Work
Nine years, about sixty jobs, these ones
Each entry says who it was for, what year it ran and what the hard part was. I have left in the two that were difficult, because they are the ones people ask about.
At length
Four recent projects
Pellet Hardware
Forty years of trading and a sign nobody could read from the road. I drew a mark that survives being cut in vinyl by the owner's nephew, a stencil alphabet for the aisle boards, and a ticket system the staff fill in with a marker pen. The brief asked for a rebrand; what it needed was fewer decisions.
Nettle & Co
Eleven teas, one carton size, two colours on unbleached board. The colour limit came from the budget and it did the work that an illustrator would otherwise have been paid for. Printer chosen before I drew anything, which is why it shipped on time.
Grotesk Brut
Five weights, flat terminals, a lowercase g that people either write to me about or do not notice. Drawn for a festival that needed posters legible from across a car park, then extended and released through the foundry. Four months of drawing and six weeks of spacing.
Ferris Fermentation
This one was hard. Three founders, three opinions and no deciding vote, so the second stage ran twice and I charged for it. The labels are good. The lesson, which is now in my proposal template, is that I need one name on the contract who can say yes.
The rest
Older work, still in use
Shorter entries. Most of these are still on shelves or above doors.
Hallam Cider
Six labels drawn to be printed on a machine that misregisters by a millimetre.
Orbit Books
A mark, a spine grid and a cover template the editors still use unaided.
Volt Mono
A monospace drawn for my own invoices, then released because people asked.
Sump Garage
Painted signage, a stencil and an invoice pad. Total budget under a thousand.
Marrow Deli
Greaseproof wraps and a stamp, so the shop prints its own packaging daily.
Kestrel Festival
Three years of programmes set from one grid. The job that started Grotesk Brut.
If yours would sit on this page
Send the deadline, the budget and who signs off. Two days for an answer, either way.