What we do

North Star UCD offers bespoke solutions to all clients, whether big or small.

Get in touch on the details below or through our dedicated contact page above to discuss your problem, and how we can work together to fix it.

Examples of the sorts of things we do are listed below.

Consultancy and Retainers

Close-up of two people working at a wooden table with laptops, papers, and pens, discussing or analyzing documents.
Close-up of two people working at a wooden table with laptops, papers, and pens, discussing or analyzing documents.

We work flexibly to understand our clients needs and help them meet them.

Our engagements come in all shapes and sizes. We work with you to agree how we can best add value against your budget

Bespoke Solutions

A workspace with a MacBook Pro laptop displaying a digital business solution dashboard on its screen, a smartphone showing a user profile, a glass cup of coffee, and a closed notebook, all on a wooden desk by a window.
A workspace with a MacBook Pro laptop displaying a digital business solution dashboard on its screen, a smartphone showing a user profile, a glass cup of coffee, and a closed notebook, all on a wooden desk by a window.

Have a problem, but don’t know how to fix it? Want to combine the rigour and precision of academic research, with the flexibility and agility of user research?

Whatever it is, we’re happy to talk to see how we can help.

Discovery

Close-up of a magnifying glass placed over a shooting target with concentric rings and a red bullseye, against a blue background.

We can work with you, or for you, to carry out discovery activities.

We’ll help you understand your problem space, and provide you with an actionable report which outlines options you can take to move forward.

Specialist User research

Person in a blue plaid shirt organizing notes on a white table, with colorful sticky notes and a pot of pens nearby, in a workspace with green plants on the wall.

Have a particularly sticky problem? We have expert user researchers who can help you with hard to reach users, difficult subjects and just about anything else that involves research and design.

Resourcing as a service

Group of people sitting at a long wooden table, engaging in discussion or meeting.

We can fill gaps in your resourcing, for either short term or longer term contracts

Our associates are vetted prior to joining our associate network - we consider our associates to be an extension of ourselves, as such we also engage in assurance and support throughout engagements.

UCD Leadership and Strategy

Four people are gathered around a table in a modern office, looking at a laptop screen and discussing work, with two women and two men smiling and engaging in conversation.

We have a strong network of user centred design leaders (User Research, Content Design, Service Design and Interacton Design). We have established, grown and assured research and UCD capability, communities of practice.

Need a Head of UR, but can’t justify a full time hire? We can help.

  • their ability to come up with a plan that evaluated constraints and interdependencies, finally helped us move away from the previous phase

    — Senior Service Designer
    UK Gov Client

  • They consistently challenged my thinking in constructive ways and helped translate complex concepts into a practical, actionable model. I would highly recommend them to any organisation looking to measure and understand people's behaviours.

    Denise Beardon
    CEO & Founder of Copper Ink Ltd.

Our frameworks

  • We’re a registered supplier for the RM6126 Research and Insights DPS - the dynamic purchasing system that allows gov organisations to procure high quality academic style research contracts.

  • We’re a NEPRO3 accredited supplier. NEPRO3 is the route to market for the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO)

  • North Start UCD is an approved Constellia Supplier - supplying on the NEPRO3 Innovation Framework

An image showing the words Government Commercial Agency Supplier
A logo showing the words Bloom Accredited Supplier
A circular emblem featuring a gold geometric star-like design on a blue background, with the words "CONSTELLIA APPROVED" below.

Get In Touch

If you're interested in any of the services above, or you would like to discuss how we might work together, get in touch with us via the contact form and we’ll get back to you within 48 hours.