Allen likes to make things with his head and hands – investigations into the material systems of media, electricity, and information as artwork, design projects and practice-based research. His work has been exhibited internationally, from Eyebeam in NYC, to the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology in Liverpool, to SIGGRAPH Asia in Yokohama, Japan. He draws on his experience as a concurrent Senior Researcher with the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID), and a former part of the directorial team of Culture Lab, Newcastle University, where he worked towards understanding community, collaborative and public technological practices.

He has done research and taught at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, the Pratt Institute of Art and Design, Hanyang University in Seoul, and lectured at Parsons and the Royal College of Art in London. He has worked as an interactive systems designer for IBM, DuPont, ESI Design and the American Museum of Natural History.