My creative practice focuses on designing through empathy, curiosity, and collaboration. Working at the intersection of social science and design, I use diverse research methods such as ethnography, interviews, design-led workshops, visual maps, and speculative artefacts.
It allows me to re-imagine entire systems and individual experiences, and to involve others in this process. Currently I work as part of the NHS Digital Service in Scotland, where I explore how design-led innovation can address complex issues around health and care.
Competent in planning and conducting primary research using qualitative methods such as interviews, ethnography, workshops, co-design, and engagement tools. Knowledge of research ethics. Confident in analysing and synthesising research data.
Good at analysing research data and translating insights into actionable recommendations and design directions for other teams. Experienced in using design to visualise research insights, to engage users, to develop concepts, or to prototype, test, and iterate ideas.
Strategic thinker and reflective design practitioner. Knowledge of and experience in iterative design processes, human-centred design, strategic design, business model innovation, and design-led innovation.
Knowledge of how human beings are shaped by and interact with their social, cultural, digital, and physical environments. Good at using critical thinking and sociological imagination - aware of the relationship between individual experience and wider society.
Good writing, public speaking, and presentation skills. Confident graphic designer working in print, digital, and 3D using Adobe Creative Suite to produce prototypes, exhibitions, visual maps, user journeys and personas, digital prototypes, or service blueprints.
Thrive in multi-disciplinary teams. Experienced facilitator of co-design workshops and participatory design. Confident in working alongside a wide range of stakeholders including people with physical and learning disabilities, people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, experts and senior management.
Since October 2019
Service Designer
at NHS NDS
I am part of a new team within NHS Scotland building valuable tools and infrastructure for clinicians, care workers and citizens. I ensure clinicians and the people they care for are central to how new products and services are made, and lead on understanding how the new national digital platform can be best integrated into care workers' workflows.
Oct 2018 - Sep 2019
Service Designer
at Cohesion Medical
I collaborate with technologists and developers to design clinical software which allows the NHS to better record and manage clinical data. I support the team to take their software solutions live by ensuring they are patient centred and support existing services or patient pathways.
May 2018 - Sep 2019
Research Associate
at The Glasgow School of Art, Digital Health and Care Institute
Working as part of The Glasgow School of Art team, I deliver projects at the Digital Health and Care Institute, and develop a design-led method for collaborative workshops and system visualisations for the NHS Scottish Access Collaborative. I teach and lecture Master students on design ethnography and innovation for health and care.
Apr 2017 - Apr 2018
Innovation Designer
at The Glasgow School of Art, Institute of Design Innovation
I worked with the Experience Lab design team in evaluating their work with a view to informing subsequent projects and creating visual tools for reflection. I conducted interviews and designed creative workshops to involve a variety of stakeholders and users in this evaluation process. I also researched and reviewed similar projects internationally and looked at how Experience Labs might embed new design processes and tools.
Sep 2016 - Jan 2017
Research Assistant
at The Glasgow School of Art, Collaborative Futures
Supporting a multidisciplinary student team, I explored the future of banking through in-depth research into emerging trends and future user behaviours. I designed and user-tested speculative service concepts, and produced actionable recommendations. These tools continue to support the RBS design team to embed user-driven design processes and future forecasting into their work.
Jun 2014 - Jun 2015
Business Designer
at Neat Living
At this housing start-up, my role was to help clarify its business opportunity, to test it against a specific target market, and to rethink the company’s value propositions and business model. I researched competitors and their marketing strategies and identified ways to distinguish and position the company’s product in this market. I also managed student projects at West College and Strathclyde University aimed at involving young people in design.
Jan 2015 - Mar 2015
Design Ethnographer
at We are 360
Working in a multidisciplinary team of designers and researchers at this product and service innovation studio, I carried out a series of primary research activities, synthesized the results, and used these to support the design of new potential user experiences. Based on insights from user research, my team and I mapped a comprehensive service blueprint and identified future opportunities to pilot this in new markets.
Since Jun 2017
Registry Advisor
Cystic Fibrosis Trust
The UK CF Registry is a bank of health information about people with cystic fibrosis. I advise the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in developing a Registry dashboard where people with CF will be able to securely view their own health information and complete questionnaires about wellbeing that can be added to their record.
Sep 2010 - Jun 2011
Residential Carer
Camphill Vallersund Gaard, Norway
I lived in a community shared by disabled and non-disabled people on a small, sleepy peninsula close to Trondheim in Norway, where I learned to weave and to knit, to cook, to cooperate, to love snow, and to pass very long winters.
Sep 2008 - Jun 2009
Residential Carer
CSV London
I provided care and company for someone living with cerebral palsy and epilepsy while sharing her home, countless cups of tea, and - after a little encouragement - an active life and a love for beautiful, buzzing London.
Sep 2015 - Sep 2016
MDes Design Innovation and Citizenship
The Glasgow School of Art | With Distinction
I developed a human-centred design practice that can move analysis towards synthesis and translate research into innovative service proposals. Working with students and researchers from a wide range of backgrounds, I learnt to use collaboration as a driver for this process and to work within an international studio culture.
Sep 2011 - Jun 2014
MA Anthropology and Sociology
The University of Glasgow | First Class
I gained theoretical knowledge and practical experience of designing and conducting ethical research projects using ethnography, interviews, and focus groups. I collected and analysed quantitative and qualitative research data, critically evaluated it, and compared it to wider literature. Moreover, I developed critical thinking and a sociological imagination of relating individual biographies to a larger picture of culture, contexts, and systems.
