Universe. Cubed.

I’ve always found Rubik's cubes to be utterly fascinating. Something about the arcane mechanism within and the shifting squares' coalescent potential calls to mind cosmic dust, gathering to form the seedlings of stars. Convergence arising, only to give way to entropy. The 'tangible', manifesting and then seemingly dematerialising in the hand.

To hold one is to grasp the power of resolution-potential, to channel focus and breathe flows of convergence in and out of the spectacular tumult of nature - like an accordion of alignment. To conclude beckons to revert. To solve is to yearn to dissolve. We bring an undertaking to fruition, knowing it will unravel, only to do it again. In some sense, this speaks of the cyclical, sisyphean quality of life itself.

Nature and Nurture

There are certain times when the universe seems to align and unlock a glimmer of promise. A whisper of excitement, of pure magical brilliance; the thrill of creation which, in that moment, leaves one so fully immersed in the present, you can almost feel it flowing through your fingertips and radiating out from the heart.

But, as with all things, these moments must ebb and flow, moving in cycles and oscillations. Waves of potential gather momentum, like a rising ocean swell - where water almost seems to crest at some solid peak, only to crash apart and wash change onto the shores of our consciousness, leaving in its wake the turmoil of dissolution and eventually the emergence of new growth, renewed energy, and fresh endeavour.

It is this pendular spirit that has swayed my navigation through much, if not all of life, both personal and professional. For many years I berated myself as a restless soul, an improviser, a being that would not "settle" onto one fixed path. But with time I learned to understand, accept and occasionally even appreciate myself, embracing the nature of not-quite fitting the mould.

The moment I learned that my brain was differently wired was the point at which I could finally cast off barriers of doubt and self-deprecation, freeing myself to stand up, be counted and take stock of my contributions (however disparate) and all on no other basis than the conscious decision to finally have my own back and afford myself the compassion and conviction we all deserve.

On that premise, the following is a run-through of my professional development and the overarching threads that link each chapter.

The school of life-long-learning

Curiosity is hard-coded into my firmware. I’ve always been gripped by the need to create, to build, to experiment. This became clear during my educational journey through school, college and on to university. I have a passion for life and find fascination and intrigue in seemingly every direction. I believe that when one can carve a moment of time to stop, observe, and appreciate the world, there is beauty and magic to be found in almost every corner.

As a result, I was always into ALL the subjects (regardless of relative competence!). From physics to art, to drama to languages - even the greatest hurdle, mathematics engendered awe and respect in the knowledge that it is essentially the fundamental language of the universe.

My memory of school was that in every subject one could find either some tool for self expression or a means to understand and contextualise the world. As a result it was nigh on impossible to favour any one subject over another. How could anyone ever choose?? But eventually choose we must and "art" finally emerged as a thing.

Through higher education that decision morphed into design as a means to combine creative expression with technical purpose and experiential interaction - with, by and for people. The appeal of design’s utility and scope to connect with users, practically and emotionally by creating moments of function or fun (or both!) struck me as one of the most inspiring ways to make sense of the world. We might not be able to reconcile the existential paradox of being alive, but we could sure as hell have some fun while we're here!

Based on this, I moved in the direction of 3D / Industrial Design. I was initially focused on product, interior and furniture, but eventually the art of surface modelling, the shaping of contours and the bending of light drew me to Automotive Design as the subject of my bachelors.

Shifting the narrative

During my time at university I took on a part time job as a community outreach support worker for young adults with learning difficulties. This offered some eye-opening experiences which inspired me to work more directly with and for people. Because of this I ultimately moved into the transport industry, eventually working as a health and safety risk manager for railway level crossings - the most publicly hazardous parts of the network.

This period of my career proved to be fascinating. My role as risk manager married internal and external stakeholder comms with data accrual, asset management and determining aspects of functional crossing design e.g. layout, signage, fencing, surface systems, active signals (lights/barriers/warnings) and seasonal vegetation management i.e. safety-critical sight lines.

