UK Circus Industry Research Project & Resource Hub

Project Overview

Problem Statement The UK circus sector lacked a centralised information hub, with resources scattered across multiple sources. Circus Change Up (CCU), a circus industry development initiative, needed a research-backed sitemap for their Arts Council England funding application.

Role Led UX research to develop information architecture for the resource hub, balancing project constraints with volunteer availability from key UK circus organisations.

Process

1. User Research Facilitated Miro workshops with industry experts to develop user groups and personas, distributed sector-wide survey, created user stories, and analysed sector needs through affinity mapping.
2. Information Architecture Developed content strategy and information architecture based on research findings, using impact-effort matrix to prioritise features and create a feasible sitemap.
3. Implementation Created MVP resource centre with the National Centre for Circus Arts using their existing WordPress framework.

Outcome Delivered UX research and information architecture framework for Arts Council England application. When funding wasn't secured, pivoted to create MVP solution, providing immediate value while enabling future development.