New year – new staff for Sigma

Macclesfield-based user experience and digital accessibility agency, Sigma, has made two new appointments to kick off a busy 2019.

Molly Watt, disability campaigner and founder of the Molly Watt Trust, has been brought on board as usability and accessibility consultant. Shane Prendergast, meanwhile, will be joining the team as website front end developer.

In her new role, Molly will be working on design inclusivity and accessibility – issues that she is passionate about and which personally affect her on a daily basis. Molly has relied on technology since she was born due to having Usher syndrome, a genetic condition which causes deafness and a form of blindness. She has had to learn the hard way that not all products and services are designed inclusively, and so hopes to use both her own experiences – alongside those of others – to educate larger audiences on how designing for inclusion has more benefits than meet the eye.  

Appointed on a part-time basis, she will continue to spearhead disability inclusion through the Molly Watt Trust alongside her role at Sigma.

The appointment comes as a result of a long-term relationship forged between Molly and Sigma, after the former featured as a guest speaker at Sigma’s annual conference – Camp Digital.

Shane will be working on the build and maintenance of Sigma’s client websites and apps – all of which have a focus on web accessibility. Previously holding positions at McCann Manchester and Stein IAS, Shane has a wealth of experience working with both large and small clients in the design, usability and accessibility space.

Sigma is a leading specialist in user experience and has an inclusive approach to improving the usability and accessibility of digital products and services – covering websites, intranets, mobile apps and software. 

The company had a successful 2018, having announced a £250,000 investment to refurbish its Macclesfield head office, winning several large-scale contracts and growing its team to a headcount of 45. Furthermore, the business is on track for continued growth to a turnover of £4 million in the coming months.

Commenting on her new role, Molly said: “It was clear that both myself and the team at Sigma share a passion and vision in accessibility, usability and design and I’m really proud to have been asked to become a permanent part of the team. 

“It’s a great opportunity for me to enrich both my knowledge and abilities which can support work with my clients at Sigma, my charity and those in need.”

Shane added: “This is a great opportunity. I’m ambitious to improve outputs and processes of Sigma’s front end work and better my knowledge and skills in the sector.

“I really want to ensure all the work we output are completely accessible to all, regardless of physical or hidden disabilities and conditions.”

Hilary Stephenson, managing director at Sigma, said: “We’re all really excited to have Shane and Molly join.  As well as being passionate about accessibility, they are both excellent at what they do and I know they’ll push us to increase our focus on inclusive product and service design. I can’t wait to see what they bring to the team”