About

Hello, I’m Dean. I’m a service designer and strategist with over 25 years of experience in user-centred design, across public and private sectors. I believe in design as a strategic tool to improve people’s lives and help organisations define and reach their objectives.

Portrait photo of Dean Vipond

I believe in:

  • design that benefits society
  • building and fostering supportive communities of practice
  • designing equitable and accessible services
  • inclusive design practices
  • work that is evidence-driven and outcome-based.

Since 2022, I have been a contract designer available to hire. Most recently I have been working as part of a digital transformation team at the Ministry of Defence, looking at their internal content and publishing operations, and information architecture challenges.

From 2017-2022, I was Lead Designer at NHS Digital. I led the redesign of the NHS website (NHS.UK), the establishment of the NHS design system, helped draft the NHS design principles, and was part of the discovery team that led to the launch of the NHS digital service manual.

I was also heavily involved in NHS Digital’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, working on the design and delivery of a number of critical services, whilst supporting other agile, multidisciplinary teams to approach their work appropriately during a crisis.

My approach is driven by understanding the needs of real people, and using that evidence to drive the objectives of an organisation. I have extensive experience in relationship-building and stakeholder management, working within organisations and across broader networks, to help people achieve their goals.

I was also practice lead for design within NHS Digital and have been instrumental in the growth of user-centred design practices within the NHS, nurturing a community of practice, and helping improve recruitment methods. This has led to a better understanding of what the organisation needs from service and interaction designers, and what behaviours to encourage when designing for a unique area like health.

I am a confident public speaker, having spoken at various conferences and industry meet-ups, such as UX in the City Manchester, various GDS events, HETT and Service Design in Government.

If you would like to chat about hiring me, my contact details are here. It would be lovely to hear from you.