Nossa Equipe : Inglaterra

Jaimes Nel

Associate Insights Designer

“The world has changed a lot since we last took a long, hard look at it.”

I’m a bit obsessed with change. I grew up in the midst of radical political change in South Africa and worked in one of the first internet companies in the country. I spent the next decade exploring change as a photographer and internet junkie, always interested in how people make sense of the new world and their place in it.

I was always amazed that as a photographer I was able to meet an MD in the morning and visit a factory floor in the afternoon. I explored this further through a degree in Sociology at Goldsmiths in London, finishing with an ethnography of creative industry producers in East London in 2006.

I joined Live|work soon after with a desire to combine deep, engaged inquiry with active, radical action. In the years since joining I’ve contributed to design research and service design for projects ranging from health to finance, personal telecommunications to broadcast media. I’m particularly interested in how networks and platforms can democratise technology usage.

I’m also one of the co-founders of servicedesigning.org, an informal drinks/thinks network for service design practitioners with chapters in 14 (and counting…) cities globally.

I like to think this kind of practice contributes to change that is thoughtful and effective – just the right kind to work towards.