I’m Heath. I’m new here. I’m a writer, editor, design researcher, and community builder. I’ve spent the past fifteen years helping design grads make the jump from study to industry. Co-founded the Adelaide branch of The Design Kids with TDK founder Frankie Ratford. Wrote and edited for the AGDA national office for four years. Worked on projects with academics I could barely keep up with. I’ve interviewed and written articles on north of 150 designers from around the globe — a couple of standouts in terms of intimidation factor: Ian Anderson and Jonathan Ellery. My career highlight to-date was editing an entire speculative design novel with Tony Fry (2021-2022). I even put myself through the trauma of a research degree. Twice.
In 1999, I worked on a livestock farm in Fontanafredda, northeastern Italy. Starting April 2002, I was a stagehand for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (starring the loudest actor in the world, Brian Blessed) at the London Palladium. Someone put me in charge of translating the official @vogue_italia Twitter account in 2013 — to this day, I can’t comprehend why, as I have, at best, a tenuous grasp of Italian. In 2019, I worked as a carny, building and dismantling the House of Mirrors up and down the east coast of Australia.
In order to balance brain and body, I simply must work as a tennis coach wherever I live (in Sydney, I coached Simon Ratcliffe from Basement Jaxx — he just wandered in off the street, and I went with him to their gig that night — serendipitous fun!). I’ve tried to make music part of my life when possible. Was in a choir called Choral Grief, which sang exclusively sad songs. When threatened, I can play drums and guitar. Also, was in a band that once opened for Ride.
If any of the above seems interesting, let’s talk. I’ll hit Melbourne on 8 May 2026.
