How the Royal College of Art’s technical team help transform creative careers

Meet the skilled specialists and industry veterans who empower Royal College of Art students and serve as a catalyst for creative innovation.

When you’re choosing a university for postgraduate study, you’re likely weighing factors like reputation, location and course structure. But have you considered what might be the most crucial element of your educational experience?

A great technical services team can mean the difference between bringing your concept to full life and lacking the knowledge to realise it. And at the Royal College of Art (RCA), a hidden powerhouse awaits.

With more than 100 specialists, spanning fields from motion capture to metalwork, sound engineering to fabric dyeing, these experts represent far more than a support system—they are active collaborators in the creative process.

“The technical services staff were fundamental to my experience at the RCA, generous with their time, knowledge and support,” recalls Tom Scrimgeour, Design Products MA (class of 2024). “Collaborating with them has not only expanded my skills set but also opened up entirely new possibilities in my practice that I never imagined before.

“Often the knowledge exchange that happens between conversation and the generosity in space to experiment led to the right outcome,” he adds. “Working with technicians across the college in CNC, wood, textile dying, film and more helped hone my interdisciplinary design skills and a more considered final outcome, particularly with my final project.”

In the first of a two-part series of articles, we chatted with members of this vital and inspiring team, to get a glimpse into a remarkable ecosystem where technical instructors become mentors, collaborators and catalysts for creative transformation.

Breaking barriers

Charlotte Raymen, lead technical instructor in visual and immersive technology, has been running the XR Lab and Motion Capture space since 2021. With a background in filmmaking and post-production, including a role as immersive content manager at Sky, she brings a ton of industry expertise to the role.

Rather than intimidate students with her vast knowledge, though, she’s on a mission to make this exciting field more accessible. “New technology is so unfriendly,” Charlotte points out. “That’s been the bulk of my thinking: how to make it friendlier. I want to empower anyone to use our equipment and feel like they’re in on it, almost like they’re fellow technicians.”

The result is a collaborative environment where students don’t just learn about tech; they become active participants. “In the motion capture studio, for example, there might be someone on the desk, someone with the actors, someone calibrating the room: we might ask the student to take on any one of those roles,” Charlotte explains.

Crucially, you don’t need to be on a specific technical course to use most of these facilities: all students can get access. And that’s the same across the entire university. “It doesn’t matter what you’re studying: we’re here for you,” Charlotte explains. “I don’t even ask any more which course you’re on; I don’t think it matters.”

And this cross-disciplinary approach can lead to some remarkable creative innovations. “For instance, we had someone weave a blanket based on code that came from motion data,” Charlotte recalls. “I spent some time last year connecting the physical with the digital and designed a vase in VR that I could then 3D print in clay. And now I can see ceramics students following in my footsteps this year.”

Sound thinking, beyond boundaries

Next, let’s meet Joe Hirst, the RCA’s sound technician and specialist technical instructor since 2021. Joe brings over two decades of commercial experience as a professional mix engineer to his role… and loves every minute of it.

“I spent 20 years professionally working in music,” he explains. “Then, when I read the job spec for the RCA, I thought, ‘Well, why not?’ I was intrigued to know what went on here.” What he encountered was a constantly evolving kaleidoscope of sound-related projects spanning multiple disciplines.

“A lot of my time is spent running workshops with animation students,” he explains. “For some of them, the sound aspect of making films can be very daunting. But I’ll also have contemporary art practice students doing things like performance art or creating sound installations with feedback. Architecture students, too, are interested in things such as how to take acoustic measurements within buildings.”

This cross-disciplinary approach speaks to the RCA’s integrated vision of technical services—not as isolated support functions but as a creative bridge between disciplines.

The art of dyeing: craft meets contemporary

The RCA’s technical expertise extends beyond digital to traditional crafts, too. Specialist technical instructor in dyeing and printed textiles since 2022, Eloise O’Brian Scott has come full circle, having taken her own Textiles MA (class of 2019) here. “When I was a student at RCA, the technical staff were the most important people,” Eloise reflects. Now, she gets to pay that spirit forward.

Again, the dye workshop serves as a hub for a dazzling array of cross-disciplinary explorations. “While the primary users are textiles and fashion, this year we’ve had students from around 20 different courses,” notes Eloise.

“Painting students might take their canvas, dye it, and then stretch it. Or instead of using traditional paints, we’ll create dye pastes for them to paint with. Sculpture students, meanwhile, might make sculptures out of acrylics. We’ll also get students from design, creative direction, animation, photography and others. It’s really broad.”

This means Eloise is often in a constant blur of movement and attention. “My day-to-day is typically spent running around helping,” she explains. “There’s normally a queue outside the door of people asking questions, just checking that they’re doing things right. And then your eyes are always on something because you’ll see something being done wrong.”‘

Physical meets digital

In an age dominated by digital interfaces, the technical services team places significant value on stepping away from the keyboard. “I try to promote the idea of working with sound in a physical way,” Joe emphasises. “Manipulating sound without looking at a computer, using something like a control surface—which looks like a mixing desk with a bunch of faders on it—or sound generating equipment like synthesisers, is often more rewarding, immediate and gratifying.”

Charlotte’s work with VR and motion capture is also inherently physical, as it’s based on bringing bodily movement into a pixelated world. “Most of the time, digital art is created with a mouse, a keyboard, or a Wacom pen,” she points out. “But once you get the hang of drawing in VR, using software like Gravity Sketch, you’ve brought that tactility back into the digital space.”

Eloise’s work in the dye lab offers a similarly hands-on counterpoint to digital design processes, connecting students directly with materials and chemistry in ways screens cannot replicate. Recently, she’s extended this approach beyond campus walls with a project in collaboration with London’s Design Museum.

“We’ve created a garden where we’re growing plants that we’ll use to make our own dyes,” she explains. “It’s also a great wellness space for students who just want to get out in the open air, do some gardening, and improve their mental health.”

The future in focus

As the RCA continues to evolve, its technical services team remains focused on balancing cutting-edge technology with timeless creative principles. This pragmatic approach, combined with deep expertise and a collaborative spirit, makes the team an invaluable resource for students and a model for how technical support can become an integral part of creative education.

For prospective students considering the RCA, the message is clear. You’ll not only have access to state-of-the-art facilities but also to the minds behind them—experts who’ll help you transform your creative vision into reality, whatever form it might take.

View the RCA’s technical spaces and facilities, including our 360 virtual tours.