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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 29

‘What went right this week: the good news that matters.’

“ #Biodiversity was brought into focus, #Helsinki went a year without a road death, and investment in #Renewables surged, plus more good news.”

www.positive.news/society/good...

What went right this week: the good news that matters

Biodiversity was brought into focus, Helsinki went a year without a road death, and investment in renewables surged, plus more good news

www.positive.news

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Reposted by Rob Whiting 📓

patternmind.bsky.social @patternmind.bsky.social · Aug 28

Design books

Apple's design process. Creative Selection is a great description of the design process.

us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

#Booksky #design #books #designbooks #Apple

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Reposted by Rob Whiting 📓

Norwich Amiga Group @norwichamigagroup.bsky.social · Aug 25

COMING UP: #Norwich #Amiga Group meet at Albion Games Cafe on Friday 19th September, 5-10pm. As always, it's open to anybody so just pop in on the night for plenty of Amiga-related activities with our great community.

Norwich Amiga Group Meet 56, Friday 19th September 17:00-22:00. Featuring classic & new games, creative & technical help, real hardware & emulation, chat with like-minded people. Free entry - all welcome. Albion Games Cafe, 21 St Benedicts St, Norwich, NR2 4PF.

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 28

More examples of the Citizen facing Web we could have had. 😞

The visibility and transparency on Public Services people deserve.

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 28

… alongside things like Content Dashboards¹ for certain Departments which worked alongside the Info/Performance data published.

¹ webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/201408...

UK Government Web Archive

This Page is [ARCHIVED CONTENT] and shows what the site page https://www.gov.uk/performance/site-activity-department-for-work-pensions looked like on 5 Aug 2014 at 15:00:45

webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 28

Your post had just reminded me of various URL modifiers/shortcuts I had to hand at the time GovUK used to publish this sort of data. 🙂

I seem to remember there being a few for things like User Needs (as you pointed out), Performance, API access (I think), etc.

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 28

I'm not sure how the process worked. I seem to remember that some of these pages were not dynamic and required regular updates via spreadsheet to the Performance Platform¹ but not sure of how any redirects/etc. worked for this.

¹ webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/202103...

UK Government Web Archive

This Page is [ARCHIVED CONTENT] and shows what the site page https://performance-platform.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ looked like on 15 Mar 2021 at 08:50:15

webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk

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Reposted by Rob Whiting 📓

Lisa Holdsworth @lisaholdsworth.bsky.social · Aug 28

A free creative writing opportunity for 18–25 year olds in Yorkshire ✍

Applications are now open for Life in a Northern Town, a playwriting course led by Northern Broadsides.

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LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN - Northern Broadsides

www.northern-broadsides.co.uk

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Reposted by Rob Whiting 📓

Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · Aug 28

You might not know:

There used to be a hidden page for many services on GOV.UK, which would display the underlying user need through a user story and its alignment with the platform proposition.

You just had to insert /info to any service landing page’s URL.

I still think it’s brilliant.

GOV.UK

User needs
Register to vote
Why is this page on GOV.UK?
The user need for this page:

As a UK resident
I need to register to vote
So that I can exercise my democratic rights

The need is met when the user:
understands who is allowed to vote
know that you have to be registered in order to vote
knows what support is available at polling stations (eg for disabled people)
Understands their options if they going overseas temporarily
Understand their options if they will be overseas long term
This need is in proposition because:
It's something only government does
It's inherent to a person's or an organisation's rights and obligations

GOV.UK

User needs and metrics
Renew or replace your adult passport
All metrics are recorded over the past 6 weeks.

Why is this page on GOV.UK?
The user need for this page:

As a British person
I need to apply for or renew a passport
So that I can travel across borders

The need is met when the user:
the user knows the rules about passport photos
the user knows how long it takes to get a passport
the user knows the different ways they can apply for a passport, including Check and Send
understands the eligibility criteria to get a passport
the user knows the rules about when their passport may be taken away
knows what to do if they are abroad
knows how to get dual citizenship if they already have a passport from another country
knows how to renew a passport
as a British national born before 2 September 1929, knows how to get a free passport
This need is in proposition because:
It's something only government does
There is clear demand for it from users
It's something the government provides/does/pays for

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 28

Such a shame this default functionality was removed.

I've seen some Services being transparent with their data (e.g. GovUK Pay - www.payments.service.gov.uk/performance/) but a decline from what we did have available > webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/202103... - across 777 Services. 😞

Performance data

Analytics cookies help us understand how our website is being used.

www.payments.service.gov.uk

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 28

This was such a great feature.

I remember that as well as /info/ - Service performance data could also be publicly viewed by adding /performance/ to the URL.

(an example of this from the Register To Vote link you shared > webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/202103...)

UK Government Web Archive

This Page is [ARCHIVED CONTENT] and shows what the site page https://www.gov.uk/performance/register-to-vote looked like on 15 Mar 2021 at 08:53:22

webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 28

An artefact from the 1984 'Think British' campaign mentioned in the episode.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/26730279...

