How did you get into the industry?
I did a Bachelor of Design at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia and after that applied for jobs in design and got them.
Where are you based now and who do you work for?
I am now based in London, UK and I work for myself as a freelance designer. I work directly with large companies, individuals and through creative recruitment agencies covering a large variety of sectors.
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
Interior Design, Music event producer or Psychology
Can you explain your creative process? What makes it unique?
My creative process always begins first with surveying the client about what they need. What do they want versus what don’t they want.
Asking as many questions as possible first to give me the correct framework to then begin the next step which is always research. Who’s done anything like this before, how did they do it, what did it look like, etc.
Collect examples for reference, then depending on the task I can sketch ideas with pencil – for example with logo design. Or I set up a file in whichever Adobe program suits the job (Photoshop / illustrator or Indesign) then start trying out ideas.
Begin the design process with everything then slowly pair it back, editing as I go. Choose the best ideas and then present them to the client as a first draft. Get feedback and refine from there.
How would you describe your style?
Out of the box. Typographic. Bold use of shapes, colour, and hierarchy. With a touch of post-modernism from the 80s and early 90s. (Of course, this always depends on the client and the brief).
Which individuals do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
Kandinsky, Peter Saville, David Carson, Gail Anderson, Paula Scher, Stefan Sagmeister, Vaughan Oliver, Malcolm Garret, Barney Bubbles, Camille Walala, Morag Myerscough.
What tips would you give to aspiring creatives looking for work?
Get organised. Have your folio and CV ready to go, as many versions to match as many roles as possible that you want to apply for.
What tips would you give to other professionals to get more clients?
Network.
What kind of tools/kit/software could you not do without?
My 27” imac, Adobe Creative Cloud, pen and notebook.
What’s your secret to staying inspired and motivated?
Subscribing to creative newsletters, going to film festivals, watching documentaries on my favourite topics, seeing live music, travelling, drawing, take photos, always remember to look up.
What’s the work achievement you’re most proud of?
My Outrun The Sun UK 2021 event branding and design. I came up with visual concept, logo, brand, entire look, social media campaign and posters.
I managed and produced the live all day event with 8 bands and 2 DJs (of which I was one of) with a small team at a venue in Derby. It was an astounding success, especially being the first big multiple live act event in the synthwave scene after the pandemic, it made £6k!
What is the one thing that you would change about the industry?
The impersonal side to acquiring freelance jobs. Up until 10 years ago, creative agents would meet freelancers for a coffee, see their folio, get to know their candidates and their work, then call them directly when a client needed a job done that suited their specific skillset/style.
Today, freelance jobs are just posted randomly throughout the day on LinkedIn and creative job boards, expecting designers to sit there all day, shooting out emails (akin to shooting fish in a barrel), hoping they get a reply, if they’re even that lucky.
It’s demoralising, disrespectful and damaging to creatives mental health. It needs to change. The human connection has been lost. It can be done on zoom calls, even phone calls while looking at folios, surely.
Combined with it are the clients that pigeonhole freelancers, thinking designers can only do one single type of design ever. Meaning barely any freelancers get to use their entire skillset.
Regardless of what the creative agent tells the client about a candidate, when a different job comes in, the client fobs the previous freelancer off and jumps to another freelancer. I truly believe the removal of the human side to the process has created these glaring deficits.
Why is it that no client can believe that some designers can also do artworking? But then permanent job ads expect every graphic designer to do 8 jobs in one for one salary eg: print, digital, motion, animation, video, ux, ui and more?
Any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
She Says London
Creativeboom.com
Itsnicethat.com
Substack.com
Belle April 6th, 2023, late at night
Thanks so much, Creative Pool!