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Here’s how clients and creatives can benefit from creative pursuits outside of work.
You may not feel like it after a long slog in the day job, but that time you have to yourself in the evening – whether it’s hours or just a few minutes – can lead to some of your most inspired and creative work. But working on a side project can produce wide-reaching benefits that you might not expect when you start out.
If you’ve seen your fair share of daily grind style content on social media (and it’s everywhere) then you might be wondering why I’m talking about a “side project” and not a “side hustle,” as the latter term is certainly more popular today. There is a significant amount of crossover between the two, but a side hustle is predominantly focused on making money outside of your day job (think building your own business or even working a second part-time job) while a side project encompasses a greater variety of interests and hobbies, with a range of motivations behind them.
Ultimately, however, the term “side project” fails to convey the importance of working on your own creative pursuits. We decided to reach out to a group of creatives throughout our network to see how their own projects have helped to shape their lives.
“Framing the day job as the thing that supports my lifestyle”
Rob, Senior Copywriter
From the outside, a project that someone works on outside of the day job might be viewed as the “side hustle”, but this doesn’t mean that you have to see it the same way. Rob, a senior copywriter and content strategist, had this to say:
“Working as a copywriter isn't always creative. That's not necessarily a bad thing. There's satisfaction to be found in any job well done. And besides, we can't all be working on award-winning brand campaigns all the time.
That said, I’m happiest when creating something that holds emotional value for me. So making music, which I've been doing for more than 20 years, is key to my mental wellbeing.
Writing and playing songs outside of work allows me to frame my day job as the thing that supports my lifestyle, rather than a creative endeavour contiguous with my self-esteem. As a result, I’m happier and I do better work. Win-win.”
“More confidence in my creativity”
Charley, Creative Designer
Following a passion project outside of work can lead to a confidence boost that you can apply to your work and other areas of your life.
Charley, our creative designer, has been involved in film production since she got involved in creating a short thriller film and a music video for her A-Level in Media Studies. After leaving school, she also worked on multiple event wrap-ups, promo videos, and local music videos. On her film projects since then, she said:
“In 2020 I did my own short film in a dolmen with a couple of friends. It ended up being super successful, winning some awards and even being shown at Pinewood studios. After that my projects got much bigger, and I was chief editor for a feature length film that won more awards, and secured an international distribution deal.
These experiences have given me more confidence in my creativity, and the courage to just go out there and do what I enjoy.”
“A lark that I thoroughly enjoy”
Tom, Digital Marketing Consultant
A side project can be as simple as a hobby that you enjoy in your downtime. Tom, an experienced digital marketing consultant, shared his interest in photography, which started as a child on family holidays.
“Though my parents were sceptical and often concerned that I was about to ‘waste film’, I always had a hunch that I could take a better photo than either of them.
As technology evolved and digital cameras became more prevalent, I caught the *ahem* shutterbug and haven’t looked back.
Discovering the work of street photographers like Joel Meyerowitz and Matt Stuart has changed how I think about taking pictures. There’s real humour to their work.
Nowadays, my idea of a perfect day is to wander around a foreign city, looking for funny or unusual scenes to capture. That said, I’ve hamstrung myself a bit by vowing to only post an image to my Instagram account if I can think of a suitably bad pun for the accompanying caption.
Maybe I’ll start taking the pursuit more seriously at some point. For now it’s a bit of a lark that I thoroughly enjoy.”
“I find a lot of peace when I’m doing it”
Lorna, Content Lead
Working on a creative task outside of work can also be a great way to look after your mental health. Lorna, our content lead, shared her ceramics hobby that she started with a friend six years ago.
“I find a lot of peace when I’m doing it. It’s a space where I can stop thinking about the usual things that clog up my brain and just focus on the clay and what I’m making. I enjoy the process, it can get quite scientific and requires some relaxed problem-solving when things go wrong.
At the moment I’m really into making lamp bases as I love how they’re functional but also decorative. I keep meaning to get more into creating standard ware – plates, cups etc., but every time I go to the studio I get distracted by making another weird lamp.
My studio is at my parents’ house which is great because it means I get to see them and play with clay all at the same time. I’m not very good at marketing it, but if you want to check out the very minimal selection I’ve posted online my Instagram is @lornafrankeramik.”
“The community aspect is great”
Adrian, Founder and Director
Your side project could unlock a community of friends that you might not have discovered otherwise. For Adrian, the founder and director of Ah Um, that came through playing music.
“I studied it at uni and have been involved in some way or another since. Teaching guitar, organising live shows and tours, occasionally playing in a band when time permits, and of course going to concerts.
The community aspect of playing in a band is great, and I've made lifelong friends doing it - if I'm ever lacking inspiration, a show at the Southbank or Barbican completely transforms my outlook. I think music for me (and art generally) helps bring a better perspective to work.”
“It’s fun to create something from scratch that’s entirely my own”
Sam, Copywriter
Having complete creative freedom is something that won’t always come from a day job, but a side project can offer the opportunity to explore your own ideas. Sam, our copywriter, does just that through his fiction writing.
