SPARCK

Sparck content designer Robert White-Gray recently took part in some user research as a participant. It gave him a new appreciation of the work researchers do to create a safe environment. He wrote about this for our blog last week and has now distilled it into a handy 2-minute briefing. 👇 #UserResearch #research #UXResearch

Taking a ‘content first’ approach to designing products and services can be game changer. Here are some useful resources on what it is and how to practice it. ✍ 1. ‘Content-first prototyping: prioritising what service users need’ by Miriam Vaswani This is a helpful primer on what ‘content first’ is and how it helps based on Miriam’s experience working on NHS Wayfinder: “‘Content first’ prototyping means we base our design on the information people need to complete the task safely and successfully. It doesn’t mean that content design is more important than product design, service design, research or strategy. It means that the prototype is designed with content as its structure.” Read the rest here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eJdFT4H5 2. ‘How content-first design can improve the customer experience’ by Naomi Busuttil and Katie Paige Sparck content designer Naomi Busuttil has been working with the UK Hydrographic Office (UK Hydrographic Office) and collaborated on this blog post with a UKHO colleague: “The UKHO Data Upload service enables data suppliers like ports to share their bathymetric data with us. As these users are busy and may only upload data occasionally, it is crucial that the content on our website is clear, unambiguous and doesn't use complex wording. We had to go above and beyond to remove any potential hurdles, such as problems with using forms, hard-to-understand language or visually unattractive formatting, as this could negatively impact the number of users willing to use the service; this is where a content-first approach comes in.” Read it on the UKHO website 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ejCMcXTe 3. ‘Which Comes First? Layout or Content?’ by Susan Farrell This 2015 article from the Nielsen Norman Group compares ‘content first’ design with its opposite, ‘container first’, highlighting the risks of the latter: “A template or CMS may contain placeholders for things that don't exist on every page or that don't make sense for the organization. Filling these with fake content during design can lead to empty, unneeded spaces later. ‘Lorem ipsum’ must die… Lock-step consistency can lead to unusable pages with redundant or irrelevant content.” Read the article on the NNG website 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e7G4HfQN 4. ‘8 Steps to Content-First Design’ by Sarah Johnson For those who prefer to learn by listening and watching, this talk is packed with great visuals and real-world examples of ‘content first’ design Watch it on YouTube 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ei5gXF8N #ContentDesign #design #content

You’ve probably heard the saying “Learn the rules to break the rules”. Well, content designers learn the rules of grammar mostly so they can break them with confidence. 📚 In the latest post on the Sparck blog Miriam Vaswani has written about what that means in principle and in practice: “If we’re designing in English, it’s important to understand the difference between the simple present tense and the continuous present tense. It’s even more important to understand the difference in meaning between continuous present tense in (for example) Indian English versus German English. It’s more important still to understand the how widely understood, or misunderstood, a part of speech is, depending on a person’s level of stress, progress in learning a language…” You can read the post here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/er6ha4Hj And let us know what you think below. 👇 [Image description: An icon-style illustration of a sheet of rules being torn in half.] #ContentDesign #design #content

The UK school summer holidays are here and our head of design has advice on how to create great family experience through design thinking. 🏖🎳 A few years ago Paul Bailey’s children asked him that dreaded question: “What are we doing today?” In the past, these aimless days off had led to sulking and bickering and he really wanted to avoid that. So, Paul decided to do what he’d do at work and run a workshop. His children worked together to create their idea of a perfect day, responding to Paul’s how-might-we-prompt: “How might we have an awesome day?” Covering the wall in sticky notes they came up with a big list of ideas. They then used sticky dots to vote on them to find the suggestions that resonated with everyone. Then, with the list shortened, they prepared a timeline for the day. “There was no arguing,” says Paul “because everyone got to do things they enjoyed. And whenever we weren’t sure what to do next, we could refer to the timeline stuck to the fridge.” Since then Paul has used design thinking tactics to solve other parenting problems, such as a chaotic school run, and making long car journeys fun. Find out more on the SPARCK blog 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ezczhiTM And let us know in the comments if you try something like this with your family. 👇 [Image description: Paul's children gathered around a sheet of paper covered in sticky notes in a mini workshop.] #SummerHolidays #SchoolHolidays #parenting

