YoungMinds are the UK’s leading charity fighting for children and young people's mental health. I’ve been honoured to work regularly with them over the past six year on a range of design projects.

In early 2023, their comms team was in touch to bring their “Deconstructing the System” report to life. The report reflects on the previous three years have been particularly tough for young people.

A global pandemic, political instability, cultural shifts and global crises had come together to make life feel unpredictable and difficult. The report places a spotlight on the resulting young people’s mental health crisis. It brings together the voices of tens of thousands of young people who shared their experiences of the world around them.

It was an honour to present the young people’s perspectives in a 48-page publication, which was published digitally and also in print.

The full version is available for download on the YoungMinds website, where a summary of the report’s findings can also be found, along with other incredible resources and information on young people’s mental health issues.

The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute is the leading centre of expertise on money and mental health problems in the UK, founded by Martin Lewis MBE. They publish a number of reports annually, focusing on the intrinsic link between money problems and mental health issues .

I’ve enjoyed working with this fantastic charitable organisation since 2017, helping to bring their invaluable research and reports to life.

In mid-2022 it was time for their annual impact report. This year we refreshed the design template to engage better with a mostly digital audience and summarising the achievements of the organisation in the subsequent 12 months.

You can download and read the full report on their website which also hosts dozens of their fascinating publications.

I’ve worked with Book Aid International since 2016, including helping them to roll out their sophisticated new branding in 2022.

Book Aid’s mission is to give people around the world who lack access to books the opportunity to read for pleasure, study and lifelong learning.

In spring 2023 I was brought on board to design their 2022 Annual Report – a 60-page document including the Trustee’s review of the year and the charity’s complete financial accounts.

The full report is available on the Book Aid website, where you can find out even more about their fantastic work around the world.

Ehlers-Danlos Support UK work to improve the quality of life for people living with The Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), raising awareness and providing support as part of a growing community.

I was approached by the EDS UK Fundraising team in early 2022 to help brand their annual “Dazzle Walk” – a sponsored virtual walk raising awareness and funds during the EDS Awareness Month in May.

I presented several options for the Dazzle Walk logo – and worked with the fundraising team to refine the preferred option and apply to a range of materials to encourage supporter to sign up and take part.

Find out more and sign up for the next Dazzle Walk on the website.

You can also learn more about the important work of Ehlers-Danlos Support UK on their main website.

Vision Foundation is London’s leading sight loss charity, supporting the city’s best projects for blind and partially sighted people.

In summer 2022, I was approached by their Marketing and Comms team to help bring the findings of a report, researched and compiled by the charity SafeLives – into the shocking scale and nature of domestic abuse among blind and partially sighted people.

The 28 page report highlights the lack of relevant knowledge and experience among organisations and professionals working in both the fields of sight loss and domestic abuse, and puts forward proposals for how to tackle the challenges and break down the barriers to help.

We used a minimal colour palette, commissioned photography and body typography to create a high-impact report that allowed the shocking statistics to come to the fore ahead of the campaign launch in October 2022.

Statistics and key quotes from the qualitative research were used, alongside the dramatic photographs to create social media assets to spread awareness online.

Find out more about The Unseen on the Vision Foundation website.

In early 2022, I was delighted to be commissioned by Gingerbread to create a brand identity and suite of materials for their My Family Moves campaign – a big digital push to get single parents and their children moving for better health and wellbeing.

The project was kickstarted with the conceptualisation and presentation of several different design approaches for the campaign . The preferred logo and supporting branding was refined and rolled out across a range of promotional materials and activity resources, via social media and the Gingerbread website.

Find out more about My Family Moves on the wellbeing section of the Gingerbread website.

The Fabian Society is an independent left-leaning think tank and a democratic membership society with over 7,000 members. They aim to influence political and public thinking and provide a space for broad and open-minded debate, via the publication of insight, analysis and opinion. They also conduct research and undertake major policy inquiries; convene conferences, speaker meetings and roundtables; and facilitate member debate and activism across the UK.

I’ve worked with the Fabian Society for several years on a number of publications and so was delighted in late 2022 to be commissioned to layout their Annual Review.

The final 48 page report is available to download or read online on their website.

H&F Giving (Hammersmith & Fulham Giving) are the go-to organisation for anyone who wants to understand local needs and work together to enrich the lives of H&F residents.

Through their extensive networks in public, private and charity sectors they match resources with causes, and make partnership connections so that all local people and every generation has what they need to thrive.

Formally known as ‘United in Hammersmith & Fulham’, the organisation underwent a rebrand in late 2021, and I was brought on board to help develop a new brand identity under the new name.

Following the presentation of several design concepts, the preferred solution was developed and refined to create a logo mark that literally embraced the borough, encompassing its’ outline typographically within the ampersand.

The brand was rolled out across web, social media and some printed materials ahead of the launch in early 2022.

Find out more about the fantastic work they do in their borough on the Hammersmith and Fulham Giving website.

Barking & Dagenham Giving is a platform for anyone who has a stake in the London borough to contribute their ideas, energy and resources to Barking & Dagenham.

Having previously worked with the BD Giving team on other reports, I was approached ahead of the publication of their first ever Learning and Participation strategy – to bring their bold approach to grant-making to life.

The resulting 28-page strategy is the culmination of over two years of BD Giving’s experience in the borough, consolidating everything they have learned by placing participation at the heart of what they do.

You can read the full strategy and learn more about BD Giving on their website.

Ehlers-Danlos Support UK work to improve the quality of life for people living with The Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), raising awareness and providing support as part of a growing community.

I was approached by the EDS UK Fundraising manager in the summer of 2021 to create a campaign brand for a new initiative using video gaming as a fundraising platform.

Tying in with the EDS Zebra motif, I presented several options for the “Zebra Masters” identity, refining the preferred option and working with the fundraising team to create a range of materials to encourage supporters to sign up and take part.

Find out more and sign up to take part on the Zebra Masters website.

You can also learn more about the important work of Ehlers-Danlos Support UK on their main website.

In spring 2021, I was commissioned by Action Aid International to pull together a design for one of their digital reports, Free Palestine?

The 34-page briefing paper catalogues some of the main violations of international law committed against the occupied Palestinian population, with a focus on the duties of Israel in its role of Occupying Power over the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

The full report is availble to read over on the Action Aid website.

Glasgow ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Forum was created in 1998 by ESOL practitioners with the aim to identify and promote examples of good practice and to enable discussion and support for those working in the field. Glasgow ESOL Forum sees Scotland as a place where non-native English speakers have the language skills and confidence to live fulfilling lives. 

Their small but expert team provide accessible and relevant ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) learning opportunities for adults, supporting integration, employability and personal development, supporting ESOL practitioners and learners to have their views heard. 

I was approached by their Volunteer Tutor Project manager in mid-2020 and commissioned to help collate several of their resource documents and case studies – which formerly existed in a variety of documents and file formats – and pull them altogether into a single, user-friendly document. We settled on an A4 landscape toolkit, to be used digitally primarily, but with the option to do a small print run in the future when Covid-19 restrictions were lifted and face-to-face meetings were able to recommence.

The aim of the toolkit was to present how volunteers make a huge contribution to people learning English in Scotland and beyond and celebrate how ESOL tutors use their skills to teach individuals or groups; support class teachers; help in conversation cafes and many other roles. The resulting Framework for Good Practice in Working with Volunteers in ESOL aids organisations to reflect on their practice to ensure a positive volunteering experience for learners, volunteers and projects.

The final 64 page document is now available as a free download via the Glasgow ESOL website, where more details of their fantastic work can also be found.

Healthy Living Kitchen was established in early 2020 by Jon Scott and Faye Roberts; friends with a passion for food, health and wellbeing.

Their mission is simple – they want to provide people with fresh, tasty, healthy meals at affordable prices – and deliver them direct to customers doors at a fraction of the cost of their national competitors.

I was approached by Jon and Faye at the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020 to provide design support for their then fledging business. They recognised that they had a perfect product and a hungry and growing customer base – and they were determined that the pandemic was not going to interrupt their ambitions for their new company.

What was missing was strong branding to match the quality of their meals. Everything had previously been achieved in house using facebook to market and take orders manually via messaging and Jon and Faye recognised the need to improve things visually – and had already identified the urgent need for an e-commerce website to enhance customer experience.

