Lizzie's Story
I am an independent Creative Director with a great toolkit of practical skills.
People, their stories and their ideas fascinate me. So, I decided to make it my business to take these ideas and stories and communicate them visually. I am all for the brave pioneers, brilliant thinkers, inspiring do-ers and lovely encouragers who go out on a limb to make the world a better place, and I'm here to help get their great messages across – make thoughts even better looking.
I'm excited to have won awards for my recent work, and with nearly 20 years industry experience, have learnt from some of the best in the business – working in design (Lambie-Nairn, BBC) and photography (Magnum), and now independently.
I relish opportunities to get together with clever people and help bring their ideas to life.
As soon as you realise you have an idea to communicate visually, no matter how far it can be articulated, get in touch. I will do my best to help you get to the heart of your message, then communicate your ideas and stories really effectively, applying extensive practical skill and energy, intelligent insight, and (they say) a beautiful artistic vision.
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I am an independent creative director making short film and animation for museum spaces and for broadcast, and I also design for ‘special projects’ – those which need a clever combination of design and lettering skills from my extensive design toolkit, including a good understanding of how marketing works. In fact, I have won awards for this!
Making sense out of scribbles is my life’s work. I can help you get your message straight before deciding how to bring it to life visually, so you can connect with your audience really effectively and beautifully.
If you have a project to discuss do call me, especially if you’re in early ideas stages. Or if not yet, sign up to stay in touch here: The Journal for inspirations in your inbox, or The Plot podcast in your ears. Find your way over to The Gleam Sessions for events, workshops and mentoring for indie creative business.
For examples of my work, watch my current reel above or browse the gallery below for favourite highlights.
How did she get here? The full story.
After art college in Bournville (Cadbury’s chocolate village, where I grew up) I graduated in 1994 from Brighton University with an Honours degree in Visual Communication. I cut my graduate teeth for two years as a Director’s Assistant at Lambie-Nairn & Co (brand creators for film and TV) in Soho, London. From here I stepped over to the BBC in Bristol, where I was eventually leading cross-platform branding projects, working with BBC Marketing Executives on strategic implementation of their visual brand identity.
Something wasn't right though.
In 2001, after a visit to Nicaragua and Honduras which reflected my growing interest in social justice themes, I left my BBC staff position to focus on my personal work in photography and do something about what I was learning. Following a period of study, I joined Magnum Photos in London on placement, working in the archive, assisting photographers, and later co-ordinating exhibitions for a short while in the Cultural Department until leaving in November 2003. I have subsequently used my photography to support social justice work of charities in South Africa, Peru, Cambodia and Thailand. My most recent exhibition (along with two other photographers) showed work from the trip to South Africa, and told stories of teenagers living on the streets of Durban in support of the work of a few street child charities based both there and in the UK. This show was exhibited at The Menier Gallery in Southwark and also Bradford Cathedral.
My photography commissions include the BBC, many events including ‘Flight to the Past’—a vintage flight festival at Blenheim Palace for Harvey Goldsmith—and a number of private portrait and wedding commissions. I have taken part in group exhibitions held at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, Wells Cathedral and Westminster Central Hall.
While lecturing in photography in Bristol, I also managed a design team towards delivery of the BRIT Awards screen package for design group Hello Charlie, designed and illustrated a book, ‘Making Change Happen’ by Jane Northcote, and delivered a major public art commission as part of Bristol’s city centre regeneration programme, installed October 2008.
Since then, my work has come full circle back to film, animation and typography again, notably for The Duke of Northumberland’s team at Alnwick castle and The Museum of Zoology in Cambridge, which was part of a beautiful refit opened by Sir David Attenborough. My work sits alongside Darwin’s original specimens from his Beagle voyage, and to say I’m proud comes nowhere near the truth.
I am based at The Forge in the heart of Bristol, UK, and can be found on a daily basis animating, exploring expressive calligraphy, writing or photographing, and failing that, singing the world's hurts away with an acapella choir, or growing things on our city farm allotment, and just very much enjoying how the adventure keeps coming.
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