For nearly 30 years John has worked for and collaborated with some of the UK's most respected design agencies/individuals, run his own studio for over 20 years and been involved in design education since 2006.
John began his career in 1995 at the innovative London studio – Area. In 1998 he joined the internationally acclaimed agency – Pentagram, joining Frost Design in 2001. In 2003, John established Dowling Design & Art Direction and in 2010 he joined Rob Duncan to form Dowling Duncan. In 2013, Dowling Duncan merged with Mucho in Barcelona and in 2016 John left to set up Studio Dowling.
John has been a senior lecturer at Nottingham Trent University (2019 – 2023) and a senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University (2015 – 2019). From 2006 – 2019 he was a visiting lecturer, then an associate lecturer, at the University of Lincoln. In 2023 he rejoined Lincoln as Programme Leader / Senior Lecturer on the BA (Hons) Graphic Design course.
