overview

I currently work as a Colour & Materials Designer for Nokia, based in Finland. I have several years previous experience, both full-time and as a freelance designer, working on projects as diverse as creating the visual look and feel of the Slazenger hockey stick range, to producing technical drawings for manufacturers of retail display furniture. Recent freelance projects include promotional material design for Brighton based business Dental Health Spa, website design for a Surrey primary and promotional hoodie and t-shirt concepts.

A seven-month travel break in 2009, forced my eyes wide open, and first hand experiences of the vagaries of culture and how it impacts upon design has enabled me to enrich my work with a greater understanding of context and subtlety.

I have a First Class Honours in Product Design from Nottingham Trent University (UK) and came top five in the Industrial Trust's Technical Textiles Competition (2008).


experience

CMD Designer
March 2010 - Current
Responsibility for the development of materials, colour and finish for specific mobile product programs, from concept to production.
www.nokia.com

Freelance Designer
October 2004 - Current
Freelance project work for a range of clients including Dunlop Slazenger (product, packaging and print), and Dental Health Spa (branding, web and print). Successful launches include packaging for the new Dunlop Sport accessories range and the Spa White tooth-whitening clinic brand. Working in a freelance capacity has rapidly developed my client communication skills and left me with the ability to juggle projects, clients and finances with (ever improving) efficiency.
www.dentalhealthspa.co.uk

Dunlop Slazenger: Junior Designer
April 2007 - September 2007
From 2D to 3D. Working as part of a small team of designers I was involved in the development of range aesthetics for tennis, squash and badminton rackets. This included material selection, understanding and applying consumer colour trends and industry design trends, and working closely with product managers at all stages of product development. I was also involved in pack and brochure design. I left with an improved understanding of designing for the sports market and several future freelance projects.
www.dunlopsport.com
www.slazenger.com

Abbott International: Junior Design Engineer
August 2006 - February 2007
Using SolidWorks and working with standardised components I modeled and produced industry standard working drawings for in-house and outsourced manufacture of retail display furniture. Communicating on a daily basis with the in-house factory team led to a rapid improvement in my understanding of materials and processes and their standards and limits.

Web Union: Part-time Web Designer
March 2001 - September 2004
Web design, development and maintenance including HTML Dreamweaver website production, CSS style sheets, basic HTML editing and Photoshop image editing. Projects included branding and websites for local businesses, schools and charities. I continue to work for Web Union in a freelance capacity.
www.webunion.co.uk


education

Product Design BA (Hons), 2008:
Nottingham Trent University
First Class Honours

Art & Design Foundation, 2004:
Falmouth College of Art and Design
Distinction

A-Levels, 2003:
Collyers Sixth Form College, Horsham
Product Design (A); Graphic Design (A); Fine Art (A); Mathematics (A)

GCSEs, 2001:
The Ashcombe School, Dorking
11 (A*-B)


awards

Industrial Trust Technical Textiles 2008 Competition:
Top 5 finalist (skiers’ thumb injury prevention project).

Core77 One-Hour Design Challenge (Voting Booth), October 2008:
Second place.
www.core77.com


additional qualifications

2006: Certificate in PDM Works (Solidworks file management)


skills

Software
Highly competent in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver and Acrobat; Solidworks; 3D Studio Max; SketchBookPro; Microsoft Office (PC and Mac).

Concept development
Exceptional sketchwork and strong idea communication.
Broad knowledge of materials and processes (2D and 3D).

Communication and professionalism
Excellent interpersonal skills. Highly professional approach. Ultra-organised. Great team player.


and finally...

I love design, and it takes up a lot of my time. But when it’s not, there are some other things in my life that I like to do...

Skiing
I am an avid skier and try to get out on the slopes as often as possible. The passion began when I was at university competing in both the Freestyle and Race teams. I also sat on the club committee for two years helping to organise two-hundred plus members.

Keeping fit
Not one to sit still I enjoy swimming, cycling and running several times a week.

Travel
Seven months travel this year opened eyes, broadened horizons and led to an improved understanding of the importance of the cultural context of design. From Japan, to Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, it truly was an awesome trip.