Nicola Albon

CV

Profile

A highly experienced senior content designer, content strategist and content lead, keen to continue progressing skills alongside advancing technology. I am an expert in user-centred design of websites, apps and digital services, and conversation design. I have extensive experience of working in and leading multi-disciplinary teams and using qualitative and quantitative research to create better products that are simple to use. I collaborate with stakeholders, developers and other user-centred design disciplines to design and build sustainable, robust design systems, processes and digital services that meet user needs, accessibility standards, deadlines, and business objectives.

Current role

February 2007 to present – Freelance Content Designer, Copywriter and Content Strategist (Nicola Albon Media Ltd)

Since 2007 I have operated as a content designer and consultant, working in multidisciplinary teams for public, private and charity sector clients. Highlights include:

  • Content strategy consultation, hypothesis testing and prototype build for Department of Business and Trade (2024-2025)
  • Chatbot conversation design, conversation flow design and content creation for Yorkshire Building Society (2023-2024)
  • UX research, content strategy and content design for specialist phlebotomy app (2023)
  • Information architecture, ongoing content strategy, project management, stakeholder management and staff reskilling on several websites. Clients include HMRC, UKRI, NHS Test and Trace, Citizens Advice, Home Office, HM Treasury and RAF (2007 – 2022) 

Contract history 

Senior Content Designer, Version1 for Security Industry Authority – July 2025 to present

Working in a multi-disciplinary user-centred design team, using insights from user research to design, test and iterate a new application for a Security Industry Authority Licence to meet and pass GDS Alpha assessment. We designed to GOV.UK standards using GDS design patterns and adapting patterns used by other government services. The Alpha assessment report gave the go ahead for a private Beta. Content audit of existing screens to identify where improvements were needed. 

Senior Content Designer, Olive Jar Digital for Dept of Business and Trade – May 2024 to February 2025 
Department of Business and Trade wanted to help small businesses to find regulations. I conducted content analysis across GOV.UK, devolved governments’ and regulators’ websites to identify gaps, duplication, inconsistencies and inaccuracies. I recommended a strategy of short-term fixes of sector-based pages and longer-term exploration of modular content. Liaising with other government departments, arm’s-length bodies and devolved governments, I created content for one industry sector as a test case. I analysed the results of a public beta of a GOV.UK chatbot.

Conversation Designer, Yorkshire Building Society – October 2023 to April 2024 
Yorkshire Building Society was expanding its chatbot to include answers to customers’ questions about opening and closing savings accounts, moving money and using online banking. Using data and transcripts of customer service phone calls, I designed new conversation flows and worked closely with subject matter experts, to create answers to customers’ questions. I identified where the terminology that customers used differed from banking terminology and designed further questions to help get users to the correct answers. The language needed to be informal and help the client to meet the FCA’s Consumer Duty framework. 

Senior Content Designer, Our Future Health – January to August 2023
Part of a multi-disciplinary team creating new functionality and iterating an app for phlebotomists to record blood samples and other measurements from 5 million UK residents. I worked with a product designer and behavioural scientist to write micro copy and redesign screens to improve the accuracy of data collected and ease and efficiency of the appointment. I also worked with product designers to create a new design system.  

Content Designer, Engine Transformation for HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) – June to December 2022 
Part of a multi-disciplinary design team designing new user interfaces to upload court documents for civil money claims. 

Content Designer, Opencast Software for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – February to May 2022 
Part of a multi-disciplinary team creating a new digital service for exporters to check EORI numbers. 

Content Lead, Scroll for UK Research and Innovation – May to December 2021 
I devised processes and a content creation strategy to transition 9 research council websites to a single website. I created content templates and agreed minimum standards with managers to ensure accessibility and readability standards were met and enable content designers to deliver at pace.   

Senior Content Designer, Hippo Digital for NHS Test and Trace – March to April 2021
Discovery looking at the best ways for local authorities to share best practice and resources in areas with enduring transmission of COVID-19 or a ‘variant of concern’.   