In the first tranche of design work, I was commissioned to design a logo for their main business, the Healthy Living Kitchen. Jon and Faye were super enthusiastic to work with during the research and ideas generation stage, after which I presented 3 distinct logo solutions… and almost immediately a clear favourite emerged. After some minor refinements to graphic elements and the main colour palette, we very quickly had a main logo that the client was delighted with – and super keep to start using!

As a result the supporting branding was quickly rolled out in print (flyers, business stationery, signage, work clothes etc), on the new website (developed by local web designer Stuart Dawson) and across social media platforms. The delicious food was captured by the fantastic photography of Tiree Dawson at Random Chair.

As the business quickly grew, I was then brought in to design packaging for the full range of meals, featuring bespoke illustrations and nutritional information tables. Then followed sister logos for their kids brand: “Healthy Living Little Kitchen” and their enhanced offering for the the fitness market: “Healthy Living Fitness Kitchen”.

Since the initial brand launch, Jon and Faye have barely had time to draw breath such has been the success of their product on a fast-growing market. They have moved into bigger premises and have more projects, including a cooking school, in the pipeline.

Find out more, and give their delicious offerings a try at healthylivingkitchen.co.uk.

I’ve enjoyed working with the Marketing and Editorial teams at the Fabian Society for the past few years. During the summer of 2020, I was approached by their Editorial director to design a report by author Ben Cooper.

The 40 page paper highlighted the long-standing crisis in arts and culture funding, fuelled by a decade of government cuts, that has left community arts and culture extremely vulnerable to lockdown, especially outside London.

Cultured Communities argues that the centralised public funding of arts and culture is not working, and calls for devolution of power and funding over the arts so that councils and mayors can repair the damage caused by years of cuts and the pandemic.

Using an existing magazine-style template I was able to bring the author’s important findings to life – sourcing appropriate imagery and creating graphical content to help aid readability and get key messages across.

The full report can be downloaded from the Fabian Society website.

It was fantastic in the first half of 2020 to have the opportunity to work with a new client. Voluntary organisation, Neighbourhood Watch contacted me to discuss their upcoming annual awareness campaign – Neighbourhood Watch Week 2020 – during the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown.

Neighbourhood Watch support individuals and groups to create safer, stronger and active communities. They believe in a caring society that is focused on trust and respect, in which people are safe from crime and enjoy a good quality of life.

At the height of the pandemic, the UK saw a surge in neighbourliness as people looked out for the vulnerable and talked to those next door more than ever before – a silver lining to the cloud Covid-19 had cast over their daily lives. Neighbourhood Watch decided that their annual Awareness Week would be a good time to say thank you and celebrate those actions our neighbours have taken no matter how small or big and commissioned illustrator Tony Husband to create a serious of drawings celebrating these relationships.

My design remit was to take these illustrations and develop a style for the campaign resources – including social media assets, posters postcards and downloadable bunting templates – to be promoted in the lead up to and during the 2020 campaign which ran from 7–13th June.

Find out more and see the full suite of resources on the Neighbourhood Watch website.

Shared Care Scotland is a charity whose vision is a Scotland where everyone who receives support or provides unpaid care can live a full and satisfying life, with the assistance they need to take regular, quality breaks from the everyday demands of their caring routines.

In Scotland it is estimated there are over 650,000 people who care for a family member, partner or friend, who may be ill, disabled, or dependent on drugs or alcohol. Short breaks provide a much needed release from the physical and emotional demands of the caring situation and help promote health and wellbeing.

I was approached in early 2020 to work with Shared Care Scotland’s small but highly dedicated team to develop a toolkit to help local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships work through the challenges preventing carers from accessing the breaks they need and to establish the conditions in local communities to provide carers with good, and improving opportunities to access breaks from caring.

I presented the team with several design options then developed the preferred approach and fully paginated their resources across 48 A4 landscape pages.

The final published guide now helps commissioners, procurement teams, locality leads and practice leads to meet the challenge (and duty) of ensuring variety and choice.  It is currently being used for reflection and planning, and to help facilitate and stimulate conversations.

You can view and download the final document, and find out more about Shared Care Scotland’s work on their website.

I was approached by regular client Relate in spring 2020 – in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown –  and commissioned to create a logo mark, campaign style and a series of infographics for their inaugural Relationships Week.

The campaign which ran from 20–26 July aimed to bring together voices from across the UK to highlight the importance of healthy relationships in our lives. The first stage of the design brief was to design a simple logo for the week that aligned to the Relate main brand but would also be ubiquitous enough to be used and promoted by other charities, organisations and individuals in the 2020 campaign – and in subsequent years.

Relate’s research into the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic unearthed that we as a nation were experiencing perhaps the biggest test of relationships in recent history. The research showed that while relationships were coming under pressure – they were also vital for getting us through this difficult time. Working closely with the Relate Media and Comms team, we identified the key stats to be illustrated and published via social media throughout Relationships Week, along with several image posts that celebrated many different types of relationship.

Find out more about Relationships Week on Relate’s website.

Now a long-term client, the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute contacted me several times in 2020 to design a series of reports in response to the Coronavirus pandemic – and it’s impact upon people living with and affected by mental health problems.

The first report of 2020, “Income in Crisis” explores the links between mental health problems and the money people receive through work, benefits or other sources. The spread of coronavirus has made these connections all the more pressing, with the earning power of millions damaged and the state safety net more crucial than ever.

You can read the full report here and access other recent publications here on the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute website.

I’ve greatly enjoyed working with YoungMinds for several years now and in 2019 was excited to work with their communications team on a fantastic new creative project – developing two sets of “Resilience Cards”, a resource to help professionals engage with young people.

The packs were designed for two audiences – primary and secondary school-age children – and therefore required two slightly different design approaches. The designs needed to be appropriate for both age groups, but also be in keeping with YoungMinds existing branding.

Each pack contained 32 prompt cards featuring a personal statement and supporting illustration. We adopted a vibrant hand-drawn style for the primary audience, which involved some sketching, scanning and digital colouring. The secondary followed the charity’s existing icon style, but we expanded the library and added some simple colouring to appeal to a more mature, but still young audience.

The final cards were housed in fully printed packets in late 2019 and made available to professionals working with vulnerable children, who have given excellent feedback on their efficacy and the young peoples’ response.

Find out more about YoungMinds on their excellent website.

I had already worked with the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute for several years when in 2019, they developed and launched the Mental Health Accessible Standards scheme – and commissioned me to develop its overarching logo and a set of levels.

The project aims to help essential services firms – such as banks, energy suppliers and water companies – better understand the challenges that customers with mental health problems face, and to make their services easier to use. The Money and Mental Health team will use the standards to test firms on how accessible their services are for people with mental health problems, and then make recommendations on how they can improve.

I explored and presented several design options before developing the preferred chevron design into a suite of logos with supporting branding that was rolled out online and in print in the months leading up to and after the launch.

Find out more about Mental Health Accessible Standards here.

In 2018, The Duke of Edinburgh Award undertook a significant brand refresh with creative agency Jory & Co to modernise their internal and external communications. The evolution of the charity’s visual identity resulted in a new look and feel via a punchier colour palette, emotive photography with colour treatments and an inspiring, motivating, succinct tone of voice.

Having already worked with several DofE departments in the past, I was excited to be approached to help the Communications team overhaul a huge volume of printed documents and online resources throughout 2018 and 2019 – to bring their existing materials in line with the new brand style.

The DofE Expedition guide – a 320-page book – was the biggest challenge and a great example of how the new look was applied to the 14th edition of this iconic piece of DofE literature.

The DofE charity works with organisations across the UK to help young people gain essential skills, experience, confidence and resilience to successfully navigate adult life. Find out more at DofE.org.

The Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) are a group of thirteen individual genetic conditions, all of which affect the body’s connective tissue. The Ehlers-Danlos Support UK is the only UK charity to support anybody touched by the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes.

I was approached by the marketing team at EDS in early 2020 and commissioned to create an awareness poster to describe the syndromes to a new audience, outline the key symptoms and signpost people to the EDS UK website for further support.

Find out more about The Ehlers-Danlos Support UK on their website.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Relate – the UK’s largest provider of relationship support – for several years, producing their Annual Review each year since 2014.

In 2019, their communications team decided to look at a new reduced format and a design refresh for their 2018-19 report, so I worked with them to establish the appropriate size, pagination and layout approach for the content they wanted to share.

The final report used Relate’s strong branding and photographic style in a 12-page A5 booklet, housing key information, statistics and highlights of the charity’s successful year.

The final document, along with Relate’s earlier annual reviews, is available to view and download on their website here.

