UK 2040: Options microsite

Role: Product Manager
Organisation: Nesta (in partnership with the Behavioural Insights Team)
Collaborators: Pixelled Eggs
Timeline: March – May 2023

Nesta’s UK 2040: Options project set out to explore what life in the UK could look like for children born today, and what choices we can make now to shape a better future. The work brought together experts from across health, education, technology, tax, the economy and climate to map the trade-offs ahead.

Project aim

To support this, Nesta needed a microsite: a responsive, accessible digital space to share research, host articles, and frame the key choices driving the project.

I joined the project at the beginning of the microsite build, working alongside Pixelled Eggs to turn the idea into a live, functional product within a very tight timeframe. I was responsible for translating Nesta’s vision and early content plans into a clear user experience and structure that could flex as the project evolved.

I worked across teams, from Nesta’s policy and content leads to Pixelled Eggs’ designers and developers, to make sure the microsite delivered on clarity, accessibility, and speed.

Led early workshops to shape goals, audiences, and key performance measures.
Defined the information architecture and user journeys, mapping how people would move between themes and articles.
Collaborated with Pixelled Eggs on wireframes, design iterations, and build priorities, helping balance ambition with an immovable six-week launch window.
Set up content structure and planning, ensuring draft materials were available to feed into the UX and design process.
Supported accessibility and SEO planning from the start.
Helped prepare for launch: content migration, analytics setup, and QA sign-off.

Challenges

The biggest challenge was time — just six weeks from kick-off to launch, including four bank holidays. At the same time, the UK 2040: Options brand and content were still being developed, meaning design and technical decisions often had to be made in parallel.

Balancing these moving parts — brand, content, agency delivery, internal approvals — required tight communication and quick decision-making.

Outcome

The microsite launched on time and within budget in May 2023. It provided a clear, accessible platform for Nesta’s policy work, designed around flexibility and ease of use. The site met WCAG AA accessibility standards and built a foundation for future Nesta microsites using the same modular system.

It was a small but significant part of a larger project that helped frame some of the UK’s most important long-term policy discussions.

Reflection

This project taught me the importance of early product thinking, even in a content-driven build. Defining a strong structure, process, and feedback loop early on made the tight timeline achievable.

Working alongside Pixelled Eggs strengthened my ability to bridge internal strategy and external design execution, translating policy objectives into digital outcomes. It also reminded me that speed doesn’t have to come at the expense of clarity or care.