I work with a cross-disciplinary network of domain experts from every narrative space, including those not yet imagined. I have collaborated in projects addressing the future of autonomy, cities, education, manufacturing, and creativity.

 

In developing narratives, I draw on my extensive experience working across the full gamut of the creative industries: I have been nominated for an Oscar for my script development and post production contribution to the short film The Voorman Problem and have won a BAFTA for my Visual Effects work for the BBC.

 

Story Services

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Writing

I can help you with the process of distilling complex ideas into compelling narratives, and help you design, write, and deliver stories that are both powerful and persuasive, whether your audience is measured in the hundreds or hundreds of thousands.

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Workshops

I run workshops that use design thinking activities as an effective tool for creative and collaborative problem-solving. Whether corporate strategy, brand strategy, or product strategy, I can help ensure your strategy is a story well-told.


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Storytelling

I am an experienced and compelling speaker who loves to present stories about design, technology, and story itself. I have a passion for crafting narratives that examine how the future will shape us, and help us explore how we can shape the future.

Curriculum Vitae

I’m an experienced strategist and storyteller who has built up a wealth of methodologies to help tackle strategic challenges by deconstructing them into explorable, creative exercises. Using a combination of techniques drawn from the full spectrum of strategic foresight and human-centered design, I explore how disparate ideas can be united to align and motivate multi-disciplinary teams.

I leverage strategic foresight to help teams explore their many potential futures, and design thinking techniques to help them converge on the steps they need to take to establish a clear line of sight towards preferable outcomes. I currently work as part of a strategic foresight team examining both how the future will shape Autodesk, and how Autodesk can shape the future, leading diverse creative teams towards the most strategic of narratives.

  • By exploring the forces shaping our customers’ industries, I established The Future of Making as Autodesk’s strategic narrative, helping Autodesk transform into a purpose-driven brand, opening up a new era of thought leadership.

  • By facilitating discovery sessions across Autodesk, I led the co-creation of a set of overarching narratives that frame Autodesk’s work around its purpose and connect its long-term research to its short-term product strategies.

  • By establishing a portfolio of internal workshops, I established a common storytelling methodology and vocabulary that developed the skills of hundreds of people, helping Autodesk to strengthen its storytelling muscles.  

In developing narratives, Darren draws on extensive experience working across the full gamut of the creative industries: he has been nominated for an Oscar for his script development and post production contribution to the short film The Voorman Problem and has won a BAFTA for his Visual Effects work for the BBC.

I’m also a regular conference speaker and have engaged in projects addressing the future of autonomy, cities, education, manufacturing, and creativity. Recent conference and meetup talks include:

  • Speculative Futures (San Francisco, CA) 2019

  • PRIMER18, 2018

  • Autodesk University (Las Vegas, NV) 2018

  • TechX (New Orleans, LO) 2018

  • FooCamp (San Francisco, CA) 2017

  • X Summit (San Francisco, CA) 2017

  • Autodesk University (Seoul, South Korea) 2017)