UWA and me
I graduated UWA in 2015 with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering. I have fond memories of my student days, I’ve always thought of my engineering degree as a ‘ticket to learn’. It’s opened the door for me to work firstly in iron ore mining, then in the construction industry in North America and most recently in the consulting/professional services industry with both GHD and Jacobs. UWA was the foundation for my emerging career in innovation. Engineering has taught me to think critically – being able to zoom in to the detail but also zoom out and see the broader system in which I am designing. In the 4 years since I’ve graduated I’ve gone on to gain skillsets (mostly via studying online) in Design Thinking (Human-centred Design), Systems Thinking and Circular Economy. I am a big advocate for continuous learning (particularly project-based) whilst working in a job.
Circular and systemic
We (my business partner Andy and I) started Holonic because we saw an opportunity to support Western Australian businesses to innovate towards the Circular Economy (an emerging concept in Europe, China and the US). With Holonic we are determined to help create the next generation of businesses towards zero environmental impact. We have positioned ourselves as a ‘circular and systemic’ design agency to partner with organisations to train them in these emerging skillsets and mindsets. We have a hopeful eye on the future and believe that while it may be up to businesses to drive impact at scale, it is individuals and communities that are catalysts for systems change. This aligns quite beautifully with my passion for quantifiable social and environmental impact.
A practicing ‘intrapreneur’
I was dubbed a practicing ‘intrapreneur’ when I left GHD after 3 years. I didn’t realise it but I was championing things like Design Thinking and co-design for organisational innovation. Some of my biggest impacts were only achieved after I resigned.
So on that note, my advice would be twofold; firstly is that you don’t have to start your own company to be an entrepreneur! The world needs more intrapreneurs, driving change from within. Secondly it’s that intra/entrepreneurship is not for everyone, find a deeper purpose and meaning through your work before you decide to become a practicing innovator. For me? I’m driven by quantifiable social and environmental impact within my local community. That’s why I started Holonic.
Words of wisdom
At Holonic we like to say “a better future starts by asking better questions” #askabetterquestion! Whether you are in an open Q&A or town hall meeting with your company’s CEO, or just having a coffee with your manager; ask them a bloody great question! That has always paid off in my career, even in difficult circumstances (like challenging CEOs).
Dylan is a systemic designer and creative changemaker. Hailing from Kalgoorlie, he has lived and worked in Perth & Minnesota (USA) as an engineer and now as a designer.
Since graduating UWA in 2015, Dylan has gone on to study Human-Centred Design, Design Thinking, Theory U and Circular Economy. He reached a turning point in 2018 while working as a consultant. Feeling restless and dissatisfied with his work, life and the state of the current linear economy, he was destined to be a sprout for a brighter, more circular and generative future. It was inevitable that he would eventually team up with like-minded Andy Thomson to found Holonic to seed a new narrative for innovation in Western Australia. Since then, Dylan has maintained his role as an emerging young leader with GHD (now as a consultant) and continues to work with them in innovation and systems change.
Away from work, Dylan enjoys studying Japanese, freelance designing, doing art, cooking, growing food, hiking, keeping fit, and can admit to having an emerging bio-materials lab in his kitchen! He is host of the podcast Brilliant Perth.
You can connect with Dylan on LinkedIn and Medium and keep up-to-date with Holonic via LinkedIn, Medium, Facebook and Instagram.