MMany working within the digital space realise the importance of designing with the user in mind; which is why user experience (UX) design is one of the key principles and core focus points for many digital agencies and independant creative experts across the UK . Whilst UX design primarily focuses on creating digital interfaces and experiences, many of these principles can also be applied to everyday life. How many of the principles of user experience design are actually transposed into everyday life when we step away from our desk, and how many do you tend to pick up on when out of the workplace?

I’ve just returned from a 4 day break in Copenhagen, and it never ceases to amaze me; just how the Scandinavians well and truly live up to their famed reputation of achieving functionality in design for human interaction.

If websites can be made to be accessible, why can’t everything else be?

Let’s start with the infrastructure of the rail transport network in Denmark. As with many countries on the continent it’s far more reliable and dependable than here in the UK. Double decker trains for larger capacity (more passengers), and trains that are always on time, with dedicated areas of the carriages for buggies and bikes, rather than (as in the UK) being stuck in the mid-section between two carriages with no seating.

One of the key areas that the Danes get spot on is accessibility. UX design principles place a strong emphasis on accessibility, ensuring that interfaces and experiences are usable by as many people as possible, regardless of their abilities. This principle can also be applied to everyday life, such as designing public spaces that are accessible for people with disabilities or ability or creating products that are easy for everyone to use.

Travelling with my young family, all I had to do was to open my eyes in their shopping centres to be pleasantly surprised by the way they had created a shopping experience well and truly centred around ‘families’. It made my experience more relaxing; as there’s nothing more frustrating than holding your toddler mid-air above an adult toilet. There were also separate, secure breastfeeding rooms, along with baby changing facilities, as well as a playzone for kids to help with the inevitable boredom that comes with shopping at a young age, unless it’s for toys of course!

One of the takeaways from visiting Denmark with the family was the realisation that, by focusing on functionality, emphasising human interaction, prioritising sustainability, and embracing innovation, we can learn so much from the Danish approach to design by creating products, services and experiences that better meet the desires and needs of their users. This applies to the following and so much more:

Is the above realistic for the UK to achieve Danish standard design and functionality?

It would require a significant amount of investment, planning, and political will. Scandinavian countries have invested heavily in infrastructure and transportation over recent years, which has helped to improve efficiency and quality of life. However, achieving similar levels of infrastructure and efficiency in the UK would require significant investment, which would prove to be especially challenging in the current climate. Furthermore, Scandinavian countries have a strong culture of cooperation and consensus-building, which has helped to facilitate effective decision-making and implementation of policies. The UK has a different political culture, which may make it more challenging to achieve similar levels of efficiency and cooperation.

That said, there are many areas where the UK can learn from Scandinavian countries and adopt best practices to improve efficiency and infrastructure. For example, the UK could invest more in public transportation and renewable energy, as Scandinavian countries have done, to reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.

I’d be shocked if UK councils and town leaders don’t send a taskforce over to cities such as Copenhagen, to meet Danish councils and see first-hand just what they’ve done and how. Rugby’s town centre is already mostly paved, so pedestrianisation alone isn’t the answer. What Copenhagen does differently is keep studying how people actually use its streets, then design around it: where they stop, sit, meet and linger, which squares need seating, play space or events, and what gives people a reason to stay rather than just pass through. The city has worked with urbanist Jan Gehl on these public life studies for decades. Danish towns aren’t immune to the same pressures as Rugby, either. Business group SMVdanmark found Denmark has 4,500 fewer physical shops than a decade ago, falling from 3.2 to 2.5 shops per 1,000 people. Their answer isn’t more shops. It’s cleaner, safer streets with lighting, trees and seating, support on rents and rates for viable businesses, and mixing retail with coworking, clinics, culture and kids’ activities, so town centres are busy on weekdays and not just Saturday mornings. Read how Denmark’s high streets are fighting back.

That’s why Rugby Borough Council (RBC) needs to consult the experts. I’m certainly no expert in high street regeneration, and it’s a massive headache for any town. But I do see clear similarities with the user experience issues I deal with on websites every day, and how we go about resolving them: user testing, card sorting, interviews, user personas, demographic research and empathy mapping. It’s not a million miles away from what RBC needs to do with the people of Rugby, understanding who lives here, who they need to attract, and what would bring them into the town centre and keep them there longer. More footfall, longer dwell time. Copying what another town has done and hoping it works is the high street equivalent of a cookie-cutter theme or template website in the digital world. It might look fine on the surface, but it was never built around the people who actually use it.

Part of that is circling back to what gave us reasons to shop on the high street in the first place. I remember the 90s well. The internet hadn’t evolved enough for online shopping, so if you needed something, you went into town to buy it. There were no streaming platforms either, so at least once a week I’d cycle into town to the record shops, listen to new music and buy cassettes, then CD singles and albums. The high street had a monopoly on things we needed and wanted, and that gave everyone a reason to go.

Barely a week goes by without a post in one of Rugby’s Facebook groups about the latest vape shop, tattoo parlour or café opening in town. I’m in a few other local groups too, and the same conversation is happening there. It’s understandable frustration, but it tends to go round in circles, with plenty of complaints and very few constructive ideas about what could actually change.

Just as many comments hark back to the big-name retailers we used to have, hoping they’ll return and bring the high street back to life. Sadly, that isn’t the world we live in anymore. When Amazon Prime can deliver almost anything the next day, retail alone can’t fill a town centre. The warning signs have been there for years: Woolworths closed its doors back in 2008 and 2009, and more recently Wilko collapsed in 2023, having stayed on the high street while rivals such as B&M moved out to retail parks with bigger stores and free parking. Nostalgia is a lovely feeling, and I’m as guilty of it as anyone, but on its own it doesn’t move a town forward.

That reason has gone, so it has to be replaced. RBC needs to ask what would motivate different groups to venture into town today: families, teenagers, individuals and couples will all want something different, from things for the kids to do, to somewhere for teens to hang out safely, to a reason to meet friends, to an evening out. Just as a good website is designed around its users’ needs, the town centre needs to give each of these groups a reason to visit, and a reason to come back.

To be fair to RBC, it doesn’t all fall on local councils. Business rates, planning rules and how much funding reaches towns are largely set at a national level, and successive governments of every colour have failed to get to grips with the decline of the high street. Too often, Westminster politics seems to reward in-fighting and point scoring over constructive debate, and towns like Rugby are left to deal with the consequences. Councils have a big part to play, but they can only do so much with the tools and budgets they’re given.

If (in the UK) we can overcome hurdles and challenges in the digital world to create unique online experiences by creating and delivering truly outstanding, bespoke websites and online experiences, is it insurmountable to hope or expect for better in everyday life from our experiences outside of the workplace? If the UK can learn from the successes of countries such as Denmark and adopt best practices to provide improved infrastructure, design and functionality in many things we use, there’s hope yet!