We are ThoughtFull™. A community of researchers, designers, strategists, innovators and storytellers who enable organisations to redefine their future. Together we design end-to-end experiences that people can’t live without.

Award-winning designer, innovator and brand strategist Geoff Suvalko is the founding partner and creative director at ThoughFull™. Geoff has a passion for transforming the mediocre into compelling and meaningful experiences. A titan of the industry for many years, he has led international projects across Asia, Australia, New Zealand and North America, covering a wide range of industries from tourism, aviation, public transport, banking, food, technology to central government. Throughout his storied career Geoff has received numerous global design awards for his work. He has a degree in Design Methods from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology and has been an Advisory Board Member at NZTE Better By Design.

Hudson Smales brings his considerable experience as a design strategist leading research projects in New Zealand and Europe to his role at ThoughtFull, where he specialises in translating user research into actionable business opportunities. Before joining Geoff Suvalko as a partner at ThoughtFull, Hudson was head of Research and Design at Air New Zealand. He was responsible for the design and development of a wide range of ground-breaking brand, design and innovation experiences. During his time with the company, Air New Zealand was awarded Airline of Year and won numerous design, service and research awards. Hudson has led projects across tourism, agriculture, utilities, charities, logistics and education with a focus on customer experience, product and service design.

Customer Experience (CX) lead Nikki Goodman is a fount of knowledge when it comes to identifying and meeting the needs of customers. Nikki has spent the past 15 years deeply involved in the sector from both a governance and operational perspective. As GM of Customer Experience at Air New Zealand, Nikki was responsible for everything  customer related from metrics, strategies (immediate and long term), lounges, service standards, call centre, products and services. She studied Customer Focused Innovation at Stanford's d-School and Brand Management at Melbourne Business School. At ThoughtFull, Nikki has helped shape CX strategies, systems and structures for Kiwibank, Britomart Hotel, Vodafone and Kiwi Property.

Dave has a long-standing interest in ways digital technology can add true value to experiences in the physical world. Dave has a long working relationship with Air New Zealand, where he has worked on many digital innovations for both the airport and in-cabin customer experiences. These included the original concepts for kiosk check-in, mobile-assisted check-in and boarding, open bag drop, the airline’s famous “coffee app”, and unaccompanied minor Airband. More recently, Dave was the Design Lead for in-cabin digital experience, for the Airline’s new wide body fleet entering service in late 2024. Dave has a Bachelor of Engineering qualification from Auckland University, and a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Cambridge.

An award-winning designer with an impressive portfolio in brand identity, Aaron Richardson is a Design Lead at ThoughtFull. Aaron’s specialist area is engaging audiences through the creation of innovative, immersive customer experiences, having spent 14 years at leading brand consultancies in London and Europe. Through work for Rolls-Royce and Burberry, Aaron has explored the use of technology in retail and event environments, enabling engagement beyond the physical to create memorable, inspirational experiences for visitors. Aaron’s work has been widely published, and recognised with awards from FX, Design Week UK, D&AD and the Designers’ Institute of New Zealand. Aaron has a Bachelor of Design and Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand.

Zac Suvalko is a man who likes to keep his finger on the pulse of everything to do with contemporary culture  -  music, art, fashion and design - and apply it to his work as a creative multi-disciplinary Senior Designer at ThoughtFull. With a background in the fashion/product and retail environment working with brands locally and abroad in product design, development and production, Zac strives to make sure all projects he's involved in are deep rooted in future-proof, culturally relevant decisions.

Experience designer Fiona Clarke uses insights she gains from her research to drive innovation and ultimately elevate the user experience. By understanding complex user needs, Fiona is able to guide teams in the creation of multiple customer experience strategies and concepts. Fiona is a Design Lead at ThoughtFull, having run research and design teams in a range of private and public sector organisations including Les Mills International, Air New Zealand, IAG and Frucor. She trained in theatre design at Central St Martins, London and has a Masters in Design from Auckland University of Technology, specialising in User Centred Design.

Ruby is a Senior Designer at ThoughtFull working at the intersection of design and research. Taking a user-centric approach to her work, her strengths lie in her ability to conduct research with empathy, dig deeper to extract key learnings, translate complexities into understandable and actionable insights, identify opportunities and create ideas and concepts that deliver meaningful impact. Ruby has a Bachelor of Design Innovation, majoring in Culture and Context from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand.

