About me
In 2015, I will be celebrating 30 years of art direction at the highest level, on some of the biggest brands in editorial publishing. In that time, I have approached every magazine I have worked on, with the same levels of enthusiasm and dedication as when I first walked into the art department of British Elle all those years ago. In that time our business has been through seismic changes, but what has never changed is my desire to make those magazines simple, stylish, relaxed and surprising. It really doesn't matter if it is print or digital, the reader needs to feel that they are discovering something intensely personal and satisfying. Everything I do, be it design, typography, photography or illustration is focused on that goal.
For the past 14 years, as design director of Red, I have worked very closely with all my editors, publishers and department heads to make it the market leader in it’s competitive set. When I first joined Red, it sold just above 100,000 copies a month, when I left this August (in what has proved to be a challenging market) the ABC stood at 192,000.
And whilst that is very gratifying, I’d have to say that the most rewarding aspect of working at Red, for me, was training and building my own creative teams. More than a dozen junior and senior
designers that I took on have gone on to become Art Directors in their own right. This aspect of
mentoring and teaching, on occasion led directly to being asked to help out teams on other magazines in the group, Psychologies, All About Soap and B Magazine all benefitted from a fresh perspective and a boost in confidence.
I don’t pretend that what I do is unique, but how I go about it and the results that can be achieved sometimes are.
Work history
Design Director
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For the past 14 years, as design director of Red, I have worked very closely with all my editors,
publishers and department heads to make it the market leader in it’s competitive set. When I first joined Red, it sold just above 100,000 copies a month, when I left this August (in what has proved to be a challenging market) the ABC stood at 192,000.
And whilst that is very gratifying, I’d have to say that the most rewarding aspect of working at Red, for me, was training and building my own creative teams. More than a dozen junior and senior designers that I took on have gone on to become Art Directors in their own right. This aspect of mentoring and teaching, on occasion led directly to being asked to help out teams on other magazines in the group, Psychologies, All About Soap and B Magazine all benefitted from a fresh perspective and a boost in confidence.
Art Director
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Having cut my teeth with You, I was asked by the brilliant John Tennant and Shem Law to join them in there recently relaunched Express Newspaper to become Art Director of the revised sunday supplement called Boulevard, later to become The Sunday Express Magazine, a dream A3 format allowed for bold and impactful use of image and type. Also the introducing me to new subjects such as food, gardens and photo reportage.
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Skills
- Fashion
- Print Design
- Art Direction
- Design
- Illustrator
- Indesign
- Photoshop
- Powerpoint
Education
Graphic Design
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