Tale of Destiny’ which she is also credited as Creative Director. In 2014 she made the shift towards becoming a full time freelance UI UX Designer as she saw a demand for these skills grow and wanted to support more local studios in seeing their games released.
Her other released titles include ‘Paleo Pines’ by Italic Pig, ‘Live by the Sword: Tactics’ by Labrador Studios, and most recently the award winning ‘The Séance of Blake Manor’ by Spooky Doorway, which Metacritic rated 11# in The 20 Best PC Games of 2025.
In addition, Lorna has experience training having presented talks, ran full day workshops, facilitated roundtables and been a mentor on multiple schemes. She has presented for Northern Ireland Screen, Ardán, Next Gen Skills Academy, as well as Ulster University - teaching a range of topics including entering the Games Industry, UI Design, UX Design, Accessibility, Freelancing, as well as Sustainable Studio Management. In both work and as a speaker she is transparent about being neurodivergent, seeking to remove the stigma, and promote accessibility both within games and the studios in which they are created.
Lorna McFall is speaking at the following session/s
How Does One Freelance?
Are you someone who is new to the games industry looking for your first client, or have you been in the industry for quite some time as an employee but are now looking to take the freelancer plunge?
When we first take that step, it feels like there are so many unknowns. I know when I first ventured my mind went to:
‘Where do I find the work so I can keep being able to pay rent?’
‘How much should I charge for my skills and time?’
‘What is a self assessment and how do I even go about it?’
And many, many more.
It took time for me to find the answers, and even longer to realise what I should have been asking in the first place.
In this 101 Class of ‘How Does One Freelance?’ you will discover those questions and answers much sooner to help establish whether this work structure is for you. We will explore all the main FAQ’s, the pros and cons to the choices that don’t necessarily have a right answer, as well as ensure you know how to look after yourself from a work, money and business perspective in a sustainable way. By the end of this talk, you will have a much stronger understanding of what day to day life of a freelancer in games (regardless of your role) could look like.
Session Takeaway
The Work - We will break down how to build up your client network and maintain sustainable work so you are thriving and not just surviving.
The Money - A topic we often are too shy to speak about, but we will cover how to price your services and how to go about getting paid.
The Business - How not to have HMRC on your back about self assessment and tax, as well as better understanding legal contracts and business expenses.
Session speakers