Senior Content Designer, Government Digital Service (GDS) – September 2019 to March 2021
I lead sprints with government departments to improve user journeys that crossed different department policy areas to prepare businesses for changes after Brexit. I rapidly iterated content in response to the Covid pandemic and Brexit. I rewrote GOV.UK error pages and worked with developers to improve the GOV.UK Design System.  

Content Designer, Citizens Advice – February to August 2019 
I wrote guidance and advice about a new immigration service for both non-native English speakers and trained advisers. I rapidly wrote content to fill gaps in publicly available information about the EU Settlement Scheme – identified by qualitative user research and network of advisers. Used data and evidence to change information architecture and content after the scheme had been in place for a few months.  

Senior Content Designer, Digi2al for UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) – October 2018 to February 2019
Part of a multi-disciplinary design team for the private and public beta of a new mobile app and online application service for the EU Settlement Scheme. Conducted A/B testing with small and large user cohorts.  

Senior Content Designer, Home Office (HM Passport Office) – February 2017 to October 2018
HM Passport Office was building new software to process passport applications which led to a wider transformation of working practices. I led workshops with staff to understand the variations in terminology across 7 processing centres, advising senior management on how to standardise vocabulary to ensure consistency and reduce training needs. I wrote micro copy for the user interface for passport examiners.    

Senior Content Designer, Content Support Services for the Department for Education – October to December 2016 
Publishing content on Whitehall Publisher. 

Content Designer, Ofsted – October 2016 
Discovery looking into creating forms for childminders. 

Content Designer, Royal Air Force – April to June 2016
Used data to create new models of different types of content to meet the different needs of identified users. My work led to a defined content model with restricted content types and spaces for content to be written by RAF personnel. It kept the amount of content on the website to a minimum, focused it on the needs of users and ensured consistency. 

Content Designer, Pension Wise, HM Treasury – November 2015 to April 2016 
Part of a multi-disciplinary Agile team analysing existing website content and improve UX for booking face-to-face and telephone appointments. Analysed the needs of a new set of users for the website, wrote user needs, and created website content, appointment content and documents. We worked with external delivery partners to pilot and launch new types of appointments.

Content Editor, Leicestershire County Council – December 2014 to October 2015 
Trained council publications officers in user research, Google Analytics, information architecture and introduced processes and tools to help them manage their workflow. 

Content Designer, Government Digital Service (GDS) – November 2013 to December 2014 
Applied new GOV.UK style and content design standards to rewrite content and transition it from separate government department websites to GOV.UK. Led a team who transitioned HMRC inheritance tax and death notification content to GOV.UK.

Other experience 

  • Web Migration Copywriter, London Borough of Newham – May 2012 to November 2013 
  • Web Content Editor, Kingston University – January to May 2012                         
  • Intranet Content Editor, 3i – August to November 2008  
  • Intranet Content Editor, Ofsted – February 2007 to March 2008 
  • Freelance Journalist and Photographer – July 2011 to present 
  • Writing play and short fiction. Trained in photography – November 2008 to July 2011 
  • Senior Public Relations Officer, St John Ambulance – July 2006 to January 2007 
  • Freelance public relations and media training consultant – March 2003 to August 2008 
  • Freelance Broadcast Journalist – March 2003 to January 2005  
  • Broadcast Journalist, BBC – 1994 to March 2003  
  • Journalist, Eastern Daily Press – 1991 to 1994

Software, tools and markup languages 

GitHub, Sublime Text, Atom, Figma, Miro, Mural, Sketch, Markdown, some HTML and CSS, GatherContent, Google Analytics, SEMrush, Google Trends, Basecamp, Slack, Confluence, Jira, Trello, Asana, Zendesk support, Drupal, bespoke CMSs, WordPress, Google Docs, Microsoft Office suite, Parts-of-speech tagger, Otter.AI, Acrobat Writer, Photoshop.