Contact me
If you like the sound of my approach or want to explore how we could tackle your question together, I’d love a chat.
Hi, I am Martijn. I am a digital consultant with 20+ years of experience in agencies and organisations. I have worked with all types of sectors, with particularly deep experience in culture and non-profit.
I help start digital programmes and ventures more successfully. I can do this through coaching digital teams and professionals, making the case for investment, delivering digital strategies and roadmaps, developing positioning and brands, or setting up new business activities. Depending on what you need, I can act as a critical friend or an inspirer, an analyst or a creator.
Some questions I get
British Library: “We need to rebuild our website, can you create the project plan with us?”
When the British Library was faced with the need to rebuild their website, they had to make many decisions – on governance, team, content, agile, architecture, agency selection, phasing, etc.
Through a series of workshops I helped product owner and sponsor create clarity, and define a phased project plan that secured management signoff. After advising on the selection of a digital agency, I continued coaching the library’s product owner.
Tate: “I could use a sparring partner while setting up this digital learning project.”
A digital producer at Tate was missing an experienced sparring partner while planning an important learning project.
In an intensive 3 hour coaching session, I mapped with them all aspects of the new project This created not just clarity for them, it also unearthed new challenges and opportunities.
Diabetes UK: “Help us set up a UX lab & research agency in our charity?”
Diabetes UK started the Listening Lab, a user research team with its own UX lab. Both are available for hire by other researchers, companies and charities.
I joined to lead the team, refine the proposition and develop partnerships with health tech and other clients, creating fresh insights and new income for an innovative charity.
TPXimpact: “Bring 10 strategists, product owners, service and content designers together in 1 team and coherent strategy offer.”
When digital agencies Manifesto, Deeson and Nudge merged into TPXimpact Digital Experience (now manifesto), I brought 10 strategists, product managers, content designers and service designers together in one strategy team.
I provided line management, established an active community of practice, and defined (new) services and necessary skills.
London Museum: “As we are building a new museum, can you help us develop a digital strategy and roadmap?”
While the London Museum was planning to move a new home in historic Smithfield, it also needed a new website – including supporting systems such as CRM, DAMS, ticketing, and video.
Together with solutions architect Harry Barnard at TPX impact (now manifesto), I engaged 50 internal stakeholders to define ambition and requirements. This led to a vision for digital, a technical architecture, and five year roadmap, which helped secure not just management support, but also over 1 million in external funding for the digital transformation of this museum for all Londoners.
University of Surrey: “Engage our university’s audiences and stakeholders for a strategic website review.”
The University of Surrey‘s brief boiled down to two questions. Is our website fit for purpose? And what is its purpose anyway?
To find the answers I designed a process of stakeholder interviews with board members, user research with core audiences students and research funders, and a content and competitor review. The result was a comprehensive strategic website review, with recommendations for the student and research parts of the website, as well for its governance.
“Support the marketing of our fintech consultancy by defining our proposition and positioning.”
An ambitious, young consultancy in the financial sector providing technical due diligence wanted to step up its marketing.
Starting with a customer journey mapping session, I helped them express their real value and usps like they never had before. Together with copywriter Sarah Finch, I delivered a positioning statement and recommendations for communication.
PSHE Association “Reduce membership churn through co-creating a better offer with our members and staff.”
Membership org PSHE Association noticed many teachers cancelling after their first year.
Together with Deeson designer Sean Holden, I devised a strategy for a more user-centered and sticky website which helped us win the pitch, then led a discovery process with focus groups, co-creation and prototype testing.
The Design Museum “How can we embed digital content in our museum’s membership proposition?”
After the pandemic the Design Museum (London) reviewed its membership proposition, I supported this with consultancy on how to make digital an integral part of this (while at TPXimpact).
I started working with the museum while at Fabrique, for their Webby-award winning website designmuseum.org, and since collaborated on online learning, crowdfunding, exhibition journey mapping, and experience design for their Mars exhibition.
Southbank Centre “Create a user centred strategy for digital as part of a visit to our events venue.”
