Robert wanted to be a doctor but ended up being an inventor. One of his inventions was the M&S triangular packaging for sandwiches. He gave me a good advice about dealing with change and your own expectations.
This old photo of Robert and I popped up recently on one of those social media prompts. He designed packaging. He wanted to be a doctor but didn’t make it, so he became a food technologist. He first worked at Wall’s, and got made redundant twice.
Then he worked at Marks & Spencer, where he invented the triangular sandwich packaging. “Of course they didn’t patent it although I asked them to,” he said, rolling his eyes.
I told him about the publishing landscape at that time, and how we had to diversify from print to digital. This encounter with Robert happened at the tail end of the double-dip crisis, in summer 2013. Many editors, journalists, graphic designers and production staff got let go from publishing houses by that point. I had already moved from print magazines into web editing in 2003. To see another seismic shift happening again in 2013 from websites to apps was quite daunting for the industry.
He looked at me and said: “Did you know what you wanted to be at high school? I wanted to be a doctor. I couldn’t.” He fell into food packaging and became an inventor.
“Did you know what you wanted to be at high school? I wanted to be a doctor. I couldn’t.” He fell into food packaging and became an inventor.
The legacy of the printing press
The event was organised by Padraig Belton, one of the members of our union the NUJ, on behalf of The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, if I recall correctly. It took place at St Bride’s Church on Fleet Street, the church for journalists. That evening, we got taken to see the publishing studio and the printing press in the church. I remember being shown a big wooden table where they laid out and checked the pages of books and newsletters. ‘Layout’. ‘Pagination’. ‘News desk’. ‘Letters’. ‘Martin Luther’. ‘Flyers’. ‘The press’.
Around that time, I was already working with digital agencies within online gaming, market research and so on to develop products such as games, apps and wearables for sports, and personal health informatics (one job was for a pharma company’s dashboard for diabetics). This wasn’t long after I completed my MSc in Digital Anthropology at University College London in 2011. I studied games and simulation, and was persuaded that UX and digitality was the way to go for storytelling. Yes, I did learn a lot about UX, online play and the making of a story universe whilst in gaming and apps.
But when I saw the printing press at St Bride’s Church, I realised this was where I started before – in the printing room of a newspaper – and a book has always been that UX platform for storytelling. At least for me.
When I saw the printing press of St Bride’s Church, I realised this was where I started before and a book has always been that UX platform for storytelling.
Not long after that, I moved sideways to tech and fintech. I’ve learned a great deal about payment and e-commerce but I still remember the Marks & Spencer inventor and that studio at St Bride’s Church.
I’ve always wanted to know Robert’s surname but I didn’t catch it that evening. Never mind. When I buy sandwiches in triangular packages, I think of optimists and creators like him.
Thank you, Robert.
Salina Christmas 