One of the big moves the new UK Government made after the recent election was to centralise key digital functions in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The expanded DSIT is now home to… • the Government Digital Service (GDS) • the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) • the Incubator for AI (iAI) There’s a risk here that moving some of these units from Cabinet Office and Downing Street puts them at arms' length from the centre of power. It might also be that these core functions also end up locked in a silo. That can lead to inefficiencies, communication problems, and delays in a fractured, complex delivery landscape. But, more positively, this shift seems to emphasise the Government's commitment to digital innovation and technology, by creating a single, powerful responsible body. Peter Kyle, the new Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, said when this was announced: “We will act as a leader and partner across government, with industry and the research communities, to boost Britain’s economic performance and power up our public services to improve the lives and life chances of people through the application of science and technology.” Hopefully, this will give product owners across government robust support from a central entity to push user-centred innovation. By, for example, extending ‘one login’ to more government services. Which sounds pretty exciting to us. [Image description: A diagram with circles representing GDS, CDDO and i.AI being absorbed into DSIT.] #innovation #design #technology

There is huge potential for extended reality (XR) in healthcare, says John Cowen, but only if we stay focused on patient needs and patient outcomes. 👇 He recently attended an inspiring and insightful conference on this subject in Exeter and has distilled his learnings into a handy 2-minute briefing. #XR #design #healthcare

Great stuff on the power of 'content first' here from Sparck content designer Naomi Busuttil, based on her experience with the UK Hydrographic Office. #ContentDesign #design #content

Nottingham design and tech people: Paul Bailey is speaking at a free event tomorrow night, Thursday 18 July, about how to innovate better, with less. 👇 It’s an in-person event hosted by Design and Innovation Nottingham at Antenna, 9A Beck Street. It starts at 6:30 pm and ends at 9:00 pm. Paul will be speaking about: • why we need fewer big ideas and more cheap experiments • how to build the thing right, and build the right thing • why when it comes to products and services, less is always more He’s got decades of experience in design and technology and will be sharing tons of personal insights based on real projects. He’ll be joined by Tanvi Vats whose talk will be about the consumer’s right to repair internet-of-things devices. So plenty of food for thought across the night – as well as *actual* food, in the form of free pizza. 🍕 Claim your spot here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eiGAaQNg [Image description: The logo for Design and Innovation Nottingham (DING) with a shining lightbulb.] #Nottingham #innovation #design

When the chance arose to take part in user research as a participant Robert White-Gray’s curiosity kicked in and he signed up. It was an eye-opening experience. 👀 In particular, Rob was struck by his own emotional response to a breach of protocol, or etiquette, when a supposedly silent observer suddenly piped up. “They wanted to know why I’d made a certain choice when looking at a webpage and once I’d answered, they thanked me and disappeared back into the ether. I was taken aback but carried on with the session… It wasn’t until afterwards, when I had time to reflect, that I realised I felt a strange sense of vulnerability.” It also made him appreciate the invisible work that his colleagues on the Sparck user research term put into making interview feel calm, relaxed, and safe. You can read the post here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/etR95HTn [Image description: A staring eye representing an interview observer.] #UserResearch #research #design

Mature design teams deliver serious business results – but how do you get there? Through a structured ‘capability building’ process. 🛠 In the past few years we’ve found ourselves working with an increasing number of clients who not only want to buy our design expertise but also learn how to do it themselves. They‘ve seen what we do, and the power of user-centred design, and want to embed that culture in their own organisations. But it’s about way more than training. Our approach to capability building delivers: • team vision and mission • definitions of key design roles • embedding of design principles • simplified documentation and processes • tools to measure progress and maturity • role modelling from embedded experts • change management and employee engagement It all starts with discovery – what is the situation, environment and context in which your people need to deliver user-centred design? Then we create a capability roadmap setting out how we’ll manage this transformation, beat by beat. Finally, we create the right environment for people to develop new skills, reshape existing skills, and develop human-centred mindsets and methods. If you want to find out more say hello to Le'Anne Whiteford for a no-commitment chat. Even with a quick chat over a coffee, you’re bound to pick up some useful ideas and advice. ☕ #training #design #UserCentredDesign