January 2020

Q5: tell us a fact about yourself

We asked our speakers, volunteers and organisers: would you tell us a little-known fact about yourself?

Cennydd Bowles

London-based designer and futurist. @cennydd.

I used to play chess to a good standard: I once drew with an International Master (one down from a Grandmaster).

Relly Annett-Baker

Lead volunteer, content wrangler. @RellyAB.

I’m studying a Masters in crime fiction at Cambridge University and I write children’s crime fiction in my spare time. And I love to recommend books.

Helen Joy

UX & UR consultant and diversity and inclusion champion. @LittleHelli.

In my first job working for Future Publishing, I ended up randomly modelling biker leathers for Fast Bike Magazine. It didn’t inspire to me be a biker, though. 13 years later and I’ve still never been on a motorbike.

Akil Benjamin

Biologist turned design thinker. @akilbenjamin.

Bring me pineapples, I will forgive almost anything.

Laura Kalbag

British designer and author living in Ireland. @laurakalbag.

I’m the oldest of five children and it explains all of my personality.

Bastian Allgeier

Creator of Kirby CMS. @bastianallgeier.

I’ve been a guitarist in a SKA band for more than 20 years. My first gig was when we opened for Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. I was scared as hell. I had only one guitar solo during that gig, and that’s when my amp broke down. Good times!

Tatiana Mac

Independent American designer. @TatianaTMac.

I studied piano for 15 years.

Geri Coady

Designer, illustrator, NA organiser. @hellogeri.

I designed The Cure’s official MySpace page in 2008. Now, if only it was acceptable to have MySpace profiles in your portfolio...

Simon Collison

Designer, writer, NA organiser. @colly.

I went to art school and after graduating I began to find success as a conceptual artist — before all this web business distrated me. My first proper residency was in Iceland, a whole glorious Summer back in 1998 when it was mercifully free of tourists. I made lots of friends and totally fell for the place, returning so many times I’d feel homesick when not there.

Other questions

Publication

This article was commissioned for our January 2020 magazine. Like it? View all articles, grab our RSS feed, and subscribe to our newsletter.