1984 Think British Campaign matchbox/matchbook with matches.(Bryant & May). | eBay UK

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1984 Think British Campaign matchbox/matchbook with matches.(Bryant & May). at the best online prices at eBay UK! Free delivery for many p...

www.ebay.co.uk

Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 28

www.imdb.com/title/tt1491...

"Forty Minutes" 1984 Voices in a City (TV Episode 1984) | Documentary

1984 Voices in a City: Directed by Ted Clisby. Comparison between life in Orwell's novel and the reality of life in 1984.

www.imdb.com

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 28

Forty Minutes: 1984 Voices in a City.

“[A] Comparison between life in #Orwell 's novel and the reality of life in #1984.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwNW...

Living in Britain in 1984 | Forty Minutes: Voices in a City | Classic BBC Documentary | BBC Archive

YouTube video by BBC Archive

www.youtube.com

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 28

“The UK has lost a quarter of its clubs and late night venues since 2020.”

www.musicradar.com/music-indust...

Coming like a ghost town: The UK has lost a quarter of its clubs and late night venues since 2020

Towns are becoming “night-time deserts” warns Night Time Industries Association

www.musicradar.com

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Reposted by Rob Whiting 📓

Ethan Marcotte @ethanmarcotte.com · Aug 27

🦊

I wrote about the administration’s “national design studio,” and how its shoddy construction isn’t a mistake. It’s a clear signal of priorities, and ones we need to actively, urgently rebuke. ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/a-noti...

A notional design studio. — ethanmarcotte.com

A design language, if you can keep it.

ethanmarcotte.com

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 27

@dhruvbhutani.bsky.social on how ‘Smart devices are turning out to be a poor investment’.

“… we are left with the remains of a dream unfulfilled and electronics that respond to the whims, fancies, and ever-changing business decisions of corporations …”

www.androidpolice.com/smart-device...

Smart devices are turning out to be a poor investment

Smart devices were supposed to make life better, but constant updates have made them worse

www.androidpolice.com

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Reposted by Rob Whiting 📓

Priyanca a11y 🌈 @priyanca.bsky.social · Aug 27

Light green leaves

A photo of two Japanese maple leaves with the light shining through illuminating the light green shape. You can see sunshine and blue sky in the background and other green leaves of trees

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Reposted by Rob Whiting 📓

Linotype Pilgrim @symbo1ics.bsky.social · Aug 27

👀 The TypeTogether Premier service/partnership is FREE, omg

• access to typefaces
• free professional advice on type and typography! pairing! legibility! terroir!

Check out the offer 👇

TypeTogether @typetogether.bsky.social · Aug 27

Join Premier to try Sakkal Saad /// The release of the Sakkal Saad typeface by Dr Mamoun Sakkal is still a few weeks away, but members of TypeTogether’s Premier programme can already try it in their designs.

Join here: premier.type-together.com

🧵 1/4

#typography #fontsky #graphicdesign #Arabic

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 27

Festival of Commoning

“A celebration of people acting together to build #Commons of all kinds.”

📆 12th-13th September 2025
📍 Stroud, Gloucestershire

🎟️ festival-of-commoning.org

^ via @acuity.design

home2 | Festival of Commoning

festival-of-commoning.org

Reposted by Rob Whiting 📓

Let the Right Hon In @danhon.com · Aug 27

NYT: Joe Gebbia wants to make government services more “satisfying.” Some peers in the design industry are skeptical

Me: that's me, I'm one of the peers

“"It looks a little bit like a stunt hire,” Mr. Hon said."

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/s...

From Airbnb to America’s ‘Chief Design Officer’

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Rob Whiting 📓

Care Provider Alliance @cpa-socialcare.bsky.social · Aug 26

The UK government will be carrying out a national test of the Emergency Alerts system on Sunday 7 September at 3pm.
Here you can find a variety of assets, including easy read, BSL & audio) to share on your channels and help amplify the campaign.
prepare.campaign.gov...

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Reposted by Rob Whiting 📓

Frankie Roberto @frankieroberto.com · Aug 27

Something I and many others in the NHS have spent months working on has just gone live, a big update to design system and frontend! 🎉

See service-manual.nhs.uk/design-syste... for the changes.

Not super glamorous work, but it helps improve the foundations for our digital services.

Updating to version 10 - NHS digital service manual

In August 2025, we released version 10 of the design system and NHS.UK frontend library with new features, updates and bug fixes.

service-manual.nhs.uk

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Reposted by Rob Whiting 📓

Sam Aaron @samaaron.bsky.social · Aug 27

My gentle beginner-friendly introductory Sonic Pi course is currently discounted for only one more week.

Learn the basics of coding *and* music - no prior experience necessary.

Use code SUMMER_SALE to unlock a 33% discount - only valid during August.

sonic-pi-studio.teachable.com/p/sonic-pi-i...

Sonic Pi - Introduction

sonic-pi-studio.teachable.com

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Rob Whiting 📓 @whitingx.bsky.social · Aug 27

An interesting looking new 📘 book.

Some great examples of #Architecture in this space. I'm a particular fan of the #SamScorer designed hyperbolic paraboloid roof structure used for Markham Moor petrol station (subsequently a Little Chef, then a Starbucks).

Markham Moor services Little Chef restaurant.

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