Understandingthe challenge
Industry
- Public sector
- Local government
Platform
- Mobile (iOS & Android)
- Web
Services
- User research
- Product strategy
- UX design
- Brand & UI
- Mobile development
- Aftercare
Sunderland City Council wanted to give residents one place to get more out of their city: to find what is on, get around, park, and discover the things on their doorstep. A lot of that information already existed, but it was spread across different services and websites, and none of it was built around how people actually live day to day.
The council also knew the easy way to get it wrong: build a big app that tries to do everything, competes with the tools people already have, and ends up used by no one. Before committing to a build, they wanted to understand who their residents were, how confident they were online, and what would be useful. That meant starting with research, not a feature list.
We started by getting to know Sunderland’s residents. Working from the council’s own data alongside fresh research, we built a picture of who would use the app and how confident they were online, then mapped what they needed against what the council wanted to achieve.
That led to a clear decision: do a few things well rather than everything badly. Rather than competing with the apps people already have for maps or tickets, we focused on the jobs the app was best placed to do, parking, local offers, what is on, and the places that make Sunderland worth exploring. From there we designed the structure, the flows and the screens, gave it a brand rooted in the city, and built it for iOS and Android with a back-end the council’s own team can keep up to date.
The temptation with a city app is to build everything and please no one. We spent the early part of this project working out what people in Sunderland actually needed, then built the council something focused enough to be useful. We have looked after it ever since, and it is good to see it still growing.
Research first, a focused app, and a partnership that lasts
The part we are most pleased with is not just that the app launched. It is that it was built on an honest understanding of the people using it, and that it has kept earning its place. Growing from a standing start to over 8,000 users, and staying useful enough that the council has kept us alongside it, matters more than any feature count.
Doing fewer things well is harder than it sounds. It means turning down good ideas so the ones that stay are properly useful. That discipline is why the app still gets used, and why the work continues: we have kept optimising and extending it since launch.
Research led the build
Resident research and product strategy came first, so the app was shaped around real needs and how confident people were online, not a wish list of features.
A few things done well
Parking, local offers, what is on and places to explore, rather than competing with the apps residents already use for maps and tickets.
Live, looked after, and growing
Shipped on iOS and Android, grown to over 8,000 users, and maintained and optimised by Komodo as the council's delivery partner since 2023.