Chelsea Pratt’s role as a product and spatial designer allows her to work in an area she is passionate about -  the intersection of design and human experience. At ThoughtFull, Chelsea operates collaboratively across multiple disciplines, always pushing the boundaries. She has extensive local and international experience in user experience, digital, brand strategy, retail design, technical apparel, industrial and event/exhibition design. As well as experience in innovation teams including at Alt Group and Lululemon Labs, Vancouver, she has a background in admin, accounts and production manufacturing. Chelsea has a Bachelor in Industrial Design and Spatial Design from AUT in Auckland.

Kate Gavin is a Senior Designer at ThoughtFull who has helped companies design services, products and experiences. Her depth of experience in user-centred design methods ensure creative strategies deliver value to both the organisation and its users and customers. Kate is proficient in conducting ethnographic research, designing workshops, developing building and testing prototypes. Before she joined the ThoughtFull team, Kate was an experience design manager with the internal innovation team within the ASB Bank. Kate has a Bachelor of Design – Visual Communications from Massey University. Wellington, New Zealand.

Design Manager Andrea Fouhy brings considerable experience in the management of design programmes, brand campaigns, activations and public relations to the ThoughtFull team. She is passionate about understanding how a business operates internally and externally, and is a ‘safe pair of hands’ with the ability to be strategic in both planning and implementation to achieve business goals. Andrea spent more than a decade as a senior brand and project lead at Air New Zealand, where she delivered a variety of projects both internationally and domestically, from aircraft livery design, the creation of the Customer Innovation and Collaboration Centre through to Air New Zealand's 75th Anniversary exhibition and campaign. Andrea has a Bachelor in Graphic Design – Visual Communications from UNITEC, Auckland, New Zealand. 

Helen is a Design Lead at Thoughtfull, bringing with her a depth of experience in brand identity, packaging and communications. By taking an idea-led approach, Helen's work responds coherently to strategic thought, always ensuring projects are full of substance and providing outcomes that are both creatively successful and commercially relevant. Throughout her career, she has been recognised with both local and international design awards, and has worked at some of the most respected studios in Auckland. Helen holds a Bachelor of Design, majoring Visual Communications from Unitec Design School, Auckland, New Zealand.

Beck Lowe’s specialist area at ThoughtFull is in brand, where she works across multifunctional teams using her extensive knowledge to understand the customer and the markets in which they play. She is passionate about the written word and the power it has to transform brands. Beck’s previous experience includes healthcare, FMCG, service and fashion over a variety of roles including research and development, new product development, marketing management, social media content creation, copywriting and project management. Beck has a Bachelor of Consumer & Applied Science and a Diploma in Marketing from the University of Otago, New Zealand.

Jon Parlby has a love of all things design with particular emphasis on human-centred design. He has worked on a number of globally significant projects including with Dyson in the UK, and the Electric Car project dubbed N526, where he led a small team to develop the vehicle's Human Machine Interface (HMI) at a conceptual level. Jon was on Z Energy's Innovation team to re-imagine the future of fuel, given the impending shift to electric, running a series of experiments to validate new consumer models. He has successfully led a number design consultation projects at ThoughtFull across a broad range of industries, utilising human centred design techniques to facilitate innovation and design.

A designer at ThoughtFull assisting in different projects in research, insight synthesis and illustrative storytelling, Jono Aquino is a creative thinker with a keen eye for identifying opportunities from research, and has the ability to visualise ideas in a simple way that people understand. Jono has a bachelor of design, majoring in industrial design, and a bachelor of business, majoring in marketing from the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.

Placing an emphasis on creativity and innovation. Richard has spent over 20 years deeply involved in human-centered design as both an external design consultant and in house designer for clients including Hasbro and Hewlett & Packard. He has led a wide range of engagements at ThoughtFull from Air New Zealand's future cabin experience through to product innovation for Frucor/Suntory and customer experience strategy for Fonterra, applying human centred research and design techniques. More recently, Richard was Design Practice Lead within the Product design team at Xero. Richard has Degree in 3-Dimensional Design from the University of Portsmouth and has acted as a visiting faculty member at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design

Allysa Smales has an impressive portfolio of work across a range of organisations and industries identifying and interpreting human needs and behaviours. At Thoughtfull, as a Research Lead, Allysa is an expert at leveraging human insights to inform and build successful outcomes for clients. In her 20 years experience in qualitative research, working in government, education, FMCG, media, service and tourism sectors in New Zealand and the UK, Allysa has spent many hours speaking to, observing and spending time with people in their everyday lives. She is passionate about discovering and understanding what and why they behave and how products, services and experiences can be enhanced to meet their undeclared needs. Allysa has a degree in social geography and psychology from Otago University, New Zealand.