Digital consultant, writer & speaker on design, business and technology trends
Originally published on spiked. What do the brands MUJI, AGFA, SAAB, IBM, Oral B, BMW, Staples, Kawasaki and Panasonic have in common? Their logos are all designed in the Helvetica typeface, which is the subject of a new documentary that explores how typography and graphic design affect visual culture – and our lives. Chances are […]
Continue ReadingVenue Organised by design agency LBi and the Usability Professionals Association, London. Spoke on panel entitled Openness of information and communities in Healthcare discussing ways in which the internet offers opportunities for sharing information to inform the public, and to enable experiences to be shared and learned from within the NHS. Other speakers included Sir […]
Continue ReadingOriginally published in Blueprint (now defunct). Nowadays, design is justified in terms of being sustainable and ethically responsible without much debate. Consequently many have become shy to defend aspects of good design that we’ve previously taken for granted. After all design is the result of how we able to process and master resources, taming them […]
Continue ReadingVenue Usability Professionals Association, LBi offices, London. Much needed creativity is suffering in a climate that places importance on achieving a measurable impact on the bottom line above all else. The talk explored why this is happening and argued that innovation is more important than perpetuating the statistics. Some said I caused disagreements whilst another […]
Continue ReadingVenue Battle of Ideas festival, RCA, London. Nowadays, even before designers have put pen to paper, there are growing concerns about the consequences of their work and its effect on society. They are accused of everything from creating too much waste (excess packaging) to fuelling excessive consumption (producing unnecessary gadgets, luxury goods). We are told […]
Continue ReadingVenue Design Museum, London Why do few designers, if any, defend design for its own sake? Instead, many argue that design only has worth once it contributes toward social renewal, regeneration, the environment, sustainability and so on. But doesn’t this mean that design as a result will suffer? Speakers Clive Grinyer: director of design, Orange France […]
Continue ReadingOriginally published on spiked. The unveiling of the newly-designed London 2012 Olympics logo caused a storm of protest and bad publicity. Designed by Wolff Olins, one of the world’s leading design agencies, it has been rubbished by commentators and there is now even a petition against it (27,000 people had signed up at the time […]
Continue ReadingOriginally published on spiked. The contrast couldn’t be more striking. Rwanda, 13 years after its bloody civil war, is pouring money into information technology (IT) and is fast becoming the hub of Africa, transforming from a society riddled with desperate poverty to one of promise (1). Google has sensed an opportunity and is promising to […]
Continue ReadingOriginally published on spiked. The Tory Party election campaign slogan, ‘Are you thinking what we’re thinking?’, shows a desperation to connect with the voting public. In February 2005, former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith (now head of Centre for Social Justice) wrote in the Guardian that the Tory party needs to connect with the electorate in […]
Continue ReadingOriginally published on spiked. Website publishers and designers like myself have been targeted under the act since October 1999. In a recent survey of 1000 websites, the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) found that over 80 per cent did not meet basic accessibility standards and so discriminated against the disabled. While the legal definition of what […]
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