“I’ve always had a passion for reading fiction – particularly fantasy, the more swords and dragons involved the better – and it felt right to try to create my own world, and the stories that could come from it.
It’s an up and down process for sure, there have been times where I’ve stopped altogether for weeks or months, but it’s also incredibly rewarding at points, like when I finish a chapter and send it over to friends for feedback. I’ve also just recently started posting some of my more finished chapters on a blog, which I’ve found helpful to self-actualise as a writer, and break a large project into smaller, more manageable chunks.
It’s fun to create something that’s entirely my own, and I’ve become a better writer because of it.”
“Just the act of switching gears is all that any of my side projects need to achieve”
Josh, Designer and Art Director
You might find that starting a side project serves as a full reset and refresh from day-to-day work, which is what Josh, a designer and art director, had to say when we asked him about his myriad of creative pursuits.
"Over my career as a creative, I’ve had endless side projects, and most never make it much further than a thought prefaced with “wouldn’t it be cool if…” and some will find momentum, gather steam and become fully fledged projects that involve other people, actual cash money and a final outcome.
In my early years, I used to beat myself up relentlessly if one of my many side projects didn’t take off in some massive way and make the front page of every design blog I read.
What I’ve come to understand nowadays is that (as cliché as it is) it’s the doing that matters – not where the side project ends up. It’s the freedom to create without any limitations, briefs, budgets or clients where the real value lies. I can try out that new 3D type technique from Instagram or get my oil paints out and remember in 10 minutes flat why I put them away in the first place. It doesn’t matter, just the act of switching gears and turning off the “business-creative” mode in my brain is all that any of my side projects needs to achieve."
“For me, it’s a form of self-care”
Maddie, UX Lead
A side project can also be a form of relaxation when you have those precious moments to yourself. For Maddie, our UX lead, that comes from creating her own nail art.
“It’s a bit like doing art on a micro canvas, so you have to really tone down your ideas to fit the limited space, but at the same time you can experiment with different combinations of colours, patterns, and shapes while still maintaining a consistent theme.
I tend to use display wheels (a ring of fake nails) because I’m too impatient to sit and let my nails dry without wanting to get up and do something in between layers. But using display wheels also means that I can dedicate a wheel to a specific theme like a set of colours or a type of pattern, and experiment with more ideas.
For me, it’s a form of self-care as I can relax and unwind while spending time painting. I tend to focus on one idea at a time, so when I zoom out again at the end and see everything come together it makes me feel good about what I’ve accomplished.”
Our key takeaways
Your “side project” can in fact be the goal that you structure the rest of your life around and derive the most meaning from, or simply be a way to rest and recharge.
One thing in particular stands out from the conversations we’ve had: the process of creating something that you find valuable is the most important thing, aside from any success that may come from your endeavour. The process itself can be an act of catharsis, of creating not because you think you should, but because you’d be missing something internally if you didn’t.
You may also find that undertaking your own side project helps you to perform better in your work. In your free time, you can learn and practise new skills without the pressure of a client looking over your shoulder, and bring a fresh perspective to the projects that pay the bills. As Iroh says in Avatar: The Last Airbender:
“It’s important to draw wisdom from different places. If you draw it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale.”
Whether you do it for the social reward, the creative freedom, or your mental health, your life could well be better from working on your own side projects.
Finding top talent might feel like an impossible task during the creative shortage, but it doesn’t have to be.
Working with freelancers can be a great way to get the expertise you need without committing to a full-time employee, but it’s becoming harder to find the right fit for businesses during the creative shortage. Here’s a few things to consider if you’re looking to build your own network of trusted freelancers.
Finding reliable freelancers
Being able to rely on a freelancer’s ability to produce good work to deadlines is important, but being limited to one or two regulars can throw a spanner in the works when they’re away on other projects. Investing time into building a larger pool to draw from can come in handy in these situations.
Word of mouth is a powerful tool and a good place to start. Ask the freelancers that you already have a relationship with whether they might know anyone else that they’d recommend for your project. Similarly, ask your colleagues about their own contacts. Maybe they’ve worked with someone previously that has gone freelance, or they have their own network that they can reach out to.
If you’re looking for a creative, portfolios are useful tools to gauge their skillset and whether they would be a good fit for your project. However, note that a portfolio usually won’t tell you how long the outputs took to create, or if they were completed individually or as part of a team.
Going through a freelancer website has its advantages too, especially because you’ll be able to see the reviews that others have left. If the freelancer has their own website, there’s also a good chance that they’ll have client testimonials on there. The more evidence they have showing the quality of their work, the more likely they’ll be a good fit for you.
Don’t forget to expand your search and look beyond traditional channels. Check social media, professional networking sites, and consider hiring from different parts of the world.
Building trust while working remotely
How can you build trust with freelancers when you have little to no face-to-face time?
