Appointment card design for a traditional Manchester barber.

Client: Karls Barbershop

Sector: Service sector

Project: Appointment card

Deliverables: Design / Print management / Print

BACKGROUND
Karls Barbershop had been styling the men of Manchester since the 1960s. A much-loved, traditional city-centre barbershop, it was run by my dad, Gordon Mitchell, an exiled Scot, former butcher and master of the razor, comb and chat. Named after Karl Marx, the shop had a character all of its own, shaped by decades of loyal customers, changing hairstyles and the unmistakable personality behind the chair.

THE CREATIVE CHALLENGE
Appointment cards were an essential part of the barbershop experience, helping customers remember their next trim while keeping Gordon’s diary full. As his existing print run came to an end, he asked me to create a replacement. Rather than simply redesigning a functional card, I saw an opportunity for a piece of creative print design that would capture the distinctive character and heritage of Karls Barbershop and give customers something worth keeping.

CREATIVITY WITH CHARACTER
My inspiration was the traditional barber’s pole, the revolving red-and-white symbol that fascinated me as a child outside my dad’s shop. I translated it into a simple piece of paper engineering. The outer sleeve housed a die-cut shape and when customers pulled out the striped inner card, they appeared to rotate, revealing the barbershop details. The reverse allowed space for multiple appointment dates, so the design was as practical as it was memorable. This was brand identity through experience, turning an everyday printed asset into a small moment of magic. The card was warmly received and went on to win regional, national and international awards, including Gold at the New York Design Festivals.

Campaign to attract new visitors to Manchester’s magnificent Medieval Cathedral

Client: Manchester Cathedral

Project: Be surprised

Sector: Arts & Culture

BACKGROUND
Manchester Cathedral has stood at the heart of the city for more than 1,300 years. Alongside its role as a place of worship, it has evolved into a vibrant cultural destination, hosting concerts, exhibitions, family activities and community events throughout the year. I was commissioned to create a seasonal campaign, programme identity and supporting marketing assets that would promote both the Cathedral itself and its diverse programme of events, helping attract new visitors while encouraging existing audiences to return.

THE CREATIVE CHALLENGE
Like many heritage organisations and charities, Manchester Cathedral faced the challenge of changing public perception. While many people recognised the building from the outside, few appreciated its remarkable architecture, fascinating history or varied programme of events happening inside. The campaign needed to increase visitor numbers, support ongoing fundraising and conservation and position the Cathedral as an inspiring and must visit Manchester destination for everyone, not just a place of worship. The creative challenge was to communicate that sense of discovery in a way that felt contemporary, authentic and emotionally engaging.

CREATIVITY WITH CHARACTER
The most revealing insight came from watching people rather than the building itself. After spending time with staff, volunteers, worshippers and first-time visitors, I noticed a common reaction the moment people stepped inside, eyes widened, mouths dropped and expressions lit up with genuine amazement. Instead of making the Cathedral the hero, I made those reactions the campaign. That insight inspired the simple but powerful idea, ‘Be surprised’, a campaign centred on genuine moments of wonder.

We photographed real visitors of all ages and backgrounds as they experienced the Cathedral, creating an honest, characterful image that celebrated curiosity, inclusion and discovery. The campaign extended across seasonal event brochures, posters, advertising and digital marketing, giving Manchester Cathedral a distinctive voice that invited people to experience the unexpected for themselves.

Created at: Transmission

Brand identity for a residential property development in Manchester’s bohemian Northern Quarter.

Client: Cole Waterhouse

Project: Warp & Weft

Sector: Property

Deliverables: Naming / Brand identity / Website / Brochure / Social media / Site hoardings / Art direction / Photography

BACKGROUND
Cole Waterhouse is one of the UK's leading real estate development investment and management companies delivering high-quality residential mixed-use and build-to-rent developments across major cities. Following the acquisition of a historic site in Manchester's Northern Quarter I was commissioned to create the development's name brand strategy visual identity and marketing assets. The brief was to craft a distinctive property brand that respected the site's industrial heritage while appealing to a contemporary urban audience.

THE CREATIVE CHALLENGE
The development occupied the site of former eighteenth-century weavers' cottages where as much of the original architecture as possible would be retained and restored. The challenge was to create a memorable residential brand that celebrated the site's rich history without feeling nostalgic or predictable. It needed to attract prospective buyers and investors while positioning the development as an authentic part of the Northern Quarter connecting its industrial past with the lifestyle aspirations of modern city living.

CREATIVITY WITH CHARACTER
The strongest brands are rooted in genuine stories so I immersed myself in the history of the site before putting pen to paper. Research into Manchester's textile industry uncovered the weaving terms warp and weft the two essential threads that form every woven fabric. The name immediately resonated. It not only acknowledged the site's origins but also became a powerful metaphor for community craftsmanship and belonging with future residents becoming part of the fabric of the neighbourhood.

That central idea shaped every aspect of the brand identity from the woven-inspired marque and typography to the verbal language photography and marketing campaign. Rather than creating a brand that could exist anywhere I created one that could only belong here a distinctive identity woven from the history character and culture of Manchester itself.

Created at: Glorious

Branding and campaign to help reduce suicide across Greater Manchester.

Client: NHS Greater Manchester

Sector: Health & Social Care

Project: Shining a light on suicide

Deliverables: Naming / Brand identity / Campaign / Art direction / Film direction

BACKGROUND
Shining a Light on Suicide is Greater Manchester's dedicated suicide prevention campaign, commissioned by NHS Greater Manchester and partner organisations. Its vision is simple but profoundly important: to reduce deaths by suicide, challenge the stigma surrounding mental health, encourage earlier conversations and ensure that anyone affected by suicide feels able to seek or offer support.

