I am getting ready to submit my application for exceptional promise. The information on this forum has been very helpful, and I would love to get feedback before submitting it. Please let me know how I can improve anything.
Thank you so much.
LOR
Co-founder/CEO of an AI - learning platform ( to support 7)
Co-founder/CEO of Multiple Startups
CEO of a non-profit organisation
MC
Evidence of leading the growth of a product-led digital Fintech company as one of the founding designers, redesigning checkout and onboarding. Platform processes £240,000,000 in monthly transactions
Evidence of leading a product-led digital technology company. Documentation and screenshots showing my leadership in a technology-led company(Company 2)
Recommendation Letter from Chief Marketing Officer to support 1
Proof of high Salary ( benchmark with industry standard) with evidence of impact to justify my earnings
OC2 (I’d select the strongest)
I have been a significant contributor to substantial open-source projects on Figma Community involvement ( CV Template 2700 Usage, iPhone Template 750 Usage) and a website to aid UX, with 5000 visitors
An op-ed or news article that exemplifies thought leadership, evidence of mentorship ( 4 Articles with 2 publishers on Medium and 2 at a top UX publisher)
Recommendation Letter from the CEO of a testing firm to support the website to aid UX ( To support 1)
Recognition for work outside your immediate occupation that contributes to the advancement of the field
Evidence that I spoke on a TV channel with viewership and a testimonial from peers ( including a comment from my LOR 1)
My portfolio was featured on Bestfolios, a highly regarded platform for showcasing top design work, reflecting my contribution to the design community.
Recognition for work outside your immediate occupation that contributes to the advancement of the field. Research on the usability of the NHS app, Impact on how it could reduce waiting times and make healthcare accessible.
Recommendation Letter to support my Research by the research director/co-writer acknowledging the significance of your research and its impact on the sector.
OC3 (I’d select the strongest)
I have led the development of high-impact digital products or services that fostered partnership with a bigger brand, increased user engagement, and improved workflow and turnaround time in development. ( For the AI - learning platform, same with LOR 1)
I have led the development of high-impact digital products or services for a dating platform with 50 million users. Evidence that I have helped increase ARPU, SignUps and increased user engagement
Recommendation Letter from my Head of Design ( Harvard Alumni to support 8 )
Can you state what are the specific evidence when you give a certain example? For instance, under #7 how do you plan to show that you led the development of digital products? Do you have code commits, internal announcements, project updates etc? Without the specifics, it’s hard to comment on the evidence pieces themselves. But the examples as such sound okay.
Your evidence looks strong but needs better organization and clearer documentation. Create separate PDF files for each evidence category with clear titles explaining what the committee should focus on. Include concrete metrics wherever possible - for your Figma templates, show download numbers and user feedback. In past applications I’ve reviewed, candidates who provided specific numbers and user testimonials alongside their design work had much better success rates.
Your Medium articles alone won’t be sufficient for major publication evidence since the guidance specifically excludes self-published content. Focus on the articles published by established UX publishers instead. For your open-source contributions, provide more than just usage numbers - include screenshots of community engagement and testimonials from users. I’ve seen similar design-focused applications succeed when they showed clear impact on the broader design community rather than just download metrics.
Consider combining your research evidence with your NHS app usability work to create a stronger academic contribution story. Ask your research director to emphasize how this work advances the field beyond just one app. Your salary evidence needs to clearly explain your specific contributions that justify the high compensation - don’t just show the contract. Past successful applicants I’ve advised always paired salary evidence with detailed impact documentation showing how their work drove measurable business results.
You’ve clearly done a lot of impressive work, and you’re well on your way to submitting a strong application.
One thing I’d recommend is making sure your evidence is well-structured and tells the assessor exactly what they’re looking at and how it links to the criteria. It really helps to guide their attention.
Also, wherever you can, include specific numbers or results. Things like usage stats, user growth, revenue impact, or engagement metrics really help tell the story of your impact. It’s not just about showing that you did something, but also the value it brought.
On publications, Medium articles, while valuable, are considered self-published and usually don’t meet the major media requirement. If you have articles on more established platforms or ones that have gone through an editorial process, it’s best to highlight those instead.
Overall, what you want to aim for is clarity and evidence that speaks directly to your contribution, not just what happened, but what your role was, and the difference you made.