↳ ABOUT

I'm Laura Coutts. I make websites make sense.

I'm a website strategist and UX consultant based in Melbourne, with nearly 20 years of experience working across content, structure and front-end web direction. I founded Hatch Labs in 2014.

My background spans law, communications, editorial work and web content, including several years writing for people navigating some of the most difficult circumstances of their lives. That combination of analytical thinking, editorial instinct, and genuine empathy for confused users shapes everything I do.

Most websites are built from the inside out; organised around what an organisation does rather than what its users actually need. My job is to close that gap. I start with the user: understanding the problem they're trying to solve, the language they use, and where the current experience is failing them. Then I work with organisations to reframe their content, restructure their information architecture, and create something that actually works for the people it's meant to serve.

I hold a UX Diploma and bring a background spanning content strategy, information architecture, UX research and front-end web direction. I'm comfortable moving between strategy and implementation. But the strongest value I bring is upstream. Working out what should change, why, and in what order, before anyone builds anything.

On larger projects, I work as part of specialist technology teams, brought in to lead the strategy, content architecture and front-end experience where that layer of thinking is needed.

Want to get in touch? Head on over here.