Transparent Design

29/04/2026

If you do one thing today, take a look at the wonderful work that Hospice Aid UK do.

They are a small charity are are a lifeline to hospices when they need extra funds to help buy specialist equipment and fund frontline care. From hand held fans to cleaning out ball pits, they've helped hundreds of hospices in the 20+ years they've been running.

We designed their new website using Wordpress and Joanna Aitkens from Aitkens Media wrote the wonderful copy. We are continuing to support them with website updates and blogging.

They are really struggling with funds, like lots of small charities. If you find yourself in the lucky position to help a charity, please bare them in mind - there are details of how to donate on their site.

Hospice Aid UK Helps hospices with donations when they need it the most. Learn more about how to support those needing end of life care and respite support.

10/01/2026

In case you were dithering about whether a website usability audit will be good for your business, Kate just gave this glowing review of one she received via the Growth Hub for the Badapple Theatre Company.

"We were lucky to be able to access dedicated time with Lucy to look at the customer journey on our business site. She's really passionate about looking at media from the customer perspective and can be incredibly insightful for business owners trying to see a path through to increasing customer engagement."

Kate's main concern was user journey and that her website looked outdated. I focussed on her audience - looking at their demographics, what concerns they may have and what information they'd be looking for when booking tickets. I also gave advice on how anyone looking to put on a theatre performance in a local community building could be encoraged to do so.

Of course, I also looked at layout and look and feel, but I do tailor each audit I do to the client so I also created a wireframe which is extremely helpful to Kate for how she could update Badapple's current homepage.

Keen to know more about how a web usability audit can help your business? Let me know and I can have a quick chat!

04/01/2026

"I had a website audit with Lucy. She was very helpful and gave me lots of great ideas to improve my website. I'd highly recommend. Thank you"

This was a lovely review from Sarah Hartley who was lucky enough to get a FREE usability audit from me via the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub. She has been busy updating her site with all the hints and tips I gave her.

I’ve loved advising several SMEs and individuals like Sarah on a 1 to 1 basis on how to improve their user journey, look and feel without needing a whole new website and I would love to help you too!

My credentials? 25 years as a designer plus a first-class Interactive Design degree.

Interested in applying for an audit?

What you need to do:

1 - Register and find out more via this online form > https://ynygrowthhub.com/blog/news/steps-into-digital-voucher-scheme/

2 - Set your alarm for 9am on the 12th January and apply via the form which will go live then.

3 - You have a chat to someone from the Growth Hub to make sure you are eligible.

4 - You are then able to book your initial chat with me where we start to look at how you can make some simple yet effective changes to your website.

Don't live locally to me? Get in touch as I am currently offering website usability audits for only £500+VAT!

29/10/2025

Last night, Lucy had a stall at the York Ladies Who Latte showcasing event at the Delta Hotel. She loved seeing other friends and learning more about what they do.

She was talking about www.dirtees.co.uk and also her desigs. 3 ladies were there who are doing website usability audits for for free due to funding from the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub. If you’re interested in her website support, at NO cost to you, let us know & we will tell you how to apply.



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Photo of Lucy smiling at the camera wearing an I love swearing t-shirt with her pink design banner behind. The table has some ‘rude but ethical’ t-shirts on it and iPads with her websites plus business cards.

26/09/2025

Transparent Design's logo is in today's Times as part of the Good Business Charter campaign to promote GBC accredited organisations.

You can find us in their directory too.

Getting accredited isn't hard - you have to answer a few questions and state that you do things like pay your invoices on time and do your best to be enviornmentally friendly.

We are proud to be part of it!

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Digital design and development, done properly.
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19/09/2025

We went to the preview of the Aesthetica Art Prize at York Art Gallery last night.

We loved the light exhibits including Submergence by Squid Soup which were part of the Future Tense exhibition.

There was some great art and it was a shame we didn’t get to see all the video installations in full.

It is definitely worth a visit!

15/09/2025

FREE WEBSITE USABILITY AUDITS!

I am really pleased to say that Transparent Design has been chosen to be a supplier for a voucher scheme with York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub.

Not getting the leads or sales you should be?

Facing challenges with your website’s performance or user journey?

Or simply annoyed that your website isn’t as good as it could be?

A usability audit helps optimise your site’s structure and enhance the user experience without the need for a full website rebuild, though if you are wanting a new website, this audit will also help.

Ideal for sole traders and SMEs with an existing website - go to https://ynygrowthhub.com/blog/news/steps-into-digital-voucher-scheme/ to apply to work with me - I'd love to help you get your user journey and look and feel improved!

04/09/2025

Can you see our logo on this page? It features in The Guardian today as part of the Good Business Charter's campaign to promote accredited organisations.

You can also find us in the Good Business Charter Directory - https://accreditation.goodbusinesscharter.com/directory

Digital design & development, done properly.

02/09/2025

We had a bit of a fail yesterday. But partly due to bad website usability.

We wanted to take our boys out as we'd not done much with them last week so had a bit of guilt that they'd been stuck in side most of the week (they are 12 & 14 so they're not that hard done by as most of the time they just want to be on a screen anyway!).

We thought we'd go to the Lego Art of the Brick exhibition n Leeds as we all love LEGO. Both me and my husband looked for tickets, saw there were lots available and thought we'd buy on the door in case we got stuck in traffic on the way. However, we got there to find it was closed!

I find this really bad web usability. Take a look at the screenshot - the date we wanted to go was 1st September. It had defaulted to the 3rd. With it being the holidays I didn't look at the date, I assumed that it was Monday's date as that is what had been selected. I was working, I was looking on my phone, nothing popped up to say 'closed today and tomorrow'. Nothing on their website said that either (see second screenshot). Other calendars default to the current, not future date. Nowhere on the site does it say 'closed Monday & Tuesday', or at least if it does, it's not very obvious. And we both fell for this - we work in web design and development - so it's definitely not working that well.

We had also tried to get in the Miffy exhibition - I had seen it was open until the 7th and nowhere on the page did it say 'closed Mondays'. See second Miffy picture as to how I have quickly improved the usability on it!

15/05/2025

Do you wish you could sometimes pick the brains of an expert face-to-face about your business problems?

Lucy Rigley is delighted to be part of a pop up event on 24th June at Patch York.

You can ask her anything about design - herexperience spans web, graphics, branding and TV. For instance, she can give you advice on how to keep your social media posts on brand, your website to attract more customers or quick ideas of how to improve your logo

The other experts are:

organiser Helen Reynolds from Ink Gardener Copywriting- Google friendly copywriter and trainer

Paula Duck Photographer - brand photography and videography

Rebecca mason from The Social Media Tree - social media trainer and strategist

Laura Robson who offers online systems strategy, build and support

Louise Saw is also going to be there to offer advice and support - she is extremely knowledgeable in her role as Business Growth Manager at City of York Council. Ask her about networking, introductions and more.

For more info and to grab a ticket visit https://www.tickettailor.com/.../inkgardenercopyw.../1687843

PS The graphics were designed by Lucy - no Canva in sight!

14/05/2025

NEW BESPOKE WEBSITE DESIGN AND BUILD!

obliViaR has just opened in York - they are a brand new VR experience and asked me to design something different to other websites - something to stand out and appeal to their customers with a VR slant.

We developed the site and we added depth to the site by having floating layers, purples to complement their logo and gradients & glows to create a site which really is totally unique and different from any other out there.

If you live nearby you'll have to go and play!

If you want a site which stands out from the crowd, get in touch!

Visit the site: www.obliviar.co.uk