Hi. I’m Alison MacLeod. I specialise in helping organisations to communicate themselves better online, whether that’s through a compelling website presence, brilliant user experience, effective teaching or deep discussion.
You might be wondering about “the human element” part. That’s about understanding the complicated, contradictory people that are our colleagues and customers. The internet might look technical, but in the end it’s all about people making connections.
Why me? Well, a long story cut short: I love analysis, and I love design. The minute I look at information, I see patterns.
I started out as an academic psychologist – I have a Ph.D in speech perception, and a Masters in Organisational Psychology (with Human-Computer Interaction). I was a market researcher for 15 years, conducting focus groups on everything from snacks to insurance to genetic testing. I got very interested in the way that organisations explain what they are doing, and the gap between what organisations say and what people hear.
Over the last few years, I’ve been focusing on the internet as the latest way in which people come together. Online behaviour is just as wild and strange as the real-life sort. I’ve tested websites for large organisations, and designed online communities to understand what people think. My approach is informed by my own love of the internet Wild West – the fan communities, the video bloggers, the therapeutic groups, the small biz spivs and the Twitter rock stars.
I see a lot of awful online experiences. I want to help people to create a great online environment where their audiences will thrive. It’s actually fairly straightforward – but it’s not always easy to do it for yourself.
On this site, I write about website design, customer research, engagement, science communications, and web usability.
I also offer web strategy coaching and small-scale website creation.
If you have a specific project where you need help, do get in touch.
Want to know more?
You can reach me by phone +44 (0)1223 569862. I’m based in Cambridge, England.
My Skype name is alison.macleod87.
You can drop me an email (alison AT thehumanelement DOT co DOT uk). Or follow me on Twitter @alisonmacleod.
Manifesto
Some of us find it quite simple to put our real organisations and authentic selves online.
Others - well, let's just say that some of us can't bear to look at our own websites.
My mission is to help you transform your online presence so that other people understand and appreciate what you really have to offer. So that you can achieve what you want - whether that's better engagement, more readers, or more sales.