After working with Comic Relief on the bespoke The Queen’s Young Leaders programme #TheSearchIsOn Sofa in late 2014, I was given the opportunity in 2015 to quote for an extensive piece of design work creating course materials for Leading Change leadership programme led by the University of Cambridge.

The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme discovered, celebrated and supported inspiring young people from across the Commonwealth between 2014 and 2018.

It was created by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, and delivered in partnership with Comic Relief, The Royal Commonwealth Society and The Institute of Continuing Education at The University of Cambridge.

Leading Change offered runners-up and winners of The Queen’s Young Leaders programme access to a fully comprehensive academic course to support and enhance their invaluable work within their communities.

Leading Change was created by Frances Brown and co-authored by several tutors and experts in leadership and community projects in the non-profit and commercial sectors. Five years of Queen’s Young Leaders from across the Commonwealth were given access to an evolving set of main modules, the opt-in DIY Library, videos and other resources that enabled them to learn and improve their own projects while collaborating with other inspiring young people from all over the Commonwealth. The culmination for each year’s “graduates” was an all-expenses paid trip to the Cambridge Residential at the University – and a royal invitation to meet HRM The Queen at Buckingham Palace.

As well as designing all of the materials Leading Change produced I was also commissioned to created a stand-alone Design and Branding for Non-profits module, part of the DIY Library.

In 2017, I was lucky enough to be invited to the palace myself and had the pleasure of meeting several of the young leaders along with Her Majesty and Prince Harry.

In 2018, at the end of the 5 year programme, I continued working with Frances to finalise the documents as part of an ongoing legacy project, all of which are now available for adaption and sharing via a Creative Commons licence.

For queries on adapting the materials or running the course, please contact the course creator Frances Brown at hello@fbrownwork.com.

In 2019 I was excited to develop a new working relationship with the team at Wren and Greyhound – a small consultancy with a big purpose.

Wren and Greyhound believe that third- and public-sector organisations are at the heart of a healthy society. Our mission is to contribute to strong, sustainable, well-run non-profit organisations led by confident, informed, capable leaders.

They had produced an excellent toolkit called “Lasting Leadership” and approached me to help them bring the document to life for it’s audience making it more interactive with a bright and engaging design. We established a strong colour palette, bespoke iconography and introduced friendlier typefaces to achieve this aim.

The document is available to download via a free subscription at The Lasting Difference website.

Between 2016 and 2019 I was fortunate enough to work on the incredible Queen’s Young Leaders Programme project,

Through a referral from my contact at project partner Comic Relief, I was commissioned by the University of Cambridge to design an extensive range of study materials to support the Leading Change project that runners-up and winners of the QYLP from across the Commonwealth were given access to.

As part of the project, I was given the opportunity to develop and deliver a module entitled Design and Branding for Non-profits – and through this piece of work I was lucky enough to work with several of the Young Leaders to critique or help develop the organisation’s branding.

One of the inspirational young people – Susan Mueni – brought her fantastic project MAD (Making a Difference) Sisters to the table, asking for help creating a new logo design. MAD Sisters work with young women and girls in Kibera, Kenya to help educate and empower them on a wide range of issues they face in their daily lives.

Following the brand process outlined in my own module, Susan and myself worked together to create a brief, undertook research and came up with several ideas for development. I then took the strongest three concepts and presented them back to Susan, who was delighted with all of the solutions but the heart-head icon emerged as a clear favourite.

I then provided designs for a banner, signage, information flyer and t-shirts which, with a grant from the University of Cambridge, Susan was able to print locally in Kibera and start promoting her project within the slums and beyond, to her primary and secondary audiences of young girls and women – and potential funders and supporters.

A fantastic a rewarding project to be involved with :)

Find out more about MAD Sisters on their facebook page.

One of my first clients, I’ve enjoyed working with Carers UK since 2014. Over the years I have worked with their fantastic team on a huge number of publications, social media and website assets.

In early 2020, we refreshed the hugely important “Looking after someone” guides that Carers UK produce annually for anyone caring for family or friends.

The guide which is available in versions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland outlines peoples’ rights as carers and gives an overview of the practical and financial support available.

The document utilises Carers UK’s strong branding and white space to present the information in a clear and easy to understand way, signposting cares to further sources of support.

All guides are available to download here on the Carers UK website, where a wealth of other documents and resources are available.

In 2019 I was approached and commissioned to design a new logo and supporting branding for Carlisle Estates, the oldest estates agency in my home town, the Great Border City.

This was a fantastic start-from-scratch project working with company director Susan Bowers to create a brand identity that would perfectly represent this long-standing, trusted family business.

Established in 1899, Carlisle Estates had built a solid reputation in the city, but until now had little or no branding in place. Together with Susan, I undertook a thorough research and ideas generation process to identify several potential concepts that could help personalise their company to both existing and new audiences.

Though feedback was positive on all concepts, there was one standout favourite. A subtle play on the hidden “Est.” in the company name, housed in an ajar door, created a smile in the mind for the clients and after some back and forth on colour and typeface preferences, we were all delighted with the final result.

I’ve enjoyed working with Gingerbread – the leading UK charity working with single parent families – for the past few years, working on a variety of projects, including infographics, campaigns and policy reports.

Towards the end of 2019, I worked on Gingerbread’s ‘Held Back’ report –  drawing on a review of the existing evidence as well as new quantitative and qualitative research to summarise what is known about in-work progression for single parents in London.

The report outlines why in-work progression is a pertinent issue for single parents in the capital and explores their attitudes, aspirations, experiences and outcomes in relation to progression and I enjoyed bringing to life the data provided to present it in a clean and easy to digest document.

The full report is available here on the Gingerbread website where you can find out more about this fantastic charity.

Between 2014 and 2019 I was fortunate enough to work on the incredible Queen’s Young Leaders Programme project.

Through a referral from my contact at project partner Comic Relief, I was commissioned by the University of Cambridge to design an extensive range of study materials to support the Leading Change project that runners-up and winners of the QYLP from across the Commonwealth were given access to.

As part of the project, I was given the opportunity to develop and deliver a module entitled Design and Branding for Non-profits. The aim of the module was to introduce design and branding to the young students enrolled on the Leading Change – and explain the relevance of both for the charitable and community projects that they had, or were in the process of, setting up.

Using a combination of my experience in the design industry and several years of teaching design theory and software to adult learners at Kendal College, I was able to produce a 64-page interactive workbook, packed with design theory, examples, activities and worksheets.

The document outlined – and then itself followed – the 7-step design process that underpins successful projects, allowing students to get involved with their own branding – from setting a brief, through research and ideation, to development, review and feedback.

As part of the project I was fortunate to work alongside several of the young leaders, getting to know their organisation and ambitions, to develop logo marks to represent their projects. One of these students – Susan Mueni, founder of MAD Sisters – followed the process from start to finish and her project features in the 2018 edition of Design Branding for Non-profits, as an illustration of how successful branding can be implemented.

You can read about the MAD Sisters design project in more details here.

After the completion of the Leading Change programme, all modules were licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. View a copy of this license here. 

If you would like to receive a copy of the Design and Branding for Non-profits under the terms of the license, please email me.

ClientEarth is a charity that uses the power of the law to protect the planet and the people who live on it. They are lawyers and environmental experts who are fighting against climate change and to protect nature and the environment.

I was approached by ClientEarth in late 2019 to help them create a series of press-adverts using their existing brand style and fantastic image library.

Find out more about ClientEarth and their important work here.

Addressing Adversity was part of the charity YoungMind’s Beyond Adversity campaign in early 2018, which sought to raise awareness of the impact of childhood trauma and adversity of young people's mental health.

They called on the Government, NHS and local authorities to provide better support for children and young people who have experienced trauma and adversity. To spearhead the campaign, a collection of essays and key findings were compiled by YoungMinds and I was approached and commissioned by them to design and illustrate a comprehensive report document to house them. 

The resulting 372 page book was funded by NHS Health Education England and made available in print and as an e-book online through the YoungMinds website. 

Key facts, represented by bright and engaging infographics helped to succinctly outline the impact that adverse experiences have on young people – and also explored potential ways to address the issues that arise from such adversity.

The book and supporting graphics were launched at a special gathering at the House of Parliament in February 2018 to much success, raising awareness of key issues to an audience of influential figure and policy-makers. 

You can find out more about the project and read and download the whole Addressing Adversity e-book here.

