Evolving, expanding, and empowering change

In our previous blog post, we reviewed Unboxed's first 10 years, a period defined by building a strong culture, establishing our purpose, and shaping products and services that truly make a difference. Now, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we reflect on our journey from 2015 to 2025. A decade of evolution, challenges, and successes that have solidified our place in the industry and reinforced our purpose driven approach.

Navigating a changing landscape

The mid-2010s brought significant shifts in the digital landscape. Agile methodologies, once a niche approach, became mainstream, and the demand for user centred design and digital transformation surged. At Unboxed, we welcomed these changes, leveraging our established expertise to help clients navigate this evolving environment.

“Our clients often have vision but struggle with the pace of change and the complexity of the organisations they work in. The old model of transformation from a pre- to a post-digital world is no longer relevant and they need a way to deliver value within a constantly shifting landscape. Above all, I think this is what Unboxed helps them with - making people comfortable with uncertainty and showing them a way forward.” - Martyn Evans , Head of Product and Director, Unboxed

This period saw Unboxed expand its service offerings, deepening our expertise in areas of organisational change, product strategy and service design. 

Seamless collaboration between designers and developers is a fundamental and unique element of our approach to digital innovation. We’ve fostered an environment where these disciplines work hand in hand, inventing and continuously improving products and services based on deep insights, user feedback and technical ingenuity. This collaborative spirit, which we nurtured from our earliest days, has been a cornerstone of our success.

Furthermore, the ‘test and learn’ approach, a central tenet of Unboxed’s user centred and agile methodology for the last 20 years, has been widely  acknowledged as the only way to make good use of emerging technologies in both the public and private sectors. Big picture thinkers appreciate the power of effective research, rapid prototyping, continuous feedback loops, and data-driven decision making. This approach embeds flexibility, reduces risks, and ensures that the final product truly meets user needs. It's rewarding to see this approach, which we've championed for so long, be embraced, but there is still much work to be done.

We’ve recognised that true digital transformation isn't just about technology; it is about understanding people and their needs.        

Key milestones and notable projects

Healthcare

Our commitment to improving healthcare services has driven several major projects over the past decade. For example, we recently partnered with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust to improve screening for rare conditions, using service design and agile delivery to refine patient journeys and enable early diagnosis. This work demonstrates how digital innovation can create more efficient and effective patient-centred healthcare services.

Digital innovation is an important factor in our future health. Our project with Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust demonstrated how well designed technology can empower patients with chronic diseases. We created a custom remote monitoring platform to improve self-management of long-term conditions and give healthcare providers the insights they need to deliver more proactive and personalised care.

Collaboration within healthcare systems has been a recurring theme in our work. Our project on improving healthcare partnerships with the South East London Integrated Care board is a prime example. By bringing together multiple NHS organisations, we have helped foster better integration and cooperation, ensuring that patient care is more seamless and coordinated across the region.

Government

We have played a key role in advancing digital services in government, making them more accessible and efficient. One of our most exciting projects was our collaboration with the Government Digital Service (GDS) on prototyping a GOV.UK app. This initiative explored how an official app could improve accessibility, usability, and efficiency for users engaging with government services. The project highlighted the potential of mobile-first solutions in public service delivery, setting a precedent for future innovations in digital government services.

Citizen engagement and democracy have always been key areas of interest for Unboxed. Our ongoing work on the UK Parliament Petitions platform is a significant step in strengthening democratic participation. By refining the digital petitions process, we have made it easier for the public to engage with Parliament and influence policy decisions.

Public sector organisations often face challenges in managing large-scale data and back-office operations. We are currently involved in a long running programme to  develop a new data-driven back-office planning system (BOPS) that streamlines processes, reduces inefficiencies, opens up data and improves overall performance of the planning service. Our work in this area has reinforced our expertise in designing systems that support complex operational needs while keeping users at the centre.

Planning

Housing services have also been an area of focus for Unboxed, having played a key role in developing an entirely new ecosystem for tracking and managing social housing repairs. Working closely with domain experts within Hackney Council, we developed a digital solution that streamlined repair requests and improved operator response times, ultimately enhancing the experience for residents and making service delivery more effective.

In our ongoing mission to make a tangible difference in social issues, we worked with StreetLink to help connect people sleeping rough to support services. By enhancing their digital platform, we made it easier for members of the public to raise concerns about people they saw sleeping outside, ensuring faster intervention and better outcomes. This project was a critical step in using technology to address complex societal challenges and improve support for communities.

