Michael Stoddart has been part of Adobe’s engagement with the Asia Pacific design industry for over twenty years. He has had many and varied roles over that time – from evangelising new design technologies for individual creatives, to advising multinational brands on their digital transformation. Stoddart initially trained as an educator, before being accepted to design school to study graphic design. At the time of the industry’s first digital transformation, Stoddart expanded his small design studio to become a consultant to publishers moving to digital workflows.

After joining Adobe, Stoddart engaged with and supported the creative industry’s rapid adoption of new design capabilities that were being enabled by new technology. Initially this was the evolution of design into digital and interactive experiences for web delivery, which has evolved through user experience design into supporting new excursions into service design.

Stoddart is a spokesperson and thought leader for Adobe, for both its own design and creative events, as well as within various industry communities and activities. Supporting the design education community is integral to Adobe’s vision of changing the world by empowering young people to harness creativity and digital skills to create change.

By engaging with leading design schools across the region, Adobe looks to support the influence and acknowledgement of design as the leading differentiator of the modern experience.