Cameron Ross
Digital designer
Hi, I'm Cameron (he/him).I work at Our Future Health, a charity building the UK's largest health research programme. As a Senior digital product designer on Participant platforms, I work to ensure the digital products which underpin the organisation's mission are user-centred and accessible.In this website you can find my CV and examples of three projects I have undertaken. These projects demonstrate the breadth of my understanding of the user centred design process, and detail how I make sure I design the right things, with user needs at their heart.
CV
About
As a digital designer, Cameron is dedicated to creating usable and accessible digital products and services. With a strong focus on user-centered design, he collaborates with stakeholders to develop strategic solutions and advocates for best practices. Cameron facilitates cross-team collaboration, mentors junior designers, and takes pride in supporting the growth of the design communities where he works.
Tools
Design
Adobe Xd
Sketch
Figma
Collaboration
Miro
Mural
Microsoft Teams
Project
Jira
Confluence
GitHub Desktop
Prototyping
HTML Prototyping
Basic CSS
GitHub
Experience
Our Future Health
October 2022 – Present
Senior digital product designer
Responsible for the design of participant-facing products and services.
Working to optimise the conversion rate of the digital recruitment journey.
Iterating, learning, and releasing at speed to facilitate meeting recruitment targets.
Collaborating closely with governance and ethics and involving them in UCD activities.
Supporting the development of a new design community.
Ensuring different recruitment routes are tailored and optimised for specific participant groups.
NHS Digital
March 2020 – September 2022
Senior interaction designer | Jan 2022 - Present
Collaborated with stakeholders to develop strategic solutions.
Advocated for user-centred design across NHS organisations.
Facilitated cross-team and cross-organisation design collaboration.
Coached and mentored junior designers.
Developed and supported the NHS Digital design community
Interaction designer | Mar 2020 - Dec 2021
Created usable, accessible, and responsive features and services for nhs.uk.
Led discussions and facilitated the user-centred design process.
Participated in research activities and interpreted research to advise design.
Built HTML prototypes utilising the NHS Service Manual prototyping kit.
Collaborated with user researchers to understand user needs and uncover pain points.
Worked with frontend developers to build, test, and deploy new components.
Was part of a multi-disciplinary team working with Agile methodology.
Vistaprint
Oct 2018 – Feb 2020
Product designer
Worked in a product team carrying out UI optimisations and layout improvements to the Vistaprint customer experience
Collaborated with the UX designer to interpret user research and inform design decisions
Contributed to the layout and visual design of strategic landing and product category pages
Briefed and provided feedback to remote photography teams
Collaborated with marketing partners to create assets for email and online display
In a small visual design team, developed a new brand expression for Promotique
Provided design support to technical and internal communications teams
Cameron Ross Design
Sep 2015 – Oct 2018
Graphic designer | Self-employed
Worked for higher education and health technology companies in Spain and the UK
Provided marketing, branding and corporate communications design services
Design of event and campaign materials produced to client brand specifications
Worked directly with internal teams to add design capacity when required
Education
London South Bank University
Sep 2009 – June 2013
BSc (Hons) Product Design | First Class Honours
Design thinking
Sustainable design
Communications design
Computer aided design
Projects
Image gallery component
Design of a new image gallery component for the NHS website which allows multiple images to be displayed showing different skin tones.The component has a visual design consistent with the design language of nhs.uk, and is fully accessible by screen reader users. It underwent multiple rounds of usability testing to refine the interaction experience and ensure user needs were being met.
NHS account
Design and implementation of new components and content design to improve the user experience of accessing online heath services.This involved collaboration across NHS organisations and achieved increased traffic to online services from the NHS website, giving users greater choice over how they manage their health.
Content review tool
Building a new internal tool to facilitate an improved content development process for the NHS website. I designed a new product which allowed for content to be shared, reviewed, and approved by clinicians and subject matter experts, and allowed NHS.UK to meet its auditing requirements as required by law.
This project contains images of chickenpox
Image gallery component
NHS Digital – 2021
Role: Interaction designer
Tools: Adobe Xd, Mural, NHS HTML prototyping Kit
The problem
Out of 61 conditions pages with pictures on nhs.uk, only three included pictures of non-white skin
The website had received almost 40 complaints/comments relating to the lack of diverse imagery on the website in the past year
The public were complaining on social media, damaging trust in the NHS
Diversity and inclusion is a key priority for NHS England and NHS Digital, following the Black Lives Matter movement and the Windrush scandal.
