Owen Thomas

Owen Thomas

Product and service designerUnited Kingdom
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Owen Thomas

Owen Thomas

Product and service designerUnited Kingdom
About me
I used to work in the physical space. Now I work in the digital space. I'm interested in how digital and physical spaces work together. Strategy + brand + design for clients like V&A, ITV, Skype, Technology Will Save Us and RWE I hail from Winnipeg, Canada, where I studied communication design and began my career at a studio called the FaQtory. The building was in an industrial area near a mushroom plant and often smelled of manure. I left my job and country behind to dive into the world of digital, exploring concepts of information processing and digital identity through contemporary art and design at Leeds Met. I wrote a lot about the evolution of the web and produced a series of sculptures that represent our relationship with websites. London was calling and I continued down the art/design path at a startup called Sedition, an e-commerce platform selling limited edition art for screens. I now work for Made by Many, designing products and services that address genuine user needs. The work is incredibly rewarding. In an industry that evolves so rapidly, it makes little sense to stand still. I have an insatiable appetite for learning and have pivoted often over the last ten years. When I'm not working with clients, I'm doing my own side projects and experiments.
Projects
  • ITV News App
    ITV News AppITV came to Made by Many with an interest in developing an app for their digital news service. We did a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether an app was a practical use of their budget, followed by a recommendation for an HTML-based solution that allowed us to develop iOS and Android apps simultaneously over a subsequent eight week period. In the ten months since launch, the ITV News app has 320k downloads, 25 million screen views and 95% returning visitors. It also won best app at the 2015 Online Media Awards.
  • Sedition Art
    Sedition ArtSedition is the world's first platform devoted to collecting and displaying art exclusively on screens and devices. I worked as lead designer on seditionart.com and associated apps for iOS, Android, Samsung SmartTV, along with marketing and promotional materials.
  • Hackaball
    HackaballHackaball is a programmable computer you can throw. When I first became involved, the product was in beta with a functioning prototype and app. Designer Alex Harding and I were tasked with preparing Hackaball for public launch, which meant developing the brand and refining the product experience. This involved three key stages: conducting market research to determine Hackaball's target audience and brand positioning; strengthening the brand to offer maximum appeal to the target audience; and refining both the product and app experiences to help realize the product's full potential.
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Work history
    Made by Many logo
    Made by Many logo
    Senior DesignerMade by Many
     - 
    Strategy and design for digital products and services. Workshopping, interviewing, brainstorming, prototyping, testing, learning, iterating, releasing, repeat. Clients include Skype, ITV News, Hackaball, Technology Will Save Us and the V&A.
    Lead Designer
     - 
    Art Director, UX and UI Designer at Sedition, the world's first platform devoted to showcasing and selling art exclusively for screens. Design lead on www.seditionart.com and associated apps for iOS, Android, Samsung SmartTV, along with marketing and promotional materials.
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Skills
  • Packaging
  • Branding
  • Environmental Design
  • Art Direction
  • Copywriting
  • Multi-platform
  • Typography
  • Blogging
  • Strategic Planning
  • Proofreading
  • Creative Direction
  • Client Management
  • UX Design
  • UI Design
Education
    Art Design Distinction
     - 
    Graphic Design
     - 
Awards
    Lovie Award
    Webby Award
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