About Design Modelling

 

I grew up in Cumbria, England. It’s a beautiful place, but as anyone who’s ever grown up ‘in the sticks’ knows – you have to amuse yourself. When not outdoors making dens and tree-houses, Junk Modelling was a common pastime for my friends and I…

 

Much of the inspiration came from solving a problem or making something with a function – and this is still what motivates me in my professional work. I guess everyone works to their strengths in one way or another, and although my sketching is pretty lousy, I usually try to explain my ideas physically with quick models.

 

Being a poor draughtsman, I really admire what Spencer Nugent has done with Sketch-A-Day.com for beginners and professionals alike, in sharing how he creates his sketches. It really allows people to see the subtlety of how he ‘approaches’ the drawing. Often you pick up things he probably does instinctively – and you might miss it if he had to explain it. I felt inspired to do the same with modelling, so floated the idea at IDEO’s Make-A-Thon, where it got an enthusiastic reception. This website is still very much work in progress, so please let me know what bits work and what doesn’t. Thanks and Happy Modelling!

About me
  • 2009-Now: Currently working as a Design Engineer at Dyson, UK, on ‘New Product Ideas’. Took the job as a result of my final year project with the NHS, winning a few awards along the way, but also realising that I needed to ‘cut my teeth’ in industry for a while.
  • 2005-2009: Realised I should study a more creative subject - Product Design Engineering in Glasgow. This excellent course allowed me to work and study in Hong Kong, Norway, California, Costa Rica, Cuba. A great course!
  • 2004-2005: After graduating, I worked in a metal-pressing factory, butchers, statistical office, and a horticultural specialists – all in one year. I was a bit ‘lost’ to say the least.
  • 2001-2004: Studied Chemistry in Newcastle, but didn’t enjoy the career prospects. Spent more time hanging out with the resident glass-blower or teaching myself pottery when not in lectures.
  • 1994-2001: Ullswater Community College, Cumbria. Pretty average results academically speaking, but had some potential in Art Textiles, D&T and Science, the latter being heavily advised by my careers advisor as ‘the only sensible option’. It sounds silly in retrospect, but I couldn’t think of anyone who had a career in ‘making stuff’, so it took me a few years to get back to what was my real passion in life.