Championing user research, Elle made a case for it to be included in all our projects; talking to clients about its value, the leadership team about different methods and figuring out how to carry them out. She now regularly carries out different research methods, analysing the results and presenting findings to clients. Most recently she has introduced the use of diary studies which has vastly improved the quality of data gathered through user research. She demonstrates a strong ability to interpret user feedback and offer suggestions for improvement. Elle has been the only full-time design resource at Brightec this year. Only recently promoted from Junior Designer, she took the opportunity to be more authoritative with her decisions and has enjoyed seeing how people turn to her with more confidence. She instigated regular formalised 121s to guide her development, clearly define responsibilities and a robust framework for the Design team to assist in the development of the team, and those within it. Josh, Brightec Director, commented: ‘The successful launch of a major digital product for the global brand Virgin has been made possible by Elle’s commitment to rapidly and thoroughly validating design decisions through user research. She has created a process that robustly allows designs to be validated quickly and without hindering the engineering process.