Author Archive

Wicker World!

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

I’ve just returned from a short family break on Scotland’s west coast. As expected the scenery was stunning. We took full advantage of a ‘near’ full week of glorious sunshine, to explore the unspoilt landscape of lochs, ancient ruins, deserted beaches and the vast Galloway Forest. All together, a nice mix of relaxation with plenty of fresh air and exercise.

What was more unexpected, was to discover that the picturesque ‘arty’ village of Kirkcudbright, where we based ourselves, was the location of the cult 1970’s horror film The Wicker Man! Infact the indie/rock festival that is held there each year even includes the burning of a Wicker Man figure as seen in the film.

Actually, on reflection I’m not surprised at all. Although a beautiful place, the eerie calm , isolation and general quirky-ness make it a believable location for pagan rituals and other weird going-ons!!!

To make the right impression, read on…

Monday, June 29th, 2009 Posted in Work | No Comments »

It’s that time of year again where the Universities all across Britain release a fresh batch of graphic design talent onto the design industry. This has seen our e-mail inbox swell over the last month with numerous graduate C.V’s.

On the receiving end of each graduate e-mail is an experienced designer, who will instinctively scrutinise every detail. Many ‘job requests’ fail at this first hurdle due to a badly designed C.V and an unstructured e-mail.

I recently re-visited a book called “How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul” by Adrian Shaughnessy, co-founder of the London agency Intro. In it he dedicates a chapter to ‘would be designers’ offering great advice on how to make those first steps into the design world. He covers C.V production, how to approach an agency and how to present yourself and your work in an interview. What’s most impressive about the book is the tone in which it is written: clear, informative, honest and with no jargon (let’s leave this to our marketing counterparts). It’s an enjoyable and educational read written by a designer for designers!

The book is still very relevant and inspiring whatever your level, but for any graduate hoping to start a career in design I would highly recommended grabbing a copy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Graphic-Designer-Without-Losing-Your/dp/1856694100

Not so Terrible 2’s… so far!

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

On Sunday we celebrated my daughter Ella’s second birthday with a party with friends and family.

A combination of screaming toddlers, chocolate hand prints everywhere and my brother who mineswept the booze from the fridge ensured an enjoyable afternoon. 

Its weird to think she’s 2, the last couple of years have absolutely flown by. I imagine the reduced amount of sleep we’ve had in that time has assisted that though. 

A ‘perk’ of being a designers daughter is that she gets her own bespoke birthday card each year. Not quite as exciting as chocolate cake, but a nice memento to look at in years to come.

Ella was brilliantly behaved throughout with no early signs of the ‘terrible 2’s’, infact the only thing ‘terrible’ all day was the many ‘dad jokes’!

A massive turn off!

Thursday, March 26th, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Saturday 28th March gives everyone the opportunity to be involved in a truely global event. 

At 8.30pm (GMT), people, businesses and iconic buildings around the world will switch off their lights for an hour in support of action being taken to tackle climate change.

This event has been conceived by the WWF, and they are hoping that a billion people will sign up and get involved. It’s WWF’s way of reminding the worlds leaders of their responsibilities to us all when making decisions effecting the environment.

I really like the idea of this and will participate. Not just because I care about the issue of climate change, but also for the knowledge that your are involved in a simple, but big, idea that is so far-reaching.

If you’re at home at this time there’s no excuse not to get involved. I mean… sitting in the dark for an hour has got to be better than watching some Saturday night garbage tv like…. Strictly Ballroom Dancing Celebrity Idiots on Ice.. or something like that! Ha.

To find out more visit:  http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk

Give Me a Break

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 Posted in Personal Lives | No Comments »

Due to the bad weather and my finances still recovering from the festive period, I seem to have spent alot of time hibernating in our front room recently.

After exhausting my classic Reeves & Mortimer dvd’s I got for christmas and waiting for the lovefilm.com subscription to kick in I’ve been forced to watch tv. In between the football and skysport news on loop I’ve been trawling through the endless channels of US sitcoms and 1980’s drama re-runs to find something to watch.

Among all this brain-numbing tv though, there are some brilliantly creative commercials on the box at the moment. Of which the following ones have really stood out;

Audi Q5
Typical of the Audi brand; this is clever, innovative and slickly produced. It’s definitely one of those “how did they think of that” ideas, that competitors will be envious of. The quirky music also adds a sense of effortless cool to the ad.

Microsoft
This is so interesting I was shocked it was for Microsoft! Brilliant Monty Python-esque animation perfectly illustrates the open-minded, free thinking message they are plugging. The slow toned american accent gave the Microsoft game away though!

6music
We’re big 6music fans in the studio, so they can do no wrong in our eyes.The humour and playlist on 6music is a unconventional and unpredictable mix which makes it more entertaining than other stations. So graffiti cartoons running across the side of a wall in a jerky stop animation style to a upbeat Vampire Weekend track sums it up perfectly. Different & fun.

Proof, that there’s something worth watching on the box after all!

Angels of the North!

Friday, October 3rd, 2008 Posted in Personal Lives, Travel | No Comments »

I’ve just returned from a relaxing break on the Northumberland coast with my partner, Chelle, and our 17 month old daughter, Ella. It’s the first time I’ve been upto that area of the country and was very impressed by how beautiful it was. 

Long stretches of deserted beaches, scenic roads through idyllic villages and (what seemed like) a kingdom of castles!!!

Most importantly, it was great to spend some quality family time together. Ella is at a real fun age at the moment, full of energy, curiosity and plenty of laughter. Those initial months of parenthood and all its late night feeds and nappy changes (honestly… I did my share!) now seem a distant memory. 

Whilst passing through the North East we stopped at the ‘Angel of the North’ for a quick ‘photo opportunity’. The sight of the Angel as you enter Gateshead is genuinely iconic. Judging by the photos though, Ella didn’t seem too impressed, perhaps she thought only ONE Angel should be getting all the attention! Ha.

Gareth’s first post

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 Posted in Personal Lives | No Comments »

Hello, I’m a……

deep thinking, busy designing,
family loving, nappy changing,
mostly smiling, sometimes worrying,
football supporting, terrace yelling,
6 music listening, hitchcock watching,
beer drinking, chinese eating,
country walking, ebay surfing,
happiest travelling, photo snapping,
mountain biking, activley recycling,
hard working, rarely relaxing…

kind of person… who will be now blogging!

happiest travelling, photo snapping