About Me
Background
I was born in Worcester and spent much of my childhood drawing, painting, writing, and tinkering — always with ideas about how I could do things differently. As I studied Art throughout school, before pivoting towards Computing & Design (with a focus on UI/UX) at University, my tastes always shifted towards the alternative; from the Abstract and Surreal in Art to the Punk, Gothic, and Experimental in Music. It was the pursuit of Music as a long adult that led me to my first design work: designing gig posters for a music venue in Worcester.
Experience
As I cut my teeth juggling bar service whilst setting my laptop up on the nearest table and creating events posters, flyers, social banners and promotions,
I also began to build a loyal freelance client base of organisations related to the arts and events industries. By doing this work, I was able to build experience
assisting with everything these clients needed to establish themselves, including websites, brand identities, and the specific promotional materials for marketing their
events, whilst also supporting the music, theatre, exhibitions, and performances they produced and the social causes — such as LGBTQ+ pride and support for migrants — that they often championed.
Eventually I gained enough expertise to move out of the hospitality industry (retaining the skills of service and communication, plus a small obsession with coffee) and into professional Graphic Design.
My current work sees me produce practically any necessary visual content for an e-Commerce company, including website maintenance and design, email marketing, product packaging design, social media design,
photography, videography, photo/video editing, copywriting, and pretty much any other visual content you can think of. As this work fell under the Marketing Department, I have developed an understanding of
Design for Marketing, including Search Engine Optimisation and Analytics, allowing me to direct my design skills efficiently to support business growth.
Design Philosophy
As a Designer I instinctively lean towards Modernism. I think its key principle of 'form following function' allows Graphic Design to focus on delivering the message, and consider the wants and needs of the person viewing it, without unneccesary embellishment which often serves to hinder that message. This isn't to say that my style is minimal to the point of boring; my alternative tastes creep into my work and give an element of grunge, but it is always considered and intended to support the communication of the design. The Modernists had a Utopian vision of the world and wanted to tackle social inequalities through their design, and I hold to this idea that designers can and should try to make the world better, which I do by always trying to design ethically: In web and interface development I put accessibility at the forefront of my mind, in UX Design and Research I consider a variety of perspectives so that my design can be as inclusive as possible, and in all of my work I am always keen to support and represent the most vulnerable people in society.