About
Hi, I’m Laurie. I’m a designer-turned-innovation-consultant with 12 years’ cross-sector experience in agency, consultancy, and in-house environments.
What follows is a brief overview of my career to date.
From Design...
I initially worked as a graphic designer in publishing and digital marketing before returning to university to study for a master’s degree in innovation management. In this early stage of my career, I built foundational expertise in brand, design systems, and the core principles of web development.
During and for a period after my master’s degree, I worked as a freelance designer on communications projects. I was a supplier for the Soil Association and designed charity websites with The Developer Society. I contracted as a senior UI designer on Virgin Money’s first-ever digital pensions and investments service and helped a meanwhile-space company launch a new destination site in London’s Olympic Park.
... to Innovation Consulting
From 2022 to early 2025, I worked as an innovation and user experience consultant for a London-based innovation and strategy consultancy. There, I learnt how to surface and present the insight that triggers effective decision-making. I worked with large financial services firms, retailers, and FMCG companies to explore new market opportunities, validate product ideas, and tailor existing propositions. In this position, I helped a Canadian lottery embed healthy-play messaging into its user journey, I developed the insight that instigated design changes on walmart.com, and I helped a merchant acquiring bank understand the card payment needs of small businesses.
I now work on a contract and freelance basis under my consulting brand, The Shape of It. My recent project work includes working with charities in the early stages of new product development cycles and helping solo founders make customer-led business decisions.
What I'm Like to Work With
I worked with Laurie on a complex service design project for a large bank. She navigated a challenging project with a positive, proactive attitude and an incredible level of pragmatism.
- Adrian Longbotham, Project Manager at Nomensa (now GAIN)
Laurie has an incredible knack for understanding complex problems and making them accessible and easy to grasp - and she’s an absolute delight to work with.
- Kath Simpson, Founder of Creative Switch
Laurie has been invaluable to our volunteer-led rewilding initiative, where she has been collaboratively working on a large, community-driven service design plan. I have had the privilege of working closely with Laurie and am continually impressed with her extraordinary diligence, creativity, and ability to listen and collaborate.
- Nathan Miller, Board of Directors, East London Waterworks Park
Additional Information
I hold a master’s degree in innovation management (with distinction) alongside professional certifications in market and social research, user research, and service design.