I have a deep passion to improve lives by automating meaningless tasks, so we can focus on doing what brings us purpose. Facilitating the ‘Double-Diamond’ Design Thinking methodology is at the center of my approach to collaboratively create products, services and experiences.

1. William
Jephcote
PORTFOLIO
Human-Centred Designer

2. 2
Contents
03 13
08 18
WindFarmer

3. 3
BRIEF: Design a product that helps connect people and
jobs of the future.
start-up 20 months
PARTNERS:

4. 4
Automation of jobs will continue accelerating the disruption of the labour market. Oxford
Economics (2019) estimates that 20 million UK workers will lose their jobs by 2030 to AI
and automation.While McKinsey (2017) predicts the obsolescence of 800 million workers
globally.The key skills of the future are what artificial intelligence lacks: empathy,
collaboration, and creativity.
The increase of enrolment in higher education has made it difficult for graduates to
differentiate themselves. How do you land that first job? How do you get experience
without ‘experience’?
To filter the ‘best’ candidates for final interviews, companies have added multiple stages
to their application processes. From an applicant’s point of view, this has made job
applications seem harsh and unfair, not to mention being exhaustive.
The forces of change
the future ofwork
equal opportunities
automation

5. 5
Identifying the problem
Research process
Key insights
Interviewing students,
graduates and recruitment
professionals
Experience mapping and
competitor analysis, where are the
opportunities to provide value?
Persona building, what are
their goals, pains and gains?
Students and recent graduates struggle to link
past experiences to application in work contexts.
Therefore, they find communicating transferable
skills difficult.
They also don’t know what their best skills are, 0r
what employers value.
Opportunities: how might we...
help applicants showtheir soft skills?
add personalityto job applications?
Give applicants an edge over others?
“For graduates, I look for ‘life scars’ - life experiences showing that
you take responsibility. Most candidates have the same qualifications,
grades or even the degree is not that important.”
“When reviewing applicants, it is difficult to understand the candidate
on a personal level. It would be great if I could get an indicator of their
soft skills before meeting them.”
Interview quotes

6. 6
Developing the solution
Usability testing, what makes talking about soft skills so difficult?
Design sprint, reviewing and selecting ideas from our solution sketches
Co-design, we asked students how they would ideally communicate their soft skills when
making job applications
Diary study, how does the product fit into our target
demographics’ day to day lives? See prototype
Build, test, iterate
Usability testing, observing the profile creation
process See prototype
Facilitating collaboration

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Final solution
WITO creates a new approach to job applications for
the digital age.WITO helps students and graduates
get noticed by adding more personality to their job
applications.The web app helps users critically reflect
on personal experiences to identify their soft skills.
These experiences are formulated into stories that are
shared with employers.
1. CREATE STORIES
Provide evidence for skills from your unique experiences
Formulate stories with a structured framework
Understand yourself and build confidence
2. PUBLISH PROFILE
Build your professional brand
Increase your online presence in a quick, easy, and fun way
Stand out from the crowd
3. SHAREWITH EMPLOYERS
Direct employers to your profile via a link
Communicate skills that are not on your CV
Add more personality to your job application

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EMPLOYER:
BRIEF: Wind farm design is an iterative and collaborative process
involving many different disciplines and parties. Design a solution
to better support theWind Farm Developers’ workflow.
scrumteam project 12weeks
WindFarmer

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The forces of change
Back in 2011, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from wind became cheaper than fossil
fuels. Despite the falling costs of renewables, fossil fuel’s share in the energy mix is as
high today as ten years ago. According to recent Net Zero Roadmaps from both the
International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA), the world needs to be installing wind power at around 3-4 times the level of 2020.
It is vital to develop wind energy projects at lightning pace, while capturing the largest
return on investment for owners. Financial commitment increases as a wind farm project
progresses, therefore project developers need to reduce surprises as early as possible.
energytransition
net zero carbon
sustainability

