About Adrie van der Luijt

From local newspapers to high-impact digital transformation projects

I am Adrie van der Luijt, Founder of Trauma-Informed Content Consulting. I am a Senior Content Designer and consultant with four decades of experience in content creation, from journalism, where my work was quoted by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, to major digital projects for the Cabinet Office, Metropolitan Police, Cancer Research UK and the Department for Work and Pensions. I now specialise in content that works for people when they’re at their most vulnerable.

"More than 10 million people a month rely on my content. Most of them have no choice but to interact with it."

I began my career in journalism, spending decades as a writer and business editor before being quoted by the Wall Street Journal. That editorial background — rigorous standards, precision under deadline, accountability for accuracy — shapes everything I do now.

The move into government digital work brought a different kind of accountability. Designing content for millions of people who are applying for benefits, reporting crimes or trying to understand a cancer diagnosis is not the same as writing for a general audience. The stakes are different. The consequences of bad content are different.

High-impact projects

I have worked as a Senior Content Designer and Content Strategist on some of the UK's most significant public-facing digital services, including:
  • Universal Credit for the Department for Work and Pensions (5.6 million claimants)
  • COVID-19 emergency business grant counter-fraud tools for the Cabinet Office (recognised by Number 10 as star performers and awarded Game Changer)
  • the national drink and needle spiking advice service for the Metropolitan Police Service (now used by 81% of UK forces and commended by the Home Office)
  • Cancer Research UK's About Cancer information service (4 million monthly users)

Speaking and publishing

I speak to senior executives in UK financial services at the Money Advice Trust's Vulnerability Academy on content design and regulatory compliance. I am a featured author on Kristina Halvorson's thought-leading UX and content strategy Button blog and other industry platforms. I am a keynote speaker at Growing in Content 2026.

Expertise

I work across FCA Consumer Duty, vulnerable customer guidance, GDS and GOV.UK standards, WCAG 2.2 AA, NHS content standards, charity-sector compliance and ISO 22458 frameworks.