Based on findings from Carers UK’s 2017 State of Caring Survey, The world shrinks: Carer Loneliness research report looks at the levels of social isolation and loneliness among current and former carers and the reasons why so many carers feel isolated.

The report was published as part of Carers UK’s work with the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness – a year long commission inspired by the late MP for Batley and Spen – looking at the causes of loneliness and the steps we can all take to address it.

I was approached by the Carers UK communications team to create a fresh design, distinct from the usual Carers UK branding and incorporating some of the illustrative style from the fledgling Jo Cox brand-style. Working with the team we identified key statistics to highlight the reports major findings and pulled them out throughout the report in a bright and engaging manner.

You can read and download the whole report on the Carers UK website.

Find out more about the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness here.

Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. They unite and support a diverse network of over 450 civil society organisations and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.

By helping members adapt to an ever-changing environment, Bond enables civil society to create a more just and sustainable world, working to influence governments and policy-makers, develop the skills of people in the sector, build organisational capacity and share expertise.

I was approached by Bond’s communications manager in autumn 2017 and commissioned to design a 44-page briefing, intended to give new and returning members of parliament a rapid overview of some of the world’s most complex and protracted emergencies.

The document, designed in Bond’s recently-refreshed house-style, highlighted actions which parliamentarians could take to ensure the UK most effectively delivers on its moral and political responsibilities as a key actor on the global stage.

You can read the report in full on the Bond website.

I’ve enjoyed a rewarding working relationship with the National Autistic Society (the UK’s leading charity supporting people with autism and their families) for the past five years, working with their fundraising, marketing and communications teams on a variety of digital and print campaigns to support their fantastic work. 

In mid-2017, I was lucky enough to be chosen to work with them on a new fundraising initiative to encourage members to get involved in raising both awareness and funds by hosting a brunch in aid of the charity. 

The brief was to design a logo and supporting branding for the aptly-titled “Let’s Do Brunch!” while keeping within the strong National Autistic Society house-style to aid recognition. 

I had great fun coming up with ideas for the identity package and eventually presented the strongest three solutions to the fundraising team. The preferred concept was developed and finalised and the design rolled out on a range of materials for supporters to download from the NAS website, when signing up to join the branch club.  

You can find out more about the National Autistic Society on their website or head straight to their brunch club page to sign up to Let’s Do Brunch! 

Money and Mental Health is an independent charity, founded by money expert Martin Lewis OBE, committed to breaking the link between financial difficulty and mental health problems.

People with mental health problems are three times as likely to be in problem debt: and its the mission of Money and Mental Health here to change that. They conduct research, develop practical policy solutions and work in partnership with both those providing services and those using them to find what really works.

Having worked successfully with the Communications Team at Money and Mental Health throughout 2017 on a number of policy reports, I was further commissioned to work with them in early 2018 to produce their “Recovery Space” briefing.

The 44 page report, spearheaded a national campaign and focused on the ways in which healthcare services, the benefits system and essential services firms respond to people in a mental health crisis, and highlighted the opportunities for improvement.

The report was designed in keeping with the Money and Mental Health house style – delivering the information in a clean and clear layout with bright illustrations to add pace and contrast, and to break up complex themes and add visual interest. A supporting graphic was created to summarise the key message of the report and used on social media during the launch of the campaign.

Within two months of the campaign launch the charity secured the backing of 23 organisations, 81 MPs and 10,000 members of the public. The Bill, that included the debt respite scheme, was then debated in Parliament in April 2018, and the Minister John Glen (Economic Secretary to the Treasury) stood up and committed to make the campaign happen!

You can read the report in full and find out more about the Recovery Space campaign here.

In 2017, the charity Carers UK, in partnership with the Carers Trust, led the charge to create a scheme which would recognise the UK’s 6 million unpaid carers within 6 key settings (employment, the community, hospitals, mental health trusts, schools, and colleges and universities).

The resulting Carer Passport initiative, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, has the aim of identifying unpaid carers in some way and sets out a means for the settings to offer support, services or other benefits in response.

I worked with several members of Carers UK’s communications team in 2017 and 2018 to create an overarching identity for the Carer Passport, along with supporting branding that would enable partners to create their own co-branded materials under the Carers Passport banner. 

These materials included a range of information guides and resource materials (including identification cards, flyers, posters, checklists and application forms) that were made available to download on the new Carer Passport website. 

You can find out more about the Carer Passport project here where all resources are available.

Having worked with the YoungMinds charity on previous layout projects, I was delighted to team up with them again to provide designs for their “Find Your Feet” project.

Find Your Feet is about change, focusing on the transition from Year 6 to Year 7. Learning about how to cope with change will help children with this particular transition, as well as prepare them for many other changes and challenges they will face in life.

The campaign, supported by ASDA, involved producing a number of resources for teachers, including document folders and 32 page guides, along with a supporting document for students – an engaging mini-workbook that doubled up as an A3 poster when unfolded.

You can find out more about the Find Your Feet campaign here on the YoungMinds website.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award celebrated it's Diamond Anniversary in 2016 – and a Diamond Challenge fundraising campaign was initiated as part of a year long programme of events. 

Throughout 2016, I worked alongside members of the DofE marketing and fundraising teams on several design projects, and was thrilled to be commissioned to work with them after the anniversary year on the branding of an ongoing DofE Challenge for 2017 and beyond. 

The new Challenge identity encapsulates the ethos and integrity of the DofE Awards and builds on the success of the Diamond Challenge to offer fundraisers the opportunity to choose and set their own challenge. 

As well as developing a logo mark and it's supporting branding, I was also tasked with the creation of a huge range of promotional materials for both print and web output, including fundraising guides, information leaflets, posters, banners, front-end webpage designs and collateral for social media and e-marketing. In the early months of 2017, I also worked on the design of Challenger t-shirts, certificates and enamel pins – rewarded to participants on completion of their Challenge.

As part of the DofE Challenge 2017, a mass participation event was also conceived. The DofE Adventure 2017 is a walking challenge set in the heart of the Peak District, offering adventurers a choice of distance and duration. I designed the Adventure's logo and brand guidelines, which were also applied to web and a number of digital and print documents including brochures, training plans and toolkits for individual and corporate Adventurers. 

You can find out more about the DofE Challenge and Adventure at dofechallenge.org.

The Fabian Society is Britain’s oldest political think tank. Founded in 1884, the Society is at the forefront of developing political ideas and public policy on the left.

I've worked with the Fabian Society's communications team since Autumn 2016 on a range of design projects, including creation of conference materials and editorial work on several publications. 

My latest commissioned project was the Powerful People Powerful Places report, authored by Tara Paterson. The report explores the premise that our local environment is the foundation on which community life is built and how open spaces provide platforms for local people to come together and meet their neighbours, and how clean streets embed a pride in one’s place.

I was tasked with bringing Tara's fascinating findings to life, using one of the Society's magazine-style design templates, integrating imagery and words, alongside newly created illustrations and graphs to help represent case studies and key report findings.

The final report, which was published online in July 2017, can be read in full here. 

Money and Mental Health is an independent charity, founded by money expert Martin Lewis OBE, committed to breaking the link between financial difficulty and mental health problems.

People with mental health problems are three times as likely to be in problem debt: and its the mission of Money and Mental Health here to change that. They conduct research, develop practical policy solutions and work in partnership with both those providing services and those using them to find what really works.

I was contacted by the Communications Team at Money and Mental Health in early 2017 and commissioned to work with them on the design of several upcoming publications, including their Annual Review for 2016/17. The document showcases the sterling work this relatively new charity have done in a short space of time to raise awareness and report on the impact of money and mental health. 

You can read the Annual Review 2016/17 in full here, along with other recent publications. 

I was approached by the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access Campaign team, to create some eye-catching infographics to represent statistical information they had on the importance of Indian generic medicines used in their medical work. 

MSF relies heavily on generic medicines made in India to carry out its medical work in more than 60 countries. But the ‘pharmacy of the developing world’ is under attack from the US, the EU, Japan and others who are protecting multinational pharmaceutical profits over peoples’ lives.

As part of a wider "Hands Off Our Meds" campaign, the infographics have been used internationally on social media, to raise awareness of the threat MSF's work faces from profit-making pharmaceutical companies.

Find out more at handsoff.msf.org

YoungMinds is the UK’s leading charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people. 

YoungMinds latest campaign, Wise Up, calls on the new Government to rebalance the education system so that the wellbeing of students is as important as academic achievement.

I was approached by the Director of Communications and Campaigns in April 2017, and asked to design a report to present the findings of recent YouGov research to the government – and to highlight several recommendations to improve the mental wellbeing of young people in schools.

