Making technology fit for people.

Experience and expertise in Design Thinking

Hello! I'm Stu Church, and I've been running Pure Usability as my personal consultancy since 2001. I combine an academic background in behavioural research with 20+ years practical experience as a product, UX and service design consultant. I helped to set up and run the original incarnation of the Cambridge Usability Group before co-founding the Bristol Usability Group CIC, and the popular UXBristol conference. In addition to my consultancy work, I've also lectured about User-Centred Design at Birkbeck, University of London, and I'm a visiting consultant at the University of Bristol.

You can also read my latest articles on Medium: Thinking About Digital Design: Why It Matters for Your Academic Research Project & Deep Trouble

• Bluesky
• LinkedIn

Behaviour First. Design Second.

I'll help you to create digital products and services that your customers will love. I do this by carrying out robust and insightful user research that provides the evidence needed to confidently prototype solutions that will fit neatly into the lives of users.

Tailored for your project.

All projects are different, so I won't simply shoehorn your product into an off-the-shelf package. I'll work out exactly what you need and craft our approach to the needs of your specific project.

Designed in the open.

I believe in ‘designing in the open’ and taking clients through activities and thought processes as we research and ideate design solutions together. This approach is pragmatic, results-focussed and always constructive. In my experience, this greatly reduces the risk of an unsuccessful outcome as progress relative to the final goal is always clear, and there are no 'unexpected surprises'.

Value for money in challenging times.

As a individual consultant, I don't charge big rates. However, I do have the experience, ability, flexibility and commitment to deliver to a very high standard. I'll happily put you in touch with any of my previous clients if you need persuading!

During the past 20 years I’ve worked on everything from traditional websites to e-learning, e-commerce, intranets, web apps, mobile apps, the Internet of Things and service design projects. My experience covers travel, retail, charity, academia, telecoms, government and health.

I tend to specialise in projects with more specialist or technical subject matter. For example, I’ve worked on library license and access management systems (Jisc), interfaces for GPS-controlled precision agriculture (AgSpace), app research and design for citizen science projects (Nature Locator, spun out as Natural Apptitude), and apps and interfaces for academic research projects and clinical trials at the University of Bristol.

Zeetta Networks

User research / Design & prototyping

I carried out user research for Zeetta Networks to better understand the networking needs of IT, events and security staff at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol. I used this insight to iteratively prototype new interface concepts for Zeetta’s 5G network management applications.

Pukka Herbs

User research / UX Strategy

Pukka Herbs hired me to carry out discovery research to inform the future design of their website. I carried out user testing, depth interviews and a customer survey. Using statistical segmentation techniques I also created robust, objective personas for Pukka’s audience.

Forest Holidays

User research / Prototyping / UX Strategy

Working with 3Sixty Design, I carried out a user-centred redesign for Forest Holidays. This involved, customer research, creation of evidence-based personas and task models, collaborative ideation and the iterative design and testing of an interactive prototype that ultimately formed the basis of the new site. This work, coupled with 3Sixty's visual design and implementation skills, resulted in 72% more cabins being sold and 91% more cabin revenue.

More clients and partners.

Other direct clients include the University of Swansea, Plymouth Marjon University, HEFCE (now the Office for Students), the Office for National Statistics, Water Babies, Cambridge Assessment, Product Management International, the Medical Research Council and the Social Mobility Commission.

I've also provided UX services to amazing UX, development and creative agencies such as cxpartners, MIXD, Toumetis, Microserve, Aerian, Great State, GGMR, Taxi Studios, Pilot Works, Panda, Six, and Positive.

I provide in-house training in (1) User Experience (UX) and User-Centred Design, and (2) Quantitative Methods for User Researchers. I have delivered workshops to many clients, including Marks & Spencer, the NHS, Standard & Poors, OVO Energy, and Oxford University.

I also offer UX mentoring and strategic support to companies, public sector organisations and digital agencies.

Next Public course

I don't have any public courses planned over the coming weeks. Please do get in touch if you're interested in mentoring or in-house training, though.

I'd love to hear from you.

I'm based in the lovely city of Bristol, UK, but work with clients across the UK and beyond. If you'd like to talk, please drop me a line!

• Email

  stuartc@pureusability.co.uk