Tuesday 24 February 2009

Alex Cameron Design & Art Direction

In 15 years working as a graphic designer I have specialised in editorial design and art direction in both print and online. I have benefited from a wide variety of projects and clients.

I understand the benefits of creative leadership, discipline and strong ideas. I am experienced in all aspects of the production process, managing budgets and the creative output of freelance or in-house creatives – all central to the role of the Art Director.

The wide variety of clients I have worked with has been a challenge and has placed great demands on me as a verbal and visual communicator. This experience has strengthened my ability to communicate design issues – to both clients and creatives – in a considered and succinct way.

I have considerable experience in launching new magazine titles and redesigning existing ones. Away from the design studio I have organised design related conferences and written for industry magazines and journals. I have lectured at the University of East London to degree level (Journalism & the Creative Industries).

In the last 5 years I have led the creative direction of the following projects;[1] rebranded printed matter for luxury travel club [2] branding for new start cruise travel concierge [3] redesigned classical music magazine, The Strad [4] set-up and commissioned photography for in-house YMCA picture library [5] designed a series of promotional leaflets for a regular giving upgrade and gift aid campaign for the YMCA.

In all projects, at the core is the editorial maxim that the creative process is collaborative and not design in isolation and that the content is key in directing the visual identity of any project. Leadership is about building relationships whether it be with design or editorial colleagues or indeed with clients. In a freelance capacity I set-up and managed a creative co-operative, [de]sign, which aimed to bring experience from different creative disciplines to bear on particular creative problems.

I have managed [in-post] three design studios, Junius Publications, cScape Ltd and YMCA England. I was charged with the development of existing staff and the recruitment of new employees. At both cScape and YMCA I was responsible for managing studio budgets.

In the past 10 years I have designed/redesigned ten titles:
LM magazine, New Times, New Humanist (current affairs), Scout (retail & trends), Focus (youth issues), Under 5 (pre-school issues), Sfz, The Strad (classical music), Traveller and Vista (travel).