Thirty Years in the Making

The trio’s first memories of the company stem from the buildings themselves. Chris recalls his first time arriving at the studio which back then was a tiny space at World’s End on the Kings Road; “the place might have been small, but the welcome was big and I immediately felt that I had arrived at a place where I could really achieve something”. Kirsty’s first memories of the studio are of the spanner door handles and a tree trunk in the meeting room. 

For Son, his entry into PG was an excuse to escape the miserable Scottish weather and try his hand at a “few weeks of freelance work” in London. It lasted longer than expected. Son was taken by “how closely everyone worked with the founders, Paul and Nigel. There was a genuine family feel and an all-hands-on-deck approach. I quickly learned the importance of being proactive and stepping outside your comfort zone” — something he still shares with new designers today.

Landmark Projects

There have been several impressive and momentous projects executed by PG over the last 30 years, of which Kirsty, Chris and Son have been integral to. But their personal highlights boast a range of projects; the first major project for Airbus A380 was described as “a dream project” for Chris, and “an opportunity to reimagine what the future flight experience could be”. Son cites the first high-speed trains for China in 2009 as his proudest project;. “up until then, I had only worked on smaller products, so being responsible for the complete interior and exterior of a high-speed train was an incredible opportunity. Seeing the trains all lined up on the production line was immensely impressive — and later travelling on one during a family holiday made the experience even more special and personal”. 

That said, it’s not always the biggest projects that leave the strongest mark. One of the very first things Son worked on was the interior furniture and wayfinding at Heathrow Terminal 5. Every time he passes through and sees those pieces still in use, it makes him smile. It’s a reminder of his beginnings at PG and how far he’s come since then. Likewise, Kirsty’s most formative project was working on the New Tube for TFL, and is looking forward to it hitting the tracks in 2027.

Reflectively, what do these success stories wish their younger selves had known? Son would tell his younger self to “ask more questions, speak up, and challenge things more. … That learning from uncomfortable situations is what truly makes you better. Maybe learn another language too”. Chris advises himself not to stress and … beat himself up! “Take the time to explore what’s possible and enjoy it”. Kirsty would reassure herself how much she has to look forward to. 

Their hope  for PG is to remain an agile and value-aligned company. Son wishes for PG to remain a design studio that embraces new technologies while keeping human creativity at its core. There will be specialists who join the team in roles that don’t exist today. AI will be fully integrated into the workflow, and what used to take months will take seconds. Everything will be vastly quicker, more efficient, and cost-effective. “But I hope what does not get replaced is our human ability to imagine, be creative, and ask the right questions”. 

So why have they stayed? Chris truthfully reveals “I never intended to stay for more than a couple of years – if you want to progress you need to keep moving, right? I stayed because we got some amazing projects – projects I really wanted to work on”. And yet it seems to be the people of PG who retain the commitment of staff. All three of them agreed that it’s the people who create a special culture at the company, curated by the individuals in the studio everyday. “I continued to stay because of that team camaraderie and frankly, I can’t think of anywhere better to work”.