Brand Designer • Creative Director • Design Technologist
Hereford, UK • 07794 959 775 • rob@designbysoap.co.uk • designbysoap.com
Creative Director and Brand Designer with 15+ years building high-performance visual systems for global technology leaders — Google, Microsoft, IBM, PayPal, the BBC — and early-stage startups. Founder of the UK's first specialist information design agency.
Specialist in information design and scalable brand systems, with a deep technical focus on AI-assisted development (React/TypeScript). A proven track record of leading multi-disciplinary teams and shipping technical products at speed — including a concept-to-MVP software build in two weeks.
0–1 identity creation and global-scale design systems spanning product, marketing, editorial and interactive contexts.
Technically literate in React, TypeScript and AI-native workflows — directing builds from concept to production.
Leading internal teams and embedded agency units for Fortune 500 partners, combining strategy with hands-on execution.
Expert-level data visualisation and complex visual storytelling.
Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, React, TypeScript, Vite, n8n, OpenAI API, Cloudflare Pages
Director & Co-Founder
Hereford & Brighton | 2010 – Present
–Scaled the UK's first specialist information design agency, leading a multi-disciplinary team of ten (UI/UX, motion and design) to deliver work for Google, Microsoft, IBM, the BBC and the Bank of England.
–Reduced brand-application friction for Fortune 500 partners by running an embedded design unit — maintaining 100% visual consistency across dozens of international product launches and global integrated campaigns.
–Led 0–1 brand identity creation for high-growth startups, building living brand systems and automation frameworks that let client teams scale independently.
–Directed work across web experiences, product interfaces, motion and data-led storytelling.
Co-Founder, brand-management SaaS
2024 – Present
–Accelerated product-to-market speed by 10x — moving from concept to a working React/TypeScript MVP in two weeks by pioneering an AI-assisted engineering and design workflow.
–Directed product definition and visual design for a bootstrapped brand-management platform, overseeing technical specifications and implementation reviews.
Lighting Designer
Surrey | 2008 – 2010
Delivered lighting schemes for major international architectural projects including Zaha Hadid's Opus building, Dubai, and the Gatwick Airport North Terminal expansion. Produced visualisations, technical drawings and photographic documentation.
Brighton | 2007 – 2009
Freelance live music and artist photographer for bands and magazines around Brighton and the south coast.
HarperCollins and international publishers
Author of an internationally published book using data-led storytelling to explore The Beatles' story and cultural impact.
Bournemouth University | 2004 – 2007
Hereford Cathedral School