In the latest Studio Snack podcast, Carrot, stick, my creative experiment gives me a way of tackling a picture problem… Investigating whether carrots really do help us see in the dark, we had some creative playtime with luminous and fluorescent materials. Beside myself with excitement that luminous thread even exists, … Read More
There’s a lot of exploring and testing in my work and this March, some of it is on the walls at two East London open exhibitions… The Women’s Spring Open Exhibition 2024, The Brady Centre Art Gallery I have two pairs and a trio of sketches in this show, experimenting … Read More
The latest episode of Studio Snack, a five minute food podcast about design that I make with creative collaborator Narcis Sauleda, started with Narcis discovering that the root of the word ‘company’ came from breaking bread. Brainstorming at a bakery (well, it would be churlish not to) we discussed all … Read More
Inspired by the best question I’ve ever been asked in a briefing meeting – “Could we have some sweary type?” I discovered that it has a name: Grawlix. Or does it? My sixth talk for Nerd Nite London goes down a rabbit-hole of research on cartoon history, fashions in writing, … Read More
In a guest lecture for postgraduate students at Loughborough University London’s Creative Research and Innovation Centre, I’ve talked about how working in East London creative clusters has shaped my practice. Sketch-mapping my story, I’ve seen just how much geography has played a part in the work I’ve done, the broadening … Read More
Doing prep for sketching at events, I like to consider context. So for a party at Trampery Fish Island Village, a campus for fashion, innovation and sustainability, I made swing tags from waste, spare supplies and offcuts. This is where my multi-stranded creative practice comes in. But it also uses … Read More
A recce. On foot. With a sketchbook. Surely not, when the brief is to produce a simple sketch map and we have search engines? Well, it’s not as overdone as it seems… There’s good practice – I can’t use an image for illustration reference that may be in copyright. And there’s … Read More
Rubbish sketchbooks – a surprise hit in a trio of activities for Cody Dock’s Lea Way Celebration, part of Open House and Totally Thames… Made from waste and originally an approachable add-on to a sketch walk (nobody need worry about doing a bad drawing on materials destined for recycling) they … Read More
Accessibility. Reverse engineering it into existing materials is a challenge. But in a project modifying PDF publications designed for long-term client Bowen Craggs, it’s also changed how I think about layout. As someone who loves words and visual communication equally, I’ve found it fascinating to have to consider for the … Read More
It’s called a linen tester… They were made for the textile industry and repurposed by designers and printers for checking proofs and print. I have a newer one but I reach for this, my late Dad’s, because it’s good, and true, and it has the heft of a proper piece of engineering. What … Read More