Dorling Kindersley

Junior Designer / Designer /
Project Art Editor / Book Jacket Designer

August 1994 to September 1999

I started my career in book publishing as a junior and progressed to controlling book projects and finally designing book jackets for the adult division. This is where I got my grounding, eye for detail, learnt to art direct and gained an in-depth knowledge of the printing process.

My jewel in the crown would have to be art directing ‘The Handbook of Knots’. It has been updated and revised to my original design, and is still on sale today.

The Company

Designer / Senior Designer

September 1999 to December 2005

Moving to ‘The Company’ enabled me to develop creativity, conceptual thinking, art direction and brand awareness while strengthening my skills as a designer. I was responsible for creating national advertising campaigns for both consumers and B2B, on a wide range of clients and products.

As well as being the lead creative agency for Interflora (gaining awards for advertising) the team also worked with many other clients such as Thomas Cook, Greene King and Tenneco.

My passion for illustration started here as many of the projects, especially for Thomas Cook, led me to further my skills beyond the usual role of a designer, in retouching and vector illustration.

Awards

New York Festivals: Best Free Standing Newspaper Insert

‘Interflora Valentine’s Day’ – Creative Director: Tim Smith

New York Festivals Finalist: Corporate Identity

‘Hot Haus’ – Creative Director: Tim Smith

Design Illustrated

Freelance Designer and Illustrator

December 2005 to Present

I decided to freelance in order to move away from advertising, to more brand based design and illustrative work for a wider range of clients. I create identities, images, and illustration for many smaller clients while also working with many local design agencies on household names such as Wimbledon.

While developing my own brand and business skills, I have also been working with Hotel Chocolat as a part-time designer during their growth. The pinnacle of the 2 year contract for me was designing and illustrating over 30 hand-drawn chocolate moulds. I am also responsible for their recipe photography and 2008/9 brand images retouching.

I am well known for unusual, highly detailed work and opportunities to collaborate with teams as an independent individual inspire me to maximise my conceptual thinking as I continue to evolve as a designer and an illustrator.