Southbank Centre had many ideas for digital touchpoints – from smart tickets to tablets for roving support staff – but no overall strategy how they would support the user journey.
I led workshops with their digital and visitor experience teams, developed a vision and – together with TPXimpact’s technical consultant Dan James – defined projects for prioritisation.
Tate “How can a digital app best support the millions of visitors to our museums?”
When Tate wanted a wayfinding app for their galleries, I led a team of Fabrique, Q42 and Northernlight winning the tender against fifty competitors with the concept for a dayfinding app – a friendly and knowledgeable companion that is aware of location and time, and helps you choose amongst everything going on, but doesn’t come between the visitor and the art.
I inspired the concept with observational research, led the discovery and provided strategic oversight of design and development.
Aegon “Can you bring user centred thinking to selling our financial services online.”
Insurance and pension provider Aegon realised they needed a website for self-serving customers.
I looked at the changing consumer behaviour and found out a step was missing between choosing a category and deciding on a product. I then led the team at Fabrique which developed a website that does support the entire journey – or just the part the user is looking for now.
For more conversion-boosting and award-winning websites, apps and and other design projects, see the projects on my Linkedin page.
What I do
Coaching for digital teams and project owners
Digital projects don’t have to be rocket science, but you can lose oversight of all nuts and bolts. I help digital teams and individual project owners see things more clearly, ask key questions and improve their performance. Being independent – and Dutch – I can help you confront challenges which can be political for internal teams and commercially sensitive for agencies, and set the right ambition and approach.
How we work together is tailored to your needs. From a single 3 hour session to projects of multiple days, weeks or months. In person (near London and Rotterdam) or online.
Making the case for investment
Digital is no goal in itself but the means to an end. Yet few organisations are clear on what end – and thus on why and how a digital estate should be developed. I help make the case for investment by reviewing from both inside and outside.
- Interviews and or workshops with stakeholders from c-suite to content editor to explore business objectives and current capabilities.
- Qualitative and quantitative user research into what your audiences need and do, and how your current digital offer serves them.
I playback my findings in workshops which lead to a shared understanding of goals, challenges and possibilities
Digital strategies and roadmaps
I work with key stakeholders to develop digital strategies on different levels – from a one page vision for your website’s user experience to an overarching strategy of an entire digital presence across years and technical platforms.
In either case, they combine an analysis of the current situation, with the ambition to make a difference, and a clear roadmap how to build it. My unique agency and client-side experience makes me considerate of both internal organisation and external delivery.
Positioning, brand and communication
Before you can communicate – online or otherwise – you need to agree what your organisation stands for – your mission, vision, values, and character traits. You also need to know where you want to position yourself in the mind of your audience. I can help you get these things clear, through workshops, market analysis, and some creativity.
(Note: I am happy to collaborate with designers more gifted than me on delivering a stand out visual brand)
Set up new digital teams and businesses
I bring experience in leading and growing all sorts of teams – from project managing large multidisciplinary agile teams, to line managing a team of ten strategists, product managers and service designers. A major thing I am doing right now is setting up a UX research function within a charity as a new income-generating digital business.
About me
So I am Martijn and I live in London and Rotterdam.
I have 20+ years of experience at leading digital & design agencies in the UK and the Netherlands, working with top brands and and innovators in culture, charity, education, research, membership, entertainment, retail and more. I also worked ‘client side’.
I worked on projects and accounts from a few days to almost ten years, often closely together with internal teams. I have been a designer, coder, strategist, project manager, head of strategy and consulting, user researcher, and more.
I am certified in prince 2 as well as agile scrum, and know how digital projects fail and fly. I did user centered design, digital branding and complex transformations before the buzzwords. Maybe that’s why I prefer simple language and visual illustrations.
A client once called me a ‘professional untangler’. I approach every brief from multiple viewpoints – what users need, business requires, an organisation could do, and what technology and society allow.
Some of my professional interests are in the potential of digital to create change and into how the digital and physical interact.
van der Heijden digital strategy consultancy 