Jak is a Research Fellow and leader of the Social & Global Research Space at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art, London. His research interests lie in developing the methods and tools of people-centred design to solve global social challenges. At its core it's about using design to benefit society.

Jak’s previous work involved helping major global brands innovate by gaining a better understanding of people's needs. His projects have varied and valuable applications – from reframing rental propositions for a key London property development, to understanding the future of media consumption for a major UK broadcaster. Jak has also led creative thinking, brand strategy and product innovation workshops for global businesses that include Google, Facebook, Sainsbury’s and IKEA.

Jak has a PhD in design for behaviour change from Loughborough University, which focused on understanding how behaviour change strategies could be used to reduce household energy consumption. This led him to undertake research in India and spend time as a visiting researcher in Brazil. His work has been published and disseminated globally.