Two more posters added to the Poster Gallery.

Only 15 months since my last update - things have been busy on all fronts. Loads of work, contributing to my local community and a busy family life does not for regular website updates make. Anyway, this one's a bit exciting, as I can announce the fact that I have redesigned the local town crest from this:

to this:

I'd sort of forgotten about it in the maelstrom of everything else, but then I got the latest town newsletter, and there it was on the top of the page! Anyway, you can read a bit more about it here in the portfolio.

I've finally got around to updating my personal profile page to reflect my current living conditions...

Good news poster fans - I've finally updated the poster gallery with a few new ones.

I am still alive, in case anyone was worried. I've just been super super busy. Thank you, my clients, I love you. But today I got a message from the contact form asking a common question - how do I get into such and such a design field? There are two quick answers: (1) luck and (2) I have no idea. I've posted a longer answer here.

I have succumbed to the awesome power of my ego and started a journal. Actually it started as an experiment with the blogging software known as Pivot*
which has useful applications as it is entirely user-hosted, and requires no database software to be installed on the server. It seems to be working, it's fairly robust, the admin area is well thought out (although I need to spend some proper time sorting out the templates), all especially creditable since it is free. Kudos to all involved. Anyway the net result is that this are will be more about the portfolio, and my random frippery will be relegated to the blog.

Iiiinteresting...my health-crusading buddies (aka clients) over at Sensory Perspective* have added a distinctly hyper-literate strand to their marketing drive. They have created a fictional meta-mascot, Alice* (coincidentally my baby daughter's* name) whose story is, while being an independently compelling near-future autobiography, is also intertwined with the issues surrounding their business, namely the pervasive and unchecked encroachment of microwave-frequency radiation in our environment. They've got some great people on board to present the story - the seemingly endlessly metamorphosing author Kate Pullinger*, and multitalented digital artist/storyteller babel*. It's true, I myself applied the smallest of finishing touches to the project, but I'm not looking for any credit, oh no, please, no flowers, stop it, you're making me blush. It's just nice to be involved. And it's not a conflict of interest for me to say - I can't wait to see where it's going.

I've long been a fan of the work of online photography showcase File Magazine*. I love the freshness and eclectic nature of the photography on show...so imagine my joy at being featured on their home page with my photo of Alice in Amsterdam*. Thanks File Magazine - you made my week!

I've started a flickr photostream*. At the moment it's just a mess of random stuff, but I'll keep it updated with pictures of whatever. My brief to myself is characteristically muddled. Partly it's just interesting images old and new that suit my design aesthetic (not that I have one), partly a photo(mo)blog of my family's new life here in the High Peak, and partly pictures of foreign paint with vaguely rude names.

We live here now.

Did I mention that it's great?

It *is* great though.

Phew. I've finally managed to move both house and office a mere 200 miles up the road. I'm now in Derbyshire, on the edge of the High Peak in a corking little town called New Mills, which manages to be both rural, but well connected. There's a magnificent riverside park at the end of the road - rugged nature with some stunning industrial archaeology thrown in - which you can wander through and be transported to the open countryside beyond. But we're also half-an-hour from central Manchester, on either of the two train lines, each about ten minutes walk from our house. So now when I gaze out the window, I can see a tree-ridged hill peeking over the rooftops. Which makes a change from burning mopeds and people fighting in the street. I do intend to start blogging about my family's new life - but first I have to catch up on some work: exciting things are happening with Sensory Perspective* which is occupying a lot of my mind, plus Verve Pictures*, Drake's Avenue Pictures* and Rabbit Publicity (web presence coming soon) are all keeping me busy, and I thank the people involved greatly for their patience and continuing support while I've been in my transitional period.

There's an excellent new British film coming soon, starring Ashley Walters, of So Solid Crew fame. The website for Bullet Boy* is now online.

For those of you interested in UK hip hop, I've put a review of a friend of mine's new album "Body Armour" on my Random Reviews* page.

Just before Christmas I was asked to design the invitation, and consequently the venue posters for Channel 4's corporate Christmas party. The brief called for dark, twisted Victorian circus, a subject into which I threw myself with gusto. I've always been fascinated by the old faded photographs of circus performers, in which some down at heel strongman is posing in his soiled all-in-one, hoisting an unconvincing dumbell aloft, looking proudly into camera. Except I'you always catch a hint of sadness in their eyes - and that's what fascinates me. The circus life is generally regarded as being no picnic, but a hundred years ago, for all but the biggest stars in Barnum & Bailey's Big Top, by all accounts it bordered on slavery. The bitter irony being the pleasure they brought with them to dusty border towns, places with no regular source of entertainment, places where the coming of the circus was the biggest day of the year.

Anyway...this is why I'll never be a millionaire - I get over-involved in all of my projects, sometimes to the point of obsession. Without further ado...here's the page for the Channel 4 Christmas Party imagery.

Just dropping by to wish you all a happy christmas and safe, peaceful new year.

I've added the rather swish (even if I do say so myself) Callender Media logo to the portfolio.

