EXPERIENCE
'The only true source of knowledge is experience.' Albert Einstein
Gulf Projects
Digital transformation is happening throughout the countries of the Arabian Gulf. Oracle have been at the forefront of that.
A young, forward-looking generation is emerging everywhere – bringing new ways of thinking and the tools to make a real contribution to the worlds of finance, energy, travel and leisure.
It's been a privilege to help research and plan some of the most ambitious projects in the region.
Oracle, Jason, & the Ministry of Justice
Sometimes we need to remind ourselves just how much impact technology can have on people's lives. Improving the efficiency of the criminal justice system is one very real example of that.
Oracle have worked with the MoJ for many years. Here's one story of what that collaboration can achieve.
Global brand experience
I was digital creative director for automotive at Imagination. We designed, built and maintained the global autoshow kit and content. Masses of moving screens and digital touch points, all hooked up to a digital spine leading directly back to Jaguar Land Rover.
National Health
From cradle to grave, a nation's health depends on the efficiency of its public services. They touch everyone's life at some point.
UK central government departments are one of Oracle's most important and longstanding customers. We researched and summarised some of the challenges faced, and the solutions available.
The Happy City
As William Gibson famously observed, 'The Future is already here, it's just not very evenly distributed.' One place it arrived early is Dubai.
For the Oracle show stand at technology festival GITEX we proposed a city with a streamlined civil infrastructure informed by real-time data. That's an ambitious vision.
And if you want to dream big, Lego is the best place to start.
Global Experience Day
Oracle is a big organisation, with offices in 145 countries around the world. Changing direction in a ship of that size requires effort. We organised an international 'Experience Day' of workshops, creativity and competition to introduce more customer-centric ways of working and faster, more innovative patterns of thinking.
Digital Finance
At PublicisSapient I helped the Royal Bank of Scotland gear-up for the new era of digital banking. Their digital studio in London is at the centre of that transformation, and we worked with them to introduce new processes, products and personality.
Fun Finance
Banking may be a serious business, that doesn't mean bankers are serious people. Not all the time, anyway.
We organised Formula Digital – a Remote Control car race around the RBS offices, complete with live 360 video feeds beamed straight to YouTube.
UX & Branding
By the time we got to them, the RBS Group realised they had over 1000 individual digital domains. Many with out-of-date branding and product details. A big clean-up was due.
Over the course of 18 months we decommissioned and consolidated the estate, instituting new ways of working and a consistent and sustainable UX.
Aller faire les courses!
Some hardcore eCommerce UX design now. In French. Publicis Sapient were commissioned by the French grocery giant Carrefour to update their marquee sites.
We spent several months at their headquarters outside Paris, working to align their macro-ambitions with the minutiae of a fresh, modern atomic design.
EXHIBIT
Three decades of delusion
Wood Wall
Interactive surface projection at the Saatchi Gallery, London
2014
An AudioVisual interactive piece commissioned by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Produced by Imagination. Shown at the Saatchi gallery in London, November, 2014. We designed an interactive sound sculpture with a stretchable fabric interface that brought the marquetry mastery of Rolls-Royce to life.
SOLO
The Sound of Your Face
2014
SOLO is a wall-mounted tablet with audio speakers. When the subject looks into the screen their face is scanned and the data used to build their own, unique musical biometric portrait.
SINGING RIBBONS
Augmented Reality interactive audio paintings
2013
Military insignia become music by assigning a musical note to each colour, with the width of ribbon-colour dictating the length of that note. The acclaimed Soprano Susan Parkes sings the scores and the resulting songs are contained within a smartphone app, available from the Apple or Android App Stores.
And you may find yourself...
Three decades of my art
2011
Having realised it's pretty unlikely anyone will ever bring out the Catalogue Raissoné of all my art work I decided to do it myself.
It covers all the stuff I did at school; through University; in London (the penniless freezing years); Los Angeles (the penniless sun drenched years); Provence (the penniless gourmet years) before I jacked it in for a while and got a job.
You can grab a copy here. They should have a few left...
Just throw money
The second volume
2020
I can't deny that I've been consistent, if not exceptional, in my success at carving out a living from the digital revolution. And navigating the swirls and rapids of change, both societal and technical, has given me a seat in the kitchen.
This book reflects on what I've seen and done to earn a crust, as well as the artwork and random projects that happened in parallel.
The Viral City
Hand-blown glass containing teddy bear holograms
York, UK 1997
The day I infected the City of York with a virus certainly generated some press. Even though they were only artfully abandoned shiny objects - containing a hologram of a silver teddy bear with a hand grenade chained around his neck, it still caused a stir. National press, local TV. Funtimes.
GOGOs
The lure of the paint is impossible to resist
2011
God that was a cold winter. Suddenly stricken by a lust to daub, I set up in my unheated garden studio and churned out about a zillion paintings over the course of a few months.
These tiny plastic figurines 'GoGos' were all the rage with my kids for a while. they collected hundreds of them. GoGos are perfect to paint – sculptural, full of character, colourful, simultaneously playful and deeply sinister. The kids were intriqued. Nobody else was, really. Most of them ended up in the bin.
FURNITURE
Up-cycled steel and glass with digital printing
2012
Did I mention that I design furniture as well? Part of the re-branding of mobile marketing agency Sponge in London. Bespoke reception and boardroom furniture.
Art Dog
A novel loosely based on my time working in Hollywood
2009
At the bottom of the Hollywood food chain, Art Dogs dig ditches and lay cables. One day ahead of the crew, two days behind with the news. First in line for lunch, but bottom of the list when the credits role. Stan is driving across America to pick up a movie in South Carolina. But is it just the wind and country radio whispering in his ear as he drives, or has someone else come along for the ride?
Everything fabulous starts with an F
Short stories about being 'Generation F'
2017
Now available as an audio book. Narrated by Jonathan Brenner
The Trophy Wife started a web magazine aimed at women in ‘the flush of life’ – thefclub.uk, and asked me to contribute some thoughts from the male perspective. So I wrote her some stories about my friends, also in their forties and fifties; their lives and loves, and how they feel about women.
They made her laugh which made me happy so I wrote some more.
Flotilla
The Gulf Stream, North Atlantic
1995
144 sealed jars thrown into the Gulf Stream off the coast of Florida. Jars contained 3 wishes for the finder to make: for something Impossible, something Forgotten and something Crazy. Plus a return mailer addressed to me in France - got some interesting responses.
The Viral Cathedral
Art dans les Rue Festival, Aix-en-Provence
1998
I did some great work while I was living down in the south of France. This offensively pink shed had stained glass windows depicting some of mankind's most virulent bacterial enemies. It was a big hit, as you can see.
Migration
Psychogeographic poetry in the Parisian sky
1996
This was a piece of folie. Random points on a map of Paris, a crazed treasure hunt through the winter streets of the city of light. Fun fact: camera work by Hollywood director Rupert Wainwright.