The final 24-page report outline was printed and also made available on the YoungMinds website.

You can find out more about YoungMinds' WiseUp campaign here and read the report in full here.

Maggie’s provides free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their family and friends. Built in the grounds of NHS cancer hospitals, Maggie’s Centres are places with professional staff on hand to offer the support people need.

In summer 2016, I was commissioned to create an infographic overview to explain how Maggie's help people affected by cancer. The resulting graphic, shown here, appeared in their seasonal members magazine – and in the Annual Review 2015/16. 

Find out more about the great work Maggie's do here.

In 2016, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with the marketing and fundraising teams at The Duke of Edinburgh's Award in what was the Diamond Anniversary for the charity.

Having worked on various graphic design projects with the DofE throughout the year, they approached me in December and commissioned me to design a coffee-table style book – "A Year in Photos" – to celebrate the work undertaken by the DofE Awards in their 60th year. 

The 56 page document showcased hundreds of wonderful images, in a symmetrical 9x9 matrix grid, that employed oodles of white-space to present the Royal Tour and various DofE campaigns in an understated but celebratory manner. 

The final photo book was printed and presented to DofE Award supporters as a thank you present for their on-going support. 

You can find out more about the Duke of Edinburgh and it's Diamond Anniversary here and read the whole book online here.

Images from lapelapeel

When up-and-coming Manchester-based craft brewery TicketyBrew approached me to create a revamped label design for their spin-off limited edition "TicketyFew" beer bottles, I couldn't resist... 

With fantastic branding already in place – created by the amazing Carter Wong Design – the brief was simple: take their successful ticket design and make it even fresher and funkier for a series of limited edition brews to be rolled out in bars across the North West throughout 2017. 

Working closely with TicketyBrew co-founder Keri Barton and her marketing team, we created a vibrant spectrum of beer bottle labels, using fluorescent colours and a hand-drawn style to bring personality to their fantastic one-of-a-kind brews, which were finally printed by the excellent Label Apeel in Leicester. 

In early 2016 I was approached by the British Council and the National Museum Directors Council (NMDC) and asked to produce a catalogue to showcase the vast array of incredible collections and exhibits held in UK museums and galleries to an audience of international partners. 

Working within the parameters of the British Council brand guidelines and liaising with NMDC and British Council staff, I designed a 24 page catalogue titled A Wealth of Treasures, which demonstrates the breadth and scope of UK collections.

It was launched at the British Embassy in Washington DC in May 2016 by the Director of British Council USA to coincide with the American Alliance of Museums Conference. 

A Wealth of Treasures has been distributed in print via British Council offices and is available to download online. You can view the whole report online here.

In 2016, I was commissioned to create a logo for the National Carer Organisations – a group of seven Scottish charities who come together to advocate for unpaid carers in Scotland.

The organisations had previously been using an amalgamation of their seven logos but felt it was clunky and cumbersome and wanted to create a mark that would represent their partnership in a neat and professional way.

I worked closely with a representative from the Coalition of Carers in Scotland who was overseeing the creation of the brand. The final solution utilised a gradient of seven colours (each representing one of the partner organisations) to form a "halo spectrum" around the form of a person – which could represent both the carer and the cared for.

The National Museum Directors' Council represents the leaders of the UK's national collections and major regional museums. Our members are the national and major regional museums in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland andWales, the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, and the National Archives. 

In 2015, the NMDC published a report to set out the case for investment in museums ahead of the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review.

I was commissioned to design the printed report document, Museums Matter, which included the creation of several infographics which served to illustrate the extent of the postiive impact our nations' museums have on our lives, the economy and national heritage – as well as building strong cultural relationships worldwide.

The final document was both printed and distributed digitally and all infographics were also made available on the NMDC website.

You can ready the full report and find out more about the NMDC here.

The Bradford International Film Summit was a 3-day celebration of film in Bradford, the world’s first UNESCO City of Film in 2015.

I was appraoched by the marketing team at Bradford City of Film to work with them to develop promotional materials in the lead up to the event and further marketing collateral during the Summit, including invitations, banners, leaflets, eFlyers and powerpoint slides.

Following the event I was commisioned to produce the report Summit Report – a 28 page printed summary of the festival of film.

Find out more about the Summit here.

As a global partnership, Girls Not Brides works to ensure that new and existing evidence – particularly on the solutions to child marriage and on insights emerging from non-traditional sources – is shared widely.

With now more than 500 members in over 70 countries working to end child marriage, Girls Not Brides has exceeded its target for membership growth.

The Girls Not Brides marketing team contacted me to commission an infographic that showed not only the impressive membership growth but communicated the way in which members work together to tackle child marriage and what their work achieved.

A good balance between statistical infomation paired with emotive examples and case studies was the perfect content to create a vibrant and highly visual graphic to celebrate the charities work – but also underline the importance of it.

Find out more about Girls Not Brides and their members on their website.

On behalf of the Scottish Government and in partnership with national carer organisations, Carers Scotland organise an annual Carers Parliament for carers from all across Scotland.

I was approached by the administration team at Carers Scotland to design the official Report of the 2014 Parliament which was held in The Hub in Edinburgh.

The 80 page report covers verbatim the speeches, interviews and discussions throughout the day. The challenge was how to take a very lengthy word document – and make it more digestible with the introduction of reportage-style imagery, statistics and pertinent quotes from the days.

Having intially presented a range of styles to the Carers Scotland Chief Executive and his team, we further refined the chosen design and are all very happy with the results!

Find out more about the Carers Parliment and download the full report here.

The Best Medicine is a 2015 campaign by Relationship charity Relate to call on the government to put relationships at the heart of the NHS, making relationship support available to everyone who needs it.

Supported by a host of charities including Mind, The Stroke Association, Alzheimer's Society, Prostate Cancer UK and Breast Cancer Care, the Best Medicine campaign aims to raise awareness of the critical link between relationships and the nation's health and wellbeing.

I was approached by Relate to create a logo mark and brand style for the campaign which could be applied to materials in both print, online and social media.

Find out more about the campaign here.

In 2014 Carers UK ran a creative writing competition asking people to share their experiences through the medium of poems and short stories.

The organisers and award-winning poet, judge Cheryl Moskowitz, were overwhelmed by the repsonse which saw over 300 entires submitted, each revealing a unique glimpse into the world of caring – told by those who care.

After the judging announced several winners and highly commended entires, Carers UK supporters and staff also selected a collection of their favourite pieces.

I was delighted to be asked to design the anthology, which was printed to take the touching and intimate collection to a wider audience. Using the artwork of textile design, and carer, Daphne Sanderson and a clean symmetrical layout, it was an honour to translate the exceptional submissions into a printed format.

The finish 92-page anthology is now available to buy from the Carers UK online shop.

Find out more about Carers UK and their creative writing competition on their website.

'Single Parents Decide' is charity Gingerbread's campaign in the run up to the 2015 General Election.

The charity, who provide support and advice and campaign for single parents in the UK, approached me to produce a series of graphics to help them to illustrate the key issues that effect single parent families.

I worked with their communications manager to establish a style for the graphics that would work well with their existing branding and present the facts in a visual and engaging manner – in a series of social media posts that are to be rolled out on facebook and twitter in the run up to the election.

Find out more about the #singleparentsdecide campaign on the Gingerbread website.

The Welfare Association supports some of the most marginalised Palestinian families and communities in the West Bank and Gaza and in the refugee camps and gatherings of Lebanon. Their work is focussed on emergency refief, supporting health and education services and other sustainable development programmes. 

Having recently had their website redesigned by Joomkit, the Welfare Association wanted their Annual Review for 2013–14 to reflect its modernisation and make the document more accessible to a wider audience.

This was achieved by using a limited colour palette, modern typograhy and graphics inspired by their logo – combined with with strong photography from their Palestinian projects.

The final report is available for download here.

I'm One is the name of the National Autistic Society's campaign ahead of the General Election in 2015.

The purpose of the campaign is to make prospective parliamentary candidates aware of autism and the issues that affect people with the condition and their families. The campaign aims to prompt National Autistic Society supporters to meet in person with their local candidates and openly discuss their current concerns and hopes for a better future.

I was asked to design the I'm one motif and it's wider branding which was to be applied to a series of social media 'statements' which rang true for the charity's supporters. The statements were rolled out on facebook and twitter over the course of several weeks and supporters were asked to share their experiences and raise further awareness by sharing the graphcis.

