Alumni feature

Alex Broad

A chance discovery in the Otago Polytechnic prospectus led Alex Broad to a successful and award-winning career. 

Alex Broad Alumni story

A chance discovery in the Otago Polytechnic prospectus led Alex Broad to a successful and award-winning career.

“I was planning to enrol in Architectural Draughting, but then Product Design caught my eye,” he recalls. “I thought it spoke to me and my interests, so at the last minute I changed my mind – and I’ve never looked back.”  

Alex appreciated that the programme was industry-focused, with a good balance between learning theory and putting theory into practice in the workshop. 

“It was really hands-on and prepared us extremely well for transitioning out of tertiary education and straight into industry-based employment,” he says.  

“A lot of that was down to our excellent lecturers, who had worked in the industry themselves and had very strong industry connections.”

Alex Broad

Lead Designer, Evolve Outdoors

This focus on maintaining and developing industry relationships – including with alumni – continues to this day, Alex says, noting that it’s one of the key strengths of the programme. 

During his studies, Alex came fifth in an international design competition for an innovative wall lamp created from Italian faux leather. 

“I won a trip to Milan in Italy with my lecturer, Mike Wilson, to visit the faux leather firm, Crespi, which was a pretty mind-blowing experience.”  

Later, Alex completed a work experience placement at Evolve Outdoors in Wellington, where he eventually gained a permanent role as an industrial designer. 

“When I first started, we worked in a double garage with a mezzanine floor for an office, and now we’re in 2,500 square metre warehouse and office space. We’ve come a long way.”

Alex Broad

Lead Desginer, Evolve Outdoors

These days, Alex is the company’s lead designer and manages a small team of product designers who predominantly produce clothing, footwear and accessories for hunting and fishing.  

“We produce mostly for New Zealand, but we have a warehouse in Australia as well and we’re starting to branch into the international market.” 

Now, Alex employs and offers internships to Otago Polytechnic Product Design graduates and students himself.

“They always come highly recommended, they’re really knowledgeable and creative, and they are keen to push the boundaries of design,” he says. “It’s great having them on board.” 

Evolve Outdoors has a strong focus on sustainability, recently winning awards for innovation and sustainability at the Wellington Export Awards. 

“Some of our rainwear uses recycled nylon, most of which comes from pre-consumer waste – for example, material from a carpet factory that would normally end up as waste to landfill,” he explains.  

“Our t-shirts are 65% recycled cotton, we don’t use single-use plastic in any of our packaging and all of our hunting products have some element of recycled material in them. We’re always trying to become more sustainable through innovation.” 

The company also donates to grassroots environmental initiatives such as Sustainable Coastlines and the Million Metres project. 

 

Published on 08 Jan 2025