I grew up in Bristol, England and in 1972 gained a Diploma in Graphic Design (with credit) at the West of England College of Art. I spent my early career in the Bristol/Bath area working in the design studio of a mail order company, the ad department of a regional daily newspaper and as a junior in a small design consultancy.

In 1976 I went to work for the academic publisher Pergamon Press in Oxford and soon became Studio Manager, in charge of a team of 19 designers and artworkers.

In 1978 I moved to London to work as a typographer for Conways, supplying layouts to the capital's top ad agencies. The creative studio broke away in 1985 to become Cats Creative and I became Assistant Creative Director working on accounts that included Dorlands Advertising, Mobil Oil, Oracle Teletext and Prudential Assurance.

In 1988 I was promoted to Creative Director and in 1990 took on the same role at Meridian Marketing Resources, a multi-disciplinary group that included a design studio, advertising agency, PR consultancy and exhibition and conference organisers. Our clients included British Telecom Mobile Communications, the Department of Health, the Department of Education, the Electricity Association, Iron Trades Insurance, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

In 1994 I joined the A La Carte Marketing Group, again as Creative Director, working for clients such as Harrods, Marks & Spencer and Royal Mail before leaving to set up Smith, Cook & Associates, a design consultancy in Covent Garden.

In 1997 I eventually succumbed to the lure of 'doing my own thing', giving up commuting into the West End and spending quality time with my family. And as with most improved lifestyle moves, I was soon saying "Should have done this years ago".

Of course, today's computer and telephone technology had made the moves possible - first out of central London and then to Hathersage.

I now service clients in London, Bristol and Birmingham as easily as my growing local contacts here in Derbyshire. And as one of Britain's growing army of homeworkers, my clients now benefit from:
greater access
    - no more account executives to help misinterpret the brief,
    - no more 9 to 5 office hours to work around, and
smaller bills
    - no more admin staff to support,
    - no more big city business rates.

And yet, these clients still get the same quality design, the same years of experience and the same host of specialist contacts as ever.

Wherever you may have logged on from, the strapline below really means what it says. Check out my on-line portfolio and give me a call.

I can make your business look like it means business