how did that become this?
That the one-off event for 300 London school kids is now a leading educational programme in over 99 countries, reaching over a million students this academic year alone. It blows my mind.
this was not designed by AI
Revisiting the joy of long-form digital storytelling, Shorthand design, and an award-winning project for The Economist Educational Foundation.
the slow side of happy
This exercise forced me to sit and think about what truly makes me happy. Not the joyous, exhilarated, best-day-of-my-life kind of happy, but the content, slow side of happy.
wish you were here already
As an in-house designer, I work to a lot of tight briefs with strict deadlines; sometimes it feels like I’m on a hamster wheel, churning out design around the clock. But every now and then, a cheery little project strolls into my inbox that makes my eyes light up.
a few thoughts
It’s been a while since I’ve written on here; years in fact. But something happened recently that I wanted to write about. Something that has had me musing about the power of a single moment, the legacy of photography, and how in this over-documented life, we should still choose to document it.
the communication with a difference award goes to...
In December last year, I wrote about designing a Shorthand report for Euromoney Thought Leadership and Deloitte on the aviation tax industry. Well, it won 'Communication with a Difference' in the Shorthand Awards 2017! Woo!
Cocktails &…
At the beginning of this year I had the chance to work on an exciting new cocktail creation from the geniuses at LAB 5. Cocktails &. is a drinks experience platform that delivers quality craft cocktails at high speed and large volumes.
how do you make tax data compelling?
Gifs. Lots of gifs. In January, I created a report for Euromoney Thought Leadership (EIITL) and Deloitte on the aviation tax industry. A few months ago they came back to me to create another report, this time on how the introduction of a new international accounting standard will reshape the balance sheets of companies that rent valuable equipment.
new brand, who dis?
I've been providing freelance services to MarketInvoice for a couple of years. During this time, they have grown from being a disruptive start-up offering invoice finance into a more established business finance company with multiple solutions. With this growth came the need for a new identity to better reflect MarketInvoice's positioning.
Nora Charles: “I’ll be with you in two shakes of a cocktail.”
One of my favourite things about freelancing is that it allows me to squirrel away morsels of knowledge on a variety of topics. Cryptocurrencies? Can give you a shaky run down. Main players in the Syrian war? I can regurgitate information written for 10 year olds. Strategies for developing talent in a FTSE 500 company? I can name a few.
sail away with me
MarketInvoice always throws a summer bash for the team, and this year it's on a boat on the Thames. Head of People, Anouk, revealed that she's a dab hand at creating origami boats, so I created a design to work with the folds.
progress: issue 5
In late April, with an upcoming holiday back home on the horizon, CRF got in touch to see if we could squeeze in a new issue of Progress before I left the UK sans laptop. With a 3 week turnaround, 6 articles yet to be commissioned, but full trust in the well-oiled machine that is CRF, we went for it.
explaining digital currencies
Most people have heard of Bitcoin. Most people can't explain exactly what it is. But the subject of digital currencies isn't just restricted to Bitcoin - there is the prospect of mainstream centralised currencies and how they could affect developed market economies.
article in the Guardian
Lucy, the delightful content editor at The Economist Educational Foundation, wrote a piece for the Guardian on getting young people discussing and debating the news. This is something that the Foundation is fostering in the Burnet News Club, and is very close to their hearts.
game changer not game over
Six months ago I created a report for Euromoney Thought Leadership on Shorthand, a digital storytelling platform. The feedback from EIITL and from their client Baker & Mackenzie was incredible, so within a few months, EIITL were back with a new client, a new subject, and a new Shorthand challenge.
unpacking beauty
The wonderful Silver Ghost Communications and I go way back - we have known each other since we were toddlers and followed each other through school, ending up in London together. She has recently gone freelance and this was our first project together.
what's occurring?
It's a rare Tuesday night without any work to do, so I'm going to write a little update on what I've been up to recently. In all honesty, I'm waiting for a film to download so rather than twiddling my thumbs I thought I'd be productive instead. And so, what have I been up to? Some logo design, some brand guidelines, a new website for the Foundation, a whole lot of wedding invitations, and other bits and bobs.
progress: issue 4
So far, it's been a busy summer. Not that it's been much of a summer, thank you English weather. One project that is always a delight, is CRF's Progress magazine. This issue looks at the fall out from Brexit, smart simplicity, and what it's like to be a digital worker.
The Foundation in print
It's been a while since I've had an ad in The Economist, but The Economist Educational Foundation has scored a full page back cover advert, to help promote their Burnet News Club programme. Hip hooray! I took the photograph at Hornsey School For Girls earlier this year - they were the most impressive, thoughtful and eloquent group of students I've met so far, so happy to have featured them in this advert.
my thoughts on freelancing
Freelancing can be stressful. There are multiple clients, jobs, invoices, expenses, deadlines, schedule clashes. There's a lot to think about beyond just doing the actual work. To cope with this, I use an app called Cushion to help me maintain my sanity. It allows me to input all my clients, projects, timeframes and revenue, and helps me to forecast when I'm going to be busy and when I can take on extra work.