I'm constantly looking for ways that technology can provide us with easier ways to do things. Perhaps this is why I'm not a fan of wires?
I’m a twentysomething creative that co-founded a branding, print and digital agency called SMILE. I enjoy reading, travelling and lemon cake.
Education
I studied Visual Communication at [Birmingham Institute of Art and Design]. Whilst at university I was awarded the [Louisa Anne Ryland award]. The prize was a grant enabling me to meet some of the worlds greatest typo/graphic influences. Highlights included Erik Spiekermann, Jonathan Barnbrook and Airside.
Influences
- David Hockney
- Joseph Muller Brockman
- Henry Matisse
- Paul Rand
- Iconfactory
- Pentagram
- Erik Spiekermann
- Saul Bass
- Sebastian Lester
- Build
- Metalab
- Softfacade
Interests
I enjoy reading, especially about typography, but I’m also passionate about music. I play the Tenor and Alto Saxophone and really enjoy Hard-Bop Jazz.
My design interests mainly revolve around the International Typographic Style, but I am also really into semantics, user-experience design and automation.
Workflow
I start with a good cup of coffee. I take notes in my A4 softcover Moleskine with a Parker Jotter.
If I'm out and about, my office comes with me on my iPhone. I stopped worrying about lugging a laptop around with me years ago - my iPad has everything I need.
At home I use an old MacBook Pro and at work I use a shiny iMac. I have 2 additional monitors at work, which are good for notes, briefs and previews. They're also pretty useful in the winter, because the screen glare from my iMac from the low sun drives me insane.
When I'm lucky enough to get to do some actual design work, I am forced to use the Adobe Creative Suite (though I do wish someone would make something a little less buggy).
When I'm writing code, I've tried TextMate, but the latest version of Espresso is just pure awesome. I am a huge advocate of the Markdown writing format, which is why I use it when I'm writing all my other documents.
I get nervous about public speaking, but I do love putting presentations together in Keynote.
I like lists and being organised so I naturally like things like Basecamp and Highrise to keep my life in sync. Whilst we're on the subject of lists, for those of you in a generous mood, why not make my day and send me a gift from my Wish List? No? We'll I suppose you could just nose about the things I would like.
I am a hoarder of things (mainly Lego), articles, websites and images.
Specialities
- Clicking
- Double-clicking
- Undo (and other keyboard shortcuts)
- Badass presentations
- Lists
- Minecraft
- Markdown
- Spreadsheet Automation
- The internet
- [Call of Duty]
For everything else (and a much more professional presentation of myself) take a look at my LinkedIn profile.
[Birmingham Institute of Art and Design]:
[Louisa Anne Ryland award]: