Meet the Team

South East Design provides a free, independent design advice service working with Partners and a team of highly skilled Design Associates.

Our expert team will help you identify your specific business needs and advise on the most appropriate design service available.

Our Design Associates

Design Associates act as both mentor and adviser throughout any project. They offer practical support and guidance including helping to create design briefs and drawing up shortlists of design agencies able to offer a particular creative style of service.

Our team includes:

Ian Ferris

With a background in international award-winning consultancy and well as in-house design management with a global materials science businesses Ian enjoys helping to create exciting new products, brands and services. He specialises in consumer, bio-science and technology markets.

James Duguid

Design management, product development and the protection and conveyancing of intellectual property rights are James’ areas of expertise. His experience takes in senior marketing roles as well as 10 years as a specialist adviser in design management. He specialises in manufacturing, technology and sustainability.

Gavin Pryke

Holder of numerous industry awards, including the Masters Medal from the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry and a Queens Award, Gavin designed best selling products for Habitat Design UK before joining Virgin Atlantic as a Design Manager. He now mentors on the creative industry ‘flying start’ programme for the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship and has recently begun manufacturing his own products.

Pradeep Sharma

Hugely experienced in product design, brand strategy and management consultancy, Pradeep works across a wide range of industry sectors and has mentored both start-ups and multinationals. He has been consulting and teaching design and innovation internationally for over ten years.

Neil Gridley

An independent design management consultant with 15 years international experience, Neil qualified as an industrial designer before designing products for a range of household brands. Senior roles in the design industry, including leading the Tesco in-house design team, have given him cross sector knowledge enabling him to develop products, brands and services for companies ranging from technology start-ups to blue chip organisations.

Jackie Walker, Regional Programme Manager

A Business Adviser with vast experience, Jackie developed and managed a Knowledge Transfer project for Business Link. A lecturer in strategic management she has experience of finance and marketing, both within her own business and multinationals.

Alison McFadyen, Sustainable Design Project Manager

Recently with Aerothermal Ltd, an engineering company specialising in the design and manufacture of autoclaves for the waste industry, Alison worked in the world of design for many years and has a strong interest in sustainable products.

Her experience includes overseeing a South West initiative to enable small companies to innovate and develop routes to market for new and redesigned products and services.

Kathryn Havering, Programme Facilitator

Kathryn worked with Business Link in Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight for many years, managing the Specialist Adviser team and most recently as Event Coordinator organising a wide variety of seminars, exhibitions and workshops across the region.

She now facilitates the Designing Demand programmes.