Serious and studied, gracious and warm, I’m a writer, a thinker and a modern-day gentleman living in a modish neighbourhood in south Belfast.
A self-confessed urbanite, I am enthralled by design when viewed in an urban context. I grew up in Belfast and despite past conflicts, have a natural predisposition towards city life. Cities fuel my creativity and sensibility, inspiring me at a profoundly intellectual, aesthetic and emotional level.
From where I sit, I can write deep in thought yet remain cognisant of the bustling world outside. Watching passers-by, it often comes to my mind that we are all somehow a part of the city’s concrete fabric, each of us connected by design. Dieter Rams, the eminent German industrial designer, rightly asserted: “You cannot understand good design if you do not understand people; design is made for people.”
Prior to any aspirations I had about pursuing my vocation as a design writer, I graduated with a BSc in psychology from Queen’s University Belfast and subsequently with an MSc in Forensic Psychology from the University of Surrey. Following a number of successful years working in London in positions with a psychology-related focus, life events conspired to reorient my career path. I am now on a journey that is about my pursuit of and passion for writing and design.
Thank you for your interest.
Gerard McGuickin / Mr Walnut Grey.
Image: Monkey by Kay Bojesen. Image © Kay Bojesen.