I was also asked to create a series of printed toolkits for NAS branches, individual members and candidates that encouraged members to engage with their local policitians and provided guidance on getting the most out of their meeting.

Find out more about the campaign here.

In late 2014 a "Banks: Quit Coal" website was created by international NGO BankTrack to expose the financing of the coal industry by commercial banks around the world.

Based on research carried out by economic research company Profundo in early 2014, the website and corresponding report uncovered and delivered some startling statistics.

I was approached by the BankTrack to create a single infographic that would summise the key findings of the report in an engaging and visual manner that could be used in both print and online.

The final graphic – which featured on the Huffington Post website alongside a summary of the report – was then broken down into 8 modules to be rolled out on social media.

Is your bank a Coal Bank? Find out here.

Having worked with the Carers UK Marketing team for most of 2014, I was delighted to be asked to design their Annual Review – a 36 page overview of the important work undertaken by the charity for the financial year 2013–14.

Following their brand guidelines and briefed to make the document visually enjoyable to read, I employed lots of white space, geometric forms and ribbon illustrations to create a modern and legible document that outlines the importance of Carers UK work.

Find out more about their work here.

Lessons for Life breaks the poverty cycle by making sure that Africa's poorest kids get a good education.

To raise money to fund their ongoing work in Africa, the charity decided to sell their own Christmas Cards in 2014. Having already established an illustrative style in their Annual Report earlier in the year, I was commissioned to design a set of 5 illustrated Christmas Cards.

The final set is available to buy now at the Lessons for Life online shop.

Find out more about this charitys' fantastic work on their main website.

Relationship charity, Relate's Annual Review presents some of the major highlights from the 2013/14 financial year.

Following a positive respose to the design of the recent The Way We Are Now, Report commissioned me to use a similar style to present their Annual Review, which was published in digital and print format.

The 40 page document features powerful reportage photography, infographics and a stong colour palette to summarise the charities' year in a fresh and easily digestable way.

In the year that they celebrated their 75th anniversary, it's very clear just how vital Relate's work remains at the heart of UK society.

The final document is available to download here.

Lessons for Life believes that education changes everything. They work with hundreds of projects across several African countries to send some of the worlds poorest children to school.

To reiterate the importance of their work, Lessons for Life asked me to work with them to design their Annual Review reporting on the year 2013.

Using a combination of strong imagery, infographics and data the resulting 16 page B5 document is a vibrant page turner that communicates to the audience the underlying message: education really does change everything.

Find out more at www.lessonsforlifefoundation.org

To coincide with the publication of their new study Relationships, Recession and Recovery, relationships charity Relate approached me to design an infographic to bring the findings to life.

The report – which shows that couples worst affected by the recession are eight times as likely to suffer relationship breakdown – identified 6 people groups and reported on their different experiences of recession: job loss, optimism for the future, perception of current and future financial situation, working overtime, satisfaction with employment and being behind with bills.

My brief was to develop 6 characters to represent these groups from 'Forging ahead' (largely unaffected by the recession) to 'Distressed & disengaged' (the group worst hit by the economic downturn).

Working alongside Relate's digital marketing team, we developed the concept of a 'Top Trumps' approach to the graphic, with each group having their own 'game card, which used a simple illustrative style and iconography to enable a quick overview of each person's experience of the recession.

Find out more here.

Filled with news, campaigns, advice and stories from real-life carers, Caring Magazine is a quarterly print publication for members of Carers UK.

To reflect the rebranding of Carers UK in 2014, I was approached by their communications and marketing manager to work alongside the charity on a complete redesign of the publication.

With a muted colour palette, oodles of white space and geometric forms, the re-design brought a fresh and contemporary look – bringing articles to life without compromising on readability, which was a key priority for the target audience.

Careless is the new hard-hitting campaign from the National Autistic Society that aims to challenge the Government to better protect vulnerable adults with autism from abuse, neglect and loneliness.

As well as creating the campaign logo, I was asked by the NAS visual communications team to represent the shocking findings of their report in a series of infographics to be shared on social media.

The ultimate purpose of the graphics was to raise awareness and catalyse supporters to get behind this new campaign which comes ahead of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that the Government do more to protect vulnerable adults with autism in the Care Bill due to be passed in the autumn.

Find out more and join the campaign at www.autism.org.uk/careless

In 2014, Relate, in partnership with Relationships Scotland, carried out a survey of over 5,000 people to examine the state of the UK's relationships.

This wide-ranging survey (one of the largest of its kind) offered up a rich insight into the home lives, working lives, social lives and sex lives of people in the UK.

Relate commissioned me to design and lay out the findings of the report in a 40 page document that would be distributed primarily via email and online downloads. Working closely with the communications team I presented several concepts from which the final design evolved.

At the same time I was tasked with creating a series of infographics to illustrate the 10 key statistics that emerged from the survey results. As well as being used throughout the report document, they were also shared via social media and brought together to create a complete 'house' infographic and overview of the whole project.

You can find out more about the The Way We Are Now report and Relate and their work here.

As part of the wider brief for the The Way We Are Now report, Relate commissioned me to find an interesting and highly visual way of communicating the key findings.

The brief was to emcompass ten different statistics in one image – with an overarching theme that tied in with the subject of the report – the state of the UK's relationships.

Working closely with the communications team, we settled on the vison of a 'house' that brought together separate modules of information as it's rooms, using simple pictograms and household objects to visualise the data.

To ensure interest across social media platforms, the statistics were also made available as individual twitter and facebook image posts, rolled out over the publication launch week.

See the infographic in detail here.

By far the most bizarre brief of 2014 came from Comic Relief, working alongside the Queen's Young Leaders programme – a project searching for inspirational people who are making a difference in their communities.

Could I design a sofa – made out of the hashtag #thesearchison – for the launch of the project... to be held at the 1881 room at Buckingham Palace?

Unable to turn down such an interesting challenge, I presented several concepts before the clear favourite – an acid blue chaise longue – was picked for development. The design was produced in time for the launch event, where it rubbed shoulders with some very famous faces...

Find out more about the Queen's Young Leaders here.

The Big Ride for Africa is an annual challenge organised by Lessons for Life Foundation that asks intrepid riders to cycle to Amsterdam from all over Europe.

In June 2014, 270 riders took part raising an amazing €985,000 along the way! To celebrate and share the success, Lessons for Life commissioned me to design an infographic that would not only thank supporters but let them know the importance of what they'd achieved.

Destined for Africa, the money will be put to very good use in the projects Lesson for Life supports – bringing education to the poorest people in the continent.

Find out more about Lessons for Life and their work here.

Find out more about The Big Ride for Africa here.

Carer Positive is a Scottish Government funded initiative which has been developed with the support of a strong partnership of private, public and voluntary sector organisations in Scotland.

The development of a ‘caring for carers’ kitemark was listed as one of ten manifesto commitments for carers in 2011 to ‘recognise those employers who offer the best support to carers, allowing them the flexibility they often need to deliver care at home’.

Carers Scotland was funded to take this commitment forward and approached me with the remit of both naming and branding the kitemark, and designing the associated website and promotional print material ahead of the launch on 12th June 2014.

After a thorough naming strategy process and several discussions with the policy team, we arrived at Carer Positive and I created a logo mark that aimed to reflect the positive contribution of carers in the workplace throughout Scottish industry.

The final logo family comprised linear and stacked versions, along with 3 "levels" logos – awarded depending on the level of employer engagement with carers was.

The associated print material and website designs featured positive imagery and engaging infographics to introduce Carer Positive to the Scottish Government in parliament at the launch event.

www.carerpositive.org

Website developed and built by Joomkit.

Having previously worked alongside the team at web development agency Joomkit on the Carers Week Quest website, I was delighted when they asked me to come up with some layouts for the recent Carers UK website redesign that they were building.

Working within the guidelines set out by Uffindell – the creator of the new Carers UK identity – and closely with the Carers UK marketing team, we came up with some fresh and striking designs that aim to make this invaluable resource even more user-friendly and accessible.

As well as the design of several levels of the web hierarchy, I was also asked to create a series of home page infographics that paint an engaging picture of caring in the UK today.

The infographics feature some of the wider set of 'ribbon illustrations' that I was concurrently commissioned to create as part of a wider brand style for the charity.

www.carersuk.org

Website development by www.joomkit.co.uk

To explain to supporters how their new campaign 'Careless' fit in with their other work, the National Autistic Society asked me to present a theory of change diagram in a simple to follow timeline.

