Our studio

We are a multidisciplinary design studio. We design, prototype and build tomorrow’s products and experiences for the world’s most forward-thinking organisations.

Our diverse team of strategists, engineers, coders and designers combine creativity with critical thinking to solve challenging problems. It is this unique combination of skills that allows us to deliver an award-winning portfolio of work across products, experiences, interfaces, games and installations.

The studio was founded by Rich Gilbert, Adam Paterson and Matthew Emery-Laws. Having witnessed the unhappy endingof products, we created the company around the concept of human agency. We wanted to demonstrate that the agency of design was about the potential of design to create positive change in the world.

It is this ethos that has lead us to work with an amazing range of clients, from neuroscience departments to cleantech startups and digital multinationals.

Our Approach

Research

Research is the foundation of our process; it provides the insight and inspiration to fuel our creativity. We always push for primary research that can take us out of our comfort zone - anything from touring landfills to tiling bathrooms. Combining this with our broad technical experience and willingness to learn allows us to work in diverse spaces, from the science of multiple sclerosis to engineering new hydrogen fuel cells.

Prototyping

Prototyping is where ideas come to life. Whether it’s hot melt glue, a soldering iron or Javascript, we use whatever it takes to build our ideas. Experience has shown us that these mockups, no matter how basic, can define the success of a project, as they allow us to test and interrogate our ideas in the real world.

Delivery

This is the culmination of a project. Only meticulous refinement and astute attention to detail can translate good ideas into exceptional products. It is this honing of output that has helped our clients to secure millions of pounds of investment, lead markets and disrupt industries.

Selected Clients

  • Altitude Medical
  • Arcola Energy
  • B&Q
  • Barclaycard
  • Barts and The London
  • Coca Cola
  • DECC
  • eBay
  • Ellen MacArthur Foundation
  • Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies
  • HP
  • Innovate UK
  • Kingfisher
  • Knowledge Transfer Network
  • Liberty Syndicates
  • London Transport Museum
  • More 4
  • Nationwide
  • Nespresso
  • Samsung
  • The Great Recovery

Testimonials

  • Kit Kim

    Managing Director, Samsung US Product Innovation Team

    "I have been privileged to work with The Agency of Design. As a big company, we have worked and collaborated with many other agencies, but I can certainly put them as one of our best partners. Simply put, they are nimble, fast and courageous to challenge us and themselves to get the best outcome.

    Their technical and creative talents are truly unlimited. They are a great partner and creative thinker, producing out-of-the-box thinking and traditional approaches. The end project is extremely polished and professional. I highly recommend The Agency of Design to anyone looking to take their business and product challenge to the next level."

  • Gavin Giovannoni

    Professor of Neurology, Barts and The London

    "Adding value underestimates what The Agency of Design bring to the table. Their motivation to understand a brief, see the big picture and to literally live and breath the problem makes them exceptional. Their ability to redefine the problem both from a technical and design perspective makes you want to live in their world. I wouldn't want to work with anyone else!"

  • David Mackay

    Former Chief Scientific Advisor, Department of Energy and Climate Change

    "Thought provoking, numerate, innovative design."

  • Dr Jacob McKnight

    CTO, Altitude Medical

    "Working with AoD is the best bit of my job. They've taken ill-formed, poorly presented ideas of mine and turned them into award-winning designs.

    The breadth of ability AoD offer is staggering. We were supported across conceptual design, prototyping, testing, DFM and production support in projects that covered integration between web, electronics, and product design."

Studio Opportunities

We are always interested in hearing from passionate people who have the same aspirations and vision as we do. We celebrate diversity and are happy to consider applications from non-design backgrounds.

Interested in joining our award winning team full time or for an internship? Please send some examples of your work and a brief note about yourself to hello@agencyofdesign.co.uk.

Intern Reports

  • Nat Martin

    30th June - 12th September 2015
    BA Human Sciences - The University of Oxford

    Read report
  • Dimitris Despotidis

    6th January - 20th March 2020
    MA Product Design - University of the Aegean

    Read report
  • Luisa Eckert

    8th August - 3rd October 2018
    BSc Product Design - ISIA Roma Design

    Read report
  • Patrick Gregory

    4th July - 2nd September 2016
    MEng Engineering Design - The University of Bristol

    Read report
  • Vidhi Mehta

    30th June - 5th September 2015
    MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering - Royal College of Art

    Read report
  • Joseph Donohue

    8th January - 15th July 2018
    Freelance Industrial Designer

    Read report
  • Fanny Chesa

    23rd May - 22nd August 2015
    MA Product Design – La Martinière-Diderot

    Read report