Celebrating Vicky Teinaki

Still all these months later I think about Vicky. I never met her but read all the posts and write-ups she shared. She was such a role model and sharp mind sharing well written advice and ideas. She's a big loss not just to friends and family but the community of designers who he work really invigorated. I'm still sad all these months later.

Vicki was probably the most influencial interaction designer in the government. I've used her approach every day for the past four years. She was also interested in everything and full of boundless energy. She'll be missed.

Vicky 🖤 
The most generous, warm, principled, intelligent, passionate, creative, and empathetic colleague and friend you could hope to have. So many of us wouldn’t be who we are without her. I hope she knows how many lives she touched. 


The text of what I said yesterday at Vicky's service: "Saturday November 23rd, 2013. I find myself at Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle. I was there to see a play written by my friend Louise. While I was delighted to celebrate Louise’s achievement, I decline plans to celebrate later that evening, because I had an important date to keep - a cinema screening of the 50th anniversity episode of Doctor Who. As I take my seat at the theatre, I’m introduced to a lady with a New Zealand accent. She wears a big hat, a colourful scarf, and offers me a jelly baby - basically cosplaying as the Tom Baker Doctor. It takes time to build friendships. To find out if they are your frequency, your vibe. But from the moment I met Vicky, I was smitten. There were a million things that I admired about Vicky. Her intelligence, her curiosity, her hunger for learning. I used to refer to her as ‘the walking internet’ because of the way she knew everything about everything. During this past year, myself, Louise, and Vicky, joined forces to play the New York Times crossword against each other online, with a leaderboard displaying who had completed it the fastest. Many a morning, after struggling through the puzzle, I would be feeling pretty chuffed to have completed it in 4 and a half minutes. I would then check the leader board to see that Vicky had completed it in 45 seconds. Vicky wanted to make your life better, to make your life be the best that it could be. One of the first times Vicky and I spent time together just ourselves, was during a trip to the Edinburgh fringe. I had signed up to be part of a choir, performing at the fringe in front of a ticketed audience. I had also aquired free tickets to some other shows, which Vicky, being the big lover of culture, happily took. As it was the first time just us, I was nervous about the 90 minute train journey from Newcastle to Edinburgh, wondering if we would have enough to say to each other. I needn’t have worried. By the time we arrived in Edinburgh Waverley, not only had Vicky renewed my confidence in my artistic endeavours, she had signed me up to two separate newsletters with the New York Times, and recommended me a biography of the writer Virginia Woolf. I’ll miss her thoughts and suggestions. When I would panic message Vicky in July to discuss what we should get for Louise’s birthday, she would inevitably respond with some amazing idea that I in no way would have thought of by myself. In one of the first conversations that Louise and I had following Vicky’s passing, I had to admit that her quality of presents may descrease in future without Vicky’s input. ‘Don’t worry,’ reassured Louise, ‘so will yours’. What brings comfort to me, and I’m sure to so many others, is how Vicky will live on in the written word. Through her blogs, her newsletters, and her week notes. We bonded over our love of film - myself, Louise and Vicky, forming on an online film club during lockdown, where each week we would take turns to choose a film, watch it at the same time in our respective homes, and message each other our thoughts throughout. She lives on in the film website Letterboxd, where can you find her ratings and reviews of many films. There was so many films that she loved, but I’ve really appreciated reading her more critical reviews, a few of which I’ll quote to you now: “Rumour has it - Bad. The girls are neurotic (aside from the wonderful Shirley MacLaine) and the plot ranging from ew (sleeping with someone you thought was your father?) to blerugh (the cheesy music and the close ups) 1 star” “Cats” - a pointless movie of a stage show that was lucky to exist in the first place.and this is from someone with fond movies of the stage show. 2 stars” “Little Nicky - What the hell was this? 2 stars” 
I’ll end on a positive one. Just before Christmas, Vicky awarded ‘The Bishops Wife’ the festive classic starring David Niven and Cary Grant, 4 and a 1/2 stars. Sadly what caused that film to be missing that final half 1/2 star in the Vicky rating system, will always have to remain a mystery. But I loved what Vicky said about it: “They don't make it like this any more, in so so so many ways.” And that sentiment sums you up perfectly, Vicky. They won’t make anyone else like you - in so so so many ways.

