A half-finished word. This is part of a slow side project spinning off from notes scribbled in a writing workshop involving a harp (thank you, fellow 26 member Fiona Thompson) – but I digress. This half-finished embroidered word. Embroidery is very Zen. I get to look at work in progress … Read More
A lemon top ice cream in Redcar. That hadn’t been the plan. Whitby had been my next colour trip, for jet black and the Old Norse for white, more of which later. But getting there turned out to be fiddly so I had designed a scenic route North, wiggling down … Read More
“Where is your studio?” That used to be an easy question to answer. I did one thing – graphic design – and I worked from one place, desk space in a shared studio. But my work is broader now. I use what I know as well as what I do. … Read More
Three days off; three train journeys; two places; countless colours. My colour trip – a plan to wander guided by places with colour stories – was scuppered by the pandemic. But thanks to a suggestion by creative collaborator Narcis Sauleda, I’m reviving it in bits. On a week off in Scotland … Read More
This year, there’s a new rhythm to the week. My studio days are Monday to Thursday; the fifth day of the working week is Free-range Friday, earmarked for personal work and exploration. So what goes on, on these days resolutely away from a desk? Well, like the best sort of … 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
I’ve started my new studio year by starting off a loaf of bread, to rise and prove while I get on with the overview, admin and communication that get the work under way. As I knead the dough, I think about the mindset that does this. Creative professionals are multitaskers … Read More
Biscuit kerning. When design life has got a little out of hand… Kerning is adjusting the spacing between letters, particularly on logos or type-based graphics. But biscuits: rarely kerned. My excuse has been the end of year round-up episode of Studio Snack, the food podcast about design that I make … Read More
Bake crisps from Oddbox veg. Make kitchen ink (onion skin, carrot, turmeric and paprika, tea). Pay a visit to Fibrelab, who are making paper from hospitality waste. Draw odd veg crisps with kitchen ink on paper made from towels. Why? Well, it’s for the latest episode of Studio Snack, the … Read More
Here at the studio there’s work for and with clients, there are personal projects and there are the things that are part lab, part playground. Studio Snack, a food podcast about design, started when fellow designer Narcis Sauleda and I kept having conversations over coffee that we wished we’d recorded. … Read More