About me

From Game Designer to Experience Director. It's not a journey many have made, but it's a journey that's made me into someone who can take almost any creative or technical brief and lead a team to success. I create products and services that people love, be it an Xbox fitness training game for Nike, or a go-to-market strategy for Volvo's new on-demand car service.

When I left university with a degree in Artificial Intelligence & Psychology, I jumped into making videogames, building Artificial Life sandboxes. I created some of the first Augmented Reality games for Sony's EyeToy and again for Microsoft on Kinect. I led the UX, created the game mechanics and owned the project visions. 10 years taught me that the core of digital is in presenting both information and actions. Information to enable users to make a decision - and the clear, simple actions they can take based on that. In UX, our purpose is to enable users to get things done easily, with the knowledge to do it confidently.

I widened my horizons by joining digital agency AKQA in 2010, where I spent 8 years. For the last 18 months I've been Experience Director at Huge London. In these roles I have deepened my UX craft, by creating cohesive ecosystems of products, services and experiences, that span web, mobile and physical spaces. It's here that I learned how critically important it is to obsess over the strategic and creative wrapper which frames the information and actions.

The big idea is the heart, and it keeps you focussed. It is the destination for the product, and the guard rails that keep you on the track as you work to reach it. It's a vision for how the user can achieve the things they care about, but set in a tone that only this brand can use. When you nail it, it's a powerful light that guides every decision: which user journey to prioritise, whether to build that achingly cool feature and even how to write the copy for a secondary CTA.

I enjoy passing on my knowledge and experience as a leader and mentor. There is no greater feeling of satisfaction than the joy of seeing mentees excel. I am passionate about bringing out the best in everyone around me, on all teams and from all disciplines - because the best work is only possible when the minds from many specialisms come together. I'm happiest when I'm learning new things, through working with other inspirational, collaborative leaders, who also put the quality of work first.

I recommend exploring my portfolio at gonshaw DOT net

Skills

Agile Development, Analysis, Brain storming, Branding, Digital Strategy, Game Design, Interactive Design, Interface Design, Research & Development, Usability, UX/UI, Wireframes

Sector Experience

Audio / Visual, Automotive, Banking, CGI / 3D, Computer Games, E-Commerce, FMCG, Mobile, Retail, Social Network / Community, Sports, UI / UX

Awards

BAFTA, BIMAs - Award win, Cannes Lions - Gold, Clios - Silver, Creative Review Annual - Best in book, Design Week Award - Category win, Eurobest Award Shortlist, Golden Drum Award - Gold, LIA Award - Gold, Lovie Award - Gold, New York Ad Festival - First Prize, Webby Award

Clients

Barclays, Hublot, Microsoft, Nike, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Volvo