My former colleague Marcus Willcocks, who has died aged 47 of leukaemia, worked at Design Against Crime, a London-based project that aims to create safer public spaces.
Marcus joined DAC, of which I am the founder and director, in 2010 as a designer leading projects and raising funding. He worked across the UK and internationally, trying to find ways in which good design can help to reduce crime in areas such as bike theft and ATM tampering. Among other things, he co-designed a chair to which handbags can be “locked”, and a separate “Grippa Clip”, to deter bag theft in places such as pubs and cafes.
Chair designed by Marcus Willcocks. Photograph: Design Against Crime
Born in London to Jini (nee Vine) a schoolteacher, and Jon, who owned a graphic design business, Marcus went to Chesham high school in Buckinghamshire before gaining a degree in product design from Central Saint Martins (CSM) in London in 2000. He remained at Central Saint Martins after his degree, taking on a job as a designer (2000-08) and then as a senior research fellow. In that role continued to work for DAC when it became a research centre at CSM.
While still working part-time for DAC, in 2015 Marcus began working freelance as an urban design consultant for the Design Council, and in 2018 he became a senior urban designer, also in a part-time role, at the cycling charity Sustrans, where he helped people analyse their environments and then co-design changes that encouraged walking and cycling. He incorporated their ideas and artwork directly into the infrastructure, helping to create joyful, welcoming spaces that people wanted to spend time in.
The Bristol to Bath railway path, which was recently improved through a project Marcus worked on extensively with the local community. Photograph: Sustrans
Aside from his interest in design, Marcus loved street art. In 2015 he was co-organiser of The Graffiti Sessions, a three-day international conference on the subject for DAC in partnership with University College London, and in 2017, he set up the Market Road Gallery in Islington, north London, as a hub for street artists. He also led the My Mural project for DAC at University of the Arts London, matchmaking artists and residents to co-create public artworks.
Gentle yet uncompromising, Marcus was kind in spirit and courageous in his commitment to his work and values.
He is survived by his wife, the sustainability expert Marta Salvà, whom he married in 2007, their sons, Joel and Ruben, his parents and his sister, Sara.