Last month, we welcomed Chris Bryce into the AndAnotherDay fold. This is an exciting step for us as we grow and formalise our design team in preparation for the year ahead.
An innovative creative with over a decade of experience with brands of all sizes, Chris is a problem solver who wants to use his experience and talent to make the world a better place for his children. We snatched ten minutes out of this diary for a quick chat.
Hi Chris – tell us a little bit about what you did before you joined AndAnotherDay.
I was a senior digital designer at a corporate communications agency in central London, and I was there for about four years. I worked on websites and apps for larger clients such as Trainline, Hitachi, Schroders and Currys, but also contributed to branding projects for companies of various sizes across a broad range of sectors. I also created a proprietary modular website design system that, by the time I left, was being used on the majority of digital projects. Not a bad note to go out on.
Prior to that I was a senior designer at a digital agency for a little under six years, where I designed for clients such as Sainsbury’s, Rolls-Royce and Prudential. I worked on large-scale corporate sites, traveled throughout Europe, and also spent a year in the US team.
What initially attracted you to AndAnotherDay?
For some time I had been looking for a role in which I could be heard, have a much bigger impact, and put all my good experience into a cause that’s closer to my heart. It felt like a big ask at the time – I wanted to work on projects that could literally change the world, and to be able to use my diverse set of skills in the process. On top of that, I wanted to feel like I was working on something I truly believe in, not something I had to convince myself I am interested in.
I also had a hunger for progression, and that was something lacking in my previous role. Now I am here, I feel like all of my boxes are well and truly ticked and there’s room for infinite growth, not only for me as an individual, but as an agency with Keiron and the team.
AndAnotherDay is driven by purpose, with a strong focus on helping the planet, and using technology to make the world a better place. How important is work like this to you?
I want to help. The last few projects I was involved in were designing websites for the fossil fuels sector. I understand that as long as these companies exist, they will always need digital products, and that someone will always step up to do that. But for myself, I was becoming increasingly aware and uncomfortable that I was helping these companies, when in fact, I would rather be doing something far more positive for the planet.
It’s scary, but a sadly realistic prospect that one day, my children will come to the realisation that the world they’ve grown up in is in serious trouble, and that they face a bleak and very different future to the one we looked forward to in our youth. And when they ask how on earth anyone let it get this far, and what I did to help, I don’t want to have no answer to that question.
What role does design play when it comes to creating digital products for areas such as sustainability and the fourth sector?
Design is the gateway. It’s the entry point for people to see and fully appreciate the reality of what’s happening in the world today. Good design allows people uninterrupted access to consume the important information that could change minds, and affect lives and behaviours. Personally, numbers and spreadsheets make my eyes glaze over. But if I can turn that data into a beautiful digital experience that people are able to intuitively use, interpret and even share, then it creates a memorable impact and enables people to understand issues on a level that would otherwise pass them by.
Design is the ‘translation app’ that allows people to make sense of a world of information that they otherwise may never have seen or understood.
What technology excites you at the moment?
I’ve always been a bit techy, so I get excited about anything new and innovative. There are a number of things that have caught my attention, one being the concept of quantum computing. The scale and the numbers surrounding the whole subject are almost beyond comprehension, and the seismic shift that it will have on the way in which we deal with and consume information today cannot be ignored or underestimated. It will without doubt change everything.
In the more mid-term, things like the Hyperloop as a means of travel are an exciting, low-emission, low-energy alternative for the future.
AI, VR and AR have for much of my life been visions of the future, but in recent years these technologies are gathering pace and prevalence. They’re definitely set to become much more mainstream everyday technologies and as long as we can channel it in the right way for the right things, I’m very excited by it all.
In the longer term too, the prospect of combining sophisticated AI and robotics really does mean working our way towards some of things that have already been depicted by Hollywood. As always, it’s the human factor that will decide whether these things really get used in the right way for the right reasons.
And to wrap up, what are you currently working on?
Currently I’m designing a journey planner tool for Hardt, a Dutch company who is a partner in the Global Hyperloop Development programme. Our journey planner will allow people to understand the energy implications of how they travel domestically and globally today, and compare them to those of the proposed Hyperloop system.
It’s an exciting idea to be a part of, and allows us to help Hardt to communicate the value and benefits that the Hyperloop System promises to deliver to the future of travel, and to the world.
Huge thanks to Chris for taking the time to speak to us, and keep your eyes on our social channels as we begin to share more exciting projects from the AndAnotherDay design team.