Qualified as an interior designer (1977), and a masters degree with distinction in industrial design engineering (1980), Martin is a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He started his career as a product designer with David Carter Associates (DCA), eventually becoming Senior Associate and heading up DCA's newly formed transport design studio.

Was a founding partner of Warwick Design Consultants in 1986 and a year later established Transport Design International Ltd.

Martin has over 28 years experience in the transport design industry. In addition to managing his own design business, Martin has variously served as chairman of the South Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, council member of the Chartered Society of Designers, advisor to the Department of Industry (DTI) on behalf of the UK Design Council, business sector representative to West Midlands Regional Assembly Policy Forum for Transport and occasional lecturer and moderator at the universities of Birmingham and Coventry.

He has also received numerous awards including: Business Innovation Award for Coventry and Warwickshire, West Midlands Design Award for Transport, Industrie Forum Design Hanover iF (product design) Award, Marketing Design Week Award, Toshiba Year of Invention Award and the DTI Small Firms Merit Award for Research and Technology on four successive occasions.