Hello. I’m Tim, a London based designer and writer.
I’m also Global Auto & Mobility Director at ustwo.
1983 – 2009
At the age of four, I obsessively scribbled a space themed logo found on my Lego astronaut minifig over and over again, trying to perfect it. When I started school I experimented with all sorts of creative outlets, drawing covers for school brochures, entering colouring-in competitions and winning my fair share of gold stars. At the age of seven I would draw one comic strip, starring a dog called Oscar, every day… this persisted till I was 11. But traditional sketching, drawing, painting, mosaic making, model making and the like became a bit usual, I wanted to play with a completely new medium, and I wanted to use my brain… Tim aged nine, meet MS Paint. MS Paint allowed me to waste my precious childhood, painstakingly creating elaborate images, pixel by pixel.
At 14, I designed and built my first website. Never content with one medium, I would also dabble in technical and architectural drawing, designing ergonomic computer desks and crazy stupid buildings. Inevitably, I went on to study Graphic Design at university, which allowed me the creative freedom I wanted while doing what I enjoyed most – using my brain to come up with great concepts and solve challenges in a multitude of ways.
In 2005, aged 22, I moved to London to begin a career as a graphic and user experience designer. Before turning my attention to the challenges of the automotive and mobility world, I specialised in designing for “human–to–whatever” interaction, as I call it. Starting my career designing weird and wonderful interactive packaging for the likes of PlayStation, I quickly moved on to digital design, where I furthered my interest in Human–Machine Interaction (HMI) working on everything from in-car HMIs to Science Museum gestural interactives and Tate Modern digital art installations to Samsung smartphones, smart TVs and smart fridges.
2010 – 2020
More recently, my focus has been on studying, exploring and designing for human behaviour in how people move through physical spaces, whether by car, by public transport or by foot. This includes mobility in and around the car, autonomous vehicles, transportation services, consumer airline experiences and even pedestrian mobility access. In 2015 I founded and grew ustwo Auto – the Auto & Mobility department of digital product studio ustwo, which quickly became one third of the ustwo business.
Wayfindr: Member Board of Directors, 2019 – present
ustwo: Global Auto & Mobility Director, 2018 – present
ustwo: Auto Design Principal, 2016 – 2018
ustwo: Design Specialist, 2013 – 2016
AllofUs: Lead designer, 2012 – 2013
Valve: Freelance designer, 2012
GR/DD: Junior – Senior designer, 2006 – 2012
Springetts: Internship, 2005
View Creative: Internship, 2004
BA (Hons) degree in Graphic Design & Professional Media at the University of Gloucestershire, 2002 – 2005, high 2:1
Lots of good GCSE’s and a couple of also good A Levels at Prestatyn High School, 1995 – 2002
Primary school stuff and Micro Machine trading at Trelawnyd Vicarage Primary School, 1987 – 1995
MOVE 2020, London, UK: User centred design: Shaping the way people and businesses move, February 2020
Web Summit, Lisbon, Portugal: Let’s Play: Gaming in the Auto Industry, November 2019
Smart Transportation & Mobility, London, UK: Winning Hearts and Minds, April 2019
Startup Autobahn Expo Day, Stuttgart, Germany: A user-centred design approach to driverless cars, February 2019
Experience Haus, London, UK: A conversation about design, December 2018
Financial Times Future of the Car Summit, Detroit, USA: Panel: Revolutionizing transport with connected and autonomous vehicles, November 2018
BMW Moving Minds, Lisbon, Portugal: Moving Minds: Tim Smith, November 2018
Web Summit, Lisbon, Portugal: Panel: Don’t look now – What cars will mean to us 20 years down the road, November 2018
Jaguar Land Rover Global Customer Insights Summit, Warwick, UK: Design for Everyone, October 2018
ustwo THINKS, Malmö, Sweden: The Future of Mobility in Sweden, October 2018
IxDA, London, UK: Mobility and the human/machine interlace, July 2018
Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain: Reimagining connected transport, February 2018
Web Summit, Lisbon, Portugal: A user–centred design approach to driverless cars, November 2017
Experience Haus, London, UK: A conversation about design, November 2017
World Usability Day, Guimarães, Portugal: A user–centred design approach to driverless cars, November 2017
ustwo THINKS, Sydney, Australia: Humanising innovation, September 2017
University College London, London, UK: Human Computer Interaction masters mentoring, Summer 2017
Autonomous Vehicle Technology World Expo, Stuttgart, Germany: Autonomy for people, June 2017
London Tech Week / TechXLR8, London, UK: But cars were supposed to be driven?, June 2017
PRODDUCT, London, UK: Reimagining in-car HMI, February 2017
ustwo THINKS, New York, USA: Mobility, November 2016
ustwo THINKS, London, UK: Mobility – Are we on the right track?, November 2016
Automotive Interiors Expo, Stuttgart, Germany: Design for the contextually aware car, June 2016
University College London, London, UK: Human Computer Interaction masters mentoring, Summer 2016
IxDA, London, UK: Design for the in-car context, January 2016
University of Washington, Seattle, USA: Human Computer Interaction + Design masters mentoring, Summer 2015
BBC Cymru, Cardiff, UK: ‘Design for digital’ to BBC Digital, May 2015
Apple, Cupertino, USA: ‘In car design’ to Jony Ive and his team, July 2014
Google, Cupertino, USA: ‘In car design’ to Android Auto, June 2014
Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK: Interaction design lecture and mentoring, Spring 2013
Frēsh, 2019: Carbon Award (Editorial Design) for Micro but Many
The Webby Awards, 2019: Honoree (Weird category) for Micro but Many
The Lovie Awards, 2018: Bronze Winner (Weird & Experimental category) for Micro but Many
Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards, 2018: Finalist (Experimental category) for The Future Of External Vehicular Sound
BIMA 100, 2018: Top 100 UK Design Influencer, Design Star
Frēsh, 2018: Carbon Award (Product & Industrial category) for Humanising Autonomy
Frēsh, 2018: Carbon Award (Information & UI category) for Humanising Autonomy
Awwwards, 2017: Honorable Mention for Micro but Many
Awwwards, 2016: Honorable Mention for My Poor Brain
Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards, 2015: Finalist (Data Visualisation category) for Cluster Fuck
Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards, 2015: Finalist (Experimental category) for Cluster Fuck
Awwwards, 2013: Honorable Mention for My Poor Brain
CSS Awards, 2013: Featured for My Poor Brain
The Webby Awards, 2012: Official Honoree for Drench
Best of the Web Awards, 2012: Nominated for Drench
The Webby Awards, 2011: Official Honoree for Carbon Cycle
The Webby Awards, 2011: Nominated for Time Explorer
Museums & Heritage Awards, 2011: Nominated for Carbon Cycle
Museums & Heritage Awards, 2011: Nominated for Time Explorer
Best of the Web Awards, 2011: Nominated for Time Explorer
Design Week Awards, 2011: Shorlisted for Time Explorer
GD USA, 2010: Winner for EyePet PlayStation Kit
The FWA, 2010: Site of the Day for Time Explorer
The Webby Awards, 2009: Winner for Tate Kids
The Webby Awards, 2008: Nominated for CenterPlan
Design Week Awards, 2008: Shorlisted for CenterPlan
YCN Student Awards, 2005: Commended for Benjys
YCN Student Awards, 2005: Commended for MB Games MannersMob
Brain Powered Creative Fun