THE CREATIVE CHALLENGE
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among young people aged 20 to 34 and men under 50, yet it remains a subject many people find difficult to discuss. The challenge was to create a name, brand strategy, visual identity and campaign that could address an incredibly sensitive issue with honesty, compassion and confidence. It needed to encourage open conversations without causing fear, resonate with people from every community and establish a long-term identity capable of supporting suicide prevention across Greater Manchester for years to come.

CREATIVITY WITH CHARACTER
When a brand has the potential to influence lives, creativity has to begin with understanding.

Before developing any creative ideas, I immersed myself in the subject through workshops with healthcare professionals, charities and most importantly, people with lived experience of suicide and bereavement. Their honesty shaped every decision that followed.

Two insights stood out. First, the campaign needed to use the word suicide openly rather than avoiding it. Second, suicide often felt hidden in the shadows, making it harder for people to talk about or seek help. Together, these insights became the foundation of the brand strategy.

From this came the campaign name Shining a Light on Suicide and a visual identity built around the idea of bringing the conversation into the open. The concept influenced everything, from the logo, colour palette and campaign assets to striking photography of Greater Manchester by the wonderful Leigh Anderson of landmarks at sunrise which became powerful local canvases, with campaign messages projected onto their façades, symbolising darkness giving way to light.

Beyond the identity, I created the supporting brand assets and website, giving the campaign a consistent and recognisable platform that continues to support suicide prevention across Greater Manchester.

Created at: Glorious

Brand creation and naming for a high-end office development in Stockport.

Client: Glenbrook

Project: STOK

Sector: Property

Deliverables: Naming / Brand identity / Site hoardings / Website / Brochure design / Social media content / Art direction

BACKGROUND
The UK high street is changing. Shifting consumer habits, online retail and rising costs have left many town centres needing a new reason to visit, work and invest. When Glenbrook acquired the former Marks & Spencer building at Merseyway, Stockport, it saw an opportunity to turn redundant retail space into a high-quality, contemporary commercial destination, helping to support the town centre’s wider regeneration.

THE CREATIVE CHALLENGE
The task was to create the name, brand identity and full marketing toolkit for a major office development in Stockport town centre. The brand needed to position the scheme as a credible city-centre-standard workspace: aspirational enough to attract ambitious occupiers but rooted in its location. It also needed to give the development a distinctive voice in a competitive commercial property market, helping agents communicate the quality, flexibility and connectivity of the space.

CREATIVITY WITH CHARACTER
Walking through the former M&S, with its abandoned mannequins, escalators and sale posters made the opportunity clear. This could not feel like a retail conversion. The identity needed to create a decisive break with the building’s past and present it as a confident, architect-led office development for a new generation of businesses.

I led a thorough naming process and developed STOK, a concise, ownable shorthand for Stockport. It felt direct, modern and local without being parochial, exactly the balance the development needed. More importantly, it gave the brand a flexible verbal device that could work hard across office development marketing.

That flexibility shaped the campaign language. STOK room helped communicate the scale and choice of workspace; STOK car, STOK plane, STOK train brought the development’s exceptional connectivity to life; and Lock, STOK & Barrel provided a memorable way to showcase the all-inclusive workplace amenities. The name became more than a logo, it became a practical, characterful sales tool.

The visual identity took its cue from the development’s biophilic interior design and contemporary architecture. I created a natural, refined colour palette and an assured editorial style, balancing minimalism with enough personality to stand apart in the commercial property sector. Combined with the positioning, “A game changer for the Stockport office market,” it gave the scheme a clear, confident presence across the website, brochures, signage, sales materials and digital assets.

Created at: Future

Campaign film to promote better mental health in the industrial sector.

Client: Altrad & CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)

Sector: Industry & Technology

Deliverables: Campaign / Film concept, art direction and production

Project: Let's make mental health more visible

BACKGROUND
Global giants, Altrad, are the leading supplier of support services to the industrial sector. They keep our nation’s vital assets working, both onshore and offshore. You may know them for their sponsorship of the New Zealand and French rugby union national teams. CALM are a national suicide prevention charity on a mission to help people end their misery, not their lives. They partnered to help highlight the importance of mental health in the industrial sector.

THE CREATIVE CHALLENGE
The industrial sector has an urgent mental-health problem. In a traditionally male-dominated environment, the pressure to appear strong can make it difficult to admit when things are not OK. Workers are four times more likely to die by suicide, yet mental health is too often afforded less visibility than physical safety. Altrad needed a film that could open up essential conversations, making change feel human, relatable and impossible to ignore.

CREATIVITY WITH CHARACTER
I began with a simple contradiction: on industrial sites, hi-vis PPE makes safety visible, yet the signs of poor mental health are much harder to spot. That insight became the campaign idea, ‘Let’s make mental health more visible’.

I followed an industrial worker wearing his hi-vis vest everywhere, in the shower, gym, pool and on the golf course, creating surreal moments that prompted bemused looks but no questions. Until a colleague simply asks, “Are you OK?”, giving him space to open up.

Using humour to draw people in, the film delivered a serious message, noticing someone is one thing, starting the conversation can make a difference. I took the project from concept through planning, art direction and production, with the film becoming the centrepiece of Altrad’s wider partnership with CALM, supported by a dedicated website, workshops and resources.

It was a project I cared deeply about, and one where creativity was designed to do more than get noticed, it was there to help people ask, listen and speak up. And yes, I even made a small cameo. Strictly to save on production costs, obviously.

Created at: Future