About
Hi, I'm James.
I use creative problem solving to realise sustainable business models. In today's interconnected world, I believe the role of the designer is to consider the broader context of systems that we impact and shape. I specialise in balancing longer term strategic thinking with the fast paced, impact-driven design that early stage teams need.
I’ve designed digital products and services for over 10 years, and in that time I’ve worked with agencies across London and Barcelona. I've ran my own studio focused on our evolving relationship with technology; delivering projects for startups to global brands.
My experience spans the entire product lifecycle, leading design from research through to implementation. I’m currently based in Brighton, working with clients in the UK/EU.
Work Experience
Since 2018, I've worked as Design Lead on digital product design projects with agencies and clients including Bulb, ustwo, Dendra, Projects by IF, Farfetch and Google.
Roles have included the following:
Projects by IF are a consultancy leading the field in designing trustworthy products and services. I worked as a design lead on research and discovery projects for technology clients such as Google and Meta.
These projects connected responsible technology principles with tangible product outcomes. Working in these areas often meant embracing a high degree of ambiguity. I approached this through designing, prototyping and communication in order to create shared understanding and maximise impact and adoption.
Farfetch is a global luxury fashion platform. As principle designer within the marketing experience team, I led projects such as cross-channel implementation of the global rebrand, designing user experiences for re-commerce and developing new customer propositions with emerging technologies.
Working with circular economy startup on a mission to make borrowing better than buying. I led the team in designing and scaling a borrowing platform with a joyful user experience and positive impact. This involved working across the full range of product development.
I co-founded Six:Thirty; a digital creative practice.
As co-founder, I led all phases of the product lifecycle, from research to concepting, visual design and production. This experience has given me a deep understanding of the broader processes that unite design and business to solve complex problems.
As well as leading on client work, I ran a series of innovation projects exploring our evolving relationship with technology. These were featured in exhibitions workshops and talks across EU and US.
Exhibitions
Natural networks was a project using poetry and artificial intelligence to connect humans to natural environments. It was exhibited as part of London Design Festival.
Positioned in canals, buoys with environmental sensors capture light, temperature and motion data that is fed through a neural network and translated into machine-made poems. As the conditions change, the language and structure of the poems is reconfigured. This speculative piece thus employs digital communication to encourage the viewer to reconsider their relationship with natural spaces.
Unread Messages was a design research project exploring the ways in which technology affects how we think, act and behave. Based on primary research with project partner Northstar, we collaborated with a series of international designers to develop products to lead us towards a healthier relationship with technology.
Collate was a project exploring the possibilities of digital collaboration. An installation commissioned by London Design Festival allowed visitors to take part in creating an image based book at the V&A Museum.
Writing
Discoveries and things along the way.