I crossed paths with Vicky a few times working in the public sector. She was so passionate about design, particularly design for the public good or any kind of design that in some way was to the benefit of others. The way Vicky practiced design was why she impacted myself and so many of her colleagues and peers. She shared her learnings, failures and successes for us all to learn from and refer back to. She would send links to useful things, reply to comments and support people who had questions or needed advice. One my last conversations with Vicky was about a piece of work we were doing for the NHS. She made what I did better but in a way that helped me to learn and not feel like what I had done was inferior. That is the act of somebody who is caring and kind above everything else. So glad I got to know her a little and work with her briefly. My thoughts are with her closest friends and family.

Thank you Vicky for the brilliant, funny, open person you were. I’ll forever be inspired by your passion to make things better, and for a life of learning and making so much time for culture, travel, and friendship. When I first joined GDS back in 2017 I remember asking Tim Paul for a list of great interactions designers in government to get to know and I was excited to see your name, a name that broke the pattern of all the others. And so I started to follow and revere you and your work. I was lucky to spend time with you this October in Helsinki for a conference I helped organised. You had arrived early to sightsee and shared all the interesting facts you had learned about the city over drinks. Within days after the conference you had written a comprehensive write up, which I was so excited to see. You supported my work and I was so happy to find ways to work with you like your great piece on service archaeology for the recent Service Gazette. When I ran a 24 hour conference in 2023 I’m pretty sure you were the first person to watch all 24 hours of talks! The public sector design community will miss you so much! You’ll live on through our memories and learning and work. Thank you and rest in peace. ----- Mere, Takaiara, Catherine, Clare, Louise and Mhairi – today's service was such a beautiful tribute and send off. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Keeping all of Vicky's family and friends in my thoughts. My deepest condolences to you all.

I met Vicky on my first service standard assessment and instantly thought wow this woman is so smart! (She was the design assessor) Fast forward a couple of years and we were both working on the same team where Vicky welcomed me with open arms, it felt like a huge compliment! Vicky was incredibly talented and intelligent and I was honoured she was happy to have me on the team. A friendship developed overtime and myself and Vicky shared shared memories such as travelling to London together for a service standard assessment, the posh (and themed) parcels team spreads and outside of work Vicky introduced me to Monsieur Crepe and a random Harry Potter improv comedy night! I will be forever grateful to Vicky for showing me that women can take themselves out, for coffee, brunch, cinema and travelling-the worlds our oyster! Vicky honed in on how self conscious I was about my broad accent and how I thought it made me sound less intelligent than others. Vicky told me that she found me even more interesting and intelligent with my accent when she heard me speaking with passion about our work. Thanks to Vicky I now speak at at ease and confidently. I’ll never forget you Vicky ♥️ My thoughts and condolences are either Vicky’s family and close friends xxx

Beautiful service and tributes today for a lovely ex colleague and talented lady from our HMRC days, RIP Vicky.

I had the privilege of working with Vicky. She'll be missed not just for her stellar design work, UCD advocacy and generosity in sharing knowledge, but for being an extraordinarily decent and kind human being. I will miss you Vicky!

I have been really saddened to hear this news about Vicky. I only worked with Vicky once on a project for HMRC but she left a real impression, her passion and desire to create something that really worked for customers was infectious and she coupled that with such a warm and friendly approach. She probably wouldn't have known it but working with Vicky and the rest of the Newcastle team left its mark on me, influenced what I wanted to do next in my career and changed my approach to projects I've worked on since. My condolences to Vicky's friends and family who are at the service today.

I learned a lot from working with Vicky on GOV.UK. She was a great colleague and wonderful proponent of user centred design and digital development for public good. She will be sadly missed in this community.

Comrade, co-conspirator, ally, friend. Vicky got it. We've lost a good one. I'll miss you Vicky.