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. 

In 2016, I wrote an industry inspiring book on in-car HMI design, which achieved tens of thousands of downloads and has directly influenced the in-car HMIs of today. My follow-up title, the first book ever released on UX design for autonomous vehicles, Humanising Autonomy: Where Are We Going? released in 2018, has been praised by the likes Apple and Google among others, and I have since gone on to write many articles and talked at many events on the subject of user–centred design for automotive and mobility, as well as working on products and services with Ford, VW, Transport for London, Jaguar Land Rover and HERE to name a few.

In 2018, I was recognised by BIMA as one of the top 100 influencers in UK digital design and in 2019, I was elected onto the Board of Directors at Wayfindr, an award-winning social tech non-profit, with ambitions to help the world’s 285 million blind people navigate indoor environments independently.

Oh – and I have a collection of over 5,000 toy cars and growing – my new book Micro but Many, which catalogues the history of Micro Machines, released in March 2020. I also have an interest in fitness and travel. I’m scared of spiders. 
 
Why not get in touch via the methods below…
tim@mypoorbrain.com
@mypoorbrain
in/mypoorbrain

Experience

  • 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

Education

  • 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

Talks

Awards

Brain Powered Creative Fun

Some of the great folk I've worked with

Visit My Poor Brainversion 3