Objectives
Advance equality of opportunity for people of colour to get accurate, relevant information on different skin conditions
Remove or lessen the disadvantages people of colour people face when looking up conditions involving the skin on nhs.uk
Take steps to meet the needs of people of colour in identifying different skin conditions and skin symptoms on their skin tone and getting the right information on what to do
Multidisciplinary and agile working
I worked in two-week sprints alongside a team consisting of a product manager, user researcher, delivery manager, content designers, and frontend developers. This allowed us to quickly test our assumptions an iterate, whilst continuously refining our ways of working.
Solving the right problem
Collaborating with our User researcher, I supported the undertaking of qualitative and quantitative data collection. This included providing feedback on research methods and the discussion guide, interview observation and note-taking, and contribution to collaborative analysis. Insights allowed us to empathise with our users, define our user needs and validated the requirement for more inclusive and accessible imagery on the website.
Overcoming the problem
To gain a variety of perspectives on how best to solve the problem, I facilitated a sketching workshop for the team, using the collaborative working tool Mural. This fostered discussion and critique of potential ideas. Following a dot-voting exercise, three potential solutions were identified.
Ideation sketches
I then created basic wireframes using Adobe Xd for the team to better compare the different solutions. This resulted with two designs being taken forward to prototyping.
Wireframes
Two new solutions for displaying multiple images were tested with users against the existing image component state. The insights gathered from usability testing clickable prototypes gave us the confidence to move forward with the HTML development of the gallery style solution, and allowed me to refine the visual design.
Clickable interactive prototypes for the first round of usability testing
Gallery
Labelled
Stacked
Development of visual and interaction design
Iteration following an accessibility review
Iteration following usability testing insights
One the initial design had been validated, I created final mockups which were handed to a frontend developer as a reference for a HTML version of the gallery component.Creating a HTML prototype allowed us to conduct in-depth testing with users who utilise assistive technology, essentially testing a like-for-like experience of the live NHS website.
Final mockups for handover to frontend developer
Testing and iteration
Proof of concept HTML component, with a demonstration of navigation by keyboard, including spoken instructions
Using a HTML prototype built by myself, multiple rounds of testing with black and brown people and people who use assistive technology. The team had a focus on how blind and visually impaired users would be able to interact with the image gallery and find value in it's contents.Multiple rounds of usability testing with screen reader users of varying ability and using a variety of tools were carried out. I carried out continuous iteration and improvement of the design, working closely with our content designers to improve the ARIA spoken instructions on how to interact with the gallery component, and how information is made available as you move through it using a keyboard. I reviewed our work with an accessibility consultant from Nomensa to ensure we were meeting users expectations and building a component which would be accessible to the widest range of people possible.
The outcome
The outcome of my work was a fully accessible gallery component for the NHS website. The website now has an inclusive and usable method of displaying multiple images of different skin tones. This will greatly improve the value of skin conditions content for black and brown people.The component has proved usable for blind and visually impaired people in testing, and for the first time allows this group to gain information on medical images. The NHS website now gives people using assistive technology the confidence to identify skin conditions on themselves and other people (such as children).
Image gallery component currently live on nhs.uk
The alpha component is currently live whilst data is collected to validate it meets user needs. This includes monitoring clicks, scroll depth, running a survey and carrying out screen recordings. Results are currently looking positive, and following further technical implementation work (which will enable a visual design matching my mock-ups), the component will be made available across the website.
Content review tool
NHS Digital – 2020
Role: Interaction designer
Tools: Sketch, Adobe Xd, Miro, Mural
The problem
A discovery had been undertaken to understand the process of content being developed from an idea to being live on nhs.uk. It identified users, common pain points and found areas of potential opportunity to improve efficiency in the content design process.This discovery piece acted as a foundation for a further period of exploration by the product development team where I was the interaction designer. I worked with my team to understand business needs, user needs and technology dependencies.
Objectives
Reduce content development process fragmentation
Reduce cognitive load and possibility of error for content designers, clinicians, and stakeholders
Save time by reducing the need to complete Word document templates of content for approval
Increase trust in the audit and documentation process.
User needs
Multiple tools were used to undertake different activities as a piece of content moves through its development and sign off process. Through user research interviews, the team understood the complexity of using multiple tools and processes was reducing trust in the process and increasing the possibility of errors.
Content development process for the NHS website
The content development process also encompassed the audit trail. The NHS website has a legal obligation to keep a record of the development and approval of all clinical content, and the organisation must be prepared for an external audit of this process at any time. Along user needs, this critical business need also validated the necessity of the work.
