My Why
With 20 years’ experience spanning digital, design, UX, strategy and agency leadership, I’ve had the pleasure of working with start-ups, FTSE 100s and charities to deliver impactful products and high-performing teams. I bring a blend of creative and commercial acumen to help organisations solve complex problems and scale with clarity and purpose.
Growing up alongside the internet, I began in digital marketing just as Hotmail and Google were emerging. The AI boom is yet another wave of technology that I’m adapting to and embracing.
I applied UX principles before I even knew what they were, designing with empathy and craft to drive better results.
Over two decades I’ve evolved from freelancer and small business owner to senior designer to leader. I’ve collaborated with some of the brightest minds in the industry on projects across start-ups, multinationals, and charities. I thrive on bringing vision, clarity, psychological safety and energy to new or settled teams solving complex problems.
What I do
I’m a problem solver first and foremost. Backed by a long history in agency I bring clarity, focus and guile to complex problems.
I’m currently the MD of ASquared, a B Corp venture product studio in Brighton, UK. Through product thinking, user-centred design and AI-enabled engineering we bring startup products to market and help secure their seed investments, often taking a small equity in the process.
Before ASquared I was the Design Director and sitting board member at Clearleft, one of the UK’s foremost strategic UX and design agencies. I helped redefine the proposition, positioning and delivery of the award-winning agency’s services, and successfully steered the agency through COVID.
Prior to my leadership roles I’ve led and worked on countless projects and engagements ranging from RSA Insurance and Nordea Bank to Virgin Atlantic Holidays, Pearson Education and many more.
I’ve spoken internationally, have written for various online and print publications, and been cited in books on design and industry best practices.
My core principles
My work has ranged from UX & design on large-scale digital transformation projects to consultancy for innovative startups and supporting and managing cross-functional teams.
Whatever the environment, I always come back to these core working principles:
- Communication and collaboration beat craft
- Systems and standards are nothing without understanding
- Design is a lens, not the centre
- Ideas are cheap; execution is the moat
- Everyone is winging it
Away from the keyboard
Outside of work I ride bikes 🚲 up on the South Downs and live by the seaside 🌊 with my wonderful wife and two incredible daughters.
I'm Canadian 🇨🇦 by birth, English 🇬🇧 by heritage. Yes, I have a weird accent. I call it transatlantic.
In 2023—burnt out by COVID—we packed up our things, sold most of our stuff and deregistered our kids out of school to travel (most of) the world. My girls saw things in real life that their peers were seeing in text books. It remains one of the best things we’ve ever done. Read more and see the data viz here.
