Isobel Skye Oliver Stephen
Two weeks ago our daughter Isobel was born.
Year: 2020
A service design approach to improving student experience
Slides from my UCD Gathering talk on Thursday 15 October 2020, about the work we’ve been doing at the University of Edinburgh to improve the experience of students and staff working with course materials digitally.
James Middlemass & Co — Boys’ Outfitters — found under the floorboards
During our kitchen renovation, we found this under the floorboards. It is a “Boys’ Outfitters” catalogue for James Middlemass & Co. We think it dates from around the 1880s.
UX design’s UX design problem
How a chat at a conference underlined that user experience itself has a user experience problem — and what we can do about it.
Speaking at UCD Gathering
I’m pleased to be speaking at UCD Gathering, a new virtual conference taking place on 15 and 16 October, about my team’s service design approach to improving the way staff use our virtual learning environment to better meet students’ needs.
Getting a kitchen and study renovation done during lockdown
As lockdown eased slightly during the summer, our flat became busy with our delayed renovation.
Lockdown projects — Month 3
As lockdown eased, small craft projects made way for some much larger home improvement projects.
Service design and the Mario complex
At Service Design in Government, I discovered that service designers see themselves as Mario. But that is an unrealistic model for what service design should be.
Lockdown projects — Month 2
As the lockdown continues, we’re continuing to find ways to keep ourselves busy.
Lockdown projects — Month 1
Each weekend during lockdown, we’re trying to make at least one new thing. These are the little projects giving us a reason to get up at the weekends.
Understanding what students really need from a virtual learning environment — presented at UX Glasgow virtual meetup
This week I presented to the UX Glasgow community about our user research into the needs of students and staff working with course materials digitally at the University of Edinburgh. It was my first real experience of presenting to a live audience remotely.
How to build a bad design system — Robin Rendle — CSS-Tricks
What’s worse than design by committee? Design system by committee.