Welcome aboard to Clark Hind, our new AV Designer

Clark and his son

We have strengthened our technical capabilities with the appointment of Clark Hind as AV Designer, a newly created role that will bring even greater design expertise, consistency and oversight to our projects.

As the scale and complexity of the work we deliver continues to grow, the new role represents an important investment in maintaining and strengthening the standards our clients expect from SSUK. Clark will work across the business, helping ensure that  solutions are  carefully considered, properly documented and designed around the environment and the people who will ultimately use them. For Clark, it's the latest step in a career that began with a fascination for what happens behind the scenes.

From Audio to AV

Like many people working in the AV industry, Clark's original interest was in audio. After playing guitar and being involved in music when he was younger, he studied Music Technology and Audio Systems at the University of Huddersfield. The course covered recording studios, acoustics, electronics and programming, but Clark quickly realised it was the technology rather than performance that really interested him.

"I was always more interested in what was happening behind the scenes – how everything worked and the mechanics of it all."

After university, Clark joined an audio visual company in Halifax, marking his introduction to the wider world of AV. He spent around five or six years in technical support, troubleshooting systems and solving problems for clients.

"The best way to learn how something works is to fix it. Technical support gave me a really good grounding because you're constantly working out why something isn't behaving as it should and what needs to happen to put it right."

Clark subsequently moved into AV design and has spent the last four years developing solutions for a wide variety of clients, gaining particular experience across corporate environments, meeting rooms, boardrooms and collaborative spaces. Joining SSUK gives him the opportunity to apply that experience across a much broader range of projects and sectors.

Strengthening Our Design Process

As our new AV Designer, Clark will work closely with our Account Managers, Projects team and clients to understand what they're trying to achieve, how their spaces will be used and, importantly, who will be using them.

"The client might come to us saying they need a particular system, but part of my role is to look beyond that and understand what they're trying to achieve in the space. We can then make sure what we're proposing is genuinely suitable for the environment and the people who are going to use it."

That's central to the way we believe technology should be delivered: start with the people and the problem, then determine the right technology, not the other way around.

Clark will also help us further standardise our approach to design.. He'll produce architectural and technical drawings and work closely with our Projects team to ensure engineers have clear, consistent information when projects reach installation. Ultimately, it's about making the entire process more organised and streamlined while continuing to raise the quality of what we deliver.

Looking Ahead

Clark expects AV technology to become increasingly integrated into the spaces around us - more connected, less conspicuous and easier for people to use. He also expects more audio and video to travel across networks as the distinction between AV and wider IT infrastructure continues to narrow. That focus on making sophisticated technology feel simpler is a good fit with our own approach.

We're delighted to have Clark on board and look forward to seeing the impact his experience and expertise will have across our projects.

Planning an AV project?

Whether you’re creating a new space, upgrading existing systems or looking for a better way to approach your AV, our team can help you get it right from the outset.

We’ll take the time to understand your environment, how people will use it and what you need to achieve before recommending the right approach.