Matchstick Creative
Matchstick Creative is a B-Corp-certified creative communications agency dedicated to helping purpose-driven organizations gain clarity through discovery, strategy, and research. The agency aims to change behaviours through outstanding user experience, reimagined services, and digital spaces. During my time at Matchstick Creative, I held several roles including User Researcher, UX Designer, and Service Designer. In each role, my focus was to help client organisations understand their users better and create experiences that truly resonate. Below, I have outlined my key deliverables.
Workshops
I would initiate each project with a discovery workshop. Conducting these workshops has many benefits, including;
Fostering a culture of collaboration.
Developing a clear direction.
Detecting risks early.
More informed decisions.
Ensuring efficient use of resources.
In brief, discovery workshops help kick off projects by ensuring everyone understands the project, has their say, and agrees on the plan moving forward.
user Research
I utilised various user research methods to help client organisations better understand their users' behaviours, needs, and motivations. The insights gathered served as the basis for designing products, services, or systems that offer a meaningful and relevant user experience. The methods utilised in conducting user research include:
Interviews: One-on-one conversations with users to acquire insights into their experiences and needs.
Surveys: Construction of surveys to gather data from a large audience, enabling the identification of patterns and trends.
Usability Testing: Observations of users interacting with a product or service to pinpoint usability issues and areas for improvement.
Contextual Inquiry: Observation of users in their natural environment to grasp the context in which a product or service is used.
Persona Development: Creating comprehensive profiles of typical users to inform design decisions.
Journey Mapping: Visualisation of the steps users take to accomplish a goal, facilitating the identification of pain points and opportunities for improvement.
UX Design
After conducting user research, we aimed to create meaningful user experiences through UX design techniques. We strived to develop digital experiences with excellent usability, accessibility, and user satisfaction. Some of the methods used at Matchstick Creative include:
Information Architecture: Organising and structuring content in a way that is intuitive and easy to navigate.
Interaction Design: Creating interactive elements and workflows that facilitate smooth user interactions.
Wireframing and Prototyping: Developing visual representations of the user interface, from simple sketches to detailed mockups, to test and refine design concepts.
Accessibility: Ensuring the product can be used by people with a wide range of abilities, including those with disabilities.
Service Design
When working on non-digital products or projects that focus on organisational change, we utilised service design methods to create and improve services, making them more useful, efficient, and desirable for users and providers. By employing various user research and UX design methods, we ensured that our services are:
User-centred: By using research and journey mapping, we could establish who the service users would be.
Holistic: The entire service ecosystem was considered, ensuring that all parts worked seamlessly.
Created iteratively: We would prototype and test each of our solutions.
Co-created: We would collaborate with users and stakeholders to ensure that a diverse range of perspectives was gathered.
Meticulously mapped out: The service would be mapped out before attempting to create any solutions. The map would show user-facing and behind-the-scenes activities.
Sustainable and scalable: We would ensure that the long-term viability and growth of the service have been taken into account.
Client
Matchstick Creative
Timeline
Four years
Team
A recap of my work working for Matchstick Creative
Services
User Research, UX Design, Service Design