Start small and traditional. Once you’ve found a freelancer, host a quick thirty-minute video call to get a feel for who they are and how they work. This’ll be another opportunity to gauge their skill level, and gives you a chance to brief them on the project and set any expectations early on.
After you’ve agreed to work together, you can get them started with smaller tasks that won’t be catastrophic if things go wrong. Remember though: you should allow them as much independence as is reasonably possible within the demands of your project, giving them time and freedom to produce their best work.
If you’re short of time, scheduling regular check-ins can be a good way to make sure that the brief is fully understood – especially at the start of the project. This way, any communication issues can be caught sooner rather than later.
What to do when you’re let down by a freelancer
Despite all of the planning you’ve done, some things will inevitably go wrong. If the problem is fixable, such as a misunderstanding of the brief, your best bet is to work through it with your freelancer and allow them to sort it out.
However, there are times when the problem might not be fixed as easily. Maybe the freelancer is unable to deliver to the agreed deadlines, or their skills are a poor match for the project. This is another moment where being able to fall back on a network of freelancers will be useful. Tapping into a community of trusted creatives for their expertise can help to get your project back on track, with no damage done to your company reputation.
Building a network will take time, and requires you to keep an eye out for new freelancers to work with.
What makes content engaging for a B2B audience? It’s a question that we’ve been pondering, so we put it to leaders in tech, AI and analytics. We spoke to over 250 senior leaders in this sector to help us understand the factors that shape high-value, group-based buying decisions, and the role that content plays in this decision-making journey.
In this report we explore the three most important characteristics to keep in mind when you’re creating content for a B2B audience. Plus, we identify an often overlooked truth – content tends to target decision makers, when in reality their decisions are made with input from another influential group: decision shapers.
Find out how you can make sure you’re creating engaging content that hits the right target.
Recent posts
Getting intimate with your business’s offering, audience, pain points and goals is critical for your agency to create content strategies that work and deliver content that will make a difference.
Laying strong foundations 💪
You might have made hundreds of successful content strategies before, but that doesn’t mean you can skip out laying the groundwork for the next one. Every great content strategy relies on knowing and understanding four important things:
- Your goals 🎯
- Your purpose ☝️
- Your target audience 👥
- The competitive landscape 🏆
What’s the big deal? 💁
Now, you might think that you can tell your agency these things in an email, or use your one hour kick-off meeting to flesh out these points.
But to deliver content strategy which is truly tailored to your business and destined to make a difference, your strategic creative team will want to take a deep dive into each one to make sure they really understand these four elements.
1. Understanding your goals 🎯
To create a strategy which will get you where you want to be, your content agency will need to fully understand what you want to achieve from a new strategy.
This will include knowing what triggered you to look for help in the first place, what your wider business goals are to understand how content fits into the bigger picture, and what results you expect to see from a new strategy.
2. Understanding your purpose ☝️
What you do and why you do it is going to be hugely important to your content strategy.
That’s why your agency will put the time and effort into really knowing your product and services. This might be done through extensive research, interviews or workshops, but however they go about it, they’ll want to understand what makes you great and what sets you apart from the competition.
3. Understanding your target audience 👥
Knowing your target audience, their challenges and how your product or services address these is essential to make sure your messaging resonates with them.
One of the most effective ways to understand your target audience is for your strategists to work with you to create audience personas. This will help them to identify what kind of communications they respond to, how they engage with content — looking at the best platforms and channels to use — and what makes them convert.
4. The competitive landscape 🏆
What your competitors are up to and how they are perceived in the market will arm your creative teams with an insight into what works in your industry, who they’re up against and help them understand how they can draw out your USPs to really make a difference.
That’s the long and short of it 🖐️
Armed with all this in-depth information, your content agency will be in a position to confidently and creatively explore content strategy for you, developing a plan that is bound for success.
But what if there were more… 👀
We believe in the power of knowing our clients so well and so intimately that one of our favourite services we offer is our on-demand studio model.
If you have a content strategy or project that you need created, implemented, advanced, or anything else at all, we put together a team of really great creatives and strategists and embed them into your team.
From this position they work directly with you, learning the ways of your business and the needs of your project — to the extent that they feel like a natural extension of your team.
And, as a result, they’re able to help you create really exceptional content efficiently and cost-effectively. It’s proven to be a great way of working and we really enjoy it.
Getting intimate with your business’s offering, audience, pain points and goals is critical for your agency to create content strategies that work and deliver content that will make a difference.
Laying strong foundations 💪
You might have made hundreds of successful content strategies before, but that doesn’t mean you can skip out laying the groundwork for the next one. Every great content strategy relies on knowing and understanding four important things:
- Your goals 🎯
- Your purpose ☝️
- Your target audience 👥
- The competitive landscape 🏆
What’s the big deal? 💁
Now, you might think that you can tell your agency these things in an email, or use your one hour kick-off meeting to flesh out these points.
But to deliver content strategy which is truly tailored to your business and destined to make a difference, your strategic creative team will want to take a deep dive into each one to make sure they really understand these four elements.
