Simon is the founder and MD of JANVS Design and VIDAR Media, now VIDAR Media Group Ltd (trading as JANVS | VIDAR) based in London, Dublin and Harrogate.  A Full Member of the Chartered Society of Designers and a Fellow (and, since 2003, Chairman) of the Society of Illustrators Artists and Designers, Simon has over thirty five years experience as a designer of cultural heritage projects, many of which have won major national and international awards, including: Best New Museum, Heritage Attraction of the Year, the Renaissance Award, the HLF Inspiration Award, the Museum of the Year Award (three times), the ITIA Inspiration Award, bronze and silver medals at the RHS International Exhibition in Chelsea (London), and recently had two projects nominated for the Irish Tourism Industry Awards 2017.  Projects designed by Simon and his team include the winner of Europe's Tourist Attraction of the Year (at the World Travel Awards 2017), and the worldwide winner of the Global Visitor Attraction of the Year (at the International Travel and Tourism Awards 2019).

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Simon has acted as Lead Designer on a diverse portfolio of over 350 projects including: National Museum of Denmark (Copenhagen, 2000), National Museum of Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur 2001), Viking Ships (York, 2001), National Glacier Centre (Höfn, Iceland, 2005), Migrants, Mariners & Merchants (touring for the NRA, Ireland, 2006), The FA Cup (Manchester, 2006), Irish Showbands (touring, Ireland, 2007), The Viking Triangle (Waterford, 2007-2014), Labin Republika (Croatia, 2008), St George’s Hall (for European Capital of Culture, Liverpool, 2008), Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site (Coalbrookdale, 2008), Rugby Football Museum (2008), Royal Armouries (Leeds, 2009), London Transport Museum (Covent Garden, 2009), National Trust Habitat Centre (2009-10), Castle Howard (North Yorkshire, UK, 2009-2015), Fairfax House (York, UK, 2010), Orkuverið Jörð (Reykjanes, Iceland, 2013-2015), Chatsworth House (Derbyshire, UK, 2013), Michael Collins House (Clonakilty, 2013-2014), Kilmainham Gaol & Courthouse (Dublin, 2014-2016), Fortress Spike Island (Cork, 2014-2018), Old Head of Kinsale (2015), Lifetime Lab (Cork, 2016), Bunratty Castle & Folk Park (2015-2017), various projects for Coillte Outdoor (2016-2017) and Hafnarfjörður Museum (Iceland, 2005-2019), Dursey Island Cable Car (Ireland, 2018-2019) and Woodstock Estate & Gardens (Ireland, 2019).

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Simon has also led the design and implementation of several heritage tourism initiatives that combine multiple attractions or geographic locations into one coherent offer.  These include The Blue Diamond tourism trail in Reykjanes, Iceland; Art Republika in Labin, Croatia; The Viking Triangle in Waterford, Ireland; and a masterplan project for Cork Harbour in Ireland.  He has recently been appointed as Lead Interpretative Consultant for the redevelopment of the Dursey Island Cable Car and Visitor Centre in West Cork, the development of the Black Friary Archaeological Site in Trim, County Meath and the complete redesign of The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon.

 

As a Special Adviser to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Simon was a member of the strategic planning executive for the creation and implementation of several pan-European projects under the European Cultural Routes programme.  As a Strategic Management Consultant with McKinsey & Company he worked during the Yugoslav Homeland War on UNESCO projects in the Former Yugoslavia and, following the cessation of hostilities, was involved with the strategic development of cultural tourism projects in post-war Croatia.

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In addition to his interpretative design work, Simon is also an award-winning editorial photographer with picture credits including National Geographic magazine, the Telegraph, Observer and Sunday Times magazines, and many national newspapers and journals.  His photography website can be found here.