Tell us a little bit about yourself After a decade working at design agencies in London and becoming more specialised in digital design, I took the leap into freelance as a UX/UI Designer last year. I find the breadth of the website design process really fulfilling, from user research and information architecture, to executing the brand whilst having to consider the limitations and possibilities of a website. I also enjoy how the process creates the opportunity for me to explore different skillsets. I recognise my strengths can be in the talking, by that I mean guiding and managing the client through the process as well as collaborating with a team. What sort of projects are typical for you? A typical project would be website focused for an arts, culture and not-for-profit organisation. These clients rely heavily on ticketing and/or philanthropic support meaning booking pathways have become a nuanced area of expertise. Accessibility is also really important due to the way these organisations are funded, therefore woven into my process from the start. What are the first questions you ask at the beginning of every project? Who are your audiences? What’s the problem we’re trying to resolve? What do you want your website to help you achieve? What should your audience’s takeaway be? How do you approach pricing with clients? How did you arrive at this? My starting point is defining my baseline, making an estimate on time using my day rate as a unit. If the budget squeezes that, it’s about compromises in areas of the process. I’m religious about tracking my time which has made me confident in my estimates. What are the first things you do when you start a new project? Broadly, as every project is different, I’d say it’s nailing down the budget, schedule and signing any contracts – then a kick-off meeting. What does your moodboarding process look like? Where do you source inspiration? First, I like to get my ducks in a row! By that I mean what perimeters am I working within and where is there scope to push creatively. Then I begin with lots of research and references, sometimes grouping them or placing them on a scale – before moving to pen and paper to explore ideas. I have a quote saved to remind me there is a connection between creativity in the mind and your hand. What’s your favourite part of the design process? Why? When you have an idea and iterate and iterate to refine it. More often than not that means exploring the accidents which lead to breakthroughs. Are there any parts of your process that go against received wisdom? Or common steps that you skip? Why? Wireframes sometimes fall out of favour, or perhaps clients don’t find them exciting – but they’re crucial to my process. It’s also the area where AI tools have been valuable. Is there anything else you suspect is unique/unusual about your practice? I think this has become the new norm, especially as a freelancer but I’m reluctant to let the entire process be remote. You pick up a lot from visiting a venue and meeting the team, therefore favour the discovery phase especially to be in person. If you’re collaborating with anyone (copywriters, illustrators, developers, etc): when do you bring them in? How do you handle project management? On almost every project I work with a developer from the start and we’ll lead on our areas of expertise throughout the process. What’s been the most impactful change you’ve made to your process? Where did you hear about that? Discovering this fantastic, well organised list of resources to expand my research and references! Also accepting it’s beneficial to take time away from my desk for ideas to pop up. What bits of the process are non-negotiables for you? The discovery phase, getting the all important details and broader context of both the project and client, which often than not isn’t included in the brief. How do you organise design files? I tend to save ‘up’ to ensure anything I show a client can be referred back to. Often the client facing presentation will be very different to my working file! What does design hand-off look like for you? Having a call to talk through the creative and design system, taking time to discuss areas that’ll require more investment or complexity for the developer. I really enjoy the collaborative nature therefore encourage back and forth throughout the build to refine together, rather than a cold handover. Looking back over the last 12 months, how do people find out about you? Every lead has in some way come through my network, which I’m learning to treasure and expand. Fellow freelancers and the arts and culture sector have been especially supportive. What elements of the process create speed bumps or challenges? How do you get out of these ruts? Often it’s the mundane task of finding time for meetings and feedback, or to ensure the project maintains momentum and stays on track. Understanding availability from the start of the project helps so we can ensure milestones work around diaries. How do you make decisions? Having a ‘why’ behind each decision and being able to demonstrate that – backing it up with evidence, perhaps through anecdotes in discovery, user personas, analytics or their brand mission and values. Favourite tool, resource or course? I find newsletters like Sidebar the best way to stay in the loop with trends, tools etc. Although I initially subscribed to too many and became overwhelmed! Where can people find out more about you, keep up-to-date with what you’re doing or give you money? I really enjoy having 1-1 calls, that’s been the best way of establishing relationships amongst my network, so I’m very open to that. Otherwise I’m available on LinkedIn, or take a look at my website that features a few of my favourite projects. emmaburr.co.uk LinkedIn