John Bound
Head of FuelRCA and Manager Special Projects

John Bound's experience includes manufacturing and commerce, design-innovation consultancy and knowledge transfer between higher education and industry.

Trained in business studies at Bristol Polytechnic, John spent a decade in manufacturing and consumer goods marketing to Boots, John Lewis, Heals and other UK retailers, through roles with Chubb Fire Engineering and CoLignum, a small woodware and joinery business run on a co-operative model.

John then joined the business development team at Brand New (part of Michael Peters Group plc) - an international product development agency inked to the future technology laboratories at PA Consulting Group and Sustainability, the pioneering green design consultancy.

From 1991, John worked alongside Professor Roger Coleman in creating the Royal College of Art's DesignAge programme on design for ageing populations, winner of one of the first Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher Education. DesignAge evolved into the Helen Hamlyn Centre for people-centred design and innovation. Here, John directed the Centre's flagship Include conferences before moving to InnovationRCA as Head of Innovation Development in 2004.

John leads the College's continuing professional development (CPD) and knowledge transfer programmes for students, alumni and business, FuelRCA and the Materials and Design Exchange (MADE). He is also researching creative workshop processes in collaboration with RCA Innovation Design Engineering.