We like to write.

It's no good accruing knowledge if you keep it to yourself. We write about a range of themes, including how to gather information effectively, working productively and remotely, and even the occasional company update.

Design·5 minutes min read

20 ways to avoid another failed digital project

With COVID-19 forcing record numbers of us online, more and more organisations are reacting by investing in digital. With the influx of new projects, more and more avoidable, costly, and often terminal mistakes are being made.

Development·5 minutes min read

A proactive approach to data security

Security might not be the sexiest topic in the development sphere, but that doesn’t make it any less important. If your application isn’t secure, the speed and usability thereof becomes much less significant, even more so if you’re collecting or dealing with sensitive user data.

Agency life·4 minutes min read

Leaf is five years old

Three years ago today, I wrote a very similar piece celebrating our second birthday. Today, like a proud and slightly overbearing parent, I get to marvel at little studio turning five.

Productivity·5 minutes min read

Developing software with organisational indecision

Developing software in complex organisations is tough, but working through organisational indecision is a trait of highly effective teams. Here are a few ways we get decisions made and work done when the World is working against us.

Tech·6 minutes min read

Putting Amazon Textract to the test

Amazon Textract extracts text and structured data from scanned or photographed documents, but how reliably can it be used for business process automation? We put it to the test.

Design·3 minutes min read

How to thrive in an automated business world

How can your business thrive when you're constantly being disrupted by leaner, faster, more automated competition on a global scale?

Business·6 minutes min read

Automate where it matters with process maps

We've experienced how competing stakeholders, unclear ROIs, and uncertainty can make committing to business automation difficult. Process maps provide a powerful way to clear the fog.

Design·4 minutes min read

My advice as a junior designer

Over the past couple of months, I’ve had the privilege of working remotely at Leaf, helping them design and build digital products.

Business·5 minutes min read

Goals matter

Without a clear definition of success, it's hard to know which direction to take, or whether you're making any progress. Goals provide direction and clarity for your teams.

Business·5 minutes min read

The power of small development phases

Imagine this scenario — someone in your company proposes a new software feature with the potential to save the business …

Productivity·3 minutes min read

A home office for productivity

At Leaf, we embrace remote work to get a productive edge. However, it’s easy for a remote environment to work against you.

Business·3 minutes min read

Behavioural traps in software teams

In my experience of software teams, there are a few behavioural traps that leaders (senior stakeholders …

Productivity·4 minutes min read

Working too much? Please stop

These days, people in most organisations are encouraged to work in their personal time …

Agency life·4 minutes min read

Leaf is two years old

By the age of two, many toddlers will have gained significant new skills; from improvements in their ability to …

Business·3 minutes min read

How to write better work enquiries

Five steps to start off on the right foot. As somebody with little-to-no experience of the web, the idea of enquiring …

Productivity·4 minutes min read

5 tips for actually shipping a side project

We took Howdy, our own little app, from an idea to a fully published SaaS application entirely in our spare time. During its development…

Design·2 minutes min read

Your users are humans too

You’ve been charged with redesigning the company website, and you’re stoked. You’ve met with stakeholders, created a tonne of user…

Development·3 minutes min read

There are no excuses for poor engineering in 2017

Writing great code is easier than ever, and yet we act like it doesn’t matter

Business·5 minutes min read

For the love of winning work

My wife recently turned to me during an episode of First Dates and remarked how lucky we were that we’d, “never have to do that again”. She…

Productivity·2 minutes min read

Burnout in tech, and why you could be part of the problem

We all feel overwhelmed from time to time, and in a psychologically exhausting World of 24-hour iOS notifications and 15-man group chats…

Design·2 minutes min read

The importance of designing with empathy

Humans are hardwired to act emphatically, and yet it’s a skill we’re rapidly losing