Jennifer Davies
Digital Brand Designer
2023
Creative Workflow Transformation
interactive investor
Service Design and Creative Operations
My Role: Lead Designer and Process Architect (Project Lead)
Impact: Designed and implemented a scalable and portable creative briefing system within three months of joining the business, later adopted across multiple departments and replicated in a second organisation without additional software investment.
Within three months of starting my role, I identified that the core issue was not output capacity but operational clarity. I designed a new internal briefing system from scratch using existing in-house tools, removing the need for additional budget or third-party software.
The Problem
Following interactive investor’s acquisition and shift towards organic growth, the in-house Brand, Creative and Production team expanded rapidly. Work requests were increasing in volume and complexity, but the existing briefing approach relied on informal communication via email and Teams. This resulted in inconsistent scoping, limited visibility of workload, uneven resource allocation and compliance risk within a regulated financial services environment.
The Solution
The solution integrated Microsoft Forms, SharePoint and Power Automate to automatically generate structured tasks within Microsoft Planner. External stakeholders submitted briefs via a branched form tailored to asset type, ensuring mandatory information such as compliance sign-off, risk warnings, dimensions, channels and deadlines were captured before work commenced. Tasks were automatically labelled, categorised and surfaced on a shared Planner board, giving full team visibility and improving workload planning.
Further Development
Using service blueprint methodology, I mapped both the intended workflow and the lived experience of users, identifying friction points that created stress, inefficiency and reputational risk. This insight informed the second iteration of the system, introducing:
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Branched forms aligned to specific asset types
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Mandatory project scoping fields
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Minimum seven-day lead time requirements
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Draft date controls
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Defined communication touchpoints between teams
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Clearer task visibility and labelling
The system was presented to the Head of Brand and Chief Commercial Officer and approved for wider implementation. It was subsequently adopted beyond marketing, including Data and Web Delivery teams, becoming a shared operational standard across the organisation.
The Outcome
The redesigned briefing system introduced a structured and scalable intake process that improved clarity at the point of request and increased operational visibility across the creative function.
By automating task creation through Microsoft Forms, SharePoint and Power Automate, the workflow removed reliance on informal communication channels and ensured mandatory information such as compliance approval, risk warnings, asset specifications and deadlines were captured before production began. This significantly reduced the time spent chasing missing details and mitigated regulatory risk within a highly controlled financial environment.
The introduction of branched forms and minimum lead time requirements improved project scoping and reduced scope creep, enabling more accurate workload planning and resource allocation. Visibility across the Microsoft Planner board allowed the wider team and management to understand capacity in real time, supporting prioritisation and a more balanced distribution of work.
Following presentation to senior leadership, the process was adopted across multiple departments beyond marketing, including Data and Web Delivery teams, establishing a shared operational standard for creative and content requests.
Internal Feedback
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Reduced administrative chasing and clarification
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Improved compliance alignment before production
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Greater transparency of timelines and ownership
The system was later adapted and implemented within a second organisation, demonstrating its portability and reinforcing its effectiveness as a scalable creative operations framework.
This project demonstrates my ability to design operational systems that increase efficiency, reduce risk and strengthen cross-functional collaboration, extending the value of design beyond visual outputs into organisational performance.