Selected work
All work
Flagship4 industry awards
Radio 1's New Music Portal
Taking live music somewhere new, and making sure audiences wanted to come along.
Featured
FIFA World Cup 3D experience
Making emerging technology and interactive sports experiences accessible to millions.
Featured
Trialling AI disclosure on BBC Sport
Telling audiences when the BBC uses AI, without losing their trust.
Featured
BBC Sport: mandatory sign-in
Asking the app's most loyal, and most stubborn, users to sign in, without losing them.
- Pan-BBC push notifications strategy A brand new squad, seven weeks, and the first pan-BBC look at how we use push notifications.
- Content design Figma flashcards Bringing content design thinking into a designer's world, and helping a trainee grow along the way.
- BBC Sport: a new onboarding journey Helping people discover the personalisation they kept asking for, by putting it at the heart of onboarding.
- BBC Bitesize: daily lessons Helping children, parents and teachers find their way through 1,800 lessons, built in three weeks.
What colleagues say
James is a brilliant content designer and UX leader… For the content design team and discipline, James is a constant source of knowledge, critical thinking and supportiveness for colleagues.
He makes what we do easy to understand, and it feels exciting. I can say with confidence that the overall content design of the product experience has been made better for users because of James.
His pragmatic and unflappable approach have helped us to overcome several challenges… James also pushes back on work and helps to set realistic expectations when needed. I really appreciate this and I think it shows great leadership.
James can pick up any brief, and slot into any shape of team, and deliver great work. He’s not confined to ‘just’ the words and displays strong all-round design and UX skills.
Senior Content Designer I always marvel at how James manages to digest complex asks… to create clear outputs. He has fantastic intuition in anticipating problems and proactively produces clever solutions to fix those.
Senior Design Researcher In moments when I doubted my work, [James] helped me make sense of feedback and regain confidence… [His] leadership has made a real difference to my confidence, growth, and day‑to‑day experience.
Designer, line report [James is] a generalist and specialist at the same time, which is rare.
Creative Director, Content Design I have learned from James and I can tell I will be asking myself “What would James do/say?” throughout the rest of the… project.
Senior Project Manager James is a whizz when it comes to tech. He’s the most technically skilled member of our team and I certainly learn loads from him.
Senior Content Designer [James does] a great job of protecting the team’s time and making sure we have the space to do our work properly… it genuinely makes a big difference in helping us deliver high quality work.
Designer, line report
Content design, in one line
What is content design?It's about using data and evidence to give the audience what they need, at the time they need it and in a way they expect.
Writing
All writing- Simple tips for new line managers in the new age of work From one new line manager to another: here are some basic, practical tips that helped me survive my first year.
- How to write useful error messages Aw snap, it broke. What do you say when things go wrong? Here’s a UX Writer’s guide to writing every error message with ease.
- What is content design? Is it just copywriting, or is there more to content design? Find out what a Content Designer does, and why you need one.
How I like to work
What I look for in a team
Inclusive and welcoming
Diverse teams build more inclusive and accessible products.
Research-first and ambitious
Discovery before definition, not a rubber stamp at the end.
Collaborative and curious
Embrace the blurry spaces between design disciplines.
Creative and responsible
Ideas and play are an essential part of the design process.
Accountable and kind
Clear on issues, kind to people.