1. Understanding your goals 🎯
To create a strategy which will get you where you want to be, your content agency will need to fully understand what you want to achieve from a new strategy.
This will include knowing what triggered you to look for help in the first place, what your wider business goals are to understand how content fits into the bigger picture, and what results you expect to see from a new strategy.
2. Understanding your purpose ☝️
What you do and why you do it is going to be hugely important to your content strategy.
That’s why your agency will put the time and effort into really knowing your product and services. This might be done through extensive research, interviews or workshops, but however they go about it, they’ll want to understand what makes you great and what sets you apart from the competition.
3. Understanding your target audience 👥
Knowing your target audience, their challenges and how your product or services address these is essential to make sure your messaging resonates with them.
One of the most effective ways to understand your target audience is for your strategists to work with you to create audience personas. This will help them to identify what kind of communications they respond to, how they engage with content — looking at the best platforms and channels to use — and what makes them convert.
4. The competitive landscape 🏆
What your competitors are up to and how they are perceived in the market will arm your creative teams with an insight into what works in your industry, who they’re up against and help them understand how they can draw out your USPs to really make a difference.
That’s the long and short of it 🖐️
Armed with all this in-depth information, your content agency will be in a position to confidently and creatively explore content strategy for you, developing a plan that is bound for success.
But what if there were more… 👀
We believe in the power of knowing our clients so well and so intimately that one of our favourite services we offer is our on-demand studio model.
If you have a content strategy or project that you need created, implemented, advanced, or anything else at all, we put together a team of really great creatives and strategists and embed them into your team.
From this position they work directly with you, learning the ways of your business and the needs of your project — to the extent that they feel like a natural extension of your team.
And, as a result, they’re able to help you create really exceptional content efficiently and cost-effectively. It’s proven to be a great way of working and we really enjoy it.
Following from my last post about the great time we had at UX London, we’ve put together a short list of the top five tips and tricks we’ve come away with. And, we thought we’d share them with you
The top 5 tips and tricks we learnt at UX London
1. When working with a new person, ask them about how they like to work
Find out:
- How they prefer to receive feedback
- When do they like to do deep work and be left alone
- At which points do they like to ideate together
- What has and hasn’t worked well for them when working with others in the past?
How we’re going to put this tip into action
As an agency that embeds ourselves into other organisations — we get stuck in and work closely with our clients — we work with new people all of the time. Finding out how each member of our new teams likes to work will allow everyone to play to their strengths and empower each other.
Tip from Heldiney Pereira.
2. Add “by monkeys” to the end of your sentences
That’s it. That’s the tip… ok, so there is a bit more to it. When you’re writing, you want to avoid using a passive voice. If a sentence makes sense when you add “by monkeys” to the end of it, then it’s in the passive voice and you’ll need to change it up a bit.
How we’re going to use this
While our copywriters are used to avoiding passive voice, for those of us in our team that don’t write all the time it’s an easy trap to fall into! This tip is definitely going to make it easier for me to check if I’m writing in a passive voice. If you hear me muttering “by monkeys” to myself you’ll know why!
Tip from Sophie Koonin.
3. Redesign the design process to include evaluate, forecast, and monitor
The idea behind this tip is to ensure that whatever is being designed is ethical.
How we’re going to use this
We’re going to embed this tip right into our design and research process. Starting from the beginning, after we’ve gone through our empathise and define stages, we’ll add in the evaluate stage and look into whether or not the problem is ethically worthy of being addressed.
After we’ve ideated on some ideas and settled on one, we’ll start to think about whether any ethical violations can occur if we implement the idea we’ve chosen. If there are, well it’s back to the ideation stage for us! We’ll “design around potential consequences” (Kat Zhou).
And finally, when the product has been released we’ll monitor it (and advocate for our clients to do the same), checking to see if any ethical issues are cropping up.
Tip from Kat Zhou.
4. Make your first draft bad.
When you’re not too precious about what you’re writing, it’s easier to put something down on paper. Suddenly you’re no longer staring into an abyss where all dreams go to die…just me? Getting something down on paper, means that you can iterate and improve what you’ve written, because you’ve got something you can improve. When the first draft is bad and less effort has been put in, you’re less invested in the work, meaning that when you get someone to check your work, you’re less likely to take their feedback to heart.
How we’re going to use this
This is a great tip for non-writers who write at Ah Um. Personally, I struggle to get my creative juices flowing when I’m staring at a blank screen, having something down on paper — even if it’s bad — helps a lot.
This tip can also apply to digital design, where a bad draft can equal a quick sketch or a rough wireframe. Again, the less ‘serious’ effort put in means it’s easier to iterate, criticism is taken less to heart, and we can discover earlier on if we’re all on the same page.
Tip from Giles Turnball.
5. If you get stuck when writing, apply a ridiculous constraint.
Write exactly 57 words, ban words starting with the letter B, have it written by 14:23, or write in an unusual colour. The idea behind this tip is, I think, that you end up focusing more on the constraint and less on what you are actually writing, allowing you to get something down on paper (or screen) which can then be iterated on.
