Employee Spotlight: Ollie Miller, Creative Director

This month’s #employeespotlight is on our brilliant Creative Director, Ollie Miller, who has been part of the cxpartners team for seven years. In the blog, he discusses how he got into design and UX, why he loves it and his future career ambitions.

Growing up in Glastonbury meant my childhood was filled with all sorts of weird and wonderful things, from crystals, ley lines, the faint whiff of cow poo on the breeze and, of course, the festival. I’ve been going since I was a wee baby (1985) and have been lucky enough to wangle a ticket most years. Both the town of Glastonbury and the festival had a big influence on my interests and, in turn, my career. The festival's sights, sounds, and diversity opened my young eyes to all things creative.

I struggled with most academic subjects at school. My brain just didn't seem to be wired quite right for them. I felt much more at home with subjects such as Music, Art and Graphics. A little later on, following an awful mark on one of my written assignments at University, I discovered why; I have Dyslexia. At the time, this felt like quite heavy news. Today I see it as a help, rather than a hindrance… well, most of the time. It’s hard to say for sure but I feel like it helps me when it comes to generating ideas and guides me to produce them in the most simple and usable way. Afterall, if I don’t understand them it’s unlikely that other users will either.

I studied Interactive Media Production at Bournemouth University. The course covered a variety of subjects, including Video Production, Flash Games, HTML, Sound Production and Graphic Design. We experimented with how to bring all of those elements together in digital form. For example, my final project was an interactive music experience for my band at that time. It showcased our music, videos, biographies and photos, which were discoverable by hunting around a big panoramic photo for links (that didn’t even look like links). Completely frustrating to use but fun to make. I think it got me hooked on creating interactive experiences.

The course required six weeks of work experience. So, in the summer of my second year I went to work for a small online shoe retailer. It went well, so after university I accepted a full-time position there. It was here that I found my strengths in Graphic / User Interface Design. Having built up some experience, I had the opportunity to design my first full web experience called FunkyLittleFeet.com - a website selling children’s shoes from big skate & surf brands.

A few years later I joined Clarks and designed their first online retail experience. From there, I moved to Bristol and became a Freelance Digital Designer. Then up to London, working as a Mid-level Visual Designer for a tech consultancy called Detica. 

This job was pivotal. I got the opportunity to work and take the lead on some high profile projects like Playstation and Transport for London. More importantly, it completely opened my eyes to Human Centred Design (HCD). Until this point I had been essentially making my design decisions by hunch and my so-called design expertise, which is risky. Working with direct insight and feedback revolutionised how I thought about design.

After two and a half fun filled years in London, I made the decision to move back to Bristol. Following my HCD epiphany, I swore never to return to my dirty old ways of designing in the dark. I simply couldn’t see the point in designing without the input of the people that the thing was intended for. A colleague at the time recommended cxpartners. He told me about their dedication and deep history with HCD. I joined the team as Senior Visual Designer. Since then I’ve worked on brilliant projects with brilliant people, each edging me towards my current role as Creative Director. 

So, “why this job?”. It continually stretches and challenges me in interesting ways. The work is varied, from setting Human Centred Brand Strategy (e.g. Talk to Frank) to producing detailed Interfaces (e.g. The Co-operative Bank) and having the chance to articulate my thoughts in blogs and conference talks. Not to mention, all of the brilliant companies and organisations I’ve worked with from across the globe. 

Another of my responsibilities is to shape cxpartners’ practice for Product Design and Brand Experience, and to maintain and develop the cxpartners brand itself. These continue to keep my brain busy. There’s always something new to learn and improve on too, whether that's through formal training or learning from one of my many talented colleagues.

I’d love to work with more companies on how to better integrate their brand values with their user experience. Many of the companies I’ve worked with seem to keep their brand definition siloed. I think there’s a big opportunity for those companies to use their brand differently, from how they’re set up operationally to the products and services they deliver. Brand doesn’t need to be this nebulous theoretical mystery. You can make it tangible and measure the impact.

But it doesn’t stop there. As a problem solver, I’d love to go further and tackle the systemic problems that humans face. I think the power of research, design, ideation and iteration could tackle much bigger issues like sustainability, uncertainty and equality. Just give me that chance.

The variety of the work and seeing the impact it has on people. Every project has a fresh challenge to understand and a knotty problem to solve. I really enjoy problem solving.

Talk to Frank was a big one. In summary, it had a very unique challenge: How might we deliver essential (potentially life saving) information, to an audience who don’t want to be told what to do by an official source? It was a tall order, but through various UCD methods, we made a real difference. When the refreshed service went live, website visits rose by 43% and more users reported finding the information they needed. Duncan Selbie,  PHE’s Chief Exec said “This is prevention through digital technology at its best.” Further reading about our unique User-Centred approach to the Talk to Frank Brand refresh can be accessed here. Further reading on how we designed for vulnerability on Talk to Frank can be found here.

The projects where we’re given the opportunity to work through problems by looking not only at the product or service itself but also at the organisation that runs it. For example, we recently worked with a healthcare provider on how their infrastructure, process, systems and employee culture needed to change in order to improve their patient experience.

There’s a unique colleague culture at cxpartners. Everyone is so knowledgeable and experienced, yet there aren’t any big dominating egos. People here are brilliant at working through problems by collaborating, listening to one another and to the people that matter the most; end users.

The people are brilliant. The company listens to its employees and is transparent about big decisions as and when they come. People are encouraged to learn and grow from other people around them or through more formal training. You’ll get to work on a wide variety of design problems for the most interesting organisations in the world.

Be inquisitive. Don’t hold back from asking what you think is a silly or obvious question. Get feedback early and often. Learn to really listen. Read books on theory but don’t take them as gospel. Be prepared to adapt your working process and try not to get stuck on using one method. Have a strong rationale for every design decision you make. Also, don’t get busted stealing sweets from the office sweet jar…

We're on the lookout for talented and interesting people. Take a look at our careers page to see what roles we're currently recruiting for. However - if your skillset doesn't quite match the roles listed and you're interested in hearing more about working at cxpartners, still get in touch. We always want to hear from passionate and skilled people!