Design
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Our focus is the design of products or services for governments, health care organisations, police forces, charities and more. So the projects we design range from helping to diagnose respiratory disease to guiding users through the probation service.
Whether offline or online, we strive to create services that address genuine user and organisational challenges. So we take a broad look at what users need, the systemic issues around a service and where the best opportunities are to deliver change.
At NEC Digital Studio, we have experts across 3 different design disciplines:
Service designInteraction designContent designOur mindset is always user first. We involve them early and we rely on robust research to understand their needs.
Our approach, however, can differ from project to project. We might use different tools to make things clear to different clients, like a prototype, a diagram, a storyboard, or a journey map. They help to drive effective conversations and tell compelling stories. But because no 2 projects will ever be the same, we adapt to find the right approach for each client and their users.
Design should always be collaborative. We work in partnership with our clients and their users to find practical solutions that work well for everyone. Our best work is achieved through building strong relationships. So we talk, and more importantly, we listen. We’re the glue between an organisation and its users.
Having clients intimately involved in our work has many benefits. It removes risk because they are invested in the process and outcomes from the start. It also means the services we create stand a better chance at being implemented and adopted. Another benefit is the knowledge transfer to clients. We share our expertise, ways of working and resources. And in turn, they build capacity in their teams to develop services with the user at their core.
The purpose of designing with the users is to empower their voices throughout the process. We involve the users as early as possible to shape the product or service into something they can and will use.
We tell our clients what they need, not what they want to hear. We challenge when we believe a better choice could be made. And our clients value us because we take them where they need to go.
“The team were a delight to work with and added real value and a positive challenge to our own ideas and experiences.” ~ Katie Miller, Volunteering Transformation Manager, The Scouts
Working with users and organisations, we often uncover misaligned needs. Our job is to translate those needs in a way that can be understood by everyone and provide the wider context. Equipped with better information, we help clients to come to agreement on the best and most informed solutions.
When designers talk of design, they often mention blueprints, journey maps, and personas. Sure, these artefacts can be important, but the real value is the conversations and decisions they facilitate. It’s about clarity and consensus, not just maps.
Huge numbers of people are excluded from day-to-day services, which makes social inequalities worse. Our inclusive design mindset means we always aim to work with communities who aren’t being reached.
We work with organisations that strive to make life better for people, communities and the planet. We don’t practice deceptive design, where the prompts and triggers push you towards something you don’t want to do. Our design empowers organisations to be more effective, inclusive and sustainable.
It’s not good enough to simply create software and services with good intentions. As the designers of systems, we make sure they are created in a way that prevents accidental or deliberate harm. It’s our job to imagine the potential for misuse.
A lot of our projects involve people who are exposed to traumatic or turbulent life events. We deliver services that help them without forcing them to confront that trauma all over again.
This can be done in how we work and communicate with them throughout the design process, and by carefully considering how they may be affected by the designed service. We approach our projects prioritising the safety of the users.
Designing is about relentlessly trying to find a better way. We challenge ourselves to go beyond the easy route to find what’s right.
When we design, we push beyond what we’re told and delve below the surface level. We always look for opportunities to evolve best practice, whether that's enhancing existing methods or innovating new ones.
We can’t push for something new if we’re afraid of being wrong. So it’s crucial that we create a safe space to test and develop ideas. Ultimately, it’s our desire to explore a project and see it through properly that shapes how we turn up to work every day.
