Throughout my professional career I have had the good fortune to work both for independent traders and for national companies, many of which are household names. Whether large or small enterprises, I have always striven to create something of lasting value for my clients. When it comes to design, experience has taught me that although fashionable trends have their place, they can be short-lived – the best ideas are timeless. Like the appeal of the best songs, good design should be as fresh and meaningful after ten years as it was the day it was conceived.
Without doubt, a key part of my job is to provide ideas, but clients often bring me ideas of their own which I then develop – in a mutually fruitful collaborative effort bringing rewards to a company or organisation for years to come. A prime example of such co-operation is the design of corporate logos.
After growing up over my father’s ironmonger shop, spending four years at Exeter College of Art and co-founding one of the most successful design studios outside London, I now restrict myself to a small number of clients, focussing fully on my first love: illustration. Widespread acclaim for my public artworks and fifty years’ experience in design have encouraged me to explore pastures new: presenting talks and workshops, especially for the education sector.
My comments on Community Work will, I hope, show that I am as keen to ‘give something back to the community’ as I was to earn a living with my design skills.
Mini-CV
1971–1975 Exeter College of Art – Illustration and Design.
1976–1979 Running my own arts & crafts shop and screen-printing company. Also, during this period, working for an in-house design studio and undertaking freelance commissions.
1981–2007 Setting up AB Graphics/Design Group – eventually employing up to 25 staff. Now in its 40th year, the company continues to be a flourishing enterprise.
2007– After selling my shares in AB Design Group –Freelance designer and Illustrator.
Clients I have worked for include:
Exeter City Council
InExeter
Devon County Council
IKEA, BT and NHS
Exeter Science Park
Exeter Philharmonic Choir
The Met Office
Robson Financial
Astridges Catering
Brookite
Torbay Tourist Board
University of Exeter
Klidos
Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM)
Austins Department Store, Newton Abbot
Trugs Reading Games
Trugs the Florist
Digi Security
Mantarcourt Electronics
Lomas
Primary Health Care, Exeter
