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Who are the top user research agencies in London?
Hello! Thanks for asking Wonder for the top user research agencies in London. In short, Bunnyfoot, Intercom, ClearLeft, People for Research, STBY, Nile, CX Partners, UserVision, and Smart Design are top user research agencies serving the London market. Below, please find the results of my research.
METHODOLOGY
By "user research," I understand you to mean user experience research, such as UX (user experience) research or design research. I will define "top" as those companies recognized for doing cutting edge work in user research. To identify relevant agencies, I looked for companies that have been featured speakers at conferences, have received relevant awards, or are considered thought leaders in their field.
I began by searching for precompiled lists of user research agencies. The Hitchhiker's Guide to Design Research Agencies offers a list of user research agencies in the UK, but it offered little insight into which of these companies might be doing cutting-edge work. So I looked for awards or recognition for user research agencies, though most awards I found focus on UX awards, specifically, rather than user research. Then, I looked for user research conferences to seek out notable speakers and the companies they work for.
A Wonder list typically comprises 7-10 items. I was able to find data on nine companies that meet your criteria in the time frame for a typical Wonder response. If you'd like us to continue adding to the list, please send us a new request, and we'll be happy to pick up where we left off.
TOP USER RESEARCH AGENCIES
• Bunnyfoot was founded in London in 1999 as a user experience design consultancy. It offers user research and customer testing services, as well as design consulting, prototyping, and customer journey mapping. With $3 million in estimated revenues, Bunnyfoot has grown to be a thought leader in the industry, providing UX training,
• Intercom, based in London, has developed an app to help their clients communicate with their customers and gather user research. With an estimated $1.5 million in revenue, Intercom is considered a thought leader in the Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework. Director of Research & Analytics Sian Townsend was a featured speaker at UX London 2017, speaking on the JTBD framework.
• ClearLeft offers user research for digital design and strategy. Head of Research Steph Troeth was a featured speaker at the UX London 2017 conference, where she spoke about the Switch interview technique as part of the JTBD process. The company has estimated revenues of $1-5 million.
• UK-based People for Research provides user research through focus groups and one-on-one interviews, as well as usability, game, and remote website testing. They operate in "Bristol, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh and across the wider UK." Jess Lewes, Director of Projects, spoke about user recruitment at the 2017 User Research London conference.
• STBY, featured at the 2017 User Research London conference, tout their services as "design research for service innovation." Creative Director Bas Raijmakers spoke at the conference on the topic, "Love Local, Reach Global."
• Nile is a London-based service design consultancy, founded in 2006, that offers user research, including ethnography, usability, quantitative surveys, mobile research, and life trials. Design Principal Neil Collman was a featured speaker at the 2017 UX London conference, where he discussed service design thinking.
• CX Partners, based in London and Bristol, offers user research and experience design services with a focus on the e-commerce, financial services, not-for-profit, public sector, travel and leisure business sectors. Featured at the 2017 User Resaerch London conference, CX Partners are thought leaders in user research, UX design, and usability, sharing their expertise through published books and articles.
• UserVision, which has offices in London, Edinburgh, and Dubai, offers user research and strategy, experience design, and usability and accessibility evaluation services. They have received the Best Digital Agency award at the Gulf Digital Experience Awards for the past two years.
• Smart Design, which opened a London office in 2014, is a design strategy agency that "humanizes products, services and experiences through deep research, insights and design strategies." They offer a "UX research and design workshop" for startups. Senior Design Strategist Ruby Steel was a featured speaker at the 2017 UX London conference, where she discussed product and service personalization.
SUMMARY
To sum up, London-based user research agencies doing cutting-edge work, based on their inclusion as speakers and though leaders at conferences and awards, include Bunnyfoot, Intercom, ClearLeft, People for Research, STBY, Nile, CX Partners, UserVision, and Smart Design.
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