BBC Educational Publications 1984- 1988

Based in Marylebone and latterly White City.

My job was to design and see through to production a variety of educational materials to complement the BBC TV and radio output, working with programme producers and outside agencies. To work to a budget and commission illustrators and art workers as required.

Where budget was unavailable, I did the illustrations myself. This is where I learnt to draw in many varied styles! Illustration has always been my first love and  as I continued to work freelance I got the chance to do more illustrative work.

“What is a book designer then?” I’m often asked.

A book begins as an idea. The designer takes the idea and gives it a look. In educational publishing that has to be age appropriate. Some one much higher up than you then usually tells you there is absolutely no budget for this book and after that the pictures are taken or commissioned drawings are done. Cosmo and Dibbs in the park was photographed by

Tony Timmington in a public park in Ealing with many interruptions from young fans coming up  to  talk to the well loved puppets! As the designer I found the locations for the shots following the story line and directed the photo shoot. Much discussion then ensues about everything including the weight of the paper used. The print quality is checked  at proof stage and the designer sends it to print. There is nothing quite so satisfying as seeing your project roll off the press especially when it has taken months of work - except perhaps seeing it in it’s shiny cover in your local book shop! Above is a page from one of my sketchbooks showing some of the thought process and the finished jacket.

Sample pages from a typical classroom work booklet which I illustrated from a radio series entitled “Let’s make a story”

circa 1987. the intention was that children could colour the pictures in  so very simple line work was used. They  would then use the illustrations as a starting off point for their own  creative writing.

A large (A1) wall poster on the stories of Sherlock Holmes. I was asked to draw this in a Victorian  pen and ink style to match the contemporary illustrations used elsewhere in the poster.

I painted the above poster to publicise this set of programmes. The series spread across different curriculum areas and was intended to coincide with Australia’s  bicentenary year.

My favourite  piece of work was Kid’s Oz, a fully illustrated book. I commissioned many different illustrators to work on this with me adding incidental illustrations myself.

The Australia Project.

Producers Warrill Grindrod and Dan Garrett

BBC schools radio. 

Bear in mind this work is all pre- computer. Sticky tape and pen and ink were still the order of the day!