WORK HISTORY
I started coding at age 8, typing out programs from magazines like Crash and Your Sinclair, then tweaking the code to see what changed. By 12, I was into Z80 Assembler and pixel art. Later, I studied Music Technology & Sound Design at The Musicians Institute before moving into sound engineering and music production. I found that my love of building complex studio set-ups was something I was drawn to do regardless of how much it would pay, even though I realised that entire recording studio set-ups were dissapearing inside computers. By 1999, I was creating sound for web animations and, like many early web adopters, had become a FLASH ANIMATOR.
By 2007, I had worked at leading marketing agencies like Razorfish and Engine Group before founding POW DIGITAL, focusing on digital ad campaigns while also exploring early social media. By 2010, I shifted away from front-end design and coding to specialize in Information Architecture, eventually transitioning into UX and Product Design. My work has mainly been in FinTech, automotive, and large global organizations, but I’ve always balanced it with creative side projects—making music videos, photographing dance, and designing physical products like clothing, mini-games, and retro reissues.
My biggest design influences include Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive, Buckminster Fuller, Charles Eames, Dieter Rams, Marcel Breuer, and Walter Gropius. I also admire Josef Müller-Brockmann, Neville Brody, Jan Tschichold, and, surprisingly, Florence Nightingale. The brands I’ve loved since childhood — Sony, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Adobe, Nintendo and BMW —have also shaped my approach to design and technology.
I still have many of my gadgets from the 80s, including several ZX81s, ZX Spectrums, BBC Master, Atari 1040 and Amigas (all working). I have a lof of Game &. Watch, Apple (Classic), and retro gaming kit. But I also have built my own lab (see above) where I spend my time soldering, 3D printing, customising, repairing, testing and repairing gear.
Design thinking is an adaptable, iterative process in which certain tools and methods are invoked to in order to understand the users of any system, their requirements, and their problems. In doing so we attempt to deliver an evidence driven strategy and solution that is discovered via research, known requirements and the business case it's trying to address.
MY WORKING METHODS
The model I have created over the last 10 years is based largely on the Design Council's Evolved Double Diamond Approach. Like many other systems such as the Zurb Design Thinking Model, The Stanford D.School Design Thinking Method and The Google Design Sprint Process Other systems such as Don Norman's User Centric Design and IDEO's Human Centered Design Model have also influenced my end to end process as they are well detailed and offer clear visibility of strategic design direction.
MY PROCESS: INTORODUCING 4D DESIGN
Breaking down most design process we see that there are 4 common stages to these methodologies. They tend to be something close to Discover, Define, Design, Deploy. Because the Double Diamond Method fits in to these 4 groups I have used this framework for many years. Other frameworks like UCD and the Triple Diamond, often site inside or extend outside this framework which is why I feel it is so adaptive.
PART 1: THE TWO HALVES OF 4D
The approach is a 4 stage process divided in to two halves. The first half involves researching the landscape and playback of the teams findings. This is called DESIGNING THE RIGHT THING. The second half employs strategies for design, build and testing called DESIGNING THINGS RIGHT
PART 2: THE TWO DIAMONDS
The two diamonds are containers for the process. The mid point of the process is where designing begins and research ends. The first diamond is split in to Understanding the problems and Playback of research for verification. They act as markers so key stakeholders can understand when deliverables can be expected and an overview of what they will contain. The second diamond is split in to Generating solutions and Deploying solutions allowing designers and developers to ready for when they will need to start building and testing solutions. The full end-to-end strategy can be laid out at this point. See STRATEGY EXAMPLES below.
PART 3: TEAM DIRECTION
The approach is a 4 stage process divided in to two halves. The first half involves researching the landscape and playback of the teams findings. This is called DESIGNING THE RIGHT THING. The second half employs strategies for design, build and testing called DESIGNING THINGS RIGHT
PART 4: THE FULL PROCESS
The approach is a 4 stage process divided in to two halves. The first half involves researching the landscape and playback of the teams findings. This is called DESIGNING THE RIGHT THING. The second half employs strategies for design, build and testing called DESIGNING THINGS RIGHT
