What’s your role?
I’m a designer on the UK team, and I’ve been working with a client in the education sector and a luxury whisky brand. Both of the projects have been quite different. In one, my role is more visually driven; in the other, my role is more UX-based. I think about things like ‘how do we organise the content in meaningful buckets?’, ‘how should people navigate the site and use search?’ and ‘how should personalisation work?’. My strength is collaborating with different parts of the business and bringing it all together—because I understand tech, content and branding in a very rational way.
How do you balance tech know-how and design?
There are two types of agencies: those that don’t have much digital experience and those that do. Ones that don’t often create something that looks amazing, but overlook the tech needed to execute it. In the end, it sits with the client simply looking nice.
On the other hand, you can get very tech-orientated agencies, but they don’t have the design skills to make it sing. I’m always aware of that balance. I want to do something that looks amazing but is achievable. That means working closely with development, product, and content teams, whether internally or on the client side.
What set you on this path?
I attended a design school in Copenhagen at a time when everything was pre-digital. It was a traditional design education—think crafts-led practices, typography, and visual communication. My first job was designing interactive television applications, and at that time, there weren’t roles like ‘UX designer’ and ‘Information Architect’. It was less defined and more free-fall. It evolved from there.
Digital products fascinate me because of their human psychology and interaction aspects. I like to think about the role of technology in society, especially as I’ve worked with apps and products that are used by millions of people (All4, Freesat, BBC Red Button). I like designing for the mass market and take accessibility seriously. Because anyone should be able to use it.
What are the hot topics in your world right now, and what do you think of them?
Seeing things come and go, you realise there are a lot of fads. But even with fads, there’s always a useful element. A couple of years ago everyone was talking about the metaverse. Today, virtual reality (VR) has some fantastic uses, such as luxury brand experiences, gaming and even virtual training for surgeons.
Fads are good in a way because it means a lot of clever people are working on it. What’s left behind is often very useful. For example, voice search had trouble understanding different accents, and now that’s much better. Overall, I don’t get excited about technology for ‘tech’s sake’. Instead I’m more interested in the long-term implications and how it might affect the mass market.
What do you hope to see more of?
With the tools we have, companies should take more responsibility for baseline accessibility. It’s also being debated more and more, especially as people become more aware of things like neurodivergence. I also find it interesting how tech giants play such a big role in society and financial systems, and I’d like to see how governments and organisations will legislate it. Education is one area that will benefit from tighter rules. We need to learn more about digital, especially children. We should know how to check sources and filter harmful information—it’s almost a prerequisite for a well-functioning modern democracy.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I love travelling, spending time observing people, and experiencing different cultures. That’s why I love living in London. You’re exposed to a lot of different people, and you get to see other people’s truths. I like questioning myself and being shaken in my beliefs. That’s what travelling does, too.
Getting out into nature is also a nice way to get away from screens. I do things like watercolour paintings and observational drawings. It’s a lovely way of interacting with the world. You’re very much in the moment when you can look at something and jot it down.
Finally, music is my social glue and has always been a big part of my life. Again, it’s interesting to see the different ‘tribes’ that form within the subcultures of music. Community in music crosses borders.