From public safety campaigns to funding bids, feasibility studies to trials of pioneering new warning systems and other technologies, this was an exercise in ergonomics, engineering, information conveyance, human factors and communication design all rolled into one. In what felt like the blink of an eye, the best part of five years had elapsed and the learning from this time eventually opened a path to the next chapter.

From London to the Hauptstadt

The basis of my move to Berlin was manifold, but ultimately I'd reached a point of fulfillment and grew hungry for opportunities to learn and grow elsewhere and in different ways. Having spent a long time working for a major UK national corporation, I was curious to explore a different mode of working and knowing the city is famed for its freelance and creative scenes was very intriguing. I’d always admired the spirit of entrepreneurialism and before long found my way into a community of creators and woodworkers all active in the design and furniture space.

What followed was an explosion of passion and drive to reconnect with a more tactile, aesthetic design practice, while embracing that most earthy of crafts - carpentry - something I'd largely departed from since school, yet had always identified strongly with.

I spent two years as an apprentice and emerged running my own company, fusing elements of carpentry, furniture design and interior architecture. For the next three years I created various custom furniture, was involved in large-scale industrial, commercial and cultural installations, built mezzanines, fitted kitchens and took all kinds of fascinating bespoke commissions.

Within this freelance mantle I also embarked on a parallel sideline working as a communications consultant for a leading sustainability think-tank. The focus of this organisation was to push the agenda for the transport and logistics industries to adopt cleaner, more environmentally sustainable practices and they were instrumental in numerous studies and initiatives to improve air quality and tackle pollution in urban environments. Their work directly shaped EU policy with regards to emissions regulations, exposed malpractice in the automotive sector and helped drive incentives for widening consumer adoption of electric vehicles.

Pandemic of progress

Change being constant, there was an inevitable turning of the aforementioned tides and the waves of chance came surging back in for 2020 when the arrival of Covid suddenly turned the world upside down.

We all remember how society was effectively shut down and during that time I, like many, embraced a re-framing of priorities in light of this global pathogenic curveball. The challenges of freelancing were compounded by lockdown and thus I found myself orchestrating the next major switch, which, as luck would have it, took me back to another long time passion – audio.

Having always been a fan of a speaker or two (at least!) and having spent several years as an on-off hobbyist bedroom producer (in parallel to my actual studies!), I jumped at the chance to apply for a job at what transpired to be an incredibly cool company.

This was the moment that I found myself arriving at ADAM Audio and thereby joining a new community of enthusiasts who were equally creative, passionate and inspiring as my previous cohorts, albeit with a new backdrop and different set of tools.

Swapping sawdust for spectrographs, masking tape for microphones, drills for decibel meters, and spirit levels for sound pressure levels, I moved from the workshop and into the lab, where I was privileged to encounter the most incredible team of engineers and tech-heads I could possibly imagine. This amazing group warmly and generously welcomed me into their midst and supported me unflinchingly in our collective efforts to establish a culture of project management and process structure - drawing on the skill set I’d learned on the railways.

We encountered some significant challenges en-route, but we also delivered some major achievements and after helping to bring two major projects (encompassing six hardware products and two software applications) to market in the space of three years, I decided to hand over the reigns to a team who had expanded and could bring fresh thinking and new energy for the next phase.

Stick and twist

My passion for the company, our incredible team, awesome products and this brilliant industry as a whole was unwavering, so with help from the team I pivoted into a new role - this time in the marketing sphere. In some ways another new adventure, in others, calling on proven traits of creativity and communication, I embarked on carving a new niche within the company, spanning the range of departmental functions from elements of PR and aspects of product branding to supporting content creation, communications design, stakeholder engagement, demand generation and promo campaign ideation.

This is where I've sat for approaching one year now and I’m loving every minute. I feel the growth, am stimulated by new challenges and am privileged to honour the confidence vested by my peers as the organization helps cultivate this emerging role. Long may it continue!

Thanks for reading.

(Stay curious)