How we’re going to use this
I think this one may be fairly obvious, but when we’re writing and are stuck on what to write next, we’re going to make up a ridiculous constraint and just get writing.
Tip from Giles Turnball.
Check out What you missed at UX London: part one
Following from my last post about the great time we had at UX London, we’ve put together a short list of the top five tips and tricks we’ve come away with. And, we thought we’d share them with you
The top 5 tips and tricks we learnt at UX London
1. When working with a new person, ask them about how they like to work
Find out:
- How they prefer to receive feedback
- When do they like to do deep work and be left alone
- At which points do they like to ideate together
- What has and hasn’t worked well for them when working with others in the past?
How we’re going to put this tip into action
As an agency that embeds ourselves into other organisations — we get stuck in and work closely with our clients — we work with new people all of the time. Finding out how each member of our new teams likes to work will allow everyone to play to their strengths and empower each other.
Tip from Heldiney Pereira.
2. Add “by monkeys” to the end of your sentences
That’s it. That’s the tip… ok, so there is a bit more to it. When you’re writing, you want to avoid using a passive voice. If a sentence makes sense when you add “by monkeys” to the end of it, then it’s in the passive voice and you’ll need to change it up a bit.
How we’re going to use this
While our copywriters are used to avoiding passive voice, for those of us in our team that don’t write all the time it’s an easy trap to fall into! This tip is definitely going to make it easier for me to check if I’m writing in a passive voice. If you hear me muttering “by monkeys” to myself you’ll know why!
Tip from Sophie Koonin.
3. Redesign the design process to include evaluate, forecast, and monitor
The idea behind this tip is to ensure that whatever is being designed is ethical.
How we’re going to use this
We’re going to embed this tip right into our design and research process. Starting from the beginning, after we’ve gone through our empathise and define stages, we’ll add in the evaluate stage and look into whether or not the problem is ethically worthy of being addressed.
After we’ve ideated on some ideas and settled on one, we’ll start to think about whether any ethical violations can occur if we implement the idea we’ve chosen. If there are, well it’s back to the ideation stage for us! We’ll “design around potential consequences” (Kat Zhou).
And finally, when the product has been released we’ll monitor it (and advocate for our clients to do the same), checking to see if any ethical issues are cropping up.
Tip from Kat Zhou.
4. Make your first draft bad.
When you’re not too precious about what you’re writing, it’s easier to put something down on paper. Suddenly you’re no longer staring into an abyss where all dreams go to die…just me? Getting something down on paper, means that you can iterate and improve what you’ve written, because you’ve got something you can improve. When the first draft is bad and less effort has been put in, you’re less invested in the work, meaning that when you get someone to check your work, you’re less likely to take their feedback to heart.
How we’re going to use this
This is a great tip for non-writers who write at Ah Um. Personally, I struggle to get my creative juices flowing when I’m staring at a blank screen, having something down on paper — even if it’s bad — helps a lot.
This tip can also apply to digital design, where a bad draft can equal a quick sketch or a rough wireframe. Again, the less ‘serious’ effort put in means it’s easier to iterate, criticism is taken less to heart, and we can discover earlier on if we’re all on the same page.
Tip from Giles Turnball.
5. If you get stuck when writing, apply a ridiculous constraint.
Write exactly 57 words, ban words starting with the letter B, have it written by 14:23, or write in an unusual colour. The idea behind this tip is, I think, that you end up focusing more on the constraint and less on what you are actually writing, allowing you to get something down on paper (or screen) which can then be iterated on.
How we’re going to use this
I think this one may be fairly obvious, but when we’re writing and are stuck on what to write next, we’re going to make up a ridiculous constraint and just get writing.
Tip from Giles Turnball.
Check out What you missed at UX London: part one
At the end of last month we were lucky enough to go to our first in-person conference since the pandemic. UX London was hosted by Clearleft and brought together some of the industry’s most prestigious experts and UX teams from all over the world.
UX London is the first conference we’ve been to as a team, and it was great to get back into the thick of it. We met loads of interesting people and enjoyed the unbridled enthusiasm of all attendees — every day saw a mad dash for workshop tokens. Clearleft had put together a diverse and inclusive panel of speakers who spoke about — you guessed it — diverse and inclusive topics…funny how that works!
I enjoyed nearly every talk and workshop I attended over the three days, but unfortunately I can’t write about them all here. So, I’ve whittled it down to my top four highlights for this article.
The top four things I learnt at UX London
1. UX in healthcare, with Videha Sharma
Videha Sharma gave a brilliant talk on UX in healthcare and did an excellent job of ‘showing the thing’ by sharing screenshots and photos he had taken along the way. ‘Showing the thing’ is a term commonly used to remind people to show visual examples to give context to what they’re speaking about. For example, he walked us through some of the pain points of being a surgeon and showed off one of the many forms you need to fill in for a kidney transplant, as well as a data journey model to emphasise how complex the system currently is.