Finally, in the local government sector, we played a major role in creating a new user-focused website for Buckinghamshire Council , bringing together several district council websites into a single point of access. This project aimed to improve accessibility, navigation, and overall user experience, ensuring that residents could easily find the information and services they needed.

Sustainability

One of the most impactful ventures to emerge from within Unboxed over the past decade is char.gy, an electric vehicle (EV) charging solution that was developed during our Innovation Days. These sessions are designed to give our team space to explore real world challenges they’re passionate about, and in this case, it was the growing need for accessible on street EV charging infrastructure.

We identified a widespread issue: many UK drivers want to make the switch to electric vehicles, but don’t have access to off-street parking or private driveways where traditional chargers are installed. The idea was simple but powerful. We could repurpose existing lampposts into charging points, allowing EV owners to charge their vehicles right outside their homes using public infrastructure.

From idea to prototype to public service, Unboxed worked on product development, and user research to bring char.gy to life. We collaborated closely with councils and residents to pilot the solution, iterating the service based on real world use. Today, char.gy operates thousands of lamppost chargers across the UK, enabling more sustainable urban transport and contributing to the decarbonisation of our cities.

Reflecting on the journey, char.gy 's CEO (and Unboxed founder), Richard Stobart , said:

“char.gy would never have come into being without the curiosity, energy and user centred mindset we had at Unboxed. What started as a spark of an idea turned into a tangible solution because we had the space to experiment, validate, and build something that truly met a need.”

A culture of learning and growth

At Unboxed, the past decade has been defined not just by the work we’ve delivered, but by how we’ve grown, adapted, and stayed true to our values along the way.

Central to this has been our commitment to learning by doing. Every project, every partnership, and every challenge has been an opportunity to learn, whether it’s understanding the complexity of healthcare systems, co-designing services with local authorities, or launching new digital products. We know that great solutions don’t come from assumptions; they come from working closely with people, testing ideas early, and learning from real-world feedback.

This mindset has been supported by our focus on continuous improvement. We’re never finished. There’s always a better way to work, a new tool to try, or a new approach to explore. From experimenting with remote collaboration techniques during the pandemic, to evolving our delivery practices for distributed teams, we’ve embraced change as a constant and a chance to get better.

Underpinning all of this is our belief in healthy relationships. Whether within our own teams or with our clients and partners, we’ve always worked collaboratively, creating open, honest spaces where people feel safe to share ideas, challenge assumptions, and co-create solutions together. We know that trust and respect are the foundation of great work.

As we look to the future, this culture of learning and growth will continue to guide us, helping us navigate new industries, emerging technologies, and evolving challenges, while staying rooted in the values that have shaped who we are.

Looking ahead: The next chapter

As we look to the future beyond 2025, we remain committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in human-centred design and technology. Building on our key milestones, we will continue to focus on areas where we can make the most meaningful impact.

Our work in healthcare has shown us the power of technology in improving patient outcomes. We will continue to expand our efforts in digital health, particularly in patient-reported outcomes, remote monitoring, and service design for NHS organisations. The future will see us developing even more innovative solutions that empower both patients and healthcare providers.

The success of our work with local government and other public sector organisations highlights the need for user-centred digital services. We aim to further support councils and government bodies in delivering streamlined, accessible services for citizens and public servants, ensuring that technology is used to make public service delivery more efficient and impactful. The learnings from the last 10 years have perfectly positioned Unboxed to support central government and local authorities through the imminent local government reorganisation.

Sustainability will also be a key pillar of our future. Our partnership with Char.gy has demonstrated the potential for digital solutions in the energy sector, and we will continue exploring ways to support green initiatives through smart technology and digital innovation.

Finally, as democracy and public engagement evolve in a digital world, we will build on our experience with UK Parliament Petitions to further enhance participatory democracy. Our goal is to create platforms that make it easier for citizens to have their voices heard and influence policy decisions.

With a strong foundation in human-centred design, agile thinking, and technological innovation, Unboxed is well positioned for the next decade. We are excited to continue shaping a future where technology, design, and people come together to create real change.

We're grateful to our clients, partners, and team members who have been part of our journey. We look forward to continuing to work together to build a better future.        

Here’s to the next 20 years!

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Thanks!

Unboxed Team