I design products and experiences that bring people together — and make complex things feel simple.
Hey, I'm Adrian Forster — a multidisciplinary Product Designer with 25+ years across digital design, music, and event production. I'm driven by creative collaboration and a belief that good design makes better decisions possible.
25+
Years Experience
50+
Clients Served
100+
Projects Delivered
How I Work
Listen First
Real listening. Real constraints. I meet people where they are and figure out what matters most before jumping to solutions.
Create Structure
Just enough framework to move fast without losing trust. Clear scope. Weekly iterations. Decisions made quickly.
Design and Build
No handoffs. I design the experience, shape the interface, and write production code — end to end.
Use AI Where It Helps
AI is brilliant at removing busywork and surfacing patterns. I use it to speed things up — but the thinking stays human.
Ship It
Working software, real feedback, tight loops. Keep the momentum going without the chaos.
What I believe
- AI makes you faster, not better. The quality still comes from experience.
- Ship the system, not the screen. Interfaces change; the logic underneath is what lasts.
- The best design work is saying no to the wrong thing before anyone builds it.
- If you can't explain how it works to the team, you haven't designed it yet.
- Judgment compounds. Tools don't.
Career Timeline
2025 — Present
Co-Founder
AART Space
Independent publishing with Steve Lazarides. Publishing the Lazarides archive and building direct-to-reader relationships.
Building a two-person operation that competes with established publishers taught me that the right systems matter more than headcount.
2020 — Present
Co-Founder
Protomuse
Production music library and ProtoForge licensing automation — building creator infrastructure for the AI era.
Designing systems where AI assists but never generates legal text crystallised my thinking on where machine judgment ends and human accountability begins.
2020 — 2021
Design Director
CognitionX (CogX)
Led design through the pivot from physical conference to virtual platform during COVID — 44,000 registered attendees.
Pivoting a 44,000-person event from physical to virtual in weeks taught me that shipping beats perfection when the stakes are real.
2013 — Present
Founder
HowMightWe Studio
11+ years running a product and service design consultancy serving national and international clients.
Running your own practice teaches you that the best design work is often saying no to the wrong thing before anyone builds it.
2016 — 2019
Senior Product Designer
Agency Experience
Working across six agencies in four years showed me that every organisation has the same design problems — the difference is who has permission to fix them.
2012
CTO / Digital Publishing Director
Matchbox Publishing
Built systems that scaled publishing operations — including a cloud-based ad layout tool and high-performing digital campaigns.
Building internal tools that non-technical teams actually used taught me that the best systems disappear into the workflow.
2003 — 2012
Co-Founder / Event Producer
E.T.A
Ran a leading West London events company for 9 years — partnerships across festivals, tours, and culture.
Nine years producing events taught me that the experience IS the product — something I still apply to every interface I build.
2002 — 2003
Digital Brand Manager
Coca-Cola Great Britain
Owned digital strategy and web experiences, reporting to the Brand Director.
Running digital for a brand this big at 22 taught me that the best design work happens inside constraints, not despite them.
1999 — 2002
Foundation
Education & Early Career
Early career in web development and multimedia design — building the technical base that informs current design engineering practice.
Learning to code before learning to design gave me a permanent advantage — I never design something I can't build.
Community & Credentials
Beyond the day job.
Community
Founder, HowMightWe Network
2020 — Present
A network of leaders, makers, and guides collaborating on meaningful challenges.
Founder, Framer London Meetup
2014 — 2020
Built a community around prototyping, tooling, and craft.
Student Mentor / Speaker
2019 — 2020
University mentorship and talks on product practice and careers.
Credentials
Certified Facilitator
Design thinking & workshops
Strategyzer Consultant
Business model innovation
UX Design
General Assembly (2014)
Education
BSc Multimedia Computing
University of Westminster · 1999–2002
BTEC Multimedia Communication Design
Richmond-Upon-Thames College · 1998
Personal
Based in London, UK
Community: Founded HowMightWe Network (2020). Previously founded Framer London Meetup (2014–2020). Certified facilitator. Strategyzer consultant. University mentor.
Focus: Designing products people actually enjoy using · Building and shipping with modern tools · Using AI to remove the boring bits, not the human ones · Creating platforms that connect people meaningfully
Selected Clients
Let's work together
Available for projects where trust, complexity, and speed matter.