Gus Desbarats

An RCA trained car designer with degrees in MechE and Systems. His core focus is on bringing better user experiences and professional brand marketing into high-tech industries. Gus has directed multi-project relationships credited with delivering strategic change to BT, HP, Toshiba and Thomson Grass Valley among others. Gus is constantly focused on the evolution of innovation best-practice.

With four apple orchards to keep up, at the weekends Gus can be found picking and mushing to make local award winning cider.

Nick Vessey

A product design postgraduate of Central, with a background in both industry and consultancy, Nick has been in professional practice at the highest level for over 20 years. His deep passion for excellence is a powerful force behind Alloy’s reputation for effectiveness and results. An expert in telecoms, Nick plays a pivotal role with these external accounts, as well as keeping a weather eye on the company, recruitment and professional development of Alloy’s designers.

Living on the south coast, in his spare time Nick enjoys mountain biking, running and sailing.

Nina Warburton

A product design graduate of Northumbria, Nina has a PhD in Design Research and over 15 years design experience across education, corporate and consultancy. She has managed and directed projects for a broad range of clients, including BT, PZ Cussons, Intel and Aqualisa. Nina has specific expertise in inclusive design, she is a non-executive director of the DBA and a Visiting Fellow to the School of Design at UNN.

Mother of two boys, when not working Nina battles with her garden and enjoys running, mountain biking and winter sports.

Geoff McCormick

Geoff has worked as a business consultant in the design industry for over 10 years. In that time he has worked with some of the worlds most successful designers, where his role has been to help designers, companies and brands maximise the commercial effectiveness of design. His experience covers a diverse range of sectors, from petrol stations to aircraft, to FMCG packaging strategies and innovation programmes utilising Asian sourcing. Geoff works closely with our partners to take Alloy’s message to a wide range of business sectors.

When not rushing around the world on planes he relaxes with that classic business pastime, golf.

Jim Blyth

Another design graduate from Northumbria, Jim joined Alloy following a stint at Hyphen Design. Jim has a deep understanding of all areas of the design and innovation process, from first inception through to manufacturing. One of the first employees at Alloy Jim now manages all aspects of workflow through the studio, as well as managing mentoring and training. Whilst at Alloy he has worked for a wide variety of clients including Bic, QStik, Suncorp and Aqualisa.

When not looking after Betty and Bob (his dogs) Jim is a petrol head and enjoys all aspects of cars from maintenance to motor racing.

Matt Plested

A design graduate of Bournemouth Matt began his professional career at Marlite Developments. Star of the BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary ‘Making It’, he is one of the founding members of Alloy. He has worked on a variety of projects for clients such as BT, HP, Toshiba and Brandt. Following a short departure to Dyson, Matt returned to Alloy and is currently the account director for the Thomson Grass Valley account.

Matt is a huge road cycling fan and races several times a week at top amateur level and is about to become a father for the first time.

Tan Tran

Having gained the highest first class product design degree awarded in the history of the course, Tan joined Alloy from Salford in 2002. His strength lies in his creative vision and during his time at Alloy he has worked for an array of clients including Hasbro, Suncorp and BIC. He is currently team leader for the BT account.

Tan is a football fanatic and plays competitive football in the Surrey County League every Saturday. He also doesn’t mind a bit of pain, having completed the Hell Run in November 2008.

Ben Griffin

With a degree from Brunel, Ben joined Alloy in 2002 having previously worked for Kinneir Dufort and Coca-Cola. He has experience of working with large, multi-national clients and in his role as team leader for Thomson GV, Ben is able to act as an effective bridge between these parties - balancing the needs of marketing, engineering and manufacturing teams around the world. Ben also enjoys giving talks to schools and students about the challenges of design.

A northerner by trade, Ben is often to be found up a mountain or down the pub – with his whippet.

Hugo Martin

A design graduate of the University of Wales Institute Cardiff, Hugo joined Alloy in 2007 and has worked on a wide range of hardware and software projects ranging from interface simulation for BT to concept design for BIC. During his final year at college Hugo explored inclusive design collaborating closely with the innovation team at the RNIB and has a keen interest in better understanding of how users interact intuitively with their products.

Outside of work Hugo spends most of his time in the waves off Cornwall. He also enjoys traveling, photography and film.

Liam Levesque

A Canadian born graduate of Carleton University, Liam comes from an education spanning both Aerospace engineering and product design. His main interest however lies in interaction design and software development. With experience working in both corporate and independent environments Liam brings a rare mix of abilities to the software team. Bilingual in French & English.

When not actually at work, Liam can be found fixing his bicycle or climbing up rocks.

Mario Weiss

Born in Switzerland Mario grew up in Taiwan, where he learned English. He returned to Switzerland to complete his degree at the Arau Academy of Arts & Design, where, in his final year he won an IF concept award. With a two year apprenticeship at Zimmer already under his belt Mario has a strong grasp on the realities of the design world and is bilingual in German and English. Mario joined Alloy in 2008.

Another outdoor type, when not eating chocolate, Mario loves to ride: waves, mountains or surf - whichever is available.