Why I became a visual designer (part two)

Sequential art, stickers, Smash Hits and The Face combine to kick start a creative career

From the weekly adventures of Judge Dredd and Roy of the Rovers to the smell of Panini stickers and the pop pages of Smash Hits. I’ve always loved magazines.

I couldn’t wait for the next copy of whatever I was reading each week and I consumed them with a voracious appetite. Looking back, I was always attracted to more visual printed media. Photo laden spreads of football action in Shoot, hand drawn panels of the Beano and 2000ad to the artful chic of The Face and Arena.

Designed in the early days by Neville Brody, these high culture monthly magazines were a must and as late teen and art student I was immediately hooked. The look and the content were achingly cool and featured people that I aspired to look and act like - yes, really!

I can’t profess to have worked on the hallowed pages of the NME, No1, Whizzer and Chips or Match but I have spent a lot of my career designing magazines and print publications. I have always enjoyed the challenge A4 page presents a designer and I have always tried to pervert the form to create engaging layouts for potential dry and dense subjects.

Even today, I get a buzz out of seeing something I have worked on in WHSmiths. I love the digital world but I really hope there is still a place for print. Who knows, there might even be a resurgence in the future like vinyl records, books about wizards and Findus Crispy Pancakes.