I am a highly skilled, creative and experienced graphic designer and have been self-employed since 2000. Previously employed as a Graphic Designer at Met Office in the early 1990s, I moved into publishing as a Senior Designer working for Hodder Education in London. I designed books and publicity material, commissioned artwork and art directed photoshoots. In 1996 I moved to Thomas Nelson Educational Publishers and was employed as a Senior Designer before going freelance.
I have worked with most of the top UK publishers and enjoy designing books for all age groups. After having gone freelance, I started to explore other areas of book design, such as craft and children’s books. I began to expand my creative knowledge, which allowed flexibility within my growing client base.
In 2017 I took on a temporary role as Design Manager (maternity cover) at F&W Media – a craft book publisher in Exeter. This was on a part-time basis for one year. I was responsible for managing the Design team, designing books, catalogues and other publicity material and liaising with authors/illustrators and photographers. This role also involved art directing and styling photoshoots, both in-house and on location.
Now working with my colleague Paul, we are based near Exeter, Devon. Paul was formerly the Design Manager at Met Office in Exeter. We take on a wide range of graphic design work, including book design, typesetting/layouts, publicity design, art direction and styling, picture research and digital artwork.
Book design
Providing book jacket design, concept text design for individual titles or creating a new series style. Creating the internal layouts for simple or complex books, incorporating illustrations, photos and realia, through to print-ready PDFs.
Publicity design
Design of marketing material from initial concepts through to final artwork stage.
Art direction and styling
Arranging locations, sourcing and purchasing props for photoshoots within budget. Liaising with authors, editors, in-house designers and photographers and styling shots.
Picture research
Sourcing appropriate pictures and images for assigned projects and negotiating fair prices.
Digital artwork and images
Creating maps, diagrams and simple vector illustrations. Producing photo montages, retouching, image manipulation and intricate cutouts.
Clients include: Hodder Education, Pearson Education, Rising Stars, Franklin Watts, Arcturus Publishing, FW Media International, the Met Office, HarperCollins, Search Press, Cambridge University Press, Pedigree Books, GL Education Group, Little Brother Books, Top That Publishing, Troubador and Halsgrove Publishing.