We’re busy… There’s a lot to do. Even in the creative industry, taking a break in the working day can feel impossible. We even apologise for it (or maybe that’s just me…). But leading a lunchtime sketchwalk for The Trampery on the Gantry, I encouraged chat about what getting outdoors … Read More
Studio Snack, a collaborative podcast with fellow designer Narcis Sauleda… It started when we kept having conversations about all things creative practice that we wished we’d recorded. The podcasts are fun to make – we get to compare notes, ask questions, have script meetings in cafés, learn stuff and conduct experiments. … Read More
Sent anywhere, I will find time to explore… Thus, travelling to Taunton to be a mentor for Ideas Foundation’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant workshop day at Bridgwater & Taunton College, I travelled early to enjoy the luxury of looking. People-watching at Paddington station. A wander to French Weir Park just because … Read More
I could just answer the brief… There’s a venerable oak in Bruce Castle Park that I’ve drawn over the course of designing a visual identity for Bruce Castle Museum & Archive in Tottenham and returning as a visitor and a researcher. It’s been just part of growing my knowledge about this … Read More
My lockdown project turned blog has sprouted a collection. Dispatches from a Small World reports from my urban garden in sketches. There have been forays into garments and cards. But there are enough sketches now to find themes for products. Hello roses! A classic, you would think – but approached … Read More
The mechanics of the design process are often set out as diagrams – templates offering a route to creativity. They’re useful in explaining how things work. But they miss out one crucial thing – the bit where the magic is. The unexpected. Learning to be open, to let things go wrong … Read More
Baking. That’s not on the list of things I do in my work… But Studio Snack, a five minute podcast series I’ve been cooking up with fellow designer Narcis Sauleda, brought up the subject of biscuit typography. Baking letterforms is an interesting exercise in itself – it makes you think about … Read More
“Ooh, look at that ampersand!”… Exploring anywhere with me is a thing of constant distractions. Here, two signs I designed for a pepperpot lodge house in Suffolk, created to do their job in directing deliveries and visitors while being part of the place and its setting; and from a visit … Read More
Teamwork… Last year, I drew portraits of everyone at Bowen Craggs, and a self-portrait, for its online celebrations. This year, I’ve drawn two new people. Now, there’s a portrait wall. In that, there are two things: That you can’t see the join between my work and the Bowen Craggs team’s … Read More
The Christmas gift guide… Two of this year’s projects have generated large bodies of illustration work: 26 Habitats and my lockdown project turned illustration blog Dispatches from a Small World. So “What else can we do with these?” questions have come up. Et voilà: Christmas cards from my Dispatches from … Read More