Hello World!
By: John Chaplin
Tags: Startup, Agency, Product Design, Product

2020 has been a year of change on so many fronts. It also gave me a chance to stop, review, plan my next steps and really work out what I am passionate about and what drives me. After several months of planning, I would like to introduce you to Diagram…

As I write this, the US election result and pending legal battles are throwing that country into further turmoil. Fitting, really, given the chaos and uncertainty that has defined 2020, from bushfires to global pandemics.

Alongside the seismic shifts this year has thrown at most of us, we have no choice but to focus on the positives and move forward. And considering that change is our only constant in life, there was no better time than 2020 to rethink my own world of work and what drives me.

2020 has allowed me the opportunity to tinker and dabble on a few pet projects. While this exploration has progressed, I have importantly reflected over what I have achieved and learned professionally; what worked, what didn’t, what I love doing and what matters most. I realised that what motivates me is making great products, solving problems and working with smart, passionate people.

So, “Hello World!”

I am excited to introduce you to Diagram, a business that crafts considered, elegant digital products. We are driven by a passion to solve problems, drive growth and make life better for our partners and their stakeholders.

We work with individuals, startups, agencies and businesses looking to grow or improve through digital transformation, digitalisation and need the capabilities to do it. We help to ideate, bring a vision to life, deliver technical support, overcome legacy issues, and unlock new opportunities in traditional industries with emerging technologies.

We are not an agency. We don’t make ads.

While I am very proud of my past work, achievements, and all the wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure of working with, none of this matters if we don’t learn and improve. The reality is, the traditional agency model is predominantly built around a waterfall-based team structure, delivering short term campaigns and one-off pieces of communication. They are not built to develop products in an agile way and are not set up to support these products long term.‍

Diagram has been created to show there is a better way.

Here’s how we work:

We collaborate with our partners to establish the right team for the job across disciplines.

We are transparent with our partners. We provide multiple pricing options tailored to each engagement and collaborate with our partners to establish an open working model. This creates alignment and ensures both parties are moving forward together.

We are a flat-structure business. We believe in open, honest communication and backing our smart people so they can focus on what they’re great at. Because to make great products, people and results matter, titles do not.

We are motivated by results. We are inquisitive, push boundaries, sweat the detail and work in an agile, sprint-based mode to ensure we deliver. Continuously!

We have fun — it’s not brain surgery!

I am excited to be returning to my product roots in a business that reflects strong values. It is my hope that Diagram will play a role in proving that great design can make a better world.