We are Pongo & Matelot. We offer the complete art direction and design consultation resource across all platforms and media. Drawing on more than two decades of expertise and knowledge and calling on an extensive contacts book, the plan was simple. To align the best creative directors, photographers, illustrators, image re-touchers and, printers with ambitious clients and create outstanding work.

Global Media Resource for Advertising and Marketing Implementation

Publisher of thought leadership magazines spanning technology industries.

Upon leaving Blue Door Media, I immersed myself in re-establishing my own studio, Spinning Top. Drawing on over two decades of expertise and knowledge. Calling on an extensive contacts book, the plan was simple to align some of the best photographers, illustrators and printers with ambitious clients and create outstanding work. This involved developing a whole new client base, that covered numerous sectors including; advertising, B2B periodicals, books, branding, consumer magazines, social media strategies, annual reports as well as undertaking brand consultancy work. Spinning Top offers the complete art direction and design consultation resource across all platforms and media, projects include;Magazine creative direction for, BII News (The British Institute of Innkeeping), CWJournal (Cambridge Wireless), Good Things, Passport (Monarch Airlines), Rock & Roam (Virgin Holidays) and UK5G (for UK Gov. Dept of DCMS). Producing annual reports for amongst others CW (Cambridge Wireless) and The White Paper (The River Group). Corporate branding for UKMTB (UK Mountain Biking Association), Paws and More (mobile pet groomer), The Great Outdoors (outdoor play centre), Fruit Geek (Apple repair centre). Coffee table book for photographer Andrew Wilson’s Wild About series of books, Wild about Clapham and Wild about Chelsea (Unity Publishing). Consultancy work for RCNI’s flagship magazine (Royal College of Nursing) this envolved relooking at everything from fonts, colour palette and the entire structure of the title. Digital projects included the now defunct The Look Book eMagazine. I also developed a style of infographics that was rolled out for numerous clients including; 4GS. Barclays. British Land. Honda. Holland & Barrett. LSEG. Laing O’Rouke and Savills. I was asked to create storyboards and ultimately create the illustrations that lead to animations for British Land and Renewi PLC.Highlights• I have also been a judge on the Canadian magazine design awards too.

New start up, Blue Door Media (a sister boutique agency to Seven) presented an exciting opportunity to be involved from company conception. Leading the design on a variety of projects including pitch wins for a magazine, eShots and DM for Next (in the UK, Ireland, Germany and France) and HobbyCraft, reports for Savills and DM for Shelia’s Wheels car insurance. As well as continuing to work with pre-existing clients (which moved from Seven), magazines for Fortnum & Mason, Lakeside and Chimes Shopping Centres and lifestyle magazine LighterLife. We also won digital work for a Croatian beauty range and developed a social media strategy and eShots for both Chimes and Lakeside shopping centres.With a team of designers and freelancers I had responsibility for everything from coordinating pitch work, presenting concepts to clients, to arranging shoots, commissioning illustrators, to dealing with the finance for each title, to working with the production department and the coordinating with printers and repro houses around Europe.Highlights• Next’s first magazine could track over £0000’s worth of sales attributed to the magazine.• HobbyCraft’s average online basket spend went from £16 to £66 with the clever use of discount vouchers and step-by-step projects included in the launch issue.

I joined Square One (now Seven c3) full-time as Group Art Director after a successful period of consulting, working as creative lead on a number of clients including; ASOS Man, DM London (David Morris), English Heritage, Fortnum & Mason, Lakeside, LighterLife, St George, TransPennine and Waterstones. As well as working on numerous successful pitches. One particular pitch win, Next, caused a conflict, I pitched the idea to work on the magazine at agency MC Saatchi and from this Blue Door Media was born (see May 2009 - May 2011). As part of my role, I commissioned stylists, home economists, photographers and illustrators. I presented work to clients, sat on the editorial board for my portfolio of magazines, recruited a dynamic team of designers and had sole responsibility for managing workloads and budgets. Seven Squared acquired a Canadian publisher and I led successful pitches for Canada Poste, Dove and Look Good Feel Better. Liasing with the editorial and creative teams in Toronto.Highlights• LighterLife magazine was nominated for CIB Redesign of the Year 2008.

After leaving Natmags I established my own studio, Spinning Top (UK) Ltd. I had additional responsbility for sourcing new clients as well as being the agent for a number of exciting illustrators. Projects included acting as Art Director on Heritage Today, English Heritage’s membership magazine, overseeing a redesign and rebrand with responsibility from everything from logo change to page design to client liaison. I also rebranded and repositioned a wedding magazine within the marketplace, with a complete overhaul, as well as designing their new website. I art directed and designed three books for Foulsham Publishing. Created, alongside illustrator Max Savva the corporate identity for a chain of UK fashion shops, developed a Japanese shoe companies UK brand and designed and project managed a travel website.Highlights include• Designed a logo for a chain of UK clothes shops.• A monthly illustration commission was secured for an international women’s magazine.

Initially employed as Designer, Art Editor and then ultimately promoted to Art Director of You & Your Wedding magazine, (which we rose from number four in the market to then consistently the UK’s best-read bridal magazine). Working across a wide range of sectors: fashion, beauty, travel / honeymoons, homes and lifestyle. AIM Publications Ltd was then purchased by Natmags (now Hearst UK) and a series of brand extensions and additional wedding magazines were undertaken. I was promoted to Group Art Director of The Wedding Group to oversee You & Your Wedding and sister titles, Cosmo Bride (I dealt directly with the US and Australia as they intended to mirror our UK launch), London Wedding and Wedding Organiser. In addition to the large number of editorial pages we also created a a number of advertorials and sponsored supplements for clients including, British Airways, Chanel, Diageo, Habitat, Harrods, Jo Malone, Wedgwood and Vera Wang. I held responsibility for all editorial budgets, commissioning illustrators, managing photographic shoots, as well as a managing a team of four designers, as well as freelancers. I was the main contact to liaise with the production department and repro house as well having the responsibility of passing the magazine to press at the printers.My team and I produced the initial concepts and designs for youandyourwedding.co.uk. The website achieved 1.5 million-page impressions in the first six months.The design was subsequently run out across all of The National Magazine Companies’ magazine brands including Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping and Harpers & Queen. Highlights• You & Your Wedding achieved the distinction of being the UK’s number one selling bridal magazine (the only country in the world where Conde Nast’s Brides wasn’t number one.)• youandyourwedding.co.uk was nominated for a Webby. • Winner of the inaugural Hearst’s Designer of the Year.