Chapter One - Belgium

The Graphicdesignosaurus.
Graduated in 1992 with a BA in Graphic Design. Old school; before computers ruled the world. The desktop revolution was about to happen. And just as today AI is sending shivers down our design purist spines, so too did the notion that craft can be produced through mouse-clicks. After a 6-month internship at a catalogue reseller (3Suisses), daily spray glue layout pages and hand sketched photo compositions, I no longer had an immediate use of the craft I acquired in my studies. Reality checks hard that way.

My Leap

MacLine 1995-2000. Art Director & Sales Director.
Proving that hindsight is always 20-20; MacLine was an authorized Apple Reseller based in Brussels Belgium. Selling hard and software to the graphic industry via mail order model. My role was to develop the monthly sales catalogue and provide guidance, support and service to our customers. Unbeknown to me, I was doing customer-centric marketing and making design decisions based on customer feedback.
The founders of this company co-founded a new service offer; Belgium's first internet provider, named Skynet. This put us a year of two ahead of anyone else in the country. By the end of 1996 we had designed one of Belgium's first fully integrated e-commerce websites.

Chapter Two - Asia

Go East, young man.
The experience gained at MacLine brought with it the opportunity to relocate to Shanghai PRC, where product marketing and brand communication specialists with online experience was in demand.

EURO RSCG Shanghai 2000-01. Creative Director.

TribalDDB Hong Kong 2001-02. Regional Creative Director

SMSL Hong Kong 2002-03. Creative Director

SGTH Design Shanghai 2003-10. Founder Principal

GigaBase Shanghai 2007-13. Co-Founder, Director of Research

Key Results

2000 - Multi-award winning Digital Brand Language for Platinum Guild International

2002 - Award winning online marketing campaign for HSBC Investment banking

2005 - Cover and Case Study Publication of "Tertiary Places" - featuring Arch Shanghai

2006 - Publication featuring aFuturePerfect (aFP) brand and interior design in "Behind Bars"

2007 - Design For Asia Award - "Best Retail Design" JustGrapes Shanghai

2007 - Co-founded Giga, one of China's first non-profit eco consultancies, and member of Bill Clinton's Global Initiative.

2009, 2010, 2011 - “Best Boutique Hotel” - URBN Hotel Shanghai

2010 - "Good Design Award for innovation" - URBN Hotel Shanghai

2011 - Design For Asia Award - "Best Brand Experience" Jian Ye Li Shanghai

2012 - Named one of 50 Design Innovation Pioneers by CBN Weekly China