Looking for a path to a better product, service or experience?
Sounds like you need a research-led experience map
(And trusted guides to help you get there)
Cognitive Ink builds research-led experience maps, which guide organisations to useful, usable and valuable products, services and experiences.
Launching or improving a complex product or service, is like taking a trip through an unfamiliar landscape. It’s a journey of rewarding views, hidden treasures, but also risky terrain.
The best way to succeed is to do direct user research that informs a clear map of what people need, and why they need it, how your experience should work, when people should encounter it, and where it ties into your organisation.
It’s best to have this map before you commit to the detailed design and build of your experience. An upfront vision of the future keeps you on track– saving you time, money, effort and avoiding risky mistakes. It’s both a valuable and ethical choice.
Have you ever thought about how useful maps really are?
map | noun - ‘A diagram or collection of data showing the arrangement or distribution of something over an area’
Maps show the land, points of interest and mires. That’s what our Experience Maps do, not for geography, but for the layout of products, services and experiences.
Fed by high-quality, direct user research, our maps show how people, process, technology and business come together to achieve goals.
Our maps take many forms: posters, storyboards, animations, physical concepts and wall-spanning installations. They get everyone in an organisation, our outside it, on the same page about how things should work.
We map experiences because it makes design decisions visible.
“You two are the king and queen of design research. It’s not just about your insights, it’s how you lift them up and bring them into the business. You never fail to astound me.” - Chief Design Officer, Global Consulting Company
Meet your guides, Christopher & Anna, twenty year veterans in human centred design
Small-but-mighty, we assess, manage and provide the core work on any project, scaling with a network of hand-selected team members when required. It keeps our quality at 100% every time.
Christopher, is a User Researcher, Service & Experience Designer. He focuses on people, their behaviour and context. He has a Masters in Psychology and a Post graduate Certificate in Human Factors. He initially learned his craft consulting with some of Australia’s first usability and experience design companies.
Anna, is a Strategic Business Analyst and Service Designer. She specialises untangling business and technology. She has a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws (business law), Master of Laws (Honours) (technology law) and Certifications in Business Analysis and Financial Analysis. Anna formed her skills working as a business analyst and service designer for one of Australia’s most prestigious banks.
We’ve provided user research and experience maps for brand names across the world
Experiences we’ve designed have changed lives, won awards and improved the services and value of organisations across the world.
A sample of recent clients
Short Facts
2013 - Cognitive Ink was founded to offer research-led experience design with a difference, using visual and easy-to-understand ways of breaking down and solving complex problems. It’s in our name, we think in ink..
165+ Projects - across domains spanning built environment, financial services, manufacturing, healthcare and logistics.
70+ Clients - including businesses and government-funded organisations, startups and established well-known names. Our clients span the global, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK and the US.
Explore our recent projects or see all our case studies
We work in a structured process
We’re proud to have built our own method, using the best of Psychology, Experience Design, Systems Thinking and Business Analysis.
Meet…
Cognitive Ink’s Mindset & Maps Experience Design
Having a well-engineered method means we work efficiently. And we remain effective even with very complex systems. Any experience or place, and at any scale, we have tools to find what people need and to design a meaningful experience.
Our core engagement principles apply to every project, big and small: Collaborate as one team, Respect and challenge expertise, Share skills and knowledge, Offer empathy always.
Ready to find your path?
Drop us a line and we’ll get right back to you.
Not quite ready, but curious to learn more?
Explore our Cognitive Ink Fieldnotes, bite-sized journey entries from the field of Human Centred Exploration, Mapmaking and Design.
