This poster image was created purely as a sample to show my ability to create a cover sleeve

In this case many of the elements were from existing imagery from other projects and only used to show the ability to combine them together in a way that produced something new and effective.

It was created in PhotoShop using a variety of interconnecting tones, textures and samples and the result seems to work well...

I was recently hired to design a wraparound book cover for J M McDole's new novella entitled Etta Etc. The Fall

The story is set in a near-future Mid-West America in which a plague has hit the country, leaving communities isolated and individuals at the risk of those who wander around in a rabid half-life.

Using unique elements from photographs I had taken myself, we decided to go with a stylised cover that would reflect both the barren nature of the land, the threat of outside forces and also the feeling of a woman taking charge of her life under extreme circumstances.

The book, running to around 150 pages, is now available for order through Amazon:

 click> HERE < click

This image was a work in progress for a potential book cover.

Almost every single element within the image is from unique sources. The woman's face is that of my girlfriend - taken with a Canon Rebel Xti under low-light and direct-light source conditions.

Textures are taken from other parts of that initial image and also some circuit-board aspects which were re-cut and modeled for the shot.  There was then a separate shot of the burning candle, again under limited and directed light and a considerable amount of gentle blending, adjusting of hues, cutting and pasting to create the smoke and sense of mixed textures.

I deliberately wanted to create the idea of a painting, rather than a solid graphic element or logo and I'm pretty pleased with the result.

I was asked to create a complete branding package for Stay Safe Storm Shelters.

The remit was to create a brand that would balance the genuine fearful nature of the damage that storms and tornadoes can do in America's Mid-West (and beyond), but also create a welcoming, informative way for telling people how the company could HELP them keep themselves safe.

After a couple of different designs, the company decided that this image was striking and projected the right message: the power of nature, but also resilience. The image was created from a composite of original photographs and graded down to a two colour design - suitable for the website, business cards, brochures and t-shirts.

The project required a six-week turnaround to co-incide with the start of the tornado cycle and was brought in to deadline.

These 'Splash' images were initial designs for a human resources company that wanted to go with imagery that would highlight the human face but also suggest a modern, interconnectivity.

In the end a simpler, more basic design was green-lighted, so as to work better on a smaller business card, but the designs still exist and may well be used in a future project.

A fanzine, launched in the early 2000s, Verbatim provided a platform for older articles and all-new feature material and was available in both print and electronic form.

The covers needed to be eye-catching and relevant, perhaps providing an alternative to the formulaic on-shelf covers in style and content.

This particular example features an original photograph of actor Adrian Paul, taken on the Lithuanian set of the final Highlander movie for the magazine and HLWW convention publicity.

In 2010, acclaimed comic-book writer Mark Millar (whose well known comic work includes The Ultimates, Superior, Kick-Ass and Wanted - the latter two already adapted for the big-screen), needed a redesign for his website (MillarWorld) and asked for people to submit ideas for a new logo.

The remit was to show Mark's multimedia successes and catch the eye - but not be too complicated, as it might be used elsewhere at a variety of sizes. Below is my full winning design selected by Mark and which continues to be used on his site.

Continuing in a creative capacity, I have also hosted several convention panels for Mark and will be eMCeeing a panel at the forthcoming Kapow! event in May 2012.

As well as helping with the branding for Highlander WorldWide and its events over the last decade, I was also asked to create a range of merchandise that would tie-in with those events.

One of these was the branding for a DVD release of a concert by Jim Byrnes, the award-winning blues singer and guitarist who also played the character of Joe Dawson on the Highlander TV series.

I used a variety of exclusive shots that I took at the event itself and with the oversight of HLWW and Jim Byrnes himself, came up with the concept that would become 'Immortalized'.

The DVD and others in the convention range are available at www.highlanderworldwide.com

While working with the company on a variety of DVD cover and film poster designs, I was asked by Brit-Films to redesign their branding and come up with a new logo.

The remit was something simple, that could be reproduced  to a variety of sizes, including on cinema posters and the spines of their DVD releases. To that effect I used the British flag colours within a flame effect and a simple, clear font.

The Hunted is an ongoing internet series created by acclaimed VFX artist and stuntman Bob Chapin. It's early beginnings as a self-supporting 'net show have seen it expand into a series at the cutting edge of accessible technology - and allowing contributors on a global scale to tell their variations of the 'amateur vampire hunter' theme.

In 2011, Bob sought to raise money through the KickStarter initiative to fund a movie version of the project. This poster was created to feature in several magazine pages and was used to spread the word about the project.

The project received full funding and is now in pre-production.

Strands is a Leeds-based hairdressers who needed to overhaul their branding. The remit was to tweak their logo and create a raft of publicity-material, including price-list/menus, business cards, flyers and the reconstruction of their company web-presence.

The design needed to be warm and simple, nothing too fanciful, but which would allow customers to recognise the name and the design.

Subsequently a number of Strands clients and staff ordered additional publicity material for their independent use.