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Profile:

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I graduated from Preston in 1997. The same year as Steve ‘did I tell you I got Student Of The Year’ Royle and Rob ‘don’t call me Bobby” Ball – I say I was in the same year but intellectually I was light years ahead. After graduating I wangled my way into The Partners and hung on like a limpet, sleeping my way to the title of Design Director. Then, five years ago, was offered a job at DAVE or ‘DAVE, no, not the TV channel’ to use our full title. Still here, still enjoying it.

Career highlights include:
D&Ad. Yellow Pencil 2000
New York Festivals (U.S.). Gold 1998
Critique (U.S.) awards. Gold 1997 and 2000
Marketing Magazine awards. Gold 2002

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The Disciples of Design Q&A

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Q How and where did you secure your first job?
I got a work placement at The Partners in my last month at college. Which was thankfully so close to graduation I was fresh in their minds when they began to interview and thankfully long enough that they forgot how shit I was.

Q Did anyone ever ask you what degree grade you got?
No. I remember having a really strong third year and was gutted when I only received a 2:1, but in hindsight I’ve never met a design professional yet who judges young creative talent by their degree grade.

Q What / who inspires you?
Simplicity. Work that has the confidence and clarity of thought to communicate an idea in a clever but direct way has always been hugely inspiring to me. That and Kronenbourg 1664

Q Do you think being a Preston student has benefited you in any way?
Deffo. In two ways. Firstly, the way Preston go about teaching design is very pragmatic and industry focused, with an emphasis on creative thinking rather than pure design. This is massively attractive to employers as the ability to think, decipher and creatively solve is much more difficult to develop on the job than the ability to make it look nice.  Secondly, because the Preston name has always been synonymous with a certain type of student/way of thinking, it helped me cut through thousands of applicants and secure a placement at The Partners.  Also, at DAVE, the job came in a roundabout way through the ex-Preston network. Even now, 12 years on, I still feel the benefit of being ex-Preston.

Q Were do you get your ideas from?
Haven’t got a clue. Really.

The clichéd answer is ‘in the shower’ or ‘just as I’m dropping off to sleep’ but personally I’ve never thought of anything other than ‘did I wash my bollocks?’ when I’m in the shower. I just read the brief and sit down and think. And keep thinking until I’m happy with something.

Q What would you have done differently at University knowing what you know now?
Gone earlier. I was a mature student who arsed around for 5 years after leaving school and didn’t enroll ‘til I was 23.

Q What’s the best thing about your job?
That people rely on my thinking, creativity, ideas and inspiration.

Q The worst thing?
The realisation that people rely on my thinking, creativity, ideas and inspiration.

Q How does working at Dave differ from other places you’ve worked?
It’s a brand consultancy not a design consultancy. Graphic design is one of the tools we use to create a brand, but it’s not the only one. The emphasis is much more on creating ‘big ideas’ – creative thoughts which give a brand it’s personality, its point of view and the reason why its audience say “I like (or don’t like) this brand because…”

Q Do you find it easy to switch off and forget about work or is it ever present?
If I’m not careful I tend to switch off and forget about work whilst sitting at my desk.

Q What is the hardest thing you’ve done in your career?
Artdirect my photographer wife*, almost my ex-wife because of it.

*mariamoore.co.uk, some really nice stuff, you should check her out Design Disciples.

Q What time do you start and finish on an average day?
I’m supposed to start at 9.00, but I prefer to get to my desk a bit earlier so I’m up to speed when the rest of my project team get in. Also, I’ve learnt (and it’s took 12 years) that it you knuckle down and focus during the working day, you actually get a lot done and rarely have to work later than 18.30.

Q What do you look for in graduates and their portfolios?
Ideas and attitude. It really is that simple. A graduate who can evidence original thinking, a clear point of view and clever ways of communicating them will never struggle in this industry, because you’d be surprised how many working professionals out there still can’t.

Q Any advice for students entering the industry during the recession?
Over the last ten years, as the industry has boomed, I’ve seen a surprising rise in apathy and arrogance amongst graduates. Perhaps the proliferation of job opportunities has led to a certain lack of hunger, with a “if you don’t like me, I’ll go somewhere else” mentality prevailing. Quite simply, this will have to change. As opportunities become harder to come by, employers will be looking for graduates who can really make a difference; be energetic, eager and show a genuine love of design. This is a brilliant industry to be in and I always look for graduates who actually realise that.

Anyway, if you’ve bothered to get this far, here’s some of the nice stuff I’ve done since graduating.

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Portfolio

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AOP

Here two posters I did for the Association of Photographers. One an exhibition of nude photography called Naked and another for an exhibition on London and New York which took place in both Shoreditch and Manhattan.

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Thrislington’s Cubicles

My D&AD yellow pencil winning calendar for Thrislington Cubicles, a manufacturer of toilet cubicles!

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The Glass Works

Here’s a watch I designed for a photographer friend, Marcus Lyon’s studio ‘The Glass Works’.

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Pub Quiz

A series of posters for the White Bear’s weekly pub quiz.

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Hawkins Bazaar

This is a rebrand I did recently for a web/mail order company called Hawkin’s Bazaar. A strange shop that sells novelty toys and gifts was given a modern/quirky take on a victorian toy emporium.

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Northern Foods

This was an internal communications job I did for Northern Foods – a company who make food for the big supermarkets’ own brands. They wanted to tell their staff about the great things they where doing regarding the environment, but also get them to become more energy efficient at work too. We had to make it lighthearted and fun but still drive a serious message too.

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Massive thanks to Steve for his great contribution.