Designing for people and the planet: Roger’s story
As VP, global head of design at bp, Roger is building the company’s first digital design discipline and is leading a team of user experience (UX) professionals, designers and creative thinkers to enable bp’s ambitions through digital innovation
Roger is on a mission. Throughout his career, he has sought to drive change and make an impact in everything he does. “I enjoy pushing boundaries and applying creativity to solve complex challenges in unlikely or emerging industries,” he explains. “Using human-centric design to deliver engaging experiences that bring about transformation is something I am passionate about”.
Whether leveraging digital technology to create an award-winning app ecosystem to help autistic kids, winning an international film festival, creating one of the first interactive platforms to elevate television viewer experiences, or leading on the forefront of sustainable design, Roger has always embraced opportunities to bring ideas to life in completely different ways. “I like to colour outside the lines, particularly when it involves thinking of new ways to help people”, he says.
As VP, global head of design at bp, Roger is building the company’s first digital design discipline and is leading a team of user experience (UX) professionals, designers and creative thinkers to enable bp’s ambitions through digital innovation.
Harnessing human experience design
Roger joined bp near the beginning of 2020 and was inspired by the chance to build and shape bp’s digital design discipline. “I realized the opportunity was massive,” Roger explains. “Although design had been used by bp for a while, no one had ever formalized it and brought together different elements of design, from UX and user interface design, to service design, digital content design and design engineering.”
Day to day, Roger is focused on prioritizing design needs across the complexity of bp operations and the digital products and services used throughout the company. “The aim is to ensure that people have a more consistent experience across bp’s many apps, systems and digital interfaces” Roger explains.
Design and decarbonization
Roger remembers learning about bp’s net zero ambition shortly after he joined the company. “I was overjoyed by the gift the announcement and new ambition gave me as an employee and design leader,” he reflects.
Roger believes that design can play a part in bp’s net zero future, by decarbonizing bp’s designs and designing for decarbonization.
“On the one hand, a huge amount of CO2 is expended annually in internet usage alone. We can design to optimize images and reduce screen brightness to reduce that footprint. On the other hand, we can get ready for a net zero world by ensuring sustainability is embedded into all things we design. For example, when it comes to electric vehicle charging, it’s up to us to consider how we design the charging experience and digital touchpoints for people’s homes and vehicles. This will improve how customers engage with bp and help achieve a more sustainable future,” he explains.
Roger is excited about continuing this journey at bp, and helping others think about the impact of digital design on the energy industry, on human experiences and on the planet.