I could always draw

It was the one thing I was really good at (a talent I think I inherited from my uncle Ladia who was an artist in Czechoslovakia), so when my art teacher suggested I should apply for art college at the age of 15 there was a mixture of horror from my parents - starving artists and all that and excitement, as it seemed to me the perfect place to really develop the talent I had.

After two years foundation and three years specialising in Graphic Design at the West Surrey College of Art and Design, I achieved the only a grade one pass of my year and then I entered the world of design with my first job as a junior Designer at Centrum, a design agency in Carnaby Street, London. Being young and pretty cocky I soon decided that I needed a bigger challenge and left after a few months to join The Marketing Triangle, which was then an innovative below-the-line agency who were known for their outstanding creativity.

During my time with Triangle I worked on a variety of projects for some prestigious blue chip companies such as Martini & Rossi, Golden Wonder, Cadbury’s, Unigate, and St Ivel. Here I learnt the skills of an Art Director, namely coming up with concepts for advertising and marketing initiatives as well as designing and visualising (without a computer!), and learning how to art direct many of the famous London photographers of the time. One of the unique things about the agency was that ‘creatives’ ie Art Directors were always in attendance at client meetings and would be the ones who presented the creative work; ‘suits’ ie account handlers, took notes and simply managed the account, a system way ahead of it’s time and certainly not common within the industry. The benefit of that to me was that I learnt not only how to present and present under pressure, but also present to be memorable especially when pitching for work against multiple agencies.

After six years I moved sideways and joined TEAM Marketing (an off-shoot of Triangle), as their Creative Director and spent 12 years developing their creative product with the help of my very own Creative Department. Here we produced some ground breaking work for the likes of London Buses, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, Coca Cola, and Golden Wonder to name but a few. Everything we created was designed to achieve results in terms of sales. This, coupled with the need to always present multiple ideas meant that when I finally decided to move North, I was more than well equipped to provide the sort of services I have been providing ever since.

As my 22nd year on Skye rapidly approaches I’m happy to report I’m still as passionately crazy about being creative and look forward to sharing that enthusiasm with you on your next project.