Today is my first day working at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory - EMBL. I’ll be leading digital communications and to say I’m excited by the challenge is probably a bit of an understatement.

I’ve had nearly a year of working on a few bits and pieces of consulting for a few new clients in addition to several two week design sprints for EMBL on their holistic corporate design. It was during these sprints that I got a growing sense of the work that needed to be done.

Back in 2012, I was knee-deep working on redesigning the CERN website. It was, to date, the most fulfilling work of my career. Not because of the result, or the process, or the commitment of the client and their team, but because of the work being done at CERN. It matters. And I have the same feeling now about EMBL. Fundamental scientific research matters. It matters to the human race, to our understanding of the world around us, and how we might overcome some of life’s greatest challenges on this planet and beyond. When I first started my design career, I wanted to work for projects that meant something. After ten years of almost exclusively commercial work, I’m thrilled to be getting my teeth stuck into something meaningful…