Videha reminded us that we often forget about the benefits of pop-up or guerilla research, even when we have easy access to our user base. In a hospital a surgeon carrying a laptop is an unusual sight — so Videha took advantage of people’s natural curiosity and gathered opinions and feedback whenever he was stopped and questioned. Early on in the design phase, pop-up research can give us quick feedback with little time, effort, or cost required, allowing us to iterate quickly.
2. Designing with the autistic community, with Irina Rusakova
In one of my favourite talks of the conference, Irina Rusakova spoke about the importance of inclusive design, and in particular how to design for the autistic community. Her seven principles for designing for people with autism were super thought-provoking, and I reckon they’re good guidelines to follow whoever you’re designing for!
Do no more unexpected pop-ups sound good to you? Take a look at the principles yourself in this blog post.
3. Service design, with Lou Downe
Lou Downe took us on a familiar journey in her talk — a journey where we don’t question things for the simple reason that no one wants to look stupid. But in protecting ourselves we risk our business, and our services, looking stupid. This struck a chord with me as someone who creates an acronym cheatsheet whenever I work with a new company. I’ve noticed that often company employees are using the very same acronyms without knowing what they stand for.
This creates a cycle of miscommunication that can hold back good service design. When we’re afraid to ask questions, people assume everyone is on the same page. When we assume everyone is on the same page, we’re afraid to ask questions because we don’t want to look stupid and so, nothing changes.
This leads to issues for users down the line. My takeaway was to ask questions when you don’t understand something — and remember the age old adage, there’s no such thing as a stupid question.
4. Designing for human perception, with Alastair Somerville
To round off the third and final day at UX London, I went to a workshop on designing for human perception hosted by Alastair Somerville. We had a great time trying to piece together a tactile way to get a blindfolded volunteer to ask us the question we wanted them to ask us, which was “What’s the wifi password”. We succeeded in case you were wondering — plasticine came to our rescue!
The story that really drove home the importance of designing for human perception for me, was one that Alastair told us about a ‘check engine’ message popping up on his dashboard when he was driving along the motorway. Could he ignore the message for now and get it checked out later? Or did he need to immediately pull onto the hard shoulder? The message caused confusion and panic because it didn’t give him any indication of what to do next. The workshop taught me how critical it is to never ‘induce emotion without providing direction for action’.
All in all, we had a great time at UX London. All of the talks were brilliant, and we came away with lots to think about. Plus, after the devastation of missing out on a Figma t-shirt on the second day, I am very pleased to announce that I snagged myself a hoodie on day three and yes, I’m still feeling pretty smug about it.
Check out part two of ‘What you missed at UX London’, where I look at some of the tips and tricks I picked up over the three days.
At the end of last month we were lucky enough to go to our first in-person conference since the pandemic. UX London was hosted by Clearleft and brought together some of the industry’s most prestigious experts and UX teams from all over the world.
UX London is the first conference we’ve been to as a team, and it was great to get back into the thick of it. We met loads of interesting people and enjoyed the unbridled enthusiasm of all attendees — every day saw a mad dash for workshop tokens. Clearleft had put together a diverse and inclusive panel of speakers who spoke about — you guessed it — diverse and inclusive topics…funny how that works!
I enjoyed nearly every talk and workshop I attended over the three days, but unfortunately I can’t write about them all here. So, I’ve whittled it down to my top four highlights for this article.
The top four things I learnt at UX London
1. UX in healthcare, with Videha Sharma
Videha Sharma gave a brilliant talk on UX in healthcare and did an excellent job of ‘showing the thing’ by sharing screenshots and photos he had taken along the way. ‘Showing the thing’ is a term commonly used to remind people to show visual examples to give context to what they’re speaking about. For example, he walked us through some of the pain points of being a surgeon and showed off one of the many forms you need to fill in for a kidney transplant, as well as a data journey model to emphasise how complex the system currently is.
Videha reminded us that we often forget about the benefits of pop-up or guerilla research, even when we have easy access to our user base. In a hospital a surgeon carrying a laptop is an unusual sight — so Videha took advantage of people’s natural curiosity and gathered opinions and feedback whenever he was stopped and questioned. Early on in the design phase, pop-up research can give us quick feedback with little time, effort, or cost required, allowing us to iterate quickly.
2. Designing with the autistic community, with Irina Rusakova
In one of my favourite talks of the conference, Irina Rusakova spoke about the importance of inclusive design, and in particular how to design for the autistic community. Her seven principles for designing for people with autism were super thought-provoking, and I reckon they’re good guidelines to follow whoever you’re designing for!
Do no more unexpected pop-ups sound good to you? Take a look at the principles yourself in this blog post.
3. Service design, with Lou Downe
Lou Downe took us on a familiar journey in her talk — a journey where we don’t question things for the simple reason that no one wants to look stupid. But in protecting ourselves we risk our business, and our services, looking stupid. This struck a chord with me as someone who creates an acronym cheatsheet whenever I work with a new company. I’ve noticed that often company employees are using the very same acronyms without knowing what they stand for.
