From an early age I thought of myself as creative, and I remember a childhood of Lego, drawing, creating music and an ambition to become an illustrator. My path meandered a little as I grew, taking in studies of programming and mathematics and industrial roles to which I applied my natural creative thinking. This creative application led me to return to university as a (slightly) mature student to study industrial design.
My first real design job was as a research assistant at PDR. The project showed me how broad an activity design can be, and the impact it can have when applied strategically. This interest in the strategic value of design has led me to an exciting career at PDR, allowing me to gain a PhD and work on both research and commercial projects. Design research excites me because I enjoy pushing the boundaries of what design can do and questioning how it can be used to improve organisational performance. Research projects allow me to draw on different disciplines and test new ideas that we can then apply to our commercial work. I think it is this combination of research, theory and practice that makes PDR such an exciting place to work.