Providing a complete design, print, finishing and delivery service, plus a plethora of document storage and branding solutions.

The role involved preparing, designing, outputting and approving adverts and leaflets for GMC (Gazette Media Company). Quality, creativity and the ability to meet strict deadlines were key to success in this role. The core titles were the Evening Gazette, the Herald & Post series, the Times series and the Town Crier series. These were accompanied by regular supplements, leaflet distribution drives and annual glossy magazines. The high pressure environment and personal desire to give each brand the best representation possible drove me to achieve.One of my primary rewards was heading up production of the annual glossy magazines. I was responsible for the Diary publications from inception to design to printing to distribution. This gave me the opportunity to see a product's evolution under my wing and really helped me envisage how the company wanted to portray it's image from year to year.I worked very closely with our Telesales and Reps teams who were responsible for selling the ad space that I was commissioned to fill. This involved one-to-one design briefs with team members and clients and following copy layout/corporate style instructions with an eye for detail and quality. Once we had final approval from each client, the ads were sent to a server where they could be collected for output to our press.I took on the role of Page Make-up Artist alongside my existing workload in 2003. This involved collecting all of the advertising and editorial components for each page of our publications, positioning them and outputting them to our off-site press via CTP software. This role required great concentration and vigilance due to the tight press-time deadlines and the high cost of even a slight mistake. I was the only person in the company who took on both Ad Design and Page Design roles simultaneously; an achievement which went towards earning me the accolade of Mac Artist of the Year in 2004 at the Annual GMC Awards.

Media Partners was a small, Dutch-owned design agency with a team of roughly a dozen staff, of which I was one of three designers. Our core products were the De Vere Hotels magazine, Leeds Lawyer magazine, YSG, Health Today, Polam Hall Girls School magazine, Hurworth Boys School magazine, several Chartered Accountants publications plus various one-offs.I was required to design adverts for these publications, call each client individually for approval and get each magazine signed off before ISDNing everything over to our printers in Shipley. I was also responsible for checking all of the film for each publication for final print approval.My secondary role as Creative Assistant required me to provide artistic support to our Senior Designer as well as create mock-ups for our Sales team to take to new clients.I was regularly entrusted with the keys to my boss's BMW to go and see clients direct with their adverts and to liaise with our secondary Sales team in Harrogate. In 2001, I volunteered to go down to Leeds for a week to help our Chartered Accountant clients get their magazines delivered on time when various problems threatened the deadline.

My first job began on an Apprenticeship basis straight after completing my GCSEs, although the company was quick to take me on. I went on to achieve a Level 3 NVQ in Information Technology and passed two Customer Care courses and a part-time Desktop Publishing course at Cleveland College of Art and Design.The company provided a 'one stop shop' for pubs, clubs, restaurants and bars to boost their takings by increasing customer loyalty through quizzes, fantasy football promotions, party kits, decorations, fireworks and anything that would encourage customers to return. This role required me to be highly versatile with skills ranging from maintaining Access databases, running our warehouse, designing our corporate image, in-house stationery and brochures, providing hand-drawn illustrations for our Senior Designer, packing stock, liaising with our couriers and printers, running our national Championship Football competition, writing quizzes and anything else that needed to be done to maintain a smooth operation. I also benefited from a part-time course at the University of Durham which taught me the basics of Visual Basic programming.The incredibly varied tasks put upon me gave me a great kick start into the wide world of business and the benefits of being multi-skilled and getting as many strings to my bow as I could. The greater my skill base, the more beneficial i am to the team and I constantly seek new challenges.