This creates a cycle of miscommunication that can hold back good service design. When we’re afraid to ask questions, people assume everyone is on the same page. When we assume everyone is on the same page, we’re afraid to ask questions because we don’t want to look stupid and so, nothing changes.
This leads to issues for users down the line. My takeaway was to ask questions when you don’t understand something — and remember the age old adage, there’s no such thing as a stupid question.
4. Designing for human perception, with Alastair Somerville
To round off the third and final day at UX London, I went to a workshop on designing for human perception hosted by Alastair Somerville. We had a great time trying to piece together a tactile way to get a blindfolded volunteer to ask us the question we wanted them to ask us, which was “What’s the wifi password”. We succeeded in case you were wondering — plasticine came to our rescue!
The story that really drove home the importance of designing for human perception for me, was one that Alastair told us about a ‘check engine’ message popping up on his dashboard when he was driving along the motorway. Could he ignore the message for now and get it checked out later? Or did he need to immediately pull onto the hard shoulder? The message caused confusion and panic because it didn’t give him any indication of what to do next. The workshop taught me how critical it is to never ‘induce emotion without providing direction for action’.
All in all, we had a great time at UX London. All of the talks were brilliant, and we came away with lots to think about. Plus, after the devastation of missing out on a Figma t-shirt on the second day, I am very pleased to announce that I snagged myself a hoodie on day three and yes, I’m still feeling pretty smug about it.
Check out part two of ‘What you missed at UX London’, where I look at some of the tips and tricks I picked up over the three days.
⏰ prep time: 10 mins
⚡ brainstorming time: 90 mins
🚀 suitable for: 1–20 people
It’s easy to be overwhelmed when you’re asked to create something new, or fix a problem that seems unfixable. Having a deadline to meet can contribute to this sense of impending doom, stopping you in your tracks before you’ve even started. At this point, scrolling through social media for pictures of cute puppies or your favourite Star Wars memes (we don’t judge) can seem like a great idea, and no wonder.
The truth is, it doesn’t matter if you’re a world-famous creative or a complete novice, everyone will get stuck with this feeling at some point. And that’s okay. In a world of easy distractions, reaching that flow state where you’re immersed in your work is a challenge. Whether it’s those emails you’ve let build up or those chores around the house that you’re avoiding, there’s always something else that you can be doing.
With all that in mind, we’ve come up with some brainstorming tips that will help get you over this hurdle and on your way to coming up with fresh ideas.
Be the architect of your environment 🎨
“Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behaviour”
James Clear, Atomic Habits.
Our ability to be creative is affected by the space that we find ourselves in. Knowing this is an important first step, as we can craft our environment to help us be more productive. For example, if you surround yourself with books, you’re much more likely to pick one up and read for a while. What’s even more important is what you don’t have around you.
John Cleese described the ideal of an oasis, where your mind is free from the distractions and obligations of everyday life. So find a space where you can put your phone and your laptop away (or at least turn off your notifications) and make sure that you have everything you need to jot down your thoughts.
Once you’ve done this, try to use this space for problem solving or forming ideas, not just once but every time. Over time, your brain will come to associate this space with creative thinking (the sciencey word for this is neuroplasticity, which is pretty cool).
Identify the root causes of your problem 👀
Start your 90 minute timer now (any more than that and our brains get a bit frazzled).
First, take some time to really think about the problem that you’re trying to solve. The idea here is to dig into the causes and effects of your problem. You might think that it’s a step back from the actual doing, but it makes the difference between a good idea and a great idea.
For example, let’s say you’re writing an essay. First, you’ll want to identify the components of the question you’re trying to answer. What are the key themes? What evidence do you have? What has already been said on this topic? Asking these questions will help you when you structure your argument later on.
The same idea applies to a whole range of problems that you might face. By unpicking the details of the problem, you can identify the root causes, and you’ll have the insight you need to explore effective solutions.
Here’s how we can visualise it:
Get your brain into open mode⚡
Okay, now it’s show time. In order to brainstorm effectively, you need to be open minded and imaginative. Don’t build on your ideas as this will slow you down (and you’ll have time to do that later!).
Our favourite way to get into the open mode is to think of a number of ideas to come up with. It doesn’t matter how many, but it should be enough to scare you a bit. As an example, list 1–20 on your page and try to fill each spot. Don’t worry about how good they are, just get as many down as possible.
If you start to lose the flow, try writing down the worst possible solution, or the exact opposite of what you need. It’s a fun thought experiment which can help get those ideas flowing again. Plan in your schedule when you need to pick a solution — leaving it to the last minute is actually a good thing in this case.
Remember, don’t be afraid to be silly. Humour can lead to you having more fun creating ideas which can lead to more creative solutions.
By the end of this exercise you should have a list of stupid ideas, generic ideas, ambitious ideas and some really great ideas.
