I have 7 years of experience as a graphic designer, working freelance as well as in-house. I graduated in 2011 from the BA Graphic Communication Design programme at Sunderland University and completed an MA in Design:Critical Practice at Goldsmiths College in 2016.
Since 2016, I have been working as the Design and Publicity Coordinator for the Pleasance Theatre, which is based in Islington and relocates every August for 6 weeks to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, were we run 21+ venues and oversee more than 200 shows a day.
In both freelancing and my work at the Pleasance theatre, I deeply value collaboration. I have worked with dancers, musicians, artists, photographers, other designers and theatre makers. Working specifically for theatre, I have learned to interpret briefs differently, by understanding the relationship between the image produced and the show it promotes. I believe I have a strong understanding of composition in my image-making, I really enjoy playing with texture and colour to achieve different effects, I have developed a personal style within this experimentation but I also greatly enjoy working within a range of different design languages and aesthetic boundaries that different brand development and briefs may require.I my current role as Design and Publicity Coordinator for the Pleasance Theatre I have been able to develop my professional skills, such as:
• Designing campaigns across print and digital platforms: I work closely with the marketing manager in the delivery of our programme. This comes in the form of designing season brochures and other form of print then followed by designing the necessary web imagery and social media images related to either the programme as a whole or specific events within it.
• High quality Communication skills: I currently lead the graphic design production of large-scale projects for a variety of audiences both internally and externally. I am highly proficient in the Adobe Creative Suite software.
• Proactive problem-solving abilities: I am constantly looking for ways to improve the systems in place. For example, in 2017 I lead a full renovation of the directional signage of the Pleasance’s venues in Edinburgh. During the festival, the city becomes a very chaotic place, therefore I ensured that our message stood out as clear and engaging. The system I implemented now runs as default for all of our brand both in Edinburgh as well as London.
• Ability to work under pressure & strong time-management skills: In the run-up to the Festival we work on the design and delivery of all on-site and outside print and advertisements. The type and size of work is extremely varied; from A6 programme guides to 12 sheet adverts and 6m long walls. All of this whilst working on promoting and supporting the London programme and, as of 2017, delivering a large-scale window wrap design and internal venue promotion for our new host venue, the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. I am self-reliant, able to manage my time and able to be responsible for the production of many simultaneous ongoing projects.
• Ability to work collaboratively: In this role I am in regular collaboration with supervisors, colleagues in other departments, freelance designers and illustrators as well as suppliers and printers. Through this collaboration, I help make work for both the promotion of the Pleasance’s programme as well as the operational, commercial, educational and fundraising parts of the organisation.
As well as my current role in the theatre, I also have worked on multiple projects as a freelancer. With this particular line of work I have had the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse set of professionals on a wide range of print, branding and image-making projects. As well as dedicating time to develop my own projects where I have been able to work on video, publications and exhibition design. I continue to enjoy learning about Graphic Design by reading around and within the subject and also by keeping abreast of current trends, exploring their application within my work.
Work history
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Design and Publicity CoordinatorPleasance Theatre
London, United KingdomFull Time
In this role I am responsible for the delivery of the print and digital content required for the promotion of the theatre’s programme and related events. I oversee the correct application of our brand guidelines by the companies performing with us and third-party organisations. I regularly liaise between theatre companies, suppliers and other colleagues to assist with design-related queries and find the best quality for the production of the assets. In this role, my responsibilities are:
• Working within style guidelines for the production of print, such as: Four annual seasonal brochures, the Edinburgh Previews brochure, and the Work in Progress brochure as well as all the Fringe-specific print required for the festival which includes: Venue maps, programme boards, venue time-tables, on-site signage, large-scale advertising, both on-site and across the city, plus all the digital advertising that is needed for specific events.
• Digital: I design the facebook, twitter, instagram and ISSUU outputs for our programme and related events. I also assist my colleagues on the creation of digital content for their initiatives, for instance the comedy events held at Pleasance London, such as the Edinburgh Preview season as well as supporting the development of other internal brands, such as "Pleasance Futures”, which is the branch of the organisation dedicated to nurturing young talent.
• Develop new content: In my time on this role I have worked closely with the Associate Producer and Head of Theatre to develop brand identitites for the theatre's reach-out ventures which are under the umbrella of "Pleasance Futures". These include: Litmus Festival, Reading Week , The Indies Awards and all the Pleasance patron's events and related literature.
• As the in-house designer, I am responsible for the start and completion of all these projects and many more, which require being able to focus on several things at the same time and being able to work well under pressure in a very fast-paced environment, all this whilst keeping attention to detail, managing my workload and reaching deadlines successfully. I have successfully produced and delivered all this content for 3 Fringe festivals in the 2 years I have been in this role.
• In this position, I have proactively focused on developing the theatre's brand in all it’s different outlets. For the Fringe Festival specifically, in 2017, I designed a brand identity guideline which was distributed to our venue partners, which include the Edinburgh University Student’s Association (EUSA) and the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), to be used on the Pleasance events and venues. Part of this process involved leading a vast renovation initiative, working collaboratively with management as well as the technical operations team, to ensure that all the venues are consistent in design style.
• In 2018, I designed the cladding for a new theatre and rehearsal space which opened in April in Pleasance London. I used archival material for the design of the panels which celebrate the eclectic and vast programme the Pleasance has had for the last 34 years in Edinburgh and 23 years in London.
• Designing new brand templates: As part of the addition of this new venue, I was asked by the Head of Theatre to design new poster and flyer templates for the shows performing in our new space. These designs will slowly be implemented as the new in-house style across all venues.
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In-house Graphic DesignerParmley Graham Limited
- Gateshead, United KingdomFull Time
In this role I was responsible for the production of the company’s catalogue of products, as well as the new website and other digital outputs. My role required me to make sure that the company’s identity remained clear while giving it a fresh, renewed look. The catalogue is 300 pages long and includes thousands of different products. As part of my role, I updated the website layout and produced digital assets based on the brand guidelines but inspired by the new look utilised on the new catalogue and web. In order to compile all the information for the catalogue, I was responsible for liaising between departments within the company as well as reaching out to freelance designers and developers. I was in constant communications with other design teams across different companies acquiring images and product information to ensure that the final product was produced to the higher standards. The catalogue is distributed across the UK and Europe to sister companies and providers.
Skills
- Typography
- Book Layout
- Image Making
- Branding Design
- Visual Communication
- Academic Research
- Design Research
- Editorial Concepts
- Hand Bookbinding
Education
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MAGoldsmiths College
- London, United Kingdom
I graduated with Merit from the MA in Design:Critical Practice from at Goldsmiths. During the MA I honed my skills in design research, where I explored the use of design as vehicle for social change. I am passionate about the application of design research techniques in real-world scenarios, where this form of research enables researches and participants to use creative thinking to address large-scale change in society and it's systems.
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BAUniversity of Sunderland
- Sunderland, United Kingdom
I graduated with a first class degree from the BA (Hons) Graphic Communication Design programme at the University of Sunderland. During my time as a student, I was able to develop my technical skills but most importantly I started to explore the boundaries of graphic design and the importance of collaboration.