Testimonials
“As part of introducing the new Innovation Refinery at Z, Russ and the team at D&Co designed and facilitated the first design sprint. This included an introduction to primary design thinking methods as we co-created a vision for the Future of Loyalty. We then partnered with D&Co to go out into the field with customers to validate the desirability of key concepts where they shared evaluative research methods resulting in concepts being green lit to exit the innovation process into commercialisation in the coming months.
D&Co’s fresh thinking, collaborative and flexible nature combined with their creativity and storytelling has resulted in them being engaged across multiple areas of the business.”
““It’s been my absolute pleasure to work with Russell over the past two plus years both in helping frame end to end customer journeys at Fonterra and in my new role at SKYCITY Entertainment Group in supporting strategy for our digital transformation efforts.
Russell really understands customer and human centred design - and brings with him solid planning foundations that can build from. Apart from his obvious talent, Russell is a great guy, with huge integrity and generous of spirit, open, willing and able to work with us where and how we need him.”
“Russell is one of the smartest and most driven people I’ve had the pleasure to have worked with. While with Designworks Russ was the key driver in the growth of our Interactive offering. He brings an almost super human passion to every task and inspires those around him to believe it is possible.”
“D&Co has been a wonderful partner to work with. Their research, insight and unique approach to the development of a consistent and cohesive customer experience has proved invaluable to increasing equity and engagement for some of our leading global consumer brands.
Fonterra is excited to continue working with D&Co to extend this thinking to other brands.”
“In the fast moving world of technology and the bullshit that often surrounds it in Agency land Russell is a beacon of clarity. He is also an individual with very transparent principals and purpose. In my experience people with this combination of talent and integrity are rare, I endorse him without hesitation.”
I believe that human-centred design methods are a critical component to delivering business growth as we enter an era where experience innovation will drive successful business transformation.
As the Design Council says, ‘The central premise of user centred-design is that the best designed products and services result from understanding the needs of the people who will use them.’
Mobile: +64 22 0672 689
Email: info@russelldouglas.com
Late in 2014 I had a 4 month sabbatical spending time in N. America and Australia at a number of leading educators and agencies furthering my professional development and connecting with business leaders, start-ups and futurists to explore new ways of developing human-centred design thinking for the New Zealand market.
In November 2014 I formed D&Co - an experience design consultancy that specialises in creative approaches to innovation, strategy, design, digital, technology, social and data marketing with the ultimate goal of creating 'customer experience excellence’ for our clients.
We leverage the power of the collective working with the best minds across Australasia to service a range of clients from international businesses, leading New Zealand organisations, start-ups and not-for-profits.
With over 20 years of creative agency as well as client-side experience I have a proven track record of helping international brands develop digital experiences, taking leadership roles from concept through to execution.
I have consistently delivered for the agencies that I have worked for, reporting exceptional year-on-year growth in revenue and profit, building and leading digital specialists that work together as a tight team, governed by a strong vision and a determination to challenge the status quo to deliver break-through user led experiences.
For the majority of my career I was a Creative Director and led several teams working for clients such as British Airways, Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotels, O2, Opodo, and Barclays developing award winning digital solutions. I then spent time as a Digital Marketing Consultant and as a Managing Director for a leading digital agency before heading to New Zealand to start a new life with my young family.
Between November 2010 and August 2014 I was the Group Head of Interactive for Designworks, one of Australasia’s leading design practices, where I formalised the Interactive offering taking it from a team of 2 to a successful and thriving 20 strong group of highly motivated digital specialists helping clients deliver engaging, effective and user-centred solutions across several continents.
My work has won a number of awards over the years, including recent Best Awards, and I have also been involved in a number of judging roles. I'm a Chartered Marketer through The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and continue to focus on continuous professional development.
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Featured projects
The gallery below features a range of sample projects undertaken for clients over the past couple of years. D&Co's ambition is to create customer experience excellence for our clients. Visit the D&Co to find out more about our consultancy services.
Speaking engagements & workshops
Russell is also an accomplished public speaker and workshop facilitator and is available for external conferences, events and internal presentations. Russell has spoken at events for the likes of ASB, Spark Digital, TVNZ, Foodstuffs, OfficeMax, FMG and ALGIM amongst others.
Russell's most recent speaking engagements were for ASB and Foodstuffs NI. Russell was the Keynote speaker at the 2017 Foodstuffs Leadership Day. He also facilitated a 1.5hr design thinking workshop with around 150 attendees on the day. Similarly Russell keynoted ASB Live this year and facilitated HCD workshops with over 1,200 delegates over 4 days.
“The latest technology and business trends can be overwhelming, but Russell not only boils it down into actionable insights, but does so in a highly entertaining and engaging way. I was on the edge of my seat for his entire speech — and your audience will be as well.”
Russ was the keynote speaker at the ASB Live conference and facilitated a series of human-centred design workshops.
Russ spoke at the latest TVNZ Speaker Series event on the subject of emerging digital trends and how to take insights to innovation.
Russell's keynote speeches at the Spark Digital FWD_Live event were given over 2 days to an audience of around 600.
“It was an incredible presentation and very inspiring. I’ve had phenomenal feedback.”
Latest News & Insights
A round up of the latest emerging trends
We've scoured our various resources to surface the most interesting trends from across Retail, Health, The Connected Life, Automotive, Sport and Education.
Featured
Reading List
I'm working through the following books and papers. This isn't exhaustive but covers off the main reading list. If you would like to discuss any of the books below please get in touch.
The Kickstarter funded 'Field Guide to Human-Centred Design' recently arrived!
Ideo.org
Baked In: Creating Products and Businesses That Market Themselves.
Alex Bogusky & John Winsor
Contagious magazine.
An early warning system for brands.
Contagious Communications
Velocity: The Seven New Laws for a World Gone Digital.
Ajaz Ahmed & Stefan Olander
Tom Peters - Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age
Tom Peters
Unleash the Power of Design Strategy to Transform Your Business.
Deepa Prahalad & Ravi Sawhney