Born in Birmingham in 1970 to working-class parents, I’ve spent nearly four decades working in marketing, advertising and design.
Born in Birmingham in 1970 to working-class parents, I’ve spent nearly four decades working in marketing, advertising and design.
I’m a graphic designer by trade, starting on the bottom rung of the creative industries ladder in 1987 and learning by doing. Progressing through creative departments from basement level, eventually running them, pitching for new business, working directly with clients and eventually running entities of my own.
That experience means I’m comfortable at both ends of the creative process. I can sit with a leadership team and work through a difficult business or brand problem, then turn that thinking into ideas, words and design.
A large part of my work is now brand. I tend to work with established and scale-up organisations whose output has moved on faster than their brands. Through Brand Forensics, I’ve developed my own approach to getting beneath the surface of an organisation, finding the truth and using that knowledge to inform what comes next.
Campaign conceptual work exercises a different part of the same brain. I’ve spent my career developing ideas, art directing, designing and writing across just about every kind of media.
I also work with agencies that need experienced freelance creative resource. Whether that means getting under the skin of a brief, developing a big idea, helping with a pitch or even just getting on the tools and smashing stuff out when the workload is greater than the workforce.
I’ve pitched for, and helped to win, millions of pounds worth of new business, presented to boards, led creative teams and worked with organisations large and small. But I still approach every new project with curiosity.
Every day is a school day.
A note on artificial intelligence.
I actively use artificial intelligence, particularly LLMs (Large Language Models), to help me work faster and better as a creative.
I believe these tools can help level the playing field for smaller businesses and independent people like me, allowing us to offer a credible alternative to larger organisations and networks across design, advertising and marketing.
AI helps me explore ideas faster, develop more detailed and tailored work, create moving image and research projects in far greater depth than would previously have been practical for one person.
But human creativity and judgement come first. The ideas are mine. The decisions are mine. AI gives me extra horsepower to explore further, dig deeper and make more.
AI is far from perfect, particularly when it comes to sustainability. Like any powerful technology, how we choose to use it matters. I want to use it thoughtfully, openly and responsibly, and play a small part in making this extraordinary leap forward better for everyone.