Identifying and prioritising where we could add value
Following user research interviews with the different internal and external user groups, the team conducted a series of design thinking workshops. These helped us understand the problems users were facing, how we might solve them and what system we could design to streamline the experience. The following requirements were prioritised:
Reduce content development process fragmentation
Reduce cognitive load and possibility of error for content designers, clinicians, and stakeholders
Save time by reducing the need to complete Word document templates of content for approval
Increase trust in the audit and documentation process.
Features identified as within scope following prioritisation
Early prototyping
To quickly test our assumption that a tool with these features would be useful in practice, I created sketched journey maps which facilitated discussion in the team. Basic interactive prototypes were created to test our assumptions with users early in the design process.
The journey to share content
The journey to request feedback
The journey to obtain approval
The journey to view historical approvals
Existing platform interoperability
Early in the project, it was clear that the existing content management system (CMS) would play an important role in solving our user and business needs. The CMS would need to work as a “back end” for content that would be shared, with the ability to create sharable links, move content through the approval process and review the audit trail.To facilitate this, I designed new screens and components which allowed for journeys into the new online review tool, working with the existing design language of the CMS.
Usability testing insights captured from testing an early wireframe
Testing features incrementally
The prototype was built on incrementally, tested, and iterated. This allowed us to develop each individual feature at a stage where it could add value, without the necessity of designing the entire product and testing it at once. This incremental design and testing process allowed us to test our assumptions on what features could be delivered for MVP.
Content preview and sources
The Content preview is the “frontend” of the content development workflow. It allows content to be reviewed as it will appear on the NHS website.The final interface was designed using components from the NHS Service Manual and Gov.uk Design System. Where components were not available for use from these libraries, I designed them and collaborated with frontend developers to ensure their correct development.
An early interactive prototype to test the journey from the CMS to the review tool
Mock-up of the final Log in screen for the content review tool
Approving content
Approval is required at each stage of the review process. Once a version of content is approved, it is saved as a snapshot and cannot be edited. This allows a complete audit trail to be captured showing what was approved at each stage of the process.
Interactive prototype of the approval feature
Prototype to test new labelling (sign-off) and warning messaging
Feedback
Feedback is a core element of the content development process. This traditionally took place in a Word document using the commenting functionality. I carried out a competitor analysis of comment systems from various online editing tools, and considered our specific user needs when designing the UI for comments within the Content preview. This was tested and iterated over time to ensure it met user expectations.
Mock-up demonstrating how commenting would sit in the interface
Final designs of commenting components, showing multiple states
Version history
The version history allows anyone viewing a piece of content to review what was previously approved and any feedback that was left. This component underwent multiple rounds of testing to ensure users understood how to access different versions of content.
Design development of the version history feature
Version history in the final design
Working in the open
Since the primary users of the product were content design colleagues, I used the opportunity to continuously share the design progress, gain feedback, and answer queries at their profession meet-ups.Alongside the product manager, I presented prototypes of designs to NICE, who were investigating how they could move to a more streamlined content development process.I presented design progress at multiple show and tell presentations and ran more intimate design feedback sessions with the NHS Digital design community. These allowed me to sense check design ideas outside of the team and collaborate with designers who had solved similar challenges working on other services.
The outcome
The outcome of the project is a new tool which is currently being piloted by content designs at NHS Digital. The platform can be used to share, obtain feedback and approve existing content which is due for clinical review.
Pre-MVP functional release of Content review tool, in use by Content designs at NHS Digital at part of a pilot scheme
Throughout the pilot period, insights will be gathered from content designers, clinicians, and subject matter experts in order to influence the further design development and eventual live implementation of the product.
NHS account
NHS Digital – 2022
Role: Senior interaction designer
Tools: Adobe Xd, Mural, NHS HTML prototyping Kit
The problem
There are multiple online services available through the NHS App, but they are not easily accessible from nhs.uk via a web browser
The NHS App Online, a browser-based version of the NHS App has low usage and is not readily accessible from the NHS website
The language used around NHS App and NHS App Online is confusing to users
Raising awareness of online health services is a priority for NHS England since there are now more than 22 million active NHS Login users.
