What I Do

2017 marked my switch to freelancer life.

Very exciting times! So far I’ve had the pleasure of working with Scottish Widows (though Designit), Morgan Stanley, Lloyds Bank (either through the awesomely named SapientRazorfish or directly), CYBG, better known as Clydesdale Bank, Moody’s Analytics, Finmo and the Scottish Parliament. In my previous employed life, I spent time with Realise (now called Kin + Carta), Blonde (now called Signal), IfLooksCouldKill and Peach.

I’ve been in the industry for more than 15 years now, completing my Undergrad in Product Design back in 2006, starting out as a print and advertising designer before returning to Napier to do a Masters in Interdisciplinary Design, working as a lecturer, then switching to digital design in 2011.

I see myself primarily as someone who loves solving problems and crafting solutions. That seems to make me a UI, a UX, a UI/UX or a Product Designer, depending on who wrote the project spec!

Our industry sure does love its job titles…

Who I've worked with

I’ve worked with some amazing people over the years.

In (what used to be called) Blonde I had the chance to work with one of Scotland’s top agencies, then as a contractor, the amazing opportunity to learn from Designit and Sapient, two of the biggest design agencies in the world! As well as a range of top notch Creative and Design Directors; Paddy, Sarah, Ricky, Mark & Don, without whom I wouldn’t be who I am today.

In an ideal world, I’m happiest working on web / app projects that involve UI / UX; responsive design, apps, tools, creating MVP’s of new products etc are my favourites! Essentially, I love having a problem to solve. I’ve worked across a range of different sectors, but I am particularly experienced in the finance industry, having worked with many of the UK’s largest banks, cinema, having worked with Vue, Universal and Sony, and B2B services and software.

What does Tsukuru mean?

I began using it as an alias for freelancing years ago, I’ve long had a love for all things Japanese, so after discovering there were other designers out there with the name Scott Burns, the Japanese language seemed as good a place as any to go looking for a brand name.

With my move to freelance, Tsukuru has been transformed into Studio Tsukuru Ltd as a vehicle for my future activities.

What's with the robots?

Ah, the robots…

They began life as a Masters project; we were challenged to make 10 things for less than £5, and to sell 9 of them, in a week.

So obviously I made 10 card robots.

Proving rather more popular than I anticipated, I developed something of a love/hate relationship with them, as throughout my Masters, as keen as I would be to talk about my latest project, friends and family would, invariably, only ask about the robots!

But, in the end, I embraced the little guys and turned them into a logo.

Extracurricular Activities

I’m proud to have mentored and supported design students and be an Organiser with Creative Points.

Since 2014 I’ve been a student mentor, together with Edinburgh College for 4 years, working with budding designers in their final year at the College, advising them, working on challenge briefs with them in groups and looking out for them on placements at agencies I’ve worked at, and more recently, supporting students remotely from across the UK and beyond.

After helping to put on an amazing event that brought Chris Do to Edinburgh, I’ve joined up with Creative Points to help bring more inspiring people to the city.

Fancy a chat?

Any questions, or just fancy saying hello? These links will aid you in your quest...