iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Cal Laird

@designwithcal.com

235 followers 209 following 176 posts

The ramblings & musings of a Service Designer at NHS 24. Neurodivergent and proud · Dundee, Scotland. Design. Volvos. Tech. Music. Nature. Travel. Swimming. Plus the odd rant. Views are my own. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏳️‍🌈🧠 designwithcal.com

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Cal Laird @designwithcal.com · 14/12/2025

Zrobiliśmy piernik staropolski (we made traditional Polish gingerbread). Dating a Polish man brings me a lot of joy. Bonus points for the baked goods and hearty cooking.

A plate with a fork lying on it showing half eaten piernik staropolski cake, which is traditional Polish gingerbread. The plate is white with speckled gradient edged plate is in the foreground with a soft focus snowy Christmas tree with warm white lights is in the background.

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Cal Laird @designwithcal.com · 07/06/2025

Finished at HMRC on Tuesday as my contract came to an end. 2 years has absolutely flown by! Feels like a long time but also such a short time. So much has happened, both personally and professionally. So grateful to work with such smashing folk. Last Jira ticket moved to review. Over and out.

Silver laptop with its lid closed, a building access pass with a lanyard wrapped around it is sitting on top of the laptop. A headset is also lying on top of the laptop.

A photo of a computer screen showing a Jira ticket being moved to the “Review” column.

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Cal Laird @designwithcal.com · 21/04/2025

Saw this 'Red Cord Card' from @euansguide.com today. It's a shame that folk need reminding sometimes so thought this was a fab idea. First time I've seen such a thing. I've seen cords tied up or wrapped over things which can make them inaccessible to those who may need to use them at a time of need.

Image of a 'Red Cord Card' from Euan's Guide which is tied to the bottom of a red pull cord in a disabled toilet. It is lying on a white-specked dark grey floor.

The card reads: "This red emergency cord must hang freely to the floor. If it does not, it may prevent a disabled person from asking for help."

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Cal Laird @designwithcal.com · 06/03/2025

I’ve got sleep apnea. I use a CPAP machine every night and regularly travel with it. My pet peeve is hotels only having one socket near the bed, or, even worse, the nearest socket being metres away from the bed. Thankfully this hotel were able to supply me with an extension cord but this is rare.

A photo showing a ResMed CPAP device on a hotel bed’s nightstand. The device is connected to a 3 way extension cord which is trailing on the floor. The extension cord is plugged in to the single socket by the bed.

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Cal Laird @designwithcal.com · 01/02/2025

Do yourself a favour and listen to @brookecombe.bsky.social’s new album. Some soul music on a Saturday is the tonic you didn’t realise you need. Oh, and she’s Scottish too, so there’s that!

A photo showing Brooke Combe’s new record sitting on a shelf on the wall with a speaker, sideboard and record player in the foreground.

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Cal Laird @designwithcal.com · 13/12/2024

Great example from Barclays on support preferences within their app. I stumbled across this by accident and I’m impressed with how easy it was to tell them your needs/situation with pre populated adjustments to support with examples. Requesting adjustments can be hard, this wasn’t. Impressed!

A screenshot of the Barclaycard app showing different categories of adjustments for your support needs.

The first is “I have a physical disability, illness and/or accessibility need.” Then “I have a cognitive and/or mental health disability, condition or concern.” Next is “I’m going through a difficult time or significant life event” and the last is “Something else.”

Under each heading is a “Show” button which expands to show you further options under each heading.

There is a blue “next” button on at the bottom of the user interface.

A screenshot of the Barclaycard app showing a confirmation message of “We’re saved your support preferences.” There is a green tick in a circle above it showing confirmation.

There are two boxes titled “your situation” and “support we’ll give you” and I’ve redacted the information as it’s personal to me.

At the bottom is a box titled “review date” and it shows the date when I will be reminded to review, confirm or change my support needs next. It reads 13 December 2025.

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Cal Laird @designwithcal.com · 21/11/2024

Clementine is here to remind us to start with user needs. #catsofservicedesign

In the background is a yellow wall with the top half of a tabby cat’s head appearing above a laptop display. The laptop screen is visible and displays a wallpaper with the text “start with user needs” on it

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Cal Laird @designwithcal.com · 12/11/2024

“A tool is only as good as its user” The Good Service Scale by @theschoolofgood.bsky.social / @loudowne.bsky.social is a great tool to reflect on how well your service is currently performing, as well as a great conversation starter for teams who are looking to improve their live services. (1/3)

A portrait photo Excel with The Good Services Scale by Lou Downe open, zoomed in to show two columns I’ve added. The first column reads “what research or insights do we have that support our score for this principle?” The second column reads “examples of services that do this well (either gov or private sector services)”

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Cal Laird @designwithcal.com · 26/08/2024

Genuinely surprised that manufacturers haven’t thought of a way of easily distinguishing between the ‘owners’ of contact lens cases. My partner & I both having the same brand of cases means the old sharpie came in handy to help differentiate… Seems like there could be an easy/low cost fix!

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