One of London's most important cultural insitutions is under threat of closure. The Other Cinema has a rich history in giving an outlet to small but important films that would otherwise have been ignored, and our knowledge of the world would have been diminished as a result. You can read a little bit about the cinema and its current situation here and here and here. You can also, as I have, donate to the Other Cinema charity. As with most of these institutions, it doesn't need a huge amount of money to continue. Without it, the supposedly vibrant and cultural centre that is London will be one step closer to becoming just another shopping mall.

I've decided to add a page that has all my film poster work on one page. You could call it a trophy gallery, or a hall of shame - you decide...

Break out the champagne and little sausages on sticks - finally there's a new page on SINFIELD DOT ORG. It provides a taster of possibly my finest achievement to date, certainly the job of which I'm most proud. Or maybe second-most proud. Anyway, here's Slice Magazine. It was just a pilot, and though it was much admired by all, they decided it was too good (ie. too expensive) for their needs - doesn't that take the tea and biscuits? Anyway, it's still great, in my humble opinion, and has prospective clients purring whenever I whip it out. Oh yes.

There's even less likelihood of an update at the moment, swamped as I am. Just time though for a quick plug for Code 46, which opens in the UK on September 17. It's a very interesting film, one that really got my juices flowing. Thanks go out to Verve Pictures for showing faith in me to design the print campaign, and the website too.

Still no major updates to the site I'm afraid - work and life keep getting in the way. Hopefully I'll have the time and the inclination soon.

If you're stalking me so intently you can't wait for an update, have a look at the Verve Pictures website. Yep, that's my work. Also, I've been giving an occasional humble vent to my vaguely passable critical writing "skills" on my Random Reviews page.

Zzzzzzzp! That was the sound of six months whizzing by. Just so you know, I've not been drinking gin and watching repeats of The A Team (not exclusively anyway) - in fact I've been very busy. Much as I would enjoy a minimalist zen-like existence (ie. lazing around contemplating which kind of pie to eat next), it's good to be in demand. Maybe I will one day be able to afford that solid gold toilet I have always dreamed of...

In the last six months, I have (among many other things) completed another film campaign, art-directed and designed a high-profile entertainment magazine, been invited to speak on the topic of film design at two events, and travelled through space and time to discover a life form on Mars who, it turns out, invented the high-waisted trouser.

OK, maybe not the last one...

Anyway, today I've managed to take a few moments to add one of my recent achievements to the portfolio. I was asked to produce (at ridiculously short notice - isn't that always the way?) an invitation that would get journalists drooling for the theatrical release of Ridley Scott's Alien, The Director's Cut. Anyway - it seemed to do the job well enough, as 20th Century Fox adopted it for further promotional pushes, and several international markets also took on the idea. Here it is.

To celebrate the release of New Zealand film Rain, I've added a new page to the portfolio with my campaign design for the film. Well done to Kate and Caroline At Circuit Films for all their hard work in getting the film (deservedly I might add) onto UK screens. Go and see it - it will enrich your life in a far more profound and worthwhile way than Bruce Almighty, I promise.

I've also added another project - the campaign image for upcoming TV documentary series In Search of Shakespeare, produced by those lovely people at MayaVision International. Tune in at once, heathens.

Is your corporate identity letting you down? Maybe it's costing you money right now, 24/7. Well, fear no more, I've added an article about corporate branding to show you the light. And contact me for a free evaluation of your logo today.

Transparency scanning prices have been slashed, partly due to an equipment upgrade, and partly because I'm feeling generous. Take advantage of me now.

Added the FilmFour Lab invitation to the portfolio section.

Added the Logibod identity to the portfolio section.

I finally got around to posting some of my photos of the China trip. Check it out.

Happy New Year, everyone!

I've just made a small page for some friends of mine. It's to advertise Sue Russell's Textile Workshop which she's holding on the Caribbean island of Carriacou this coming spring. It looks like paradise to me, and if you fancy having a go at spinning, weaving, or felting, I couldn't think of a better way to learn. I'll be adding some more pictures soon.

I'm taking a deserved holiday from 7th December, until the 29th. You might still get hold of me if you email me during this period, but I'll be heading off to some pretty far-flung places (China, mainly) and I don't know how often I'll get to the internet. If at all. So I hope you have a very merry Christmas. Don't forget to spread some goodwill to your fellow designer.

Stamford University has published this report* which, once and for all scientifically proves that graphic design is the most important factor in gaining a user's credibility and trust of a website's content. In other words, if you have a business website, and you want your customers to take you seriously and spend their hard-earned pennies with you, you'd better employ someone who knows what they're doing. Someone who knows about design and usability. Someone like me, for example.

Developed simple Sinfield Directory* using PHP/MySQL.

Updated Cornelius Wright's website with seven new paintings.

Added a page with more info about my new transparency scanning service. Also updated the diary section of the Living In Hope website.

Handmade business cards completed for Cornelius Wright. Design & print completed for Channel 4 invitations.

Added the Andell Entertainment identity, and the third Cinema Extreme e-flyer to the portfolio.

Club Le Monde opens in the UK.

Emfoundation identity added to the portfolio.