The Good Stuff
A few short stories that highlight how I think and work.
ViiV Healthcare
Working around legal convention to optimise user experience
Background
My work with ViiV Healthcare saw the team put a lens on Healthcare Professionals (HCPs), conducting deep and rigorous research to understand their journey, needs and motivations.
During a follow-up project, we were asked to apply our insight to the design of ViiV Exchange, a multi-market portal for HCPs to gather research and product information. From the start, it was clear that the experience was fragmented. The portal was designed to provide ‘medical’ material, whilst ‘commercial’ content was housed on separate URLs with unique domains for each product brand, a hugely diverse and complex ecosystem of sites.
In user research sessions, HCPs told us about the problems this caused - multiple logins that were easily forgotten, lack of clarity on where to find information, and an overall poor experience.
After some diligent research we discovered this direction was linked to ABPI legal guidelines which mandate clarity over content purpose and restrictions through login or disclaimers before certain content can be accessed.
Insight
The legal guidelines were being interpreted in an extreme way, and with fear of repercussions from competitors lodging complaints - there was minimal appetite for change. The HCP experience was secondary.
Result
With our clear mandate to drive meaningful change in the HCP experience, we set out to explore a range of improvement options. Through a comprehensive content audit, classification and logic based categorisation, we were able to define roles for every current and future publication online. By understanding laws and validating our thinking with multiple legal and compliance experts, we formed a rules based approach to site navigation, and structured a new sitemap that combined all types of content into a single market site.
HCPs could login to one site, and through simple messaging move between commercial and medical content seamlessly, removing barriers to content, and helping doctors find the right content to drive informed clinical outcomes.
Tourism Ireland
Reimagining how to inspire travellers with data & insight
Background
The island of Ireland has no shortage of charm; rolling hills, rugged coastlines, and a famously warm welcome. But for many potential travellers, it remained stuck on a “someday” list. Through my work with Tourism Ireland on Ireland.com, I set out to change that.
To better understand visitor behaviour, I introduced an always-on feedback loop. This gave us real-time insight into why people came to the site, how they felt about their experience (via CSAT), and what they were hoping to find.
By combining this qualitative feedback with analytics, I helped build a full picture of our audience and what we learned challenged some long-standing assumptions.
Insight
While internal thinking suggested users were deep in the planning phase, looking for logistics and activities, our data told a different story. Most visitors were still early in the journey, craving inspiration and atmosphere over schedules and details.
Result
With this insight, attention turned to the Itineraries section. The existing format delivered pre-packaged, downloadable plans—useful, but rigid. They weren’t inspiring action.
We pitched a new approach: ‘Trip Ideas’—a reimagined section built around immersive, map-based storytelling powered by Mapbox. Editors could now showcase themed journeys enriched with personal tips, flexible paths, and nearby alternatives.
The shift drove a clear uptick in engagement, giving users the sense of discovery and emotional connection they needed—nudging them further along the decision-making journey.
Dewalt
Crafting a novel multi-brand experience for tradespeople
Background
Among tradespeople, loyalty to tool brands runs deep—often passed down through generations. As owner of iconic names like DeWalt, Facom, and Stanley, Stanley Black & Decker recognised the need to reflect this connection across its digital ecosystem.
Initial work centred on strategic planning—ensuring marketing efforts aligned with platform, SEO, ecommerce, and campaign needs. This led to a deeper focus on DeWalt, where a legacy website was due for a major rebuild.
Insight
As product data and content structures were mapped out, similarities across brands became impossible to ignore. The opportunity? Develop a single technical framework that allowed for brand individuality without rebuilding from scratch each time.
Result
We introduced a scalable theming solution within Sitecore—components were defined by shared functional logic, but could adapt to the distinct visual and tonal needs of each brand. It offered flexibility for content teams and a consistent backend for development.
This approach was quickly embraced by stakeholders. Not only did it deliver cost savings and platform cohesion, but it also enabled a global rollout. The London-based team led the DeWalt foundation, while US counterparts scaled the same system for the Craftsman brand.
The project demonstrated how strong technical thinking, paired with brand sensitivity, can unlock both efficiency and creativity at scale.
A&O Shearman
Fast-paced iteration through continuous improvement
Background
Even the best launch doesn’t mark the end of a digital platform’s journey. With external pressures, shifting content, and evolving user needs, the real work often begins post-launch.
While leading optimisation for A&O Shearman, we observed how easy it was for insights from A/B tests or qualitative research to fade away, especially when results weren’t conclusive or lacked a clear owner. Disconnected testing efforts weren’t translating into long-term growth.
Insight
We needed a more structured, repeatable way to learn from testing - not just what worked, but why. Ad hoc experiments were generating valuable insight, but there was no centralised way to track or build on those learnings.
Result
We introduced a structured process: Continuous Optimisation. At its core was a simple idea - treat every test as a hypothesis to be validated, and every outcome as a documented learning.
Hypotheses were written in a standardised format, stored in a shared backlog, and prioritised through regular cross-functional reviews. Once tests were implemented and data collected, we documented outcomes in “learning cards,” making findings easy to reference and build on.
This system created transparency, accountability, and continuity, turning individual test results into a collective, evolving understanding of what really works.