Opening doors
My first freelance design client was Oxford University Press. When I took the plunge in 2007, they gave me my first opportunity designing promotional materials for their Higher Education textbooks. A decade later I am working for several divisions across the business including Academic publications, Online & Reference materials, and several Journal titles. Getting my foot in the door helped reassure me that I’d made the right decision. OUP is an inspiring educational institution, with over 500 years of history printing the written word.
New curriculum
As Nelson Mandela famously once said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. Education is my passion. In a similar vein as my design work for the arts and culture sector, I feel like I am able to give something back. I’ve produced work for schools and colleges, universities, for online learning and tuition platforms, for libraries and academic institutions across the educational spectrum.
I work collaboratively with marketing departments and editors to expertly deliver advertising and promotions using both paper and pixels. I create branding for new product launches, design presentations for pitches, entire exhibition stands and supporting collateral, design and develop microsites, materials to engage the alumni community, course and prospectus brochures to entice new students, book and journal cover concepts. My first graphic design assignment whilst at University, was to produce a book jacket for a Graham Greene classic.
With an ever increasing number of titles migrating online, the importance of a logical well structured design approach, which may well be invisible to the majority of readers, will improve both speed and accessibility to the content. Any structure must also be responsive. I employ responsive design layouts to ensure your publication performs to the best of it’s ability across all devices from mobile to desktop. Embracing change to provide a seamless experience between printed and online publications.
Turning the page
When creating digital brochures, strategy documents and annual reports for clients I aim to incorporate genuinely useful features as opposed to trendy tricks. Adding a simulated page curl with sound effect is such a cliche! Start with an interactive contents page, allowing readers to jump straight into the content that most interests them, before they follow a more traditional cover to cover journey. At a more detailed level, I guide the eye deliberately by organising the on-screen information using different levels of styled hierarchy.
Other interactive elements worth considering are: mouse activated rollovers to reveal deeper level information, call-to-action buttons (CTA), external and internal links to related content or similar articles, adding rich media content to further engage readers such as explainer animations, podcasts, webcasts, videos and infographics.
Never stop learning.
Related projects
Branding Evolution
Representing vastness and diversity of FEMS microbiology community
Water Insecurity
Website launch of the UNESCO Water, Peace & Security Partnership