I know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to making a difference through digital.

As a user researcher, UX designer and content expert, I’ve contributed to over 30 digital services , from chatbots, to old-school feature phone sites, across Africa, Asia, and Europe - some standalone, some carefully woven into multi-channel behaviour change programmes.

I’ve got priceless experience across most key aspects of digital service design, product development and growth, from running design sprints, to facilitating usability testing, to monitoring & evaluation.

Having worked with organisations from donors and multilaterals, to tech companies, and INGOs - I know how to adapt my approach to different budgets, priorities, and organisational realities.

My clients know they can trust me to provide guidance which is both creative and pragmatic. Whether you hire me for a simple Usability Audit, a full-fledged service re-design, or to run a course on AI for SBC, I always add value beyond the scope of work.👌

Though I’m tech-agnostic, my work now focuses mainly on chatbots and AI, bringing to bear everything I’ve learned from other mediums.

I’ve seen first hand the support and joy that safe digital spaces and tools can provide, but I’ve also had sleepless nights over the ways that poorly designed and managed tech can cause harm.

As a result I’m a bit obsessed with being user-centric and ethics-focused.

Whether designing a Youth Participation Strategy, or running co-creation sessions, I combine empathy, rigour and creativity to design products and media hand in hand with the people who need them. 🌼🌷

Here are a few examples of the type of work we could do together - but it’s not exhaustive. Get in touch to find out if your needs match my skills. 👇

🔍

Exploring | Defining

Could we use AI? Should we?

✔️Guiding and synthesising landscape and design research

✔️ Qualitative research (informant interviews, focus group discussions, workshop facilitation)

✔️ Business analysis & requirements gathering

✔️ Design sprints & facilitation

🎨

Designing | Prototyping

How should the tool work?

✔️ Co-creation activities

✔️ Concept and prototype design and testing

✔️ UX design and tech specifications

💡

Growing | Future proofing

Our tool is live, now what?

✔️ Strategic feedback & scaling

✔️ UX audits

✔️ Usability testing

✔️ Capacity building

📣

Sharing | Caring

How do we help others learn from us?

✔️ Training & mentoring

✔️ Guidelines, toolkits, templates

✔️ Learning & storytelling media

✔️ Writing

RECENT PROJECTS
get in touch

  • Isabelle has extensive experience and it shows in the considered, nuanced way she explores design problems and tackles UX challenges. We were impressed by her depth of knowledge, her collaborative working style and her attention to detail. If you're working on a complex product or service that requires sensitivity and creativity, Isabelle would be a great addition to your team.

    Pippa Yeats, co-founder, Turn.io

  • "I’ve really loved collaborating with Isabelle. She knows more about chatbots for development than anyone and she really cares about end users and their experiences. She is creative, smart, ethical, and reliable - constantly asks questions, and gets deep into ideas and processes."

    Linda Raftree, Founder of MERL Tech Initiative

  • Isabelle has been instrumental to the delivery of ONE’s mobile campaigning work, helping us successfully deliver a number of mobile products across sub-Saharan Africa. She has an excellent grasp of mobile strategy and user centred design, and always uses data driven insights to drive her work. She has been an exceptional colleague to work with.

    David Cole, Senior Director, Digital Innovation, ONE