Philip Underwood

My name is Philip Underwood, and I am a multilingual Industrial Design Engineer with several years' experience in Product, Packaging and Graphic Design. I am a driven individual and always striving to succeed. My design philosophy is to always look at the bigger picture to see whether there is a different underlying issue that needs addressing and not take things for granted. Throughout my career I have concentrated on teamwork and cross/inter-company collaboration to work in unison to meet a common goal. It is from this belief that I emphasised forming great relationships which clients and suppliers, which resulted in meeting and often going beyond the client's expectations, whilst utilising the experience of the supplier to improve tool and part making to minimise cost and deliver a greater profitability prospect for the business.

 

My main goal in design is to develop products for the betterment of the environment and under-privileged populations. Whilst at Derby University I set myself the challenge to design products that would reduce the high rate of respiratory infections in developing countries by designing alternatives to indoor cooking fires. For my final year dissertation of my Bachelor’s Degree in Product Design Engineering, which took place at the height of the Ebola outbreak in 2015, I looked to develop a low-cost Flow-Cytometer, which could be manually calibrated, utilized 3d printed components and was rugged enough to be easily moved and transported from village to village to track the spread of diseases, for which I was awarded one of the highest marks in the course’s history. Upon completion of my Masters in Innovation at Lancaster University, I began working in the Cold Chain Sector, developing passive temperature-controlled systems for the transportation of pharmaceuticals and other dangerous goods products, which have been widely used in the transportation of Covid 19 vaccines across Europe. I was the company’s sole dedicated Product Designer, meaning I had great control of the product development from conceptualisation through to final manufacturing and SOP development. I had the privilege of developing a biodegradable temperature-controlled packaging, specifically designed to make the first vaccine delivery via drone in the South Pacific (Island Nations of Vanuatu). As well as this, I was given the role of developing one of the world’s largest Clinical Trial Logistics companies’ new flagship products, which took the form of injection moulded, insulated, Smart Shipping Solutions which could be tracked and temperature checked in real time remotely. These successful product developments resulted in becoming my employer’s largest single contract in the company’s 20-year history.

 

I always pushed to find greener solutions where possible, looking at different elements which could minimise the impact of the product on the environments, from development to logistics and materials. I pride myself on my linguistic capabilities; I speak fluent English and German, and have good proficiency of French, Luxembourgish and Swedish. I was born in Luxembourg and was brought up in a multi-national surrounding, introducing me to new experiences and customs and developing friendships and relationships all over the world.