Coastal UX Launch event

Welcome to your new community for user-centred design professionals and those curious about the field! Whether you're a UX Designer, User Researcher, or Content Designer, all disciplines and career stages are welcome. If you're simply exploring user-centred design roles and seeking guidance, you'll find support here.

Each meeting will feature speakers or workshops to enhance your learning and community experience.

Speakers

Redefining UX: How to Impact the Entire Customer Experience

Paul Boag

19:15 - 19:45

Too often, UX is pigeonholed - reduced to user research, wireframes, and UI tweaks. But the reality is that user experience extends far beyond digital interfaces. It influences every interaction a customer has with an organization, from marketing and sales to customer service and product delivery.

In this talk, Paul Boag challenges the traditional boundaries of UX and explores how experience professionals, marketers, fundraisers, and business leaders can drive a more holistic, strategic approach. He will share practical ways to break out of the implementation role and become an advocate for better experiences across the entire customer journey.

If you’ve ever felt frustrated by organizational silos, underinvestment in UX, or a lack of influence over the bigger picture, this talk will equip you with the strategies and mindset shifts needed to redefine your role and make a lasting impact.

• Shift from execution to strategy – Influence leadership, policies, and processes instead of just project work.
• Break out of the UX silo – Stop limiting yourself to wireframes and research; advocate for broader change.
• Find allies across departments – Work with marketing, sales, and customer support to improve UX holistically.
• Frame UX as a business advantage – Show how better experiences drive revenue, retention, and loyalty.

Empower others to improve UX – Provide training, playbooks, and frameworks so teams can implement UX thinking.

Check out Paul's website for more information on the other great things he's working on.

From Forensic Psychology to UX

Emma Peters, Experience UX

20:10 - 20:40

Emma Peters, a UX Consultant, shares her journey from pursuing a career in forensic psychology to becoming a UX researcher and ultimately finding her true passion in the world of UX.

She will reflect on her aspirations to work in psychology before discussing how she found herself in a world she had never considered: User Experience.

At the centre of this story is the human aspect, with an intrinsic drive to understand why people behave the way they do and the deeper needs behind it all. She will highlight how transferable skills in research, psychology, empathy and analysis have a pivotal role in enabling her to gain insight to help improve the digital experiences of her clients and their users.

This talk will highlight how changing direction doesn’t mean you have to start over, but how you can build on existing strengths in exciting and meaningful ways.

Who is behind Coastal UX?

Coastal UX is run by Anna Williams, Hannah Mitchell, Laura Pledger and Laura Yarrow; four passionate UX professionals that work in the Bournemouth area looking to create community and belonging for like minded UX folks. We come from a variety of backgrounds in the private, public and charity sectors and are excited to build support and community for others local to the area that are interested or work in User Centred Design. We’re a really small team running this in our spare time, with the support of Silicon South and Bournemouth University.

We noticed there was a real gap locally for events that bring UX designers together - not just to share ideas, but to meet, connect, and have a good time doing it. Being the kind of people who love to gather a crowd and spark good conversations, we decided to create the event we wished existed: a friendly space for anyone interested in UX to learn something new, meet like-minded folks, and enjoy themselves along the way.

We’ll come together regularly and share knowledge allowing us all to learn and grow in our chosen fields and careers. It is a relaxed environment where everyone is welcome from all backgrounds and skill levels.We hold regular gatherings to foster a collaborative environment where individuals can share knowledge, enabling collective learning and professional growth.