Our work
We are currently leading service design and user centred design work to support UK government departments to deliver new services and systems at scale. Much of this work is confidential.
We have a long track record of supporting innovative, entrepreneurial projects and pilots, and are ourselves pioneers in digital and interdisciplinary design.
There’s more about our approaches below. If you would like to find out more, please get in touch.
Design
Rapidly changing business and social challenges are driving emerging opportunities and new services, approaches and interactions are needed to make the best of them.
Design is the key to taking ideas from concept to implementation quickly and effectively, and is playing an increasingly fundamental role in transforming our world.
Design is also changing, moving deeper into organisations and operations and with greater involvement from the client, user and customer alike.
Making the most of agile and collaborative approaches requires an understanding of multiple design practices, data, communications and media, technology, platforms, systems, digital development, infrastructure, research, communities, culture and psychology.
Over the past 25 years we have provided design services to start-ups, innovative enterprises and design-led businesses. Our work is rooted in this hands-on creative experience, and in design practices that integrate Agile and GDS.
User-centered design
Design works best when everybody is involved, but who is ‘everybody’ and what to they want?
User centered design (UCD) enables the creation of great products and services that are accesible, inclusive and that deliver value for everyone.
We use service design, psychology and interaction theory to help us understand user and project motives, so that interfaces systems and processes will be effective, easy and attractive to use
AB testing and user interviews are useful, however going deeper with workshops, deep collaboration and co-design uncovers deeper needs or concerns. Recognising goals and resolving these ‘pain points’ is one of the most rewarding and valuable ways to improve the way you work or do business.
Knowing your users well means that you can better tailor content and visual language, creating consistent narratives and experiences across different digital and social platforms and offline activities.
Understanding and working with users limitations means that strategies and improvements can be developed to ensure that your products and services are effective, accessible and inclusive.
We are pioneering researchers in cognitive acessibilty and unlocking neurodivergent potential.
Systems
We are used to thinking of systems as just being software and hardware, and the human element is often taken as given or left to the end.
Not only are we working in the other direction, placing the human first, but we also see technology as just part of the picture. While it’s great that we know what NLP, DDaT or SaSS are, just as important is understanding the legal moral and cultural frameworks, or how best to help people work together.
Taking a systems approach is not a quick fix, but a great strategy that allows for meeting current needs and being prepared for the future. It can also uncover new opportunities and markets. and valuable sources of revenue.
We also understand that both legacy and emergent issues can cause complexity and delays, and use a systemic, pragmatic approach to unpacking and resolving problems at all stages of the project life cycle or product development.
We speak design and geek – and have have worked with developers coders, data experts and systems architects across Europe and beyond.
Bringing it all together
Bringing design, UX and systems together allows us to uncover, develop and integrate platforms, strategies, tools and processes that people will find easy, effective and in most cases enjoyable to use, and that support project goals.
We apply this to our own projects and collaborations and to our consultancy work.
Our work
Much of our work has been undertaken on a confidential basis, on projects such as:
- Supporting UK Govermernt departments to take services from Discovery to Alpha, and to establish and embed effective design approaches.
- Service design, inclusion measures and strategic insights for the roll out of devolved Scottish Social Benefits
- Service design and opportunity mapping for the UK’s largest telecommunications provider
- Supporting UK public institutions to improve usability and accessibility for Covid-19 related services
- Agile-led production and content migration for the re-platforming of a large network and telecommunications service provider
- Development services, advice, and open-source consultancy for a top ten London communications agency
- Digital strategy, content management, and editorial workflow development for a leading UK charity
- Long-term project development and media strategy consultancy for high-profile international environmental campaigns
If you would like to find out more, please get in touch.