I bring the same curious-minded approach to illustration as I do to design. So when I was asked to run a Zoom workshop on flower drawing for East End WI, we found ourselves looking at – well – looking! Drawing a flower is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with it and … Read More
Social-distancing in London, we find ourselves in an elaborate dance of avoidance. We zigzag along roads, weave our way through parks and add courtly pauses to let others pass. As supermarkets, parks departments and local authorities try to choreograph the general public, the evolving visual language reminds me of old dance … Read More
We’re seeing a lot more of each other’s interiors these days. So though I’ve found out how to blue-screen my background for Zoom workshops, I decided that the pictures in my studio at home should be more – well – expressive. And curating this set has been surprisingly illuminating. Clockwise from … Read More
Well, this is weird. Workspace swapped for work-from-home, deserted streets, food shortages, heightened spatial awareness… But designers are adaptable creatures. Agile thinking is part of what we do. We have ideas, we brainstorm, explore alternatives, test, adapt and refine. We spend a lot of time asking the question, “Why?” – but … Read More
Type. On a comedy stage… I’ve been talking about lost letters from the English alphabet at Nerd Nite London, a monthly night of short talks for charity at the Backyard Comedy Club in East London. It’s been my third Nerd (more about the other two here), an opportunity to research … Read More
Discussion, collaboration and ideas in Kerala… Working with NGOs and educators, I’ve cropped countless pictures of India – but speaking at Kochi Design Week has been my first visit. It’s been a mind-expanding few days of discussion, collaboration and ideas across a wide range of creative disciplines. I’ve joined a panel … Read More
What colour is a leaf? No, really what colour is it? Always-on, constantly-distracted modern working life often leaves us able to do no more than settle on things for seconds before moving on. So my World Mental Health Day creative wellbeing workshop for The Trampery on the Gantry focuses on … Read More
Discoveries in bookbinding… “Do you notice anything?”, my friend Carolyn said as she handed me a gift of a secondhand book. I flipped through its beautiful two-colour illustrations and elegant typography… and then felt a fold on the outer edge – and it wasn’t intentional. The foreedge of the book was … Read More
Line on to online… My project processes are designed around my clients. So for the Bowen Craggs Conference in Berlin, for online usability I decided to add digital drawing to my live sketching skills. I expected to find it clunky – I use a stylus and tablet in the studio, … Read More
I love being a flâneuse in a foreign city. And ahead of a live sketching commission, I had a perfect excuse to explore the creative and cultural life of Berlin. Highlights were the Buchstabenmuseum, a museum of rescued signage, the Museum of Things, which looks at the Deutsche Werkbund and … Read More