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Randall and Hopkirk, Take One

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In my last post, I reproduced an article from 2016 looking at the two different sets of opening titles on Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) . Having two or more iterations of a piece of work is somewhat more commonplace in the world of graphic design and, appropriately enough, there was a different set of designs proposed for the R&H Blu-rays which never saw the light of day. As you will see, they came very close to being produced, as I still have fully typeset versions in my archive. This work was all done seven years ago, and I can no longer recollect the reason why the designs were altered. Usually, any amendment to my original designs would be at the behest of Network CEO Tim Beddows, who signed off on everything – usually with no quibbles, but occasionally he'd balk at something. I know he hated the colour pink, so it may have been that the proposed sleeve for Volume Three didn't meet with his approval. On the other hand, I may have taken the decision myself: the idea was...
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Just for the Record...

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If anyone out there knows me at all, it’s most likely as a designer. But I am also a writer – in fact, my first job was as a copywriter in an advertising agency, forty years ago… As well as designing sleeves for Network’s DVD and Blu-ray releases, I also wrote articles, some of which appeared online, whilst others graced the inner sleeves of various titles. With the Network website now defunct, those articles are no longer accessible, so I’m going to repost as many of them as I can find on this blog, along with a few which never saw the light of day. To start the ball rolling, and following on from my previous blog about designing the sleeves for this series, here is a piece I wrote back in 2016 to accompany Network’s release of  Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)  on Blu-ray. I’d often speculated about the reasons for there being two different sets of titles for the series, and with the help of Tim Beddows, who had access to original prints and paperwork, I was finally able to co...
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'Do It Like the Title Sequence'

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I was always very aware of the opening credits of television programmes. Before I was old enough to follow the plots and appreciate the programmes themselves, I was still able to enjoy the title sequences, some of which were cooler and more exciting than the programmes they preceded. They did more than entertain: they gave me an appreciation of graphic design long before I knew that such a phenomenon existed, and they introduced me to some of the 1960s’ most striking and iconic typefonts. I was always a sucker for packaging. Anything that came in a cool box, with a good logo was always intriguing, even if the products weren’t aimed at children. I loved all examples of what we now call petrolania – the signage one saw at petrol stations – and would also marvel at the colourful boxes one saw on trips to the supermarket. Fonts were what really drew me in, and I had a particular affinity for all the modern sans serif variants, some of which were appearing in public for the first time. In t...
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The Junk Strategy

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For nearly twenty years I designed sleeves for the Network DVD label. It’s fair to say that I got the job on the strength of having known the company CEO Tim Beddows since childhood, but I was also uniquely qualified for the role, which involved designing packaging and promotional items for releases of vintage TV series. For as long as I’d been able to hold a pencil and make marks with it, I’d been drawing my favourites from television, sometimes creating comics or books based on those series, and always paying special attention to the graphics, even if my attempts to render them in biro, pencil crayon and felt tip were often laughable. The Network DVD label has now sadly closed, following the untimely death of my old friend Tim. In this blog, I’ll be reviewing some of my work from the past 19 years, talking about how I created various designs, and occasionally sharing some of those that didn’t make the grade. First up, a design I did very recently for a revamp of Network’s Public Eye ...
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