Catherine is the founder and Managing Director of Journey Associates, a dynamic innovation and design management consultancy offering user-focused research, analysis and strategic consultancy services. She has been involved in the fields of design and innovation for 19 years and has managed a range of national and international projects relating to design, innovation and sustainability.

Drawing on her experience in academia, the public sector and commercial practice, Catherine facilitates a co-creative approach to help client organisations make the most effective use of design and innovation resources. She manages a team of designers and researchers and directs a range of design innovation projects that apply design thinking to explore complex issues, leading to user-focused and practical solutions for products and services in the public and private sectors.

Catherine has worked at a strategic level for a wide range of clients delivering projects for the British Council, the BBC, the Scottish Government, the Design Council, Scottish Enterprise, NESTA, Strathclyde Police, Grampian Police, Standard Life, Glasgow School of Art, Nottingham University and Material Connexion (New York). She also held academic posts at Manchester School of Management and De Montfort University.

Previous posts include as head of the Design Innovation Studio at Glasgow School of Art, a research and knowledge exchange unit applying design thinking approaches and techniques to enable organisations to innovate, where she led on a number of projects including: collective working in creative and cultural industries; enhanced access to online resources for mental health; re-imagining public services including social services and the future of public libraries; supporting businesses to increase their competitiveness through the use of design; engaging communities in the climate change agenda; and facilitating organisational strategic planning.