Portfolio
I've been designing the web since 1996. From the heady days of the 468x60px banner advert right up to new fangled extended reality, voice UI and AI there's always been something new to get my UX teeth into. You'll find a selection of my latest projects below.
See also: My CV.
At Torpedo
As UX Director at Torpedo I lead, coach and mentor a team of UX/UI designers, researchers and front-end developers (Jacqs, Emily, Cristiano, David, Galyna and Katie) working across a broad spectrum of business-to-business (B2B) projects. Here is a selection of our recent work.
Sketchup Hub
Sketchup Hub is a microsite aimed at business-to-business (B2B), specifically architects, commercial interiors and people working in the construction industry. We developed user personas, customer journey maps, wireframes, content, UI and the front-end code. My role was to direct, guide and support the UX side of the project. I most enjoyed supporting and coaching Jacqs, our Senior UX/UI designer who delivered some stunning UI as well as leading the project to completion.
Autodesk Tandem
Tandem is a Digital Twin solution from Autodesk. Digital twins are effectively a digital representation of a building where building owners can model environmental conditions and changes to understand impact as well as take control of systems like heating, windows and anything that can be controlled via a network. We designed and built the marketing and support website through thorough user research. The final design was by Emily in my team. My role was to coach and support her with the UX process.
Panasonic Connect
Panasonic Connect is the European Panasonic B2B website. With a focus on products and solutions my team delivered a modern design, tested with users across different business sectors. My role was to support and coach Cristiano, a UX/UI designer in my team, as well as to design and facilitate usability testing.
Workshop XR
Workshop XR is an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience, best seen through a VR headset. It enables people involved in designing and building commercial and residential spaces to get inside and walkaround the building before it's been built, to understand how it feels and spot any potential issues. Multiple people can gather in the building and collaborate on improvements together. We designed and built the website to support the product. David (UX/UI designer) and Katie (Front-end developer) in my team worked hard to create an experience on the website that gave a really strong flavour of the immersive experience. My role was to support and guide the team as servant-leader, coach and mentor.
Autodesk Research
Autodesk Research was the first propject I worked on with Torpedo. Aimed at the research and development community with Autodesk, the site showcases research projects and future thinking thought leadership. Jacqs and I worked together with many stakeholders across Autodesk, conducting user and stakeholder interviews, interactive workshops and usability testing. We created personas, customer journeys maps along with detailed wireframes and responsive UI.
At The Open University (2002-2021)
I was often the sole UX designer working on a number of high profile digital assets and websites across the Open University.
- Help Centre - Lead UX designer, merging many student support websites and unwieldy FAQs into a single knowledge base. Introduced highly accessible, inclusive user centred design, feedback widgets, behavioural analytics, continuous improvements and operational procedures.
- Tutorial booking system - Lead design, running agile UX sprints to deliver regular incremental value to students. Included conceptualising user experience for waiting lists, cancelation, venue location and facilities and a backup system for Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) layer failure.
- StudentHome - Sole designer for the 2009 redesign (still active today!) of the bespoke portal to OU online study and administration. Complete overhaul, introducing user-centred design, web standards, high accessibility, responsive layout. Used by over 200,000 students per year.
- TutorHome - Sole UX designer creating HTML, CSS, JS, graphics, running collaborative design and ideation workshops with Associate Lecturers (AL) and staff tutors. Consulting with the AL Executive, involving key stakeholders and users in every step of the development.
- OUICE design component library framework - Conceptualised, designed and developed a CSS framework for rapid delivery of accessible, brand-compliant OU websites.
- Countdown to study - Led the UX design of an interactive tool to help new and reuturning students know what to do and buy when before starting their studies. Included a mechanism to 'tick' items as done. For example, having applied for student loan, disability support allowance, pre-module induction an so on.
- Complaints and appeals - Lead designer, working with external consultants to research, evaluate, design and test a service the better served both customers and the back-office processing student complaints and appeals against their grades.
- MyStuff ePortfolio - Sole UX designer working with a team of Learning Design developers, translating abstract concepts into tangible and usable interfaces to match student mental models.
- Module chooser - Lead designer, original conceptual design, HTML, CSS, content for the service that all OU students use to register and enroll on their modules.
- Careers Advisory Service - Complete overhaul of the digital service taking a needs-base approach to content organisation.
- Services for disabled students - Implemented 'practice what you preach' accessibility for all regardless of disability. Praised for high accessibility for blind/partially sighted students, students with manual dexterity issues and cognitive issues. Approach subsequently rolled out to websites across the organisation.
- Skills for OU Study - Led the design and development of the study skills website, bringing together help and support from a number of different websites into a single cohesive experience.
- Study with the OU - Lead designer on the OU online prospectus. Overhauled the course descriptions to better meet enquirer and student needs and expectations.
- Student profile - Sole designer, overhauling the front-end design acting as a gateway and masking ancient technical systems.
- Staff profiles (People Profiles) - Sole designer, front-end design, HTML and CSS using the OUICE framework.
Additional services I have worked on as a service designer include
- Request for disability support
- Request for special circumstances to be taken into account with regard to the final overall assessment calculation
- Request to take a break from study
- Request to withdraw from study
- Request careers and employability guidance from an adviser
- Request additional study support
- Request a reference from the OU
- Request extra support at a residential school
- Request to take an exam at home
At Johnston Press / Central Counties Newspapers (2000-2002)
I was the Senior Web Designer working across nine local newspapers
- Buckingham and Winslow Advertiser
- Brackley Review
- Brackley and Towcester Advertiser
- Daventry Express
- Hemel Gazette
- Rugby Advertiser
- Leamington Courier
- Bucks Herald
- Banbury Guardian
I was responsible for leading the overall digital design of the newspapers as well as creating bespoke advertisements and brochure websites for customers.
As a freelancer (1999-current)
- Silvernet
- Pod racer
- Honey and McAlpine
- Stone Monkey
- Word
- Web Happens
- Experience UX
- Food Sprint
- Forage