My Story
I've always had a lifelong passion for art and design, coupled with an inherent desire to help others. Reflecting on my childhood, I realise that drawing and painting were therapeutic for me, allowing me to escape into the worlds I created on paper.
My early working life began with five years as a carer, a role I continued while studying design at university. As I moved into my design career post university, although I enjoyed the tangible aspects of design production, I often questioned the impact of my work. I felt unfulfilled and longed to make a real difference, particularly for children.
This passion led me to a role as the in-house exhibition designer at Eureka! The National Children's Museum. There, I designed galleries, exhibits, digital art installations, and managed gallery development projects. In 2018, I was selected to join a team of designers, psychologists, neurologists, and children's rights experts in Helsinki, Finland. Together, we created the first Designing for Children’s Rights Guide, which integrates the U.N. rights of the child into design, business, and product development worldwide. During this project, I found my tribe—people united by the goal of shaping a brighter future for generations to come.
Driven by a desire to deepen my understanding of the intersection between design and child protection, I pursued postgraduate studies in Advanced Child Protection in 2020. My goal was to enhance my design practice by gaining expertise in creating products and environments that prioritise children's safety and well-being.
Then came a series of pivotal moments that uprooted my life in almost every way imaginable. Amidst this storm of change, I knew it was time to replant the seeds of my future and shape the life I truly wanted. I realised my purpose lay in merging my love for design with my commitment to helping others. This epiphany led me to establish my own interior design business, focused on creating environments for children and families that promote wellness and play.
While my primary focus is on designing for children, I also cater to adults, infusing all my work with a calming yet playful spirit. Adults often get bogged down by life's stresses, and I've come to see my true purpose as creating spaces where everyone can feel comfortable, safe, and free to unwind, laugh, and rediscover the joy of play. After all, play knows no age limits.
Qualifications & Experience
2021- Present
Carly Jay
Director, Interior Designer & Project Consultant
I craft diverse, functional spaces that spark joy and nurture wellness – whether it's for children and family healthcare, play & learning spaces, or cafes & bars. My goal? To leave a lasting smile on the faces of delighted clients/customers. I offer photorealistic visualisations to allow the client to see how their space will look on project completion.
2020-2021
Kent University
Advanced Child Protection
(Post Graduate)
Modules and topics studied: Understanding Social Research / Definitions, Prevalence, Causes and Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect / Support, Help and Intervention / Contemporary Child Protection Practice and Policies. Psychological and behavioural theories in connection to modules.
2016-2020
Eureka! The National Children's Museum
Exhibition Designer
As in-house designer at the museum, the main aspects of my role were: exhibition design for permanent and temporary gallery spaces, spatial planning, outdoor playscape development, FF&E, M&E, interactive design, product design, graphic design, project management, and managing junior designers.
2014-2015
Interior Goods Direct
Design Manager
This role involved managing a team of designers and copywriters for an e-commerce interior goods retailer. I was also directly responsible for training and managing design apprentices, interior styling, room set design, trade exhibition design, graphic design for web and print, e-marketing, copywriting, project management and product development.
2009-2014
Carly Jay Design & Illustration
While freelancing I designed for a variety of clients. Main works included: Bespoke artwork/paintings, furniture, greetings cards, branding, mural, tattoo, book jacket, digital marketing. Clients include: Hallmark and Bradford City Council.
2018-Present
Designing for Children's Rights (D4CR)
I was selected as part of a group of designers, psychologists and neurologists in 2018 to set up a guide called Designing for Children's Rights (D4CR): An evolving guide that aims to refine a new standard for both design and business to direct the development towards products and services that have ethics and children’s best interests at their core. I continue to incorporate these principles within my work and I actively encourage co-creation with children throughout design development.
2009-2012
Bradford College of Art / Leeds University
Graphic Design, Illustration & Digital Media BA (Hons)
During my degree study, I studied various modules, including book illustration, branding, printmaking, art history, animation. However, I generally tended to focus a lot of my work on 3D design, designing exhibitions, making animation sets and 3D models for graphics.
2017
Chartered Management Institute
Project Management
In this course, I gained a solid foundation in the key aspects of project management, which I have consistently applied to my design projects ever since. The course taught how to understand the nature and context of projects, the management of stakeholders including the project team roles and responsibilities and the planning and control of projects.