Design for Life

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...

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 ...