Hi, I’m Jason Crane. I help big organisations and government fix the services their customers and staff rely on.
Most redesigns stop at the dashed line. I work the whole height of the service, down to the teams and systems customers never see.
Example: applying for financial supportWhy tincrane
I’ve been doing research, blueprints and prototypes for twenty-odd years. I start with the people using the service and the people running it, then follow the thread right down to the systems underneath.
I’ve worked in retail, telco and banking, and more recently spent four years inside state government and two with a big metro council. So I’m used to lots of stakeholders and layers of sign-off (and to translating the jargon so everyone’s talking about the same thing).
I studied computing science and worked as a developer and engineer (building DNS, web, and streaming servers) before I moved into design. I’m happy drilling into APIs and data with your engineers, then zooming back out with your executives. That way what we design is something your team can actually build. I can also help you work out where AI really helps your customers and staff, and where a person needs to stay in the loop.
Having all three means I can usually tell you plainly what’s really going on (even when it’s not what you were hoping to hear).
Work
Schools were applying for disability and additional-needs funding through an old system that ate hours of staff time. I started the program’s design practice, then spent four years working with policy, school and tech teams to rebuild the whole process. That took us right through to a new platform.
Advice on adjusting teaching for students with disability was buried across lots of different places and resources. I designed and prototyped a search tool - testing it with school staff. Later I owned the relationship with the team building it, and worked with them to get it live statewide in about four months.
A big, fast-growing metro council had its transformation priorities scattered across a lot of business units. I led discovery and definition (talking to residents and staff, and mapping journeys and future scenarios). The aim was to give the executive team something solid to plan against.
Most people pay for home insurance once a year and rarely claim, so they either auto-renew or switch on price. Working alongside a strategist, I led the research and prototyping for Safer Homes. It’s a tool that shows people the real risks to their own home.
AMI National Award for Innovation 2016, APG Awards, Best Use of Data 2016
CBA had already bought 10,000 VR headsets to teach five to seven year olds about money. I led the research and testing that turned “a VR app” into a story book and VR experience that kids actually got.
Cannes Lions 2017, Bronze, D&AD 2017, Wood Pencil
Transport for NSW wanted its innovation accelerator to produce real strategies and leave teams with design skills they’d keep using. I led the design team that rebuilt the program and toolkit, then ran the first 13-week cohort.
I’ve also worked on problems in health insurance and energy.
Services
For teams who know something’s off but not where
For teams about to commit money to delivery
For programs and product teams that need a senior designer in the room
Not sure which fits? Take the 5-minute Service Health Check and I’ll suggest a starting point.
How I work
The real problem is usually hiding somewhere pretty boring (a handoff between two teams that nobody owns is a common one). I find it and work out the fix with the people who’ll build it. Then I make sure it survives the trip into delivery.
Talk to customers and frontline staff, then follow each step back to the policy and systems behind it.
Blueprint how it works today, end to end, and agree where it breaks.
Test the new version cheaply with real people (including any AI bits), and check it against your systems before anyone commits to build.
Hand the roadmap to your delivery team, or stay on and build it with them.
About me
Principal service designer
I started out in technology as a developer and engineer (building servers and IoT prototypes), then moved into service design, UX and facilitation. That’s 20-plus years across both. Clients usually say I’m the bridge between design and technology. I can sit with frontline staff in the morning, then work through system constraints with engineers in the afternoon.
Before going independent I was an Experience Design Director at Tricky Jigsaw (named Australia’s Most Innovative Company in 2017). Our work there picked up a Silver Clio, a Good Design Award and the AFR’s Best Product Innovation award. Since then I’ve led service design across state and local government, including four years with the NSW Department of Education.
On bigger projects I bring in a small crew of researchers, designers and engineers I’ve worked with for years. That way you get the team the job needs (without paying for agency overhead).
I also teach UX and service design (I’ve taught for General Assembly, Academy Xi and Harness Projects).
Book a call
It’s 30 minutes on Zoom and it’s free. If you tell me a little about what’s not working when you book, I’ll come prepared.
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Contact
Tell me what’s not working. I’ll get back to you within two working days, and the first call’s 30 minutes and free.
