Hi, I’m Karen, and I’m the newest addition to the Snook team.  When I first came across Snook and the work that they were doing, I was incredibly excited.  It seemed to me that there was enormous cross-over between the work they do in ‘transforming people’ and what I’m all about.

Snook were looking for a graphic designer.  I am a graphic designer, but in a previous life I also worked as an occupational psychologist.  This means that I have worked with people and teams to understand how people work and interact within organisations, and have also been involved in enabling culture change.

At the heart of both Service Design and Psychology is a real focus on people.  Understanding what motivates them, what they want from services or products and how to get the best from them.  The work that Snook do is all about enabling positive change through design.  Occupational psychology also studies how to enable change within organisations.  The fundamental principles of both disciplines are the same – it’s all about the people at the centre of the process; listening to them, being empathic and designing services that suit their needs.

So for me, Snook ticked a lot of boxes.  Working for Snook not only enables me to use my graphic design skills but also to indulge my love of discovering what people think.  And for Snook, hopefully the same is true – they get a graphic designer but also someone who is totally engaged with the aims of Service Design, who understands the importance of the people at the centre of the design process and who knows how to empathise with people.

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks since joining Snook.  But from what I’ve seen so far, I can honestly say I have nothing but admiration and respect for the energy, passion and dedication that Lauren, Sarah and Kirsty bring to each project that they take on.  They seem reflective, thoughtful and full of enthusiasm for making communities a better place.  I am too.  I hope that I can add as much to Snook as they will undoubtedly teach me.

I’d love to hear from you if you’d like to discuss any of these ideas with me.  You can email me on karen@wearesnook.com or talk to me on twitter @karenjmaxwell.