Objectives
Create a seamless experience from the NHS website into online health services
Improve the usability of the NHS App Online for users who do not have a smartphone or access to the native app
Leverage the large userbase of NHS App users and help them understand the different ways they can access online health services
Multidisciplinary and agile working across organisations
The project team was made up of designers, product managers, a delivery manager, user researchers, service designers and developers. We worked in two-week sprints to continuously iterate our work and streamline our ways of working.The project required close collaboration with teams across NHS Digital and NHS England. I maintained an understanding of the wider context of our work as we developed our solution, to ensure the changes fit into the wider user journey across multiple touch points.
Solving the right problem
Working with our User researcher, I co-facilitated a design thinking workshop which allowed the team to identify user needs and understand the scope of the work. We asked questions and challenged assumptions which allowed us to find gaps in our research plan.Using our knowledge of the problems currently facing users, I created design hypothesis to help inform potential solutions that met user needs. I also mapped the complete journey to identify opportunities for improvement at every stage.
Mapping the user journey to identify pain points and opportunities
Prioritisation of problems to inform next steps
During a team ideation workshop, existing pages on the website relating to online health transactions were reviewed and pain points and inconsistencies identified. I then facilitated a sketching session to visualise proposed solutions before creating mock-ups of designs in Adobe Xd.
Ideation session outputs of potential solutions
I used the outputs of the sketching session to create mock-ups of a new log in component, which were shared with our stakeholders and further refined before usability testing.
Mock-up of account log in component - Desktop
Mock-ups of account log in component - Mobile
Mock-ups of account header menu
Mock-ups of potential future state of header menu
Working in the open
As well as presenting at bi-weekly progress meetings to our 60+ stakeholders and commissioners, I also facilitated co-design workshops with designers from different stakeholder teams, and shared progress at the weekly NHS Digital design meet-up. This allowed me to gain insight from designers on related programmes and projects and was invaluable in sense checking assumptions and understanding dependencies.
Design feedback session outputs
Testing and iterating
Following a design process with input from the design community, stakeholders, and an accessibility assessment, final designs of the header menu and login component were coded by the team's frontend developer, using my designs as reference.This was integrated with a HTML prototype I created using the NHS Prototyping Kit. It catered for multiple user journeys under different scenarios, allowing the team to conduct six rounds of usability sessions with a diverse range of participants.
Insights captured during usability interviews of proposed designs
I supported the research process by providing feedback on the interview discussion guide, observing and note-taking during sessions, and contributing as the interaction design expert during collaborative analysis sessions.The insight from these sessions allowed me to iterate and refine the different elements of the design and update the prototype prior to the next round of usability testing. We also tested extensive changes to content design, language and labelling throughout the journey.
HTML prototype of account header menu - Closed
HTML prototype of account header menu - Open
HTML prototype of account header - Desktop
* The Account menu in the header would have allowed users to see their log in status, access their account and log out. Ultimately this feature was not released as part of the Minimal Viable Product (MVP), due to technical limitations. Instead, a static My account link was released in the header. This solution still met the user need of being able to access the account, and work is on-going to enable the richer features of the “logged in state” header.
Designing for all
To ensure the usability of our solution, we tested with existing NHS App users, people who had never used the app and less digitally skilled and confident people. I carried out a complete accessibility audit of our prototype using a screen reader, in advance of usability testing with users who use assistive technology, such as screen magnifiers and screen readers. This was vital in understanding how well blind and visually impaired users could navigate between the NHS website and the NHS account.
Coaching
Part of my role involved the oversight of the work of the team’s graduate designer. I facilitated paired remote design sessions and gave feedback which helped to improve the output of their work and their understanding of good usability design.
The outcome
UI design elements which were delivered for MVP were:
A new component for the NHS website which allows users to log into their online account
A new link in the header of the NHS website so returning users can quickly access their account
MVP release showing log in component and account header link
Content design and journey improvements made throughout the website and Account:
Extensive content design changes relating to the labelling and language used about the NHS App and NHS account.
Created a new concept of the account being the destination and the NHS App or NHS website acting as the client
Early analytics show an increase of browser-based traffic to the NHS account of 3% in the first four weeks since go-live. This represents 1.2 million clicks through to the account from the website, demonstrating we have succeeded in giving users more choice in how they access online health services.
Continuous improvement
There are currently surveys live which will allow the us to gather quantitative data on the effectiveness of the MVP and allow insights to be gained which will inform further design iteration of the product.
Changes which were tested following the release of the MVP
Following the release of the MVP, we have conducted further usability testing of new account homepage designs (above), which improve the information architecture, facilitate better user orientation between the website the account and add new features to bring value.The further development of this project will be taken forward by the App platform team, which has received detail recommendations and suggested next steps based on our learnings.