The Big Issue
Reimagining digital: Turning platform into purpose . . .
The Brief
The research set out to investigate the viability of a digital edition of The Big Issue and how it could:
Extend vendor income opportunities.
Maintain the powerful vendor–customer relationship digitally.
Align with evolving audience expectations and media trends.
Explore scalable and sustainable digital engagement models.
Reframing the Question
With limited access to users, I broadened the brief—starting with a landscape and competitor analysis to ground the work in current digital and social enterprise trends.
Globally, street papers treated digital editions as part of wider strategies. Common models included subscriptions, freemium content, memberships, and vendor-direct donations.
Benchmarking leaders like The Big Issue UK helped expand what success could look like beyond a single product.
UX / UI, UX Research
Industry Not-for-Profit
The Client The Big Issue (TBI) is an Australian social enterprise that provides people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage with the opportunity to earn an income through the sale of a fortnightly magazine. Vendors buy the magazine at a reduced price and sell it on the streets, building personal connections with customers while helping to raise awareness and advocate for social issues.
Tools Figma, Slack, Miro, Otter AI
Year 2025
Scope User Research interviews, Competitive Analysis, Landscape Analysis, Affinity Mapping, Personas, Survey.
“So perhaps people still think of The Big Issue as a street paper — which we are, of course, and that’s our foundational core — but we have to be seen, I think, much more as a changemaking digital proposition.”
Paul McNamee (Editor) - The Big Issue UK
Survey Insights: signals from a younger audience
A survey of 112 participants surfaced key behaviours that could impact digital uptake:
Perceived value strongly influenced willingness to pay.
There is a need for clearer visual messaging around vendors.
There is clear demand for a digital option.
While the sample didn’t fully reflect The Big Issue’s current audience, it offered valuable insights into the younger demographic the organisation hopes to reach.
User Interviews: Depth Over Breadth
With limited recruitment access (5 participants), I prioritised participants aligned with The Big Issue’s key demographic—by age and familiarity with the magazine. This ensured richer insights into expectations, perceptions, and what a digital experience could meaningfully offer a brand-aware audience.
Interview findings were synthesised into a core persona to guide all recommendations: Values-driven Violet.
Socially conscious and impact-driven, Violet seeks tangible ways to support community initiatives. She wants a digital platform that helps her feel connected, inspired, and confident that her actions directly benefit someone’s life.
“I want to know my money helps someone directly—and if I’m going to engage digitally, it needs to feel like I’m part of the solution, not just a reader.”
Key Insights
Vendor connection drives value
4 out of 5 participants cited vendor support as their primary reason for purchasing. Any digital strategy must foreground individual impact to retain this emotional value.Users value meaning over features
Expectations were value-led, not tech-driven—highlighting the importance of aligning features with the brand’s purpose rather than chasing functionality for its own sake.Trust must be earned in digital spaces
3 out of 5 users expected digital content to be free. To justify payment, the platform must clearly communicate value and stay mission-aligned to build trust.The website is a latent opportunity
Users saw potential for the site to evolve from a static support tool into a dynamic, human-centred platform that embodies The Big Issue’s social impact.
Quick wins
Blue Sky Initiatives: Exploring What’s Possible
These strategic concepts imagine how The Big Issue could extend its impact through digital innovation. Moving beyond a static digital edition, each idea positions the platform as a living expression of the brand’s mission: connecting meaningful work with marginalised communities.
Rooted in brand strengths, these initiatives explore digital as a direct channel for advocacy, storytelling, and community empowerment. Each was lightly tested through low-fi artifacts in user interviews—not as solutions, but as provocations to spark future exploration.
Together, they point toward a more holistic, mission-led digital presence—and lay the groundwork for a long-term strategy. What follows are three early-stage concepts designed to explore different facets of this potential—each offering a unique way to deepen impact, strengthen community connection, and bring The Big Issue’s mission to life online.
“What our customers see is our vendors ability . . . not their weakness”.
Jeremy Urquhart, National Operations Manager - The Big Issue
Initiative 1:
The Human Library
Addressing users’ desire for vendor connection, this concept reimagines The Big Issue’s platform as a living library of human stories—where vendors become “books”, users can unlock through pay-what-you-can donations.
Inspired by the global Human Library movement, it offers an interactive storytelling experience that frames lived experience as knowledge. This builds on the magazine’s existing vendor profiles, placing vendor voices at the heart of the digital experience.
To support low-cost production, I recommended partnerships with film and media schools—creating scalable, high-impact content while strengthening community ties.
Initiative 2:
The Learning Hub
Expanding on the existing Classroom program, this concept envisions a public-facing digital learning platform that connects everyday learners with the voices, skills, and lived experiences of marginalised communities.
Tapping into the growing online learning market, it repositions The Big Issue as a values-led education provider. Courses would operate on a profit-share model, with a portion of each fee going directly to participating vendors.
Proposed thematic areas include storytelling, creative expression, advocacy, personal development, and housing insecurity—aligning with the motivations of The Big Issue’s socially conscious audience and establishing the platform as a space for social learning and impact.
Initiative 3:
Digital Inclusion Mandate
This concept reframes The Big Issue’s digital strategy not just as content delivery—but as a direct resource for the communities it serves.
It proposes embedding tools that support people experiencing homelessness, such as integration with the Ask Izzy app (Infoxchange), which connects users to essential services. While many digital strategies unintentionally exclude those most affected by housing instability, this approach recognises digital inclusion as a human right—encompassing access, education, and connectivity.
Embedding these principles positions The Big Issue as a leader in ethical, inclusive digital design, while aligning with its mission at every level of the digital experience.
This project underscored the importance of reframing the brief to unlock deeper insight. By zooming out to understand the broader landscape, the research delivered a clear set of actionable directions—and opened space for long-term strategic thinking.
With greater access to The Big Issue’s most engaged supporters, future work could explore these blue sky concepts through low-fi prototyping to sharpen their impact and viability.
“The integration of global perspectives, blue-sky thinking, and grounded user insights resulted in a presentation that felt visionary yet human.”
Alexis Lim (Project Mentor)