The challenge was to reignite weary supporters who, having supported previous campaigns, may well think "well, what's the point – did the last one not work?".

The final infographic uses simple pictograms and a sequence of defined stages to show not only the importance of the new campaign, but also how it fits in with the bigger picture.

See my work for the Careless Campaign here.

Find out more about the campaigns of the National Autistic Society at: www.autism.org.uk/campaign

I was asked to create a series of illustrations for the Autism Partnership Board booklet produced by the National Autistic Society.

The brief was to create several scenarios that feature a range of people with autism in everyday situations that may be challenging to them in some way.

Using a combination of hand-drawn ink sketches and digital software the final illustrations used a selective colour palette to highlight the person with autism in an otherwise monchrome scene.

A further series of black and white drawings were also commissioned to illustrate a typical agenda at one of the Partnership Board meetings.

The Caring & Family Finances Inquiry was published in January 2014 to examine the impact of an unprecedented combination of rising living costs and far-reaching changes to social security.

The report provides a definitive study into the financial impact of caring – with carers' voices at its heart.

Carers UK contacted me to design an infographic highlighting the key facts of the reports findings. They wanted a strong graphic style that would hammer home the worrying statistics in a professional, authorative manner. They wanted the complete infographic to be broken down into individual modules which would be integrated throughout the written report and published through their social media channels. The colour palette was used to create distinct sections within the written report – which was designed in house.

The final report and the key facts can be found at:
www.carersuk.org/get-involved/caring-family-finances-inquiry

To coincide with the 20th anniversary of Carers Week – an annual 7-day long initiative to highlight the work of UK Carers – the Carers Week Quest was launched. I was approached by the Carers Week marketing team and briefed with creating a stand-alone mark for the Quest and all of the associated branding that would be applied to web, social media and supporting print and promotional products.

Once the Quest brand had been created the vibrant colour palette, bold typography and images of carers soon got rolled out across multiple applications including launch banners, printed materials, pledge cards, a new website and various social media platforms.

The Carers Week Quest 2014 will run from Monday 9 – Sunday 16 June. Join in and help carers at www.carersweek.org

Website built by www.joomkit.com

Following the popularity of 2013's I Met a Wolf at my Door, David Langfield contacted me with a second short story he wanted me to illustrate and design the book for.

Said the Lion to the Tapir introduced 17 new characters in this enjoyable morality tale aimed at young children.

To celebrate the end of their successful year-long 'Push for Action' campaign, the National Autistic Society asked me to illustrate five 'wins' – the positive outcomes that have resulted from the actions supporters have taken over the year.

We decided to illustrate the wins through a series of storyboards, narrated by people with autism, each asking how the outcomes will directly improve their every day lives. The final graphics will be printed in the Society's magazine and rolled out across social media platforms.

Find out more at www.autism.org.uk

Cylinder Disposal Solutions is a business built upon a firm commitment to sustainability and minimising environmental impacts across its operations.

Their director contacted me to design for them a new logo and supporting branding that would be applied to their new website and business stationery.

They wanted a strong logo mark that would reflect their professionalism and reliability. The final solution utilises a graphic play on the letter 's' to mimic both the cylinder shape and the company's dedication to recycling materials for long term sustainability.

Having worked with Hand on Heart Jewellery in 2013 on their logo redesign and establishing new branding for their print material, I was delighted to be asked to help to create graphics for their new e-commerce website (built by www.creode.co.uk).

The client expressed their desire to elevate the perception of their brand and products online. After some discussion we agreed that high-quality product and lifestyle images combined with our existing brand style and colour palette was the way forward. 

We employed the wonderful skills of photographer Tiree Dawson who delivered a fantastic portfolio of images for me to embellish with simple typography and graphic devices. The final designs are used throughout the website and also on weekly e-newsletter and social media campaigns, which I also provide copywriting for.

The response has been overwhelmingly postive as this bespoke jewellery business keeps going from strength to strength.

www.handonheartjewellery.co.uk

Live Below the Line is an annual international challenge that asks participants to try to survive for 5 days on a total of only £5 for all food and drink – thus temporarily meeting the defining criteria for poverty.

I was asked by The Global Poverty Project (the team behind LBL) to lay out the promotional materials (posters and postcards) for both the 2013 and 2014 UK campaign. Supplied with their existing branding and some stunning imagery it was easy to produce this eye catching set documents for a range of participating charities, including Oxfam, Unicef, Save the Children and Christian Aid.

What wasn't so easy was taking up the challenge myself! In 2013 I joined 5,500 others during the campaign week and lived for 5 days on less than a £1 per day – producing blog-style social media graphics as I went.

The campaign raised close to £1 million for anti-poverty projects across the world – and it was fantastic to be involved in some small way.

for anti-poverty projects right across the worldfor anti-poverty projects right across the world

Why not get involved and give the challenge a go this year?! Find out more about Live Below the Line at:

www.livebelowtheline.com

In 2014 Carers UK rebanded with a new logo and brand guidelines created by Uffindell.

In the lead up to the launch of the new band, Carers UK approached me with a request to create a library of bespoke illustrations to be used on their new website and across their range of print materials.

The illustrations were inspired by the 'ribbon' signifier in their new logo and proved to be an interesting challenge – drawing simple, recognisable icons with a single continuous line! I have to admit that I turned my own head into knots working out where to add the shadows to create the intersections... after the 39th separate drawing I'd just about got the hang of it!

I also designed the pages for the new website – read about that project here, or visit the Carers UK website and see it for yourself!

www.carersuk.org

Merlin, the UK’s leading international health charity, who send medical experts to the frontline of global emergencies, approached me with an interesting brief.

They wanted to commission an infographic that would represent their responses across the world to chronic emergencies and natural disasters.

I worked with members of Merlin's communications team to conceive a world map highlighting 10 major responses in the past ten years.

The final infographic was used as part of a fundraising bid, but later rolled out onto their public-facing website and can currently be seen at: 

http://www.merlin.org.uk/wherever-need-greatest

Domemade is a company based in the Lake District specialising in creating geodesic domes for a variety of purposes.

They approached me to create an logo and branding style that would echo their creative approach to building these striking structures. They wanted their branding to be applied to a range of materials – including stationery, build instruction documents, vehicle decals and a website.  

The final logo and brand employs colour and geometric shapes to reflect their bright and friendly approach to both their clients and their built projects. A series of illustrations were developed to add some extra personality to the website, which is fast becoming one of the most popular sites among geodesic dome enthusiasts.

www.domemade.co.uk 

Hand on Heart is a family run jewellery business, specialising in personal pieces using print technology to capture loved ones' prints, names and even noses! 

I was intitally approached by the Hand on Heart manager to design some product brochures, but after an assessment of their existing identity and collateral we decided that a rebrand would help refresh the company image. 

I designed the new logo, introduced a refined colour palette and brought in some graphic devices to create a new brand look which was applied across stationery, print instructions, brochures, gift vouchers and finally a new website. 

 www.handonheartjewellery.co.uk

The National Autistic Society provides information, support and services while campaigning for a better world for people with autism.

In 2013, four years after the Autism Act was passed in UK parliament, the National Autistic Society launched their Push for Action campaign – aiming to pressure local authorites to take action and implement the act, as too many people with autism were still waiting for the support that they need.

As part of the campaign the National Autistic Society initially commissioned me to create a timeline visual that would illustrate the story of the Autism Act and reveal the alarming statistics that indicate that while some local authorities have made improvements, as a country not enough is being done.

The timeline features a friendly sketch style design using sketches by myself and illustrator Nick Stewart. The final graphic was used both in print, web and social media and catalysed supporters old and new to "Push for Action" on the NAS website. 

Following the success of this piece, I was tasked to create subsequent including a series of regional maps, showing the numbers of sign ups for each area of England, along with an overview of the whole country. 

I have also worked with the NAS Campaigns team to design a series of "action" and "win" graphics – used primarily on social media websites – to keep the momentum of the campaign running and acknowledge each milestone victory the campaign achieves.

Find out more about the National Autistic Society at: 

www.autism.org.uk

Family Formation is a law firm in the USA specialising in adoption and surrogacy.

Their marketing manager approached me in early 2013 after the firm had realised their existing logo, branding and website was outdated and in urgent need of a rebrand. I worked closely with the partners and marketing team to evaluate their audience and determine how they wanted to be perceived in a sensitive market place.

The final logo encompassed a modern twist on the traditional family tree which reflects the firm's work - bringing families together in a friendly but highly professional manner.

