About (Academic)
See a non-academic version here
I am a creative technologist building digital and physical products, and always busy with user experience design, software and hardware. In my current academic position I specialise in a Research Through Design methodology. Using novel technologies and bespoke designs, I develop interactive research products and deploy them in-the-wild. Learning from these experienceable products allows the exploration of alternative futures. In particular, my interests lay in interaction with distributed data in everyday environments that support or relieve human cognition, in enjoyable, playful and less-utilitarian ways. In my current research, as a Doctoral Trainee, I deploy alternative approaches to explore data as a resource for family life. This contributes to the search to find family-inclusive ways to use, manage and enjoy data amongst the family at home, including children and elderly of all ages.
Parallel to this work, I experiment with designing software, hardware and product design, and enjoy woodworking, being outdoors and boardgames.
Contact me on Github, LinkedIn, or Email.
Resume (Academic)
Doctoral researcher on novel family-focused interfaces for internet-connected services. I started at Northumbria (2017) and transferred with the job to Newcastle (2019).
- Designed and developed a physical data visualisations IoT toolkit (Domestic Widgets).
- Iteratively developed a natural language processing interface, embedded hardware and bespoke web services for data management and access.
- Created a Google Sheets extension (Phone Grown) for ambient information displays in conjunction with IFTTT.com.
- Designed an accompanying Google Sheet template and written tutorial supporting a do-it-yourself, scalable and open-source dissemination of this tool.
- Through the in-situ deployment of these tools, observation and interviews I qualitatively study how domestic connected devices can be better designed with families in mind, and for which potential shared purposes.
Coaching MSc Dissertations and teaching in MSc courses such as:
- Advanced Programming,
- Information Systems (Interaction Design and Databases),
- Programming and Data Structures,
- Object-Oriented Programming (BSc course at Northumbria University).
Developed various motion graphics (animations) for clients such as Smart-Homes.nl, Eindhoven University of Technology (SkillsLab, School of Education) and Media Markt NL.
- Advising role within the Department Board (weekly meetings) as a student representative.
- Departmental policy and website support, and speaker for study orientation evenings.
- Coaching secondary school pupils in their design and innovation projects.
- Developed extra-curricular STEM courses (e.g. electronics, programming) for, and managed relations with, pre-university schools.
- Delivered, and recruited other university students to deliver, these courses at pre-university schools throughout the region. Pupil ages ranged from 12 - 17.
- Programming languages such as HTML, (S)CSS, JavaScript & Node.js, Java (inc. for Android and Android Wear), C++ (hardware), Python, SQL and currently following courses on Vue.js, React.js and Docker.
- Cloud Computing using the Google Cloud Platform (GCP), including RESTful APIs, utilising (no)SQL database and ensuring data security.
- Sound understanding of data structures (e.g. OOP), experienced in source and version control (Git), understanding of (unit)testing and version control, familiar with containerisation (Docker), and comfortable in shell script and various IDEs.
- UI/UX design, originating from illustrations and motion graphics. Comfortably navigates the Adobe Suite, including Adobe XD, Illustrator and Photoshop. Applied UX design skills through development of various visual (screen based), audible (voice assistant) and physical (gestural) interfaces.
- Product development, shaping form through paper prototyping, cardboard modelling, 3D printing and woordworking. Creating function through off-the-shelf electronics (Arduino/Raspberry PI) and bespoke hardware (circuit design).
Literature and user research for qualitative, quantitative and data analysis. Experienced in tools such as SPSS, NVivo, and utilising Python scripts (D3.js, pandas, plotly) for data analysis.
A Google App Script (.js) based UI, embedded in a Google Sheets template, utilizes pre-built IFTTT.com triggers which send visualisations to a website aimed at legacy mobile phone browsers.
Natural language processing allows voice-based configuration and control of embedded hardware within ‘Widgets’, who listen and physicalise instructions stored in the database.
Utilizing native Android watch sensing capabilities, correlations with moving ‘buttons’ in prototype UIs (Java) are computed to establish touchless interaction.
Thesis on Family-focused design for data-driven products. Initially at Northumbria University (10/17 - 07/19)
Graduated with a 9 (out of 10).
Specialised in supportive technologies for education.
Received a formal teaching qualification for physics for secondary education in the Netherlands
Full-time representation of Industrial Design students in multiple bodies throughout the University.
An academic workshop on the sustainable and life ‘after death’ for the increasing number of IoT devices
An academic workshop on self-powered sustainable interfaces and interactions
Presented my research on Domestic Widgets (in 2019) and on WaveTrace (in 2018) as closing plenary for the BSc Interaction Design
5-day academic workshop on the future of smart domestic objects to help frame future work in interaction design
9-day product design workshop on future BENQ products
Received as part of my acceptance to CHI 2019 Doctoral Consortium
Used to host my research at the UK Maker Faire 2018 in Newcastle
Used to translate the WaveTrace research project into a consumer product prototype
Used for travel and accommodation for ISS 2017