We're excited to share our next EUXCBR meetup in 2025. We have Michael Featherstone, Human Centred Designer with a number of years experience, speaking on "Designing for Systems that Remember Trust, Purpose, and Public Good in Civic and Cultural UX."
In this talk, Michael shares insights from his work across Australia’s civic and cultural institutions, where the complexity isn’t just technical or operational, it’s historical, political, and deeply human.
Drawing on strategy and discovery work with the Parliament of NSW, Sydney Living Museums, and the National Archives of Australia, Michael explores what it means to design within legacy systems, where audience needs, institutional mandates, and cultural responsibility intersect. He’ll unpack how HCD can help teams navigate ambiguity, align around purpose, and build trust, especially in spaces where content is layered, data is vast, and where there is a growing desire to ensure inclusive access to the stories, records, and histories that shape public life. From aligning stakeholders to elevating unheard voices, this talk invites mid-senior UX practitioners to consider their role not just as designers, but as facilitators of understanding and meaning.
Expect candid reflections, practical artefacts, and provocations on what it means to practise human-centred design in service of public and cultural futures.
Michael Featherstone is a human-centred designer and strategist with over two decades of experience across digital project management, UX design, and product strategy. Beginning his career during the formative years of the web, Michael’s roles as a project manager often crossed into design, crafting user journeys, testing usability, and shaping experiences well before UX had fully emerged as a defined discipline.
His natural pull toward conceptual thinking, early research, and audience insight led him to more focused HCD roles in the last 10+ years, including design leadership at Telstra and strategic discovery work at Pollen Digital.
Now based in Canberra, Michael works at the intersection of design, strategy, and collaborative leadership, most recently with the Parliament of NSW, Sydney Living Museums, and the National Archives of Australia. He’s passionate about meaningful, purpose-led work, and helping teams navigate complexity with clarity and care.
This event is proudly sponsored by Emanate Technology.
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