Along with the logo, I developed a brand style which utilises lots of white space, bright accent colours and treated images and that was applied to signage, stationery, press adverts and the new website.

www.familyformation.com

Enough Food For Everyone IF was a collaborative campaign between hundreds of international charities that sought to highlight the global scandal of hunger in 2013, in the lead up to the G8 Summit.

I worked with members of Save the Children, Oxfam and Comic Relief on several print and digital projects, initially for the launch event and later during the build up to the Summit. 

Work included: 

Press Adverts for Launch Event; Advertisment for G8 Summit Publication; Briefing Document and Hand-in Document for G8 Summit Leaders;  Hyde Park Windmill Image and application to adverts, flyers and national newspaper web banners.

The campaign culminated in a mass rally against hunger in Hyde Park in July 2013, and tens of thousands of people across the UK came together to raise awareness of the causes of hunger.

Find out more about the legacy of the Enough Food IF campaign at:

www.enoughfoodif.org

Carers Week is an annual event organised by Carers UK that aims to raise awareness of the 6 million people classed as ‘carers’ in the UK.

 I was approached by Carers Week's manager in May 2013 and asked to analyse and present the data generated from a survey of 2000 carers across the country. 

The brief asked for a bright and engaging infographic that would appeal to supporters and highlight the findings of the report in a creative way.

Primarily used online, the final graphic was uploaded to and shared across various social media platforms to spread the word and underpin the campaign before, during and after the annual campaign week.

I am currently working with Carers UK to develop a new brand style for the 2014 campaign. 

You out can find out more about Carers Week at:

 www.carersweek.org

Crane Creek Communications is a social media and marketing agency in the USA.  

They initially approached me to design a logo for their new website, but this original remit eventually led to several new projects including stationery, infographics for their website, proposal templates and design work for several of their clients.

www.cranecreek.com

Signal is a charity that launched in October 2013 following a merger of two established deaf charities – The Woodford Foundation and Shropshire Deaf Association. 

I was approached by the marketing manager with the original remit of designing a couple of information leaflets and donation forms for the launch event.

While they already had a new logo, a brand style had not been developed so after some discussion I was also briefed to create a new look for Signal – that would be used across all print materials, web and social media.

Together we defined a brand style that used bright colour, quirkily illustrated graphic icons and stunning imagery to engage with supporters old and new.

The list of design requirements grew to include donation forms and information leaflets, postcards and posters, invitations and slideshows, banners and exhibitions stands. A series of icons were also commisioned for integration on the new website.

A fun and engaging project to be involved in!  Find out more about Signal's projects at:

www.signal.org.uk

MB2 Events is the events company ran by Michaela Blackburn, specialising in big outdoor events throughout the UK.

Their impressive portfolio includes their involvement in a huge variety of successful events including: The BIG IF London (Hyde Park) and Belfast (Botanic Gardens), the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays and Lakes Alive.

Michaela approached me to design a logo and brand style for MB2, which would be applied to stationery, presentations and their portfolio website.

It's great fun to be working with such a dynamic and creative company that really know how to bring events to life!

www.mb2events.co.uk

I Met A Wolf At My Door is a short story written by David Langfield – aimed at young children.

David approached me to create a series of characters that would illustrate his quirky tale in a fun and engaging way.

Lakeland House is a family run guest house in the heart of Coniston, the Lake District, providing luxury bed and breakfast accommodation in it's 11 boutique rooms.

The owners of Lakeland House had already designed a logo for Hollands Café their second business located next door, and wanted me to help finalise it – and also to develop a sister logo for the bed and breakfast business. The brief was to create a family of two strong logo marks that could be used on a wide range of materials in print, signage and online.

Once the logos were signed off I designed the front end of a new website for Lakeland House (incorporating Hollands Café) and then passed the designs over to the guys at www.outsrc.co.uk who built the site – fully content managed and complete with online booking system.

www.lakelandhouse.co.uk 

This infographic Christmas Card was a self-initiated project inspired by a conversation with a friend regarding the best Christmas song of all time.

The Pogue's 'Fairytale of New York' topped both of our charts – but we were surprised to learn that it never actually made it to number one (beaten in 1987 by the Pet Shop Boys' 'Always on My Mind').

This discovery set my mind to wonder how many other great songs and artists had missed out on the number one spot. Could I create a Christmassy visual to represent every number one – and indeed every number two – hit single of all time?

A limited run of A6 cards have been printed by the good people at moo.com. Printed on a 600gsm board comprising Mohawk Superfine Paper, each card has a striking thread of red running through it's middle. I'm likely to have some left over so if you're not already on my Christmas Card list but would like to get your hands on one – get in touch!

As Slade would say 'Merry X'mas Everybody'... I do hope you like!

Hout Design produce beautifully designed, bespoke wooden furniture, kitchens and wooden structures from their base in the English Lake District. Their founder, Sjouke Minkema is a passionate craftsman who wanted a website that would reflect his design style and showcase his stunning products.

I worked with Sjouke and his wife Tracy to develop a simple content managed website, that they would be able to update themselves.

Using lots of white space and images that showed off Hout Designs creations to their best, this was a lovely and inspiring design project to be involved with.

www.hout-design.co.uk

Sidelined to the couch by winter lurgies, I recently found some precious time to design just for the hell of it again…

As a result, this year’s GS Lowry Design’s client Christmas Card features the traditional colour wheel reimagined with a festive twist! Inspired by some cards I purchased several years ago from Raw Studio in Manchester, I finally found the time to put some colour to my own Christmas associations.

A limited run of 148mm square cards have been printed by the fab team at instantprint.co.uk, on 300gsm Tintoretto paper by Fedrigoni and will be landing on clients’ doormats in the next week or so.

I'm likely to have some cards left over so if you're not already on my Christmas Card list but would like to get your hands on one – do get in touch!

This infographic Christmas Card was a self-initiated project inspired by a conversation with a friend regarding the best Christmas song of all time.

The Pogue's 'Fairytale of New York' topped both of our personal charts – but we were surprised to learn that it never actually made it to number one (beaten in 1987 by the Pet Shop Boys' Always on My Mind').

This discovery set my mind to wonder how many other great songs and artists had missed out on the number one spot. Could I create a Christmassy visual to represent every number one – and indeed every number two – hit single of all time?

A limited run of A6 cards have been printed by the good people at moo.com. Printed on a 600gsm board comprising Mohawk Superfine Paper, each card has a striking thread of blue running through it's middle. I'm likely to have some left over so if you're not already on my Christmas Card list but would like to get your hands on one – get in touch!

In the words of Shakin' Stevens...have a Blue Christmas...

International Rubber & Tyre Recycling are a company in the north of England concerned with the removal and disposal of rubber and tyre products from industry.

They wanted a logo that represented their work and also their dedication to ongoing sustainability. Several designs were presented to the IRTR directors but the final solution emerged as a clear favourite and was applied to a range of business stationery.

Updated in 2022 to celebrate 70 years of Christmas Number One hit singles… and the unlucky runners-up!

Back in 2013 and inspired by a conversation with a friend regarding the best Christmas song of all time, I created two infographic Christmas Cards showcasing every Christmas Number One and Christmas Number Two since the Official UK Singles Chart began back in 1952.

The Pogue's 'Fairytale of New York' can’t be beaten for me – but I was surprised to learn that it never actually made it to number one (beaten in 1987 by the Pet Shop Boys' 'Always on My Mind').

This discovery set my mind to wonder how many other great songs and artists had missed out on the number one spot. Could I create a Christmassy visual to represent every number one – and indeed every number two – hit single of all time?

Nine years on, 70 songs have clinched the coveted Christmas Number One slot – from the Spice Girls (three times in a row) to Shakin’ Stevens, Band Aid to  Girls Aloud, Bob The Builder and Mr Blobby – with husband and wife vloggers Ladbaby equalling The Beatles (4 times festive chart toppers) by reaching number one for the past four Christmases.

I’ve now updated my original infographics to reflect these modern times and the recent dominance of talent show contestants, YouTubers and, ahem, Ed Sheeran.

I’ve refreshed the design and combined the winning tunes with the –arguably superior – runners up in a flip and switch format – Number Ones on the front and Number Twos on the reverse.

A limited run of 148mm square cards have been printed on 350gsm recycled stock and will be landing on clients’ doormats in the next week or so.

I'm likely to have some cards left over so if you're not already on my Christmas Card list but would like to get your hands on one – please do get in touch.