Some other brainstorming techniques to try🖊️
There’s a range of different brainstorming techniques out there. You’ll find some more useful than others based on whether you’re doing it alone or in a group, and what your brainstorming is trying to accomplish.
Brainwriting
You’ll find this method particularly useful if you’re brainstorming in a large group. Each team member should write their ideas down on sticky notes without sharing until the end. Brainwriting allows everyone to contribute and prevents personality bias from creeping in.
Mindmapping
Mindmaps are a fun and creative way to get ideas down on a page. Start with a blank piece of paper and write your subject in the middle. From there, add your thoughts as branches from that centre point until you can’t think of any more. Mindmapping helps you connect various ideas and can make for an inspiring visual.
Now you’re set! You can start to develop your favourite ideas.
But don’t throw the others away, keep them or take a photo just incase that ultra stupid idea you thought would never work turns out to be the best!
⏰ prep time: 10 mins
⚡ brainstorming time: 90 mins
🚀 suitable for: 1–20 people
It’s easy to be overwhelmed when you’re asked to create something new, or fix a problem that seems unfixable. Having a deadline to meet can contribute to this sense of impending doom, stopping you in your tracks before you’ve even started. At this point, scrolling through social media for pictures of cute puppies or your favourite Star Wars memes (we don’t judge) can seem like a great idea, and no wonder.
The truth is, it doesn’t matter if you’re a world-famous creative or a complete novice, everyone will get stuck with this feeling at some point. And that’s okay. In a world of easy distractions, reaching that flow state where you’re immersed in your work is a challenge. Whether it’s those emails you’ve let build up or those chores around the house that you’re avoiding, there’s always something else that you can be doing.
With all that in mind, we’ve come up with some brainstorming tips that will help get you over this hurdle and on your way to coming up with fresh ideas.
Be the architect of your environment 🎨
“Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behaviour”
James Clear, Atomic Habits.
Our ability to be creative is affected by the space that we find ourselves in. Knowing this is an important first step, as we can craft our environment to help us be more productive. For example, if you surround yourself with books, you’re much more likely to pick one up and read for a while. What’s even more important is what you don’t have around you.
John Cleese described the ideal of an oasis, where your mind is free from the distractions and obligations of everyday life. So find a space where you can put your phone and your laptop away (or at least turn off your notifications) and make sure that you have everything you need to jot down your thoughts.
Once you’ve done this, try to use this space for problem solving or forming ideas, not just once but every time. Over time, your brain will come to associate this space with creative thinking (the sciencey word for this is neuroplasticity, which is pretty cool).
Identify the root causes of your problem 👀
Start your 90 minute timer now (any more than that and our brains get a bit frazzled).
First, take some time to really think about the problem that you’re trying to solve. The idea here is to dig into the causes and effects of your problem. You might think that it’s a step back from the actual doing, but it makes the difference between a good idea and a great idea.
For example, let’s say you’re writing an essay. First, you’ll want to identify the components of the question you’re trying to answer. What are the key themes? What evidence do you have? What has already been said on this topic? Asking these questions will help you when you structure your argument later on.
The same idea applies to a whole range of problems that you might face. By unpicking the details of the problem, you can identify the root causes, and you’ll have the insight you need to explore effective solutions.
Here’s how we can visualise it:
Get your brain into open mode⚡
Okay, now it’s show time. In order to brainstorm effectively, you need to be open minded and imaginative. Don’t build on your ideas as this will slow you down (and you’ll have time to do that later!).
Our favourite way to get into the open mode is to think of a number of ideas to come up with. It doesn’t matter how many, but it should be enough to scare you a bit. As an example, list 1–20 on your page and try to fill each spot. Don’t worry about how good they are, just get as many down as possible.
If you start to lose the flow, try writing down the worst possible solution, or the exact opposite of what you need. It’s a fun thought experiment which can help get those ideas flowing again. Plan in your schedule when you need to pick a solution — leaving it to the last minute is actually a good thing in this case.
Remember, don’t be afraid to be silly. Humour can lead to you having more fun creating ideas which can lead to more creative solutions.
By the end of this exercise you should have a list of stupid ideas, generic ideas, ambitious ideas and some really great ideas.
Some other brainstorming techniques to try🖊️
There’s a range of different brainstorming techniques out there. You’ll find some more useful than others based on whether you’re doing it alone or in a group, and what your brainstorming is trying to accomplish.
Brainwriting
You’ll find this method particularly useful if you’re brainstorming in a large group. Each team member should write their ideas down on sticky notes without sharing until the end. Brainwriting allows everyone to contribute and prevents personality bias from creeping in.
Mindmapping
Mindmaps are a fun and creative way to get ideas down on a page. Start with a blank piece of paper and write your subject in the middle. From there, add your thoughts as branches from that centre point until you can’t think of any more. Mindmapping helps you connect various ideas and can make for an inspiring visual.
Now you’re set! You can start to develop your favourite ideas.
But don’t throw the others away, keep them or take a photo just incase that ultra stupid idea you thought would never work turns out to be the best!
