What led you into design?

My older brother was always into technology and taught himself to code when he was young. So I think he got me interested in computers at a young age. When I was around 12 or 13, I got really into Flash and started making animations and imaginary websites. I made-up a company I called Zoom Active and developed an elaborate Flash website for it, which involved a UFO flying through a house and exploding to reveal the ‘client portfolio.

Even though I was making pretend agency websites and user interfaces, it somehow never clicked that this could be a profession for me, I was just doing that stuff for fun. I took a career guidance quiz at school, and it suggested I be a ‘van driver’.

Other than the quiz, I didn’t have access to much career guidance; studying seemed so abstract and I didn’t really make a connection between class and a future job at all. I ended up dropping out of school and working full-time in a pub—and not a quaint one; it was part of a chain; the type where the burgers are microwaved and no one tips. After a long shift, I’d go home and make music with friends, and that kept me going.

What led you into design?

My older brother was always into technology and taught himself to code when he was young. So I think he got me interested in computers at a young age. When I was around 12 or 13, I got really into Flash and started making animations and imaginary websites. I made-up a company I called Zoom Active and developed an elaborate Flash website for it, which involved a UFO flying through a house and exploding to reveal the ‘client portfolio.

Even though I was making pretend agency websites and user interfaces, it somehow never clicked that this could be a profession for me, I was just doing that stuff for fun. I took a career guidance quiz at school, and it suggested I be a ‘van driver’.

Other than the quiz, I didn’t have access to much career guidance; studying seemed so abstract and I didn’t really make a connection between class and a future job at all. I ended up dropping out of school and working full-time in a pub—and not a quaint one; it was part of a chain; the type where the burgers are microwaved and no one tips. After a long shift, I’d go home and make music with friends, and that kept me going.