Work in Focus
Inspiral Designs Portfolio
These images show a selection of the projects I have worked on since establishing Inspiral Designs. They are the results of great working relationships with a range of clients, all with very bespoke needs and market challenges.
Aspen Pumps Case Studies & Portfolio
The case studies and images below show a small selection of the projects I worked on during my 26 years designing for Aspen Pumps, where I started as their first in-house designer in 2001 after working for them as a design consultant for 2 years.
During that time, the company grew from a small entrepreneurial UK manufacturer (with about 30 employees), to a large international group (with about 900 employees), with it's value increasing to £25 million by 2007, to £85 million by 2020, then to £287 million in 2025.
I was the sole Industrial Product Designer for the first 3 years in-house, then managed a growing team of product and graphic designers, alongside full-time hands-on innovation, design and product development.
Aspen Pumps won numerous awards during this time, including the Queens Award for Innovation, as well as being granted numerous patents. Several of these were directly linked to my designs, supported by mechanical and electronic engineers within the company.
Case Study - Mini Lime Condensate Pump
I designed this patented pump just before being offered the job at Aspen Pumps. The first all-in-one 'elbow' pump, also reversible to fit on either side of a high wall A/C unit. Working closely with the electronic and mechanical engineers in the Aspen team, I was responsible for the industrial product design side of the first four versions, which sold globally in the tens of thousands, with another couple of patents being added along the way.
This pump was set to be light grey and called the Conduit or Elbow Pump. It was my decision to make it bright lime in colour, despite it being hidden inside the trunking and elbow. The reasons were to surprise the service engineers - who were used to bland colour pumps - and to make it part of a new family (with the existing Aspen Mini Orange pump). The impact of this decision, followed closely by the bright blue Mini Aqua (below), was huge in the market place and has been significant in Aspen's brand recognition and marketing for the last 25 years.
Case Study - Mini Aqua Condensate Pump
The original design of the Mini Aqua was the slimmest condensate pump unit available, designed for applications where the pump and reservoir needed to be hidden inside a high-wall A/C unit, where space is extremely limited.
I was the industrial product designer of the original Mini Aqua and the three evolutions which followed, which have sold globally in extremely high numbers and helped truly establish Aspen's reputation in mini pumps.
The designs have evolved alongside improvements in the software and hardware, from piston pumps and float switches to rotary diaphragm pumps and capacitance sensors and they continue to be highly successful and competitive in the marketplace.
Case Study - MAX Hi-Flow Centrifugal Pump
There are several elements to this pump design that I'm particularly proud of. The previous version of this pump had one set of clips to fit for wall-mounting and a different set for stud-mounting. I designed a single (patented) clip that could be used in both locations, meaning we only needed to tool, mould and stock one clip and only needed to provide one set in the box, instead of two, saving time, space, money and wastage.
Another element is the two-piece deck component. As the motor area needed to be a higher flame retardancy material, moulding the entire deck in one piece in this material would have been expensive. Due to the numbers we would be manufacturing, it was a cost saving to have two components in different materials which fitted together quickly and easily, which also allowed increased strength and design simplicity in other areas.
Case Study - Big Foot Support Systems
Designing the first 'big feet' and naming the 'Big Foot Support System' was one of my first projects upon joining Aspen Pumps. Starting with my designs of the 305mm² Big Foot and basic frames, the 200mm² and 450mm² feet, Multi feet, Fix-It feet and the Big Foot Walkway, this highly modular system - and the team behind it - has continued to grow & grow and is now a multi-million pound business in its own right.
Designed to support plant installations on flat roofs of commercial buildings, the systems spreading the load without penetrating the roofing membrane, allowing the membrane to be replaced (in most cases) without having to decommission the supported units.
Aspen Pumps Additional Portfolio
Redland (BMI) Portfolio
These images show a selection of the projects I worked on during my 3.5 years as a Design Engineer for Redland.
The majority of products I designed were for the ventilation of pitched roofs; combining injection moulded, rotationally moulded and vacuum formed components, to prevent the ingress of water and colonising insects.
British Standards, patents and hands-on testing within the in-house windtunnel all featured in my daily work.
