Content design
Content design for services
For 10 years, I’ve designed content for a wide spectrum of digital services, with citizen and specialist users.
My experience working on high-pressure/high-profile GOV.UK projects such as Brexit and coronavirus, means I am best placed to help you understand how to deal with pressure from fast pace and difficult stakeholders.
Training for content designers
I’ve coached and trained content designers for many different public sector organisations, including Homes England, Buckinghamshire County Council and Committee on Climate Change. I’ve done it through:
- one-to-one mentoring
- multi-day workshops on the principles of content design and how to use it in your work
Content strategy
I wrote content strategies for Buckinghamshire County Council and Homes England, using qualitative research methods to identify organisational needs, pain points and limitations.
Homes England’s strategy was the result of one month’s research with staff: interviewing 2 comms staff, 2 digital publishers, 2 policy staff and 1 business analyst.
Buckinghamshire County Council’s strategy was co-designed in a 2-day workshop on content design that I ran for comms staff.
Accessibility
Writing the UK government’s accessibility guidelines, banning PDFs from GOV.UK
With the accessibility team at GDS, I wrote guidelines for GOV.UK publishers on open formats based on accessibility best practice, effectively banning PDFs because of their inaccessibility.
This was huge for government content designers! And a pivotal moment in a decade-old discussion about the government’s use of PDFs.
Positive feedback from press and disability campaigners:
- Econsultancy.com – “This is big news for content designers and has been lauded by accessibility advocates.”
- Chris Moore MBE, accessibility expert, civil servant and blind person – “The war on PDF being a primary format on GOV.UK is finally over. Huge thanks to my Government accessibility community colleages for tirelessly campaigning to make this happen.” (Twitter, December 2020)
Writing accessibility guides for organisations
I’ve written accessibility guidance for:
- ‘Our Shared Shelf’, Emma Watson’s feminist book club
- National Disease Registration Service
- Transform – a service design consultancy working with central government
User research
In 2023, I worked as a user researcher for Department for Education, planning and running user research sessions with school staff to understand their needs and pain points around procurement.
Working closely with user researchers or running guerrilla research is also an integral part of my work as a content designer.
For example I set up, ran and analysed usability testing sessions for Committee on Climate Change, interviewing 5 science journalists and 5 external site users. I used this research to design the website’s taxonomy and improve the findability of existing content.
Workshop facilitation
I’ve been a workshop facilitator and community organiser since 2010. I’ve run educational programmes, workshops and training:
- in domestic violence and youth services, for Solace Womensaid, Newham Council Youth Services and Domestic Violence Intervention Project
- in community food growing for Action for Refugees in Lewisham, Urban Growth, Garden Museum, Denmark Hill Community Garden and London National Park City
In 2020 I ran a workshop for staff at GDS about how to engage in anti-racism as an ally. It was attending by 130 people online.