Big Apple Bonanza

New work for Barr Soft Drinks

Tools of the trade

A sketch showing some of things we consume to get through our day. Or should that be things I consume? Anyway, perhaps best not to do them all at once!

Coffee

I've been playing around with layer effects and brushes in Photoshop. Here is the result using mainly colour dodge layers, scatter brush and layer styles. Plus I love coffee!

Refresh

Created this illustration as these were one of my favourite sweets when I was a kid. The packaging is not accurate - changed it so as not to infringe! Created in iDraw.

Tangled

I created this design in Illustrator from a scanned texture that was vectorised and then graduated tints were added. The font is Geometric Slab.

Forgot

Don't forget to love yourself - you need to be good to you - before being good to anyone else.

Two versions created for a poster design.

Enter

Playing around with my nemesis - Adobe Photoshop. Amazing what effects you can achieve with a few simple shapes, transformations and filters. Enter if you dare!

OK

It might be an old cliche but things have a habit of turning out OK in the end - no matter how hard they seem! A positive reinforcement poster created iDraw.

Say what you mean

Funny how we often say things we really don't mean - especially in the UK. I guess we just don't like to offend? Oh well here goes... Created in Adobe Ideas.

This is not working

A little hand drawn design created in Adobe Ideas with a Bamboo stylus. Thought I would just keep it nice and flat and simple. 

Looking back

As you may know I'm a big fan of retro design - especially from the sixties and seventies. I really love the minimal shapes and colours. Created in iDraw.

Ring your own bells

Bang your own drum

Blow your own trumpet

Woo Hoo

A little graphic to brighten your day or your mood. Hand drawn with iDraw on iPad Air.

Chill

A popular phrase - made into a cheeky little poster. All elements created with iDraw - the tablet equivalent of Illustrator CS. Chill out!

No rest

A new neon design based on the famous quote. I hand draw the lettering for these as a font looks too formal and regimented. Created with Adobe Ideas and iDraw. Get wicked!

Boring

This design was created using iDraw on iPad. The font is Futura Condensed Bold.

It does what it says on the tin - who needs Illustrator?

Life

I was inspired to make this after seeing one of those motorway signs that displays traffic information. Created in iDraw.

Sixties

Graphic Design from the sixties is minimal, linear and full of funky colour combinations - and pretty much photo free - all the reasons I love it.

Boom

A vibrant little graphic created with iDraw - it really is a mini version of illustrator for iPad.

Summer

One thing is for sure - Summer will come! It's been a long Winter and I'm really looking forward to some sun! Logo created in AI CS 5.

Step Up

No idea where this quote comes from but I really like it. Created in iDraw using repeating cubes and Helvetica Black font.

Feel the need

This is the title of a song by the Detroit Emeralds from 1973 - but I just love the sentiment.

Created in Illustrator CS using Gill Sans Light.

Yes

A follow up design based on the previous one called 'Nope'. This one is the more positive version!

Hand drawn with wacom stylus pen on iPad.

Nope

I love the word nope - and I think I probably use it more than I should. I never was a Yes Man though.

Hand drawn and lettered on iPad Air with Wacom stylus.

Bang

Another music related graphic created with the impressive iDraw app. Really seeing the benefits of this little bit of software.

Blow

I created this graphic using iDraw on an iPad in less than 30 minutes. IDraw costs only £6 and offers most of the features of Illustrator for a fraction of the cost. Not sure what Adobe are playing at app wise at the moment?

Up

I created this design simply using the word 'up' then repeating and interlocking the shapes making a little patern. The inverted letters also make the word 'dn' which is an abbreviation of down and the opposite of up. See - I thought this through!

Is this it?

This has multiple meanings - negative or positive depending how you view things. The font is Gill Sans light manipulated in Illustrator CS.

Find your own way

I have a fond attraction to two things in design - halftone dots and overlays. In this graphic I've combined the two, although the overprint here is just an optical illusion. The font is Gill Sans Bold.

1970

Another design from my recent sixties and seventies retro phase. Stay groovy!

Coffee Time

A poster design celebrating my love of coffee - it's always coffee time. Why don't one of the big chains do something a bit more quirky like this? Fonts are Super Clarendon and Snell Roundhand.

Bright side

A colourful retro inspired poster created in iDraw using Super Clarendon and Snell Roundhand fonts. If this doesn't brighten up a room - nothing will!

Me becomes we

The idea behind this is when you enter a relationship and have to start considering someone else and not just yourself. Created in iDraw - my new mobile Illustrator clone!

Barber

A little logo I designed for my friend Joe who is a barber. He wanted something clean and simple. Here you go. Created in Illustrator CS.

Be good

People often worry about how they treat others - but what about how you treat yourself? Be your own best friend. Design created in iDraw on iPad Air.

Judge

Who are we to judge others? We are always making assumptions and forming opinions on people we don't really know and things we don't really know about... Humans eh?

Created on iPad with iDraw.

Flag

Everyone deserves a flag. So here's yours. Wave it with pride.

Created in illustrator CS.

Play that

A design based on the song 'play that funky music' by Wild Cherry. Hand lettered in iDraw, making extensive use of the new blend modes.

Artique

Increasingly I am using the iPad to create ideas and designs - I just love the speed and convenience. This logo concept was created with iDraw a vector app for the iPad - very similar to Illustrator.

Stay Humble

No matter how talented you are or how much money you make - I think it is always better to stay humble. At the end of the day nobody really likes a bighead! Created in Illustrator with a lovely retro font called Blessed Day.

The Future

A retro inspired poster created in Illustrator CS. It took a bit of fiddling to work out how to create the long shadow effect but I think I cracked it in the end?

Halftones

Playing around with large halftones for a new project. I like the fact that they give the impression of soft edges even though they are just made up of solid dots. Created in Illustrator CS 5.

Neon Collection

A montage of my recent neon designs. All lettering and graphics hand drawn with Wacom stylus on iPad. Neons always make me feel happy for some reason... Enjoy!

I Can

I created this graphic to reinforce that no matter what life throws at you - it's always possible to push through. Can I do this? I Can.

Take it slow

Another little doodle from my talking animals project. I love sloths - they are so chilled - guess they have no choice! Hand drawn in Adobe Ideas with Wacom stylus.

Balanced Diet

Someone at work mentioned they had a balanced diet and this image suddenly jumped into my mind. Hand drawn in Adobe Ideas with bamboo stylus pen. Why does the guy have an Afro? I have no idea. Thought it was funny to call him Jim (gym) though!

Cool as ice

I created this graphic in Illustrator using the mesh tools - so it's all vector. Seems to work really well with nice soft blends. Stay cool!