Malcolm X Editorial montages

Obsessed with history and the civil rights movement, Malcolm X has always loomed large. After reading his biography while traveling around America and Australia I began studying the civil rights era.

With the unbelievable rise of white nationalism and fascism in 2020 it became more important than ever for us to highlight the stories and achievements of great civil rights leaders.

 


Poster designs of my favourite Author

John Steinbeck has been my favourite Author all of my life. So to finally create a series of montages of his life work was a labour of love.

The power of story, type and image and a visual celebration of a great artists work can serve to spread the lessons of the past to new generations. Given the unbelievable backslide in human progress in the last few years, it seems more important than ever to spread the word of great artists who charted our progress and promise.

My Dad got me into Steinbeck when I was pretty young, and as I devoured his main writings in the following years, my appreciation and understanding of his work increased as the years - and experiences - piled up.


Banner design for JS Photography

Graphic design and image-making go hand in hand. I've always been creating my own imagery for my design work.

I've been making digital films and shooting stills for my clients for over ten years.

Here's a series of montage based banners that I've designed for promoting www.jimstokesphotography.com

My work has been published in The Guardian and on BBC6 music - check out my site for details or commissions


Trump social media posts

Couldn't not react to what is going on in the world any longer. Sometimes the bullshit is mounting so fast that we'll drown if we don't push back.

The festival of lies continues so I had to collect a few of his statements and gather them into one graphic for social media.

I wanted to encapsulate his dishonesty but primarily provide a visual reminder that he is a psychopathic moron who is endangering all the world. Resurrecting the Coffee debacle and replacing Covid was a shining example of how important it is to have someone of deep integrity and intelligence in the White House. He is not that person.


Art directing 3D product range for Hive

How to market a product that doesn't physically exist.

I was tasked with selling in and project managing the 3D route for the new Hive product range.

The client was understandably nervous about going down the 3D route over photography in situ.

Fortunately I was working with a couple of the best 3D guys in the country and knew that we could get the best results possible.

Timing was a factor and given the range and variations required it was a no brainer. So I sourced reference and presented mock ups to walk the client through the process. All the time checking in with my team and managing expectations and timelines.

So instead of booking in multiple shoots, or buying in library shots we presented a series of options and locked in the final shot list. Buying the team un-interrupted time to crunch the pixels and deliver the image bank for Hive to go to market with the new range.

I'm really experienced at walking the line between client expectation and quality delivery. I work well with creative teams and pressured clients - give me a call if you need any creative direction or art direction.


Shooting Bacardi's new product for one of my top clients.

A rush job for a leading agency - we had to get the only bottle in the UK shot and returned in 24 hours.

Fortunately I'm based in one of Brighton's best photography studios and Paul Winter was able to fit us in at short notice.

Taking a quick brief I was able to arrange the shoot with Paul and 24 hours later a very happy client received these excellent shots, a retouched final key visual and the precious bottle returned in one piece.

Working with Paul Winter takes the risk out of these jobs. A wealth of experience and talent and I could rest easy that we'd deliver the finest work for my client. There's infinite ways to light a translucent bottle and we made sure we shot coverage and delivered options for future creative and campaign work.

If you have a product to take to market, give me a call and I can deliver the best images available.

 

 

Mercedes Campaign creative

I frequently freelance in Ad agencies working on above and below the line campaigns. This summer I got to work on the Mercedes account whilst joining the team at eg+worldwide.

Once these designs were submitted the account handler said that we should scrap the old creative and run with my new work.

I designed the campaign graphics you see here along with support graphics for the showrooms and road car liveries.


Poster Designs for the National Career Service

I designed this series of posters for the National Careers Service.

The challenge was to inform and inspire young people about the career options ahead of them. I designed them as a collection so they are immediately identifiable as a campaign. The design rules for information posters is simple. Step one - the title/subject should be readable from across the room and immediately identifiable. The hero image backs up the headline to connect with and inspire the target audience, then the secondary information can be read when the viewers interest is caught and drawn in.

It was great working with the team at www.prospects.co.uk They're totally dedicated to inspiring and developing potential in people to help increase they're employment opportunities and it was a pleasure to help out.

Freelance poster design by www.jimstokesdesign.com
Design development for posters commissioned by the National Careers Service
Digital content for social media support of the print campaign
Art direction options for social media and digital content to support the print campaign
poster design by www.jimstokesdesign.com
Early stages of the design - strong headline, hero image and secondary content and imagery reinforcing the industry specific messaging.

JSD wins WDT Website commission

Phase 2 of WDT Brand and comms gets the go ahead

A few years ago I was approached to design a logo for Nicky Searle’s new venture – We Do Talent – a broadcast TV recruitment company based in London. The budget was modest and I was happy to put in the extra days to get something polished off the ground to arm Nicky with a strong, fresh, creative identity for moving forward in a crowded and high powered industry.

The identity has been received really well and WDT has been going from strength to strength. Now, there’s a budget for us to expand the brand as we discussed and work is starting on the new website.

Its great to take on a modest brief with hopes for the venture to grow down the road and have our faith rewarded…

Here’s some of the creative development.

Recruitment is all about getting through the door and providing calm to your clients

The “serenity” brand approach applied to multiple formats

Alternative identity designs, focusing on fast moving and varied commutes

I’m always on the look out for a new Identity or Brand publishing  project to get my teeth into. Give me a shout if you have a new venture that needs to make an impact.


New ident creative

Alongside my design work I am often commissioned to shoot film and photography. Designing and image-making go hand in hand for me – all part of the same process – so a perfect opportunity to create a new identity!

After researching the history of camera’s recently for a commission from DocHouse I was left with lots of exciting new design development and moodboards that I simply had to take further.

I’ve always been inspired by Saul Bass and the early bond titles so came up these designs.

 

 

Animation stills. Both elements (name and camera) are to flicker and interact. Either fast and flickery or smooth and slow depending on the music and ident use.

 

 

 

White out version

 

End frame with multiple services listed.

 

A completely alternative approach with moving pixel textures revealing in the background, suggesting multiple channels on an ever changing and vast digital landscape.

I’m always looking for new challenges and exciting briefs, so give me a shout if you are after some new creative.