30th December 2013
There’s a new venue in town not a million miles from the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens: a short hop up the road brings you to the
28th November 2013
Ever since my daughter stuffed a milk-bottle top into my floppy disc drive (now that’s going back a bit!) on the day a job was to
27th November 2013
Guy Sellwood did the impossible last night at the Chamber Business Marketing and Sales Seminar: he made ‘Sales’ interesting and entertaining.
24th October 2013
Judging from the imagery in his painting, David had the gift of foresight; Hockney hints that all’s not well in his painting 'Mr and Mrs Clark'.
3rd October 2013
Are you fed up with high-street newsagents, mass-market bookshops and the (lack of) choice at your local Odeon? Are you in fact a bit of a culture
2nd October 2013
Do you work in publishing? Ever had trouble getting work, finding the right contributors for your project, or making strategic alliances? Fret no more. Laura and Gavin
1st October 2013
Anxious about commissioning a graphic designer? How to ensure your designer projects the right message and communicates successfully with your clients.
30th September 2013
Choosing the right typeface is not just about looking pretty; it can be crucial to the message you put across. When Pepsi teamed up with Aape to
23rd August 2013
One of the members of my local business group asked me just that recently. The answer is usually yes. When you go into your
4th July 2013
You’d think that if you had money to burn you’d be able to commission a logo you can be proud of, wouldn’t you? They don’tcome much richer
2nd July 2013
London Lounge is a strand where I describe one of my recent strolls round the capital (with plentyof stops at coffee shops and pubs). This quarter I’m not
14th June 2013
Pinterest is one of the most popular social media sites, and plenty of posts tell you how you should use it to best promote yourself and your business. Most
12th April 2013
You may be thinking ‘I’ve done this walk’, but have you ever done it the ‘back way’? Neither had I until recently, and I discovered a couple of gems.
9th April 2013
Can ugly colours affect sales? Sometimes designers have to make packaging unappealing to discourage sales.
2nd April 2013
People think the 1970s was a cultural desert, but Glam, an exhibition of popular art of the early 70s now on at the Tate Liverpool, proves
3rd February 2013
I’ve just had an enquiry asking just that. I always buy my domain names from 1&1 and then point them to the web hosting company I use
31st January 2013
I love typography and calligraphy, and hand-drawn type can add flair and vibrancy to a design. One of my favourite lettering artists is the very talented
23rd November 2012
London is full of surprises, and I’ve discovered a hidden gem just behind Fleet Street near Ludgate Circus: The St Bride Institute. Formerly a printing school,
30th October 2012
This wonderful book on Herb Lubalin by art publishers Unit Editions is top of my wish list at the moment. Harb was one of the original
12th September 2012
I spent some time today researching which UK hosting company to use for the latest WordPress site I had designed for a client. I’d heard that
18th July 2012
Until recently, I regarded Grayson Perry as a sartorially challenged transvestite who produced quite nice pots. After having watched Channel 4’s All in the best possible
11th June 2012
Do you ever get fed up with high streets that all look the same? Me too. There’s one place I can think of which doesn’t have
28th April 2012
Oh dear! Who is responsible for this typographic crime? It upsets me deeply. For those of you who don’t know, kerning is the process of adjusting
16th April 2012
Sometimes all of us need inspiration when it comes to choosing colours, and you could do worse than turning to one of the Great Masters. One
25th January 2012
Have you ever tried to find somewhere nice for a coffee or lunch at the top end of Oxford Street? Chances are you will be faced
17th January 2012
There’s no denying that everything moves much faster than it used to. When I first started work at BBC Publications, we often had up to 11
16th January 2012
I recently attended a business fair at Earls Court. Although I principally went to attend the seminars, I was aware of possible networking opportunities, so that
15th January 2012
I am not the shy retiring type, and I love meeting new people, so why do I struggle with traditional networking? I have tried traditional referral
24th October 2011
London is an exciting and vibrant city, but can be very expensive. In each issue of my newsletter I’m planning to share my tips on where
17th August 2011
1 Before you arrive, get a programme and make a shortlist of what you’d like to see, otherwise you will be overwhelmed with choice. 2 If
25th July 2011
“Logo design? That must be easy – you could probably knock something up in a couple of hours”. Is that what you think? Here’s what really
29th April 2011
Why do women love to wear black when it actually suits so few of us? Jules Standish, author of ‘How Not to Wear Black’ has some
17th March 2011
Recently, I read a blogpost about why you shouldn’t use iconic typefaces in your designs. Typefaces can polarise opinions and raise temperatures (especially among type geeks
10th February 2011
The Galley Club, for publishing professionals and others interested in the industry, meets once a month in central London. This was my first impression.
26th January 2011
This week I met someone who showed me one of his flyers. The colours were great (black red and white) and it featured his bold and
25th January 2011
Last week I attended the first of Kimberley (Apprentice series 5) Davies’ Marketing Masters seminars, where I learned some new tricks, consolidated the knowledge I already
30th November 2010
Last week I met someone who said he ‘did a bit of graphic design’ – something that always sets alarm bells ringing with me. On probing
11th November 2010
When I was asked to review ‘Yoga in Bed’ I jumped at the chance. I attend a weekly Iyengar Yoga class, and I adore my bed,
31st October 2010
Repairing a tear So many of us have lovely old photos tucked away in a cupboard that are faded and
creased. It would be a shame
20th October 2010
1 Know your market 2 Get the size right 3 Keep it simple 4 Employ bold typography
28th September 2010
I love the redesign of the Penguin Dictionaries. They are obviously Penguin books, but they have a very clean, modern feel. They follow rule number 1
2nd September 2010
Many of you will have heard of Oz magazine, know about the obscenity trial in 1970, and possibly even know the name of its editor, Richard
1st September 2010
If you are using a picture or illustration on the cover, make sure it is high-resolution (300dpi at the size you are using it) and in
31st August 2010
When your book goes to press, your printer will ask you to provide him or her with a press-quality PDF, and in order to do this
26th August 2010
‘Never judge a book by it’s cover’. People are far too intelligent to do that, right? Wrong. If your lovingly crafted words and years of hard