Matthew Idris-Dawber

Every project is different, so following exactly the same process each time doesn’t make much sense. The starting point is understanding the problem, who it affects and what’s already known. A brief is useful, but it doesn’t always tell the whole story, and sometimes the most important work is finding out whether the right question is being asked.

Research is about finding out what matters. That might mean talking to users, watching how they work, digging into analytics or going through existing support data. At Nasuni, where direct customer access was limited at first, it meant starting with tracking data, support data and heuristic evaluations while the testing methods were put in place. With complex products, the interesting problems often sit between workflows, systems or teams, and understanding those connections matters as much as any single user journey.

From there it’s about turning what’s been learned into something people can discuss. Journey maps, information architecture, sketches and prototypes all make complicated problems easier to talk about. A tangible prototype in front of people early is usually more productive than weeks of debate. At Nasuni, the Northstar prototype helped secure agreement on a longer-term roadmap.

Testing is part of the design process, not something saved for the end. It might be a quick check of a prototype or a structured usability study. The aim is to see where an idea works, where it falls apart and what needs changing. Alongside it comes the less glamorous work of technical constraints, edge cases and implementation detail, which is all part of making a good experience.

The approach also changes with the team. At Nasuni, a big part of the work has been establishing UX within an engineering-led organisation, including research, testing and AI-assisted workflows. AI is useful for accessibility checks, content consistency and documentation, but its output still needs checking by someone who knows what good looks like. At Kyra the challenge was five connected products with different audiences while building the design team. At Vidsy it was understanding the production process well enough to remove unnecessary work.

The tools and methods exist to support decisions. There’s no value in running a workshop, producing another diagram or doing research that doesn’t answer a useful question. The skill is knowing when to investigate, when to challenge an assumption and when there’s enough evidence to get on with designing.

I’ve worked in digital design for over fifteen years, across government services, enterprise software, creator platforms and AI-powered products. The industries have been quite different, but there’s usually been a common theme: complicated problems, competing priorities and a need to make things work better for the people using them.

I started as a junior at Civica and worked up to principal UX designer, specialising in visual design. My roles since have covered most of UX and product design: hands-on research, testing and design, but also building teams, establishing UX practices and helping shape product direction. Leadership has become a bigger part of my career, although I’ve never wanted to move completely away from the practical work.

Much of the job is working with other people: engineers, product managers, stakeholders and the people using the products. Everyone brings a different perspective, and some of the best ideas come from questioning something everyone had taken for granted.

Outside work I brew craft beer, cook, walk and have family adventures, and run a tabletop RPG world as Dungeon Master and worldbuilder.