Jez Staines

In my early years I realised that I didn’t like to sleep, so I thought I’d find a job where I stayed awake all of the time and became a travel rep. After a while, visiting ski resorts and warm destinations become quite a strain, so I finally realised I needed to return to the UK for some rainy weather, high taxes and fast food from every pavement (!) My first job after returning was in the car trade, where I spent many years of my life – including every weekend – working with the good ol’ general public, to finally creating various digital retention marketing campaigns for some of the largest automotive brands in the world.

“I’m fortunate enough to work with some incredible minds”

As a Senior Client Lead, I must say it’s the best job in the world! I help brands turn tech thoughts into concepts, concepts into briefs, and briefs into incredible new software experiences. I’m lucky enough to work with so many amazing people who are looking for our help to make new, innovative and exciting apps, for any occasion.

I’ve always dreamt of owning the latest in technologies, from computers to consoles to phones. After following new technologies and apps for so long, I’m pleased to say I’m now finally able to follow my dream by creating apps for some of the biggest brands in the world on some of the latest tech available today.

“As cliched as it may sound, I’m driven by being the best at what I do”

When my clients give me control over their tech projects ahead of anyone else, if brands only have me help design and deliver their concepts they think up, if marketing teams only trust me to deliver a key project to a budget – this is what motivates me in my role, as this is how I know I’m being the best at what I do.

The most important advice I’d give to my successor would be to never stop coming up with new ideas, and if nothing is coming into your brain, go away and come back. If you also feel like sometimes things are against you, there’s always someone in deeper than you, and they’re making a good go of it.

At Gravit8, no one has pressure from anyone but themselves, so this creates an incredibly enjoyable environment, rich in enthusiasm and nothing short of a breeding ground for new ideas. Should anyone ever get stuck, an entire team is at hand to help. If I can’t reach my colleagues over the phone, I’ll be sure enough to catch them over a work social event that seems to be happening every other week!

“The future of tech has now started”

If I thought that five years ago the tech projects I worked on were varied, they’re nothing compared to what they are now! With more clients using us more now than ever, the projects coming through seem to have the need to be bigger and better than anything that’s gone before them – which is super exciting.

Like the tech industry itself, the next five years promise that we’ll be making bigger, better apps to work on quicker and more efficient technologies. We are already producing some incredible virtual platforms for people unable to view a physical show or digital activations, with sharper 8K displays soon becoming the norm for our big screen animations, the apps we’re building will be even more immersive in 3D through new VR headset tech, or ground-breaking wearable solutions – the future I believe has now started!