Chris is Director of Intelligent Design Associates Limited, a strategic interdisciplinary 3D design studio focused on the commercial ethical-technical design space.
Chris completed his degree in WMPC (wood, metal, plastics and ceramics) at Brighton in 1988, before taking an MA in Furniture Design and Technology at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University in 1991.
In 1992 he exhibited new work with the UK’s British European Design Group at Designlabor – a hybrid postgraduate education and consultancy organisation in Germany. Following the exhibition, he was invited to return as a visiting postgraduate lecturer and to lead development on their social design projects, such as Weserbus, a high-speed, public river transport system.
In 1995 he returned to the UK to take up a case-funded PhD at Cranfield University. This research examined the domain of ‘smart’ materials, user psychology and design process via novel morphing product control surfaces. During the course of his research he also led a series of commercial technical design projects in the area of smart products for leading consumer electronics and consumer health companies.
In 2000, on completion of his doctorate at Cranfield, Chris joined the soon-to-be privatised Research & Development organisation QinetiQ (Formerly DERA) to develop and lead the commercial/technical design offering. During his ten years at QinetiQ, Chris developed a vibrant commercial research/design group. The work of the group spanned strategic insight/foresight for brands such as Diageo and numerous integrated technology/design programmes. These included adaptive camouflage, intelligent sports equipment device design, covert security and logistical renewable energy systems for leading brand owners in sports equipment, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), consumer electronics, packaging and design for the retail sectors.
Chris has written, presented and published widely in areas including sustainability, innovation practice, the future of furniture, crowd sourcing, smart products and systems and packaging.
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In 2011, Chris started his own practice Intelligent Design Associates to allow him to focus on developing an interdisciplinary design business underpinned by sustainability and future technology. The group includes a diverse network of scientific and design expertise and works in areas such as future domestic energy systems, consumer electronics and novel interfaces, food and packaging innovation and education.
In addition to commercially funded research, Chris also led a range of UK and EU-funded projects including; a two-year European multi partner FP7 programme to develop an intelligent hospital bed called ‘EPOSBED’, and a semantic web-futures study for the UK NHS National Innovation Centre.