Its Summer 2016 and normally, we look forward to this quiet quarter, but this year seems to have been busier than ever. We were sorely disappointed with the result of Brexit – but rather than waiting for the politicians to get in gear we decided to make some bold and positive changes. So, here’s a round-up of our news and what we’ve been up to lately…
Welcome our new team members Calum and Luke
I’m really pleased to announce that we have two new core team members here: Calum Ross and Luke Kelly.
As one half of the awesome company, Designers on the Run, Calum is a neighbour and friend at The Creative Exchange. We’ve always admired his work and love his visual communication skills. So, when the opportunity came up for him to join the team as Design Partner, we were delighted. Bringing on a design specialist means that we can expand our concept development services.
Luke has joined us as an intern and has been getting to grips with all things UX. With a degree in Applied Computing from the University of Dundee and a passion for user-centred design Luke is taking part in our 6-week intern program.
Growing our team has been a wonderful experience and after a great Summer 2016 day out filled with inspiration and fun at The Edinburgh Digital Entertainment Festival. With our new team in place and working on some truly exciting projects we look forward to sharing outcomes with you.
Summer 2016 talks, conferences and webinars
Mobile Scotland
I presented two breakout sessions on Mobile UX at Scot-Tech’s Mobile Scotland 2016. Yet again it was an amazing conference and I really enjoyed discussing my emotional and functional attachment to my mobile.
Thrive For Business Professional Network Lunch
I was delighted to be invited to the Thrive for Business’ Professional Network lunch to present ‘UX Matters’. This was a great event and I had several fantastic discussions over lunch. If you’re in the Edinburgh or Glasgow they are worth checking out.
UX Scotland
This conference is a must attend for us and this year we were proud to sponsor the evening drinks session. 2016’s programme was really impressive, and François had a great couple of days re-connecting with people and making new friends. Thanks to Jacqui, Mark and the rest of the Software Acumen team. And a special mention should go to Gladys and the Bubblettes who have the most fun photo booth I’ve been to and took some great photos of us both!
Making the Switch: Consumer attitudes to the changing Financial Services scene and the Rise of Digital Providers
I was also on the discussion panel for a fascinating webinar hosted by Verdict Financial. We discussed how digital disruption is changing the way people interact with their banks and other financial service providers. I really enjoyed doing my first webinar and as always it was a pleasure to work with experts in their fields such as Kit from Verdict Financial, Jen from Strategy Desk and Brian from Post-Quantum.com.
Turing Festival
Another great event from the guys at Codebase with a fantastic product day and another great full-stack marketing day. With world-class inspirational speakers we now feel reinvigorated and excited to explore and exploit the latest opportunities. If you missed it this year, I’d recommend you check out the videos and slides from the day and the #turingfest on Twitter.
Recent Projects
- Following our successful digital and brand strategy workshops, Edinburgh and Lothian’s Out of School Care Network (ELOSCN) engaged us to develop their brand assets and digital touch-points.
- Canongate Communications asked us to run a marketing internship to train up a new marketing executive.
- Cricket Scotland have engaged us to conduct a research-led brand refresh and digital touch-point development.
- The University of the West of Scotland and NHS 24 asked us to help up with their Scottish Centre for Enabling Technologies (SCET) healthcare project following our successful work on the KnowWhoToTurnTo project.
- Lockton have launched their new Solicitors website and customer portal. Their new touch-points have been specifically aligned to what their customers want, based upon their on-going customer research.
Upcoming
The festival may be ending, but our diaries are looking no less free! Here are a few events and dates to look out for over the next couple of weeks
Holyrood’s Politics Explained: Scottish Politics
Tuesday 30th of August 2016, 8.45am – 4.30pm, Crown Plaza Royal Terrace
If your organisation needs to know how government works and how the legislative programme is formed, this event is for you. It also will help you understand how you might extend influence during that process.
I’m honoured to be part of such a great line up as part of the final panel session: Media Engagement Strategies and looking forward to it already.
Girl Geeks Scotland
Thursday 22nd of September 2016, 6pm- 9pm, CodeBase
It’s back with an interesting evening about Cybersecurity. With a great line up of speakers this event is for girl and boy geeks alike.
Internet of Things Scotland
Thursday 29th of September 2016, 8.30am – 5.30pm, Dynamic Earth
Gain a unique insight into the evolution of IoT from leading thinkers at another great conference from Scot-Tech Engagement.
Rounding-up
With our financial end of year in sight we’re pleased with our achievements. And now we’ve got a larger team I’m excited to kick-off the next financial year with a bang.
If you’d like more information on what we’ve been up to give then get in touch.
