Design as a first principle.

I've been enjoying my motorbike a lot recently. My 2020 Royal Enfield Himalayan is a genuine thumper of a single-cylinder: small capacity, simple, relaxed, go-anywhere, two-wheeling. My riding practice is paying off too, as skills feel sharper; meanwhile this cheap, Indian/British, classic bikecycle continues to do everything brilliantly for me. Everything except speed, that is.

That's probably just as well. My professional journey has been nothing but full-throttle-pace for the last 18 months. Sometimes it's felt like driving head-long into a brick wall! Anticipation.... impact....pain. Recovery. Assessing damage. Healing. Jumping back on...

So too, our broader 'media technology' sector - crazy pace: Apple's XR Mixed Reality HMD and 'spatial' OS - after a decade of rumours - generative content creation, real-time environment tools, now ubiquitous. Machine-learning powered pipelines for content creators and distributors. Web3; blockchain-enabled ups-and-downs.

So all has me going right back to 'first principles.'

For me, it's always been about a human-centred approach:

How do we put 'real' human representation into virtual and spatial worlds? How do we put the very essence of our species - that almost biological need to tell stories, to emote, to fall in love with someone or something - at the heart of our digital realities?

I believe this human-centric approach demands that narrative building makes DESIGN THE PRIORITY.

It demands experience-first thinking; it requires the active to trump the passive; the interactive and the immersive to be placed up-front.

I've been lucky in my career to work with some top UI, UX and CX Designers, but none more so than the people that have welcomed me at Designteam's HQ in Sydney this week.

Their work is exceptional. Across physical and digital experiences; for brand, business and consumers.

It's no trade secret to tell you that their thinking starts (and ends) with Design. From pitch to brief to delivery. Their ideation, strategy and relationships are grounded in a human-centric approach. It's how they solve problems. It's how they create.

So I'm aligned - and I'm excited be here, helping them connect some dots. Technology, Creative, Commerce. Design-led.

I want to thank Dominic Le Roy for his vision, and his welcome....

...and for showing me where to park the Royal Enfield.

www.designteam.com.au

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*I am taking on a rare speaking spot at Futures Conference on the 10th and 11th July at Sydney's ICC. www.futuresconference.com.au I've got 10 minutes on "Hardware, Software, Bodies and Brains." Lock the doors.*