Moves & changes – design industry news

People

Snook studio, which has offices in Glasgow and London, has hired husband and wife Rebecca and Jonny Rae-Evans as co-chief design officers. The duo currently run design studio Reply, which works with organisations which seek to protect women and girls from exploitation. They join Snook in October.

Manchester-based digital agency Access has appointed Lisa Jones as talent acquisition and development director. Jones has previously worked with McCann Manchester and joins from 21Grams. Access also hired senior developer Craig Perks and junior developer Alexandra Gada this month.
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London agency Good has appointed Bryn Attewell as its new executive creative director, where he will be develop the consultancy’s purpose-led projects. Attewell was previously global executive creative director at WPP’s Grey London.

Yorkshire brand consultancy The Engine Room has hired Natalie Smith as senior artworker, where she will work on assets across healthcare, tech and the public sector. Smith previously worked for EA Games and has developed projects for games like Fifa and The Sims.

Liverpool-based consultancy WeThree Creative has appointed Jonathan Ross as its new managing director. Ross previously worked at London’s BrandFuel.

The BBC has appointed Katie Razzall as its new culture editor, where she will cover stories on the creative industries across the UK.

Consultancies

Tech platform EventsTag and experiential brand We Are Interact have merged to form London-based experience and retail company Xi. It will be headed up by Dan Strang and focus on creating interactive experiences across the UK. “It reflects the changing demands of both brands and the consumer,” Strang says.

American brand consultancy SCS and digital agency Swarm have merged to offer “integrated digital, media, creative and marketing” services. They will operate under the SCS name across three offices in Atlanta, Southern California and Ottawa, Canada.

Appointments

Cheshire-based design studio Mather & Co has been appointed as the exhibition designers for the transformation of Scotland’s Inverness Castle into a visitor attraction. Mather & Co has previously worked on projects including The Royal Mint Experience and Downton Abbey: The Exhibition. The reimagination of Inverness Castle will centre on 100 stories that interpret the “spirit of the highlands”, according to the studio.

PA Consulting and Royal College of Art have been chosen to lead a project to design the “next great British emblem”: an electric vehicle charge point. It was announced by transport secretary Grant Shapps, who said that he wants to see EV chargepoints that are as “recognisable as the British phone box, London bus or black cab”. The design will be unveiled at COP26 in November.

Email henry.wong@xeim.com if there have been any moves and changes at your consultancy.