10. 10
Identifying the problem
Interviews and workflow observations
Methodology
Key insights
User story mapping Mapping the Developers’ project development time-line
“When designing layouts there are many considerations, for example I need to optimise
by reducing the LCOE while also adhering to legal and environmental requirements.”
“I save a new workbook every time I make any variation, it’s very cumbersome. If I could
have say 2o different layouts in 1 workbook, that would make comparisons much easier.”
“Because I can only have 1 layout per workbook, when I update the wind measurement
results, I need to repeat this for every workbook I have created.”
Interview quotes
unpredictable changes
navigatingthe product
comparing options
managingtraceability
Quickturnarounds

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Developing the solution
Organic growth of the product led to an
counterintuitive navigational structure
Card sorting, understanding the user’s
mental model. How do our users group
items and categories?
Research informed design
Multiple rounds of prototyping
and user testing, reducing risk
before implementation of proposed
architectural changes

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Final solution
Improved navigational structure that matched the user’s
mental model.
Ability to manage and compare multiple layout design
‘scenarios’ within a single workbook.
“1.2 version was a really big step, you can tell the differences in the usage.The new
layout is good, this is important.”
“I like the new chapter and task navigation, it’s a lot nicer and more clear than previous.
Words tell me a lot more than pictures.”
“For the same project 1 month ago, it took me 3-4 hours to update 8 scenarios, as I had
to edit 8 separate workbooks. Now, with the latest version it took about 1h to update
everything for the same project. So that’s quite significant.”
Measuring outcomes: customer feedback
Design changes

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BRIEF: Do you have a “new” idea that will help to create
smart connected communities in the future, making people’s
lives better by shaping the way people live and move within
their urban communities, enabling and empowering them as
individuals and citizens?
GROUP PROJECT 10WEEKS
Winner of the Ford Fund Smart Mobility Challenge Award &
Champions Award. Received a total investment of £12,500
towards project implementation.
SPONSOR:

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The forces of change
The world’s population will reach an all time high of over 65’s. At no point has there
been so many people of this age in the world. Our current services and systems are
underfunded and ill-equipped to deal with the changing needs of our population.The
mental and social aspects of care for the elderly are being overlooked.
aging population
health andwell-being
successful aging

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Identifying the problem
“I need to visit the hospital every 2 weeks, it takes over
an hour to get there by bus. It’s bearable for now, but I
don’t know what I would do if my health gets worse.”
“I don’t ask my son for help unless it’s an emergency,
he’s a busy man with his own family.”
“I’ve used community services in the past, I offer to pay
for fuel but the volunteers usually refuse!”
Bus services in
Loughborough
Traffic flow in and out of
Loughborough
Mode of transport
correlated with bus
service coverage
Existing transport infrastructure
Experience mapping
Understanding research findings
Key insights
Feeling like a burden
Reluctantto ask for help
Families live further away
ISOLATION AND LONELINESS
VULNERABLETO FAMILY DISPUTES
Interview quotes
Persona building

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Developing the solution
Prototyping
Mapping out the user journey
Creating storyboards Final user journeys
Sketching wireframes Higher fidelity mock-ups Final prototype including brand styling

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Final solution
A ‘smart service’ that helps to increase the mobility
of the elderly population by providing an intelligent
‘care from a distance’ platform.The platform supports
family carers by providing access to a network of
volunteer carers that can assist their loved ones, at
times when they are unable to.The family carer can set
a task for the volunteer carer, who in return gains ‘skills’
and qualifications.
Creating more resilient communities of people in
urban environments by fostering unlikely relationships
between generations.

