I am originally from a small town called Ilkeston in the middle of England, and started working as a graphic designer at the age of 16. Since then it’s influenced most aspects of my life in some way or another, whether it’s when i’m working at an agency, designing skateboard graphics, taking photos on my travels, or sketching and painting at home just for fun. I think one of my strengths in work is my versatility, I can take a project from concept to completion and I find all elements of the design process enjoyable. I find myself doing a lot more digital work now and I’m enjoying the challenges that come with it.
I moved to Australia in 2000 and worked freelance at various advertising and design agencies, built up my own small design business and I also did my Bachelors Degree in Visual Communication and completed Award School. I recently moved back to the UK for 3 years after living in Sydney, Australia for the past 16 years but have now returned to Australia permanently.
In my free time I love to travel as much as possible, go skateboarding, shoot photos and read a lot of books.
If you’d like to know more about me have a look through my work, or contact me through my CONTACT page.
ABOUT MY WORK
Education:
Bachelors Degree in Graphic Deisgn – Visual Communication from University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
Award School Graduate 2012, Sydney, Australia.
Certificate III in Printing and Graphic Arts (Graphic Pre-Press), Sydney, Australia.
BTEC Foundation Course in Graphic Design & Printing, Mackworth College, Derby, England.
Technical Skills:
I am fully conversant with all the necessary graphic design software, including Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Indesign. I also have experience with Dreamweaver, Flash, Premiere, After Effects and Final Cut Pro for animation and video work. I have recently been working a lot with WordPress, designing and building websites.
My BA Degree includes a sub-major in photography, and have facilities to shoot product photography. I also do illustration, both on computer and by hand.
Design:
I have been working as a graphic designer since 1990, and have been working freelance since 2000. I do freelance work from my own home studio, and also work onsite when a client requires it. I have worked on a wide variety of design projects, including brand launches, point of sale, skateboards, online and websites, retail stores, packaging, social media campaigns, logos and branding and brochures. I have also worked at a wide variety of agencies on a freelance basis, please see the employment section for more information.
Art Direction:
I have worked as a freelance Art Director a few advertising and marketing agencies in Sydney and London, as well as art directing projects for my own clients. I am also responsible for the ongoing Art Direction of Death Skateboards, a UK skateboard company whom I have been working with since they began in 1998.
Copywriting:
I have experience in the copywriting of headlines and body copy for some major brands with a few agencies in Sydney, as well as writing articles for books and magazines.
Project Management:
I have been running my own freelance business since around 2006, dealing with clients, quoting jobs, managing contractors, setting budgets, presenting concepts and taking briefs and everything else involved in running a small company. I believe this has taught me to be more versatile and have a broader knowledge of how an agency works and what a client requires.
Finished Art:
Along with my design skills, I have also worked as a finished artist, with my strengths being packaging and point of sale. I have produced finished art for flexo, litho, digital, screen and gravure printing, and i’m experienced in liaison with printers.
Digital:
I have experience working on digital projects, from creating banner ads to designing and building WordPress websites and working with developers to construct more complex sites. I have also worked on various Flash animation and video projects, and set up and customised social media pages.
Content Creation:
I have worked with some of my clients to develop social media campaigns, and have helped to create content for these across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Photography:
I have the facilities to shoot products and portraits in my home studio, and have the necessary lighting equipment.
Illustration:
I have done quite a bit of illustration work; by hand, rendered in Photoshop and a mixture of both. I enjoy trying out different media and applying it to my design work.
Retail:
I recently returned to the UK and set up a skateboard shop from scratch. This involved branding, social media campaigns, setting up a website for online sales, POS, merchandising, buying stock and many different types of promotional methods specific to the skateboard industry. I had a shop team of 7 skateboarders with whom we did promotional trips and videos. I have also worked on the launch of several stores in Sydney, some of which were rolled out as a chain nationwide.