The things I love to do with my work are encourage people, help them think, and bring the joy of feeling inspired – to help people connect with what’s possible and feel energised to give that a go. Mostly this happens with story-telling, or the power of well-chosen words turned into lovely focal points.

I don’t think I’m alone in having had a few weepy moments with the shock of our collective diving for cover to keep safe during lockdown. The work that’s come my way in the last few months has really helped lift spirits though, and thankfully it’s all been an opportunity to deliver on those values. I am very grateful to be able to say this.

One such project is a short animation I made for Tower Bridge when it reopened after Covid-19 lockdown…

For a city dweller, it is difficult to accept and make sense of this current requirement to stay humbly local and not go exploring wide open beauty spots. I have a huge urge to get out there and take some really, really deep breaths! But solace in nature is proven, and this morning in a quiet, spacious park, instead of a swallow there’s a blackbird singing – I like to think for me, but he’s just going about his natural job of finding worms with a lovely self-initiated soundtrack.

Whistle while you work.

Being immersed in the natural word teaches me a lot about the nature of making and creating, and in a lovely recent commission, I got to absorb and work with the fantastic botanical drawings of Joseph Paxton while making a short animation about his life at Chatsworth House.

The power of good visual communication is that it makes us stop and think. It gives us a moment of calm clarity in an otherwise clattering world.

The beauty of good visual communication is that even if only for a split second, you realise you've jumped outside linear time and connected with something clear and true – you've become completely absorbed. We've all listened to pieces of music and didn't notice time pass, or watched films and wondered how that took as long as it did – losing time, lost in thought, captivated by a narrative.

"You were given a fraction of a second of a world in balance.
But then it is gone."

Like many people, I’ve been at home designing a new workspace. A merely functioning workplace is not enough though, because I want create the conditions I need to keep making my best work. So I want that space to help me think, and get my ideas out, to create beautiful things.

A head full of ideas is like having a little creature hiding in a shady spot in a big forest, and somehow, I have to coax it out. I have work to do, but focus is elusive and priorities are hard to pin down – like disturbed birds in that forest canopy. Here’s what I’ve been finding helpful.

It is proving so hard to pin down much at the moment. Focus is scattered, and deep work elusive. That doesn’t mean the ideas have stopped flowing, and in fact the opposite is true! Some days I feel as though I‘m helming a big ship loaded with a full cargo of plans, expect someone spilt beer on the map and there are sandbanks to navigate in every direction. This choppy, fast moving stretch of water is sweeping things away out of reach.