With over 20 years experience, fundamentally, I believe great design stems from truly understanding the people you are designing for. Ultimately I design because I want to help make people’s lives better.
From Product Design to Interaction Design
My role as a Designer is evolving and I am now moving into an exciting new space of Interaction Design, so that I can continue to play my part in shaping society into the future and ultimately helping to make people’s lives better. I am making this transition from being a designer of physical products (manufactured goods) to becoming a designer of software or service related products to help to expand my design career with new challenges for the future.
Much has changed in the fabric of society since I set out on my career path as a Product (Industrial) Designer over two decades ago. Climate and environmental issues are making society rethink the complete cycle of goods and services. Mass consumption and ownership of disposable goods are being replaced with new forms of sharing, using or re-using. Experiences are replacing having stuff. Smartphones, robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence are utterly transforming how we work, live and communicate. Technology continues to rapidly shape many aspects of people's daily lives. Voice recognition, virtual reality and many other technologies will potentially dramatically change how we interact with our environment and each other into the future.
Working as a professional designer over many years, the one fundamental centre-point of every project I have undertaken has always been to place myself in the position of the end user or consumer of the product or service that I was creating. Fundamentally, I believe great design stems from truly understanding the people you are designing for. I believe that my experience to date has given me many useful transferable skills and insights that are now essential as an Interaction Designer. These skills especially relate to in-depth understanding of human behavior, problem solving complex human issues, developing innovative new concept ideas that people will buy into and also having real life experience of working with diverse groups of people across many different cultural, social and age related backgrounds.
Hockey arm prosthesis
Award winning La Cuisine Cookware
Ireland's largest crystal chandelier
Waterford Stanley Reginald Stove
John Rocha at Waterford Crystal Lighting
Marcus Notley QVC Homeware Collection (USA)
Nualight centrepiece for EuroShop international trade fair
Awards /Achievements
• Winner at the UK Decorative Lighting Awards - UK Lighting and Furniture Showcase - NEC Birmingham, for new ‘John Rocha at Waterford Crystal’ Lighting Collection.
• ‘Best New Kitchen Product Winner’ at Irish launch of new ‘La Cuisine’ cast-iron cookware range, RDS, Ireland.
• Winner at the Showcase Ireland / Crafts Council of Ireland Awards - ‘Best Group Stand & Product Display’ Award Category, for Waterford County Enterprise Board exhibition stand design.
• National Enterprise Awards - Waterford City Finalist for 'MARCUS NOTLEY - Product Designers & Innovators' business.
• Corporate Social Responsibility Award for voluntary assistance to ‘Schools National Enterprise Awards’, Waterford region.
• Represented Ireland on behalf of the ‘National Museum of Ireland’ at the European Glass Context event in Bornholm, Denmark in Product (Industrial) Designs category. (‘Oscars’ equivalent for the glass & crystal design industry).
• Coordinator of $1 million American Glass Artist Project to catalog, photograph and deliver product to exhibition launch in Chicago for Art Glass collectors in US.
• ‘Designed in Ireland’ and ‘A Vision for Our Future’ event organizer for Ireland’s national ‘Design Week’, Waterford city; events included public design exhibitions, film screenings, guest speakers and ‘Creative City’ seminars.
• NCAD 250th Anniversary / Smurfit ‘Design for Innovation’ exhibition designer and coordinator.
• 3 year External Examiner appointment for BA (Hons) in Industrial Design degree program, IT Sligo.
• Judging Panel member for 'New Generation National Design Challenge', all-Ireland crystal competition.