Stephen Collins

Small Business Owner and Principal Designer in Canberra, Australia

Stephen Collins

Small Business Owner and Principal Designer in Canberra, Australia

I started my business, acidlabs, in late 2006 after training as a journalist and spending my first careers in public policy and small consulting companies. I was done with being accused of not fitting in once too often.

I'm a proponent of human scale and human-friendly workplaces, and giving people a meaningful place to work and actual balance in their lives.

I care deeply about things like design ethics, leadership, intentional culture, representation and equity (recognising I'm one of way too many middle-class, educated, middle-aged, white dudes in design), the big picture, and building smarter clients.

I'm a dilettante bonsai grower and keen gardener, certain that home-grown tomatoes are the best and Chinese Elms are almost impossible to keep alive!

I'm a fan of the outdoors and enjoy hiking, some MTB (fun only rather than serious), fishing, archery, and any place where water meets mountains.

I'm a keen gamer with a strong preference for roleplaying and 3rd-person games.

I'm known to many as “trib”. Feel free to use it.

Politically and socially, I'm a humanist and progressive and use the pronouns he/him/his.

  • Work
    • acidlabs
  • Education
    • University of Canberra
    • RMIT University