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BRIEF:There is a need for designers to think about some of the social and
psychological aspects that make it challenging for people to manage their
money well.The challenge is to design a product or service to improve
people’s financial skills.
INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 5WEEKS

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The forces of change
“Americanism: Using money you haven’t earned to buy things you don’t need to impress
people you don’t like.” – Robert Quillen
There is a negative stigma towards wearing the same clothes, and young people feel
pressured into buying more and more to keep up with trends. Between 30% and 50%
of all purchases can be classified by the buyers themselves as impulse purchases.The
fast fashion epidemic has allowed consumers to buy clothes for extremely low prices.
But we are wearing our clothes less often and disposing them at an unprecedented
rate. More than 300,000 tonnes of clothes end up in landfill every year in the UK alone
(The Economist 2018).
fast fashion
consumerism
financial literacy
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Identifying the problem
“When I’m shopping what I have in my wardrobe
becomes unclear, I have over 100 items of
clothing and I forget what I actually have. I often
unintentionally buy clothes that look very similar,
and then only wear 1 of them”
“I often buy an item of clothing, only to realise that it
doesn’t match well with other things I have.”
“I check my bank app, but this doesn’t stop me from
spending. It would be cool if I got better alerts like ‘If
you buy this, you would be spending the equivalent to
your weekly food shop’.The comparisons need to be
tailored and tangible.”
Focus groups to understand why do students find
managing their money challenging?What are their
behaviours, lifestyles and motivations?
Literature review to find out
what is happening at a social
and neurological level?
Research methods
fear of missing out
Impulse buying
rewardvs pain of paying
Findings
Persona
Holly loves to go out for social occasions with
her friends, but often feels like she needs to
wear new clothes to not feel excluded. She
did not own many clothes before going to
university.This was not an issue at school, but
in her first year at university she bought lots
of new clothes to fill her wardrobe.This meant
she needed to work extra shifts to stay away
from her overdraft, which had an effect on her
first year grades.
Holly wants to avoid the problems she faced
in her first year, so her degree won’t be
affected. She wants to be able to check what
clothes she owns quickly while shopping, so
that she won’t accidentally buy similar items.
She wants to be able to save clothes that she
might buy. And she wants new outfit ideas
with the clothes she owns, to help update her
look for upcoming social events.
20 years old, ‘ambitious university student’
Holly is a second-year History student at
the University of Nottingham. She is highly
ambitious and dedicated to her studies. She
also works shifts at the local pub to try and
manage her active and social lifestyle.
PAIN POINTS
GOALS
HOLLY DALEY

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Developing the solution
Storyboard
Prototyping
1. Clothes are added to a virtual
wardrobe by scanning with a
smartphone camera.
2. A notification reminds
the user not to impulse
buy near shops.
3. She tries on a top and
scans it using the app.
4.The app shows similar
clothes already owned.
5. She decides to add the
item to her wish list and
leaves the store.
6. At home, she finds
the clothes that the app
reminded her of.
Contextual use of app
Usability testing journey

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Final
solution
Students like Holly have lower income
and highly active and social lifestyles
which can make managing money
more difficult.Virdrobe helps users
who are actively trying to reduce their
fast fashion consumption, impulsive
purchases, and environmental impact.
The solution helps users improve
their spending habits, thus money
management and financial skills.
VIRTUALWARDROBE
Store and view all clothes and
outfit combinations, anywhere.
INSPIRATION
Outfit combinations
and modification
suggestions. Keep up
with the latest trends
by getting creative.
SCAN & COMPARE
Scan an item of clothing.The app
checks the wardrobe for similar
clothes aiding purchasing decisions.
WISHLIST
A good way of stopping
ourselves from impulse
buying is to sit on our
purchases.Total savings
are contextualised based
on the user’s lifestyle.

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About me
I have a deep passion in using technology to
help people in an ever-changing world. My
background in User Experience Design, Product
Design and Ergonomics have enabled me to
deliver solutions with a human-centred focus.
For me, this means balancing the needs of the
user, the social and economic needs of society,
and the needs of our planet.
Thank you for
taking the time to
look at my work :)

24. Get in touch +44(0) 7952 3344316 | william.jephcote@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/williamjephcote