Thinking and making belong together.
I work across brand, product and digital to understand what’s really going on, work out what matters, and help make the right things happen. That’s the idea behind Bold Wise.
About Bold Wise
I’m Alex Magill. For more than twenty-five years I’ve worked across strategy, brand, design, websites and digital products — as a designer, adviser, developer and someone responsible for getting things made.
Problems rarely arrive neatly labelled. A website problem might really be positioning. A design problem might be content or structure. And a new piece of technology might not be the answer at all.
My job is to see across those boundaries: understand what’s really happening, work out what deserves attention, and stay involved where I can usefully help make the change happen.
Alex is a first-class creative thinker. I have huge confidence in Alex’s delivery, because I know the proposed solution will be thoroughly thought through, well developed and perfectly tuned for what we need. Alex is a master craftsman of the modern age.
Seeing the whole picture
A grounding in design
I studied Product Design at Brunel University before moving into brand, identity and digital — working in-house, agency-side and independently.
That grounding in how things work, how people use them and how ideas become real still shapes how I approach problems now.
Thinking and making
I’m as comfortable working through an unclear problem as I am turning a clear direction into something real.
Sometimes the value is knowing what to do. Sometimes it’s making it happen. Often it’s being able to do both.
How I work
The strongest work starts with understanding the situation rather than assuming the answer.
I listen to the people closest to it, look at the evidence, challenge assumptions and gradually build confidence in a direction.
Sometimes the work starts with investigation. Sometimes the problem is already clear and we can get straight into making something better. And other times it makes sense for me to stay involved as things evolve.
However we work together, the principle is the same: enough thinking to make a good decision, then enough practical involvement to make it useful.
A few organisations I’ve worked with
Why Bold Wise?
Being bold isn’t about chasing novelty or making noise. It’s about challenging assumptions, exploring different directions, and having honest conversations when something isn’t working.
Being wise isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about understanding context, recognising trade-offs, and resisting easy solutions before the problem is properly understood.
And the two belong together. Good judgement without action doesn’t change much. Action without enough understanding can solve the wrong problem. Bold Wise is about combining the two.
Something you're trying to untangle?
Tell me what's going on. You don't need to know which service you need or arrive with a finished brief.