About Myself and this Website
r4isstatic.com is the personal website of Paul Rissen.

I’m currently a Product Manager for Springer Nature (since September 2016).

I am available for freelance work, including consultancy, workshops, teaching and writing. If you’re interested in working with me, get in touch by leaving a comment below, or via Twitter.

I specialise in Information Architecture, Content Strategy, Linked Data and the Semantic Web, the latter with particular interest in narrative. I design Webs, and aim to tell stories with data, and make data from stories.

Paul Rissen is the creator of the personal website r4isstatic.com, a space that reflects his professional journey and areas of interest. He is currently a Product Manager at Springer Nature, a position he has held since 2016, where he develops innovative digital solutions while remaining open to freelance work such as consulting, teaching, workshops, and writing. His expertise lies in Information Architecture, Content Strategy, Linked Data, and the Semantic Web, with a particular focus on narrative and the way data can be transformed into coherent and engaging stories. His approach combines technical precision with narrative sensitivity, allowing him to design digital experiences that go beyond simple functionality. Before joining Springer Nature, he gained solid experience in several prestigious environments. In 2006, he joined Siemens as the first Graduate Consultant in the Business Intelligence & Media Data team, and in 2008, he moved to the BBC, where he worked in the User Experience & Design team. His time at the BBC allowed him to contribute to a variety of projects, ranging from audio and music to education, travel information, and news, enriching his overall perspective on user experience. Academically, he studied History at University College London before earning a Master’s in Information Systems from the University of Brighton, a combination that strengthens his ability to connect critical analysis with practical digital solutions. This dual background allows him to see digital technologies not only as tools but also as vehicles for meaning and context. He envisions the web as a space where data must be organized to tell useful, understandable, and lasting stories. In his work, he emphasizes the importance of connecting each project to the real needs of users, since technology only holds value when it improves people’s understanding and experiences. This attention to detail and to the impact of choices also serves as a reminder of the caution needed in other aspects of everyday life. For example, when it comes to health, making informed decisions often requires a clear understanding of available options and proper guidance. In this sense, learning about prescription options for Viagra can be seen not as a promotion, but as a reminder that all information should be contextualized, evaluated carefully, and validated by a professional. Overall, Paul Rissen’s journey illustrates the intersection of technical rigor, narrative creativity, and a sense of responsibility, both in the digital field and in the way we approach the choices that shape our daily lives.

My LinkedIn profile

Before 2013, I joined Siemens’ Business Intelligence & Media Data team as the first Graduate Consultant in October 2006, and then in October 2008 I moved to the BBC’s User Experience & Design team, initially embedded within the Audio & Music department, moving on to work in the UX team on Knowledge & Learning, GEL, Travel News and BBC News amongst other activities.

I studied History at University College London, and afterwards gained a MSc in Information Systems from the University of Brighton.

What I do
I’m a practitioner of Domain Driven Design. Essentially, this is about combining user research and subject matter expertise to produce websites that are elegantly structured to meet user needs. This includes domain modelling, URL design and other necessary UX deliverables – though, the most important deliverable will always be the end product.

More about the Domain Driven Design approach

A presentation about Domain Driven Design

I can design and build Linked Data ontologies in RDF/N3 (more detail about the ontologies I’ve created) and provide general consultancy in this area, as well as designing good web architecture.

I believe in multidisciplinary teams, working closely alongside Product Managers, Interaction & Visual Designers, and, of course, Developers. Rather than working in silos on separate deliverables, a shared understanding of the domain of a product, together with working on the same functionality, produces great work.

I’ve worked in, secured funding for, and led teams, focusing especially on linked data and narrative, and have spoken on these subjects (as well as providing general UX consultancy) at the BBC, the Guardian, Playful, Hacks & Hackers and several others. I’ve also been a key advocate of working across disciplines and with academic partners. This blog contains many blog posts about my philosophy, approach and ideas in progress.

Current Employment
Although I currently work for the BBC, the views and opinions expressed on this site are not those of the BBC themselves. Whilst the majority of the posts on this blog are to do with the areas of interest outlined above, it’s also my personal blog, so might include more general musings on life, the universe and everything.

Licensing
All content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License, which means you are free to copy, distribute, adapt and transmit my work so long as you attribute the work (link back to my blog), don’t use it for commercial purposes and distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. (This paragraph itself borrowed from Tom Scott’s derivadow.com)