The challenge
BBC Studios’ children’s and factual brands operated across separate platforms and teams, leading to inconsistent user journeys, duplicated components, and varied accessibility standards.
The challenge was to elevate UX quality and introduce scalable foundations across a global multi-brand portfolio without diluting brand identity.
My Role: UX Lead
Worked across multiple brand teams including Bluey, Hey Duggee, Doctor Who and BBC Earth.
• Led cross-brand UX alignment initiatives
• Defined shared component patterns and accessibility standards
• Facilitated workshops and stakeholder alignment to reconcile competing brand priorities
• Improved design-to-development collaboration across WordPress and Drupal platforms
• Led cross-brand UX alignment initiatives
• Defined shared component patterns and accessibility standards
• Facilitated workshops and stakeholder alignment to reconcile competing brand priorities
• Improved design-to-development collaboration across WordPress and Drupal platforms
Scope
• Global multi-brand portfolio
• Multiple CMS platforms
• Cross-functional teams across design, engineering, content and marketing
• Ongoing iterative UX uplift
• Multiple CMS platforms
• Cross-functional teams across design, engineering, content and marketing
• Ongoing iterative UX uplift
Success Indicators
• Reduced duplication of components across brands
• Improved accessibility compliance across portfolio
• Faster content publishing workflows
• Adherence to new guidelines such as designing for children online
• Greater consistency in navigation and interaction patterns
• Improved accessibility compliance across portfolio
• Faster content publishing workflows
• Adherence to new guidelines such as designing for children online
• Greater consistency in navigation and interaction patterns
Principles, guidelines and recommendations for a new shared site approach and navigational structure to Bluey and Hey Duggee.
The Problem Space
Each brand operated semi-independently, leading to:
• Duplicate component creation
• Inconsistent navigation and page structures
• Accessibility gaps across brands
• Varied content structures
• Inefficient publishing workflows
• Limited cross-team knowledge sharing
• Duplicate component creation
• Inconsistent navigation and page structures
• Accessibility gaps across brands
• Varied content structures
• Inefficient publishing workflows
• Limited cross-team knowledge sharing
This created friction for users and increased delivery overhead and operational complexity internally.
I created co-designed a series of journey maps / blueprints to highlight pain points, gaps and opportunities.
My Approach
I approached the work at two levels:
1. Tactical UX Improvements
Identified UX issues within individual sites and implemented specific improvements (navigation, interaction patterns, content clarity).
2. Systemic Alignment
1. Tactical UX Improvements
Identified UX issues within individual sites and implemented specific improvements (navigation, interaction patterns, content clarity).
2. Systemic Alignment
Identified reusable patterns across brands and introduced shared components, content guidelines, accessibility guardrails and interaction principles.
Activities included:
• Heuristic reviews
• Accessibility audits
• User research
• Cross-team workshops
• Component rationalisation
• Design documentation and pattern definition
• Heuristic reviews
• Accessibility audits
• User research
• Cross-team workshops
• Component rationalisation
• Design documentation and pattern definition
Research findings provided a wealth of insights on our audiences, both validating and invalidating assumptions and helping to guide where to focus efforts.
An outcome from team workshops — wireflow of entry points for a new club login feature concept,
Systems & Decisions
Rather than enforce a single rigid system, I focused on:
• Defining reusable component foundations across brands
• Improving governance around component creation
• Aligning accessibility standards and design language across brands
• Encouraging collaboration between brand teams through design sprints and other activities
• Defining reusable component foundations across brands
• Improving governance around component creation
• Aligning accessibility standards and design language across brands
• Encouraging collaboration between brand teams through design sprints and other activities
This allowed creative flexibility while improving systemic consistency.
Outcome & Impact
Both Bluey and Hey Duggee went through major platform overhauls during this time with page views targets exceeded by 150%, and all other metrics up. Traffic has remained at a new higher baseline since the launch of these revamps.
• Raised baseline UX quality across a global portfolio
• Reduced duplication and rework
• Improved accessibility compliance and awareness
• Strengthened cross-team collaboration
• Created scalable patterns that informed future brand builds
• Established a repeatable cross-brand UX alignment model that informed future launches.
The digital brand teams are now armed with libraries of components, principles and guidelines to construct new, more immersive and accessible content experiences for fans in time for new seasons and other important upcoming brand moments.
• Reduced duplication and rework
• Improved accessibility compliance and awareness
• Strengthened cross-team collaboration
• Created scalable patterns that informed future brand builds
• Established a repeatable cross-brand UX alignment model that informed future launches.
The digital brand teams are now armed with libraries of components, principles and guidelines to construct new, more immersive and accessible content experiences for fans in time for new seasons and other important upcoming brand moments.
The flexibility of the component library has also reduced design and development support requests and paved the way for future business opportunities.
Example screens from Bluey, Hey Duggee, BBC Earth and Doctor Who, demonstrating cross-brand design system alignment
Ongoing optimisation
Analytics, usability and split-testing are now being used to optimise the experience further to continually improve the online fan experience.
Analytics, usability and split-testing are now being used to optimise the experience further to continually improve the online fan experience.
Huge thanks to...
Guerrilla, Luke, Connor, Emily and the broader digital brand teams, our product and engineering legends and everyone else involved in making this happen.
Guerrilla, Luke, Connor, Emily and the broader digital brand teams, our product and engineering legends and everyone else involved in making this happen.
