About me
Strong in design, communications and adept at managing simultaneous project deadlines effectively. Agency, freelance and in-house experience. Responsible for conception and design right through to final delivery. Experienced in mentoring and managing staff and dealing with clients and suppliers at all levels. I come with a friendly positive attitude and approach.
My motto is to focus on the solution!
A little biography
I was born and raised on the rolling hills of Cork and Tipperary in Ireland, having a very rural upbringing where amongst my many skills learned as a child was how to milk a cow by hand. A skill I yet have to use in my adult life! From a young age I was involved in the performing arts being taken to my first Irish dancing lesson at the age of three. I really could have stayed dancing forever on that first day. I went on to become an all Ireland Champion dancer. As if the dancing wasn’t enough to practice as a young boy my grandfather presented me with an accordion to continue the families musicality.
My greatest love of all growing up was art. A passion that thankfully my parents and teachers encouraged. On leaving school I left the innocence of country life and ventured to Dublin for four very happy years of learning and discovery. I studied at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT), firstly completing my Diploma in Design Communications and graduating with a Degree in Interactive Media.
Returning to Cork I began work at one of the city's leading design agencies. Here I learned the importance and power of branding. I was fortunate to work on high-profile brands and innovative projects across a complete spectrum of design disciplines including everything from advertising to packaging to web design. After learning my craft I decided to leave Ireland and spread my wings travelling to South America and relocating to London.
Here I joined The Almanac Gallery to head up a new in-house design studio.It was my task to rebrand the company and produce successful product for their new venture into the card retail market place. Creating and managing all of the design in-house from concept to production. Being part of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry you have to keep adept with current trends and consistently refresh design material to reflect this demand. Working with artists, illustrators, photographers and picture agencies to create a unique product that has to sell.
After many happy years I decided it was time for a new creative challenge taking up the role of Creative Executive at British Transport Police where I produced campaigns to engage with the rail travelling public. This covered print and digital channels on the entire rail network. Key stakeholders include Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail. With millions of rail journeys made everyday this position was incredibly challenging, varied and fast paced. During my time here I learned about crisis communications, public relations and spent time working on the news-media desk which gave me a fully rounded experience in all aspects of communications.
I then joined DWP Digital as a Creative Producer and Content Designer. My role here is to tell the story of DWP Digital and the transformational work we do for government products and services. I worked on creating a new employer brand proposition (EVP) along with a compete corporate re-brand. I produce insight driven recruitment advertising campaigns across digital and social media channels to attract the brightest talent to work for us. Being at the heart of digital means I’m always driving innovative and creative content approaches to reach a wide audience in engaging and informative ways.
Working within such a large digital first organisation is an incredibly exciting place to be right now.
I’m often approached for freelance and consultation work. I pursue this when time allows. Clients have ranged from the charity to the corporate sector and projects vary from identity and branding through to advertising, marketing, print and even interior design.
I now consider myself a Londoner, and love the city way of life. I don’t practice my Irish dancing anymore but I have been known to still do a quick Irish jig!