Graphic Design for the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival

Just a couple of month until the next Greater Manchester Fringe Festival and it looks set to be a great one.

I've been helping the team with graphic design since the festival came back in 2020, listening and tweaking, iterating the design every year to improve on what went before, and they now have a really strong recognisable identity.

Here's a sample from the design guide;

I try to be as helpful as I can. As a graphic designer I'm told I'm quite 'sympathetic', I'm not going to say 'You need these colours' or 'it has to look like that'. I've been around enough to know that a good designer is just a guide, leading folks up the mountain, helping them visualise their own idea, not the designer's own whims.

One of the main advantages I have is that I'm multi-disciplined. I can do graphic, web and illustration, to cover all the bases that a project might need. Also motion graphics when needed. Certainly with this one, the character of 'Liza Beenelli' had be revised and re-designed a few times over the years.

Manchester Graphic Design

There are some amazing apps out there that really help speed things along in terms of getting works done. I'm now offering canva for slide decks and some other design services.

If you've heard of it, Canva is a way to let a designer do wth design work, while giving a client access to make changes without breaking the overall design of a piece - similar to how websites work, but for offline media like slide decks and print.

Links:
Greater Manchester Fringe
More branding samples

Motion Graphics Showreel

Motion Graphics, Design & Illustration. I've connected with some amazing new clients this year and collaborated on some wonderful projects.

There have been a few long hours and late nights, but I can feel creative boundaries being pushed in the finished work going out the door (FYI, It makes an excited 'whooshing' sound).

Last 2 years I've been super focused. To step up, be seen, and keep it fresh. At the beginning of the year I rebranded, changing 'John Cooper Design' into Rocket Steps, Creative Studio ( reckon that's where the 'whooshing' sound came from).

It's helped me clarify my ethos. I don't outsource, I work directly with clients and the best ideas win.

I don't think I'd have had the confidence 10 years ago to be as bold with ideas as I am now. Also, I'm experienced enough to be humble when the client's idea is great, and I just need to execute it with style.

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What Rocket Steps does;

Illustration
Motion graphics & animation
Website design
Branding
Explainer videos
Graphic design
Graphic recording

Working directly with clients

I work directly with clients end-to-end. From ideas sessions to final delivery, to get the most from their budget and suggest ways to make the most of what they need.

Collaboration

I'm used by agencies and events companies for illustration and live art, when my style suits their needs. Being a solo studio means I can be super flexible on times, places and deadlines.

Looking to hire a motion graphics designer?

You can book me by the day or by the project. I can help you pin down a brief (a description of the work you need doing) and suggestions the best ways to tell your story and get your message across.

Need to hire an illustrator?

You can book me by the hour or the day. Never used an illustrator before, or have questions that's fine too. Whether you have a clear idea of what you want, or would you benefit from a handful of quick sketches to get the ball rolling.

The Magic of IMA

Ashley Boroda is a training and development coach. For this project, he needed a video explaining IMA, the tool he uses in his training.

The brief was to make it punchy and fun and Ashley, having a great presenting voice, also did the voiceover. We looked over the script to add humour where it was appropriate and I adapted the character that already existed. See the full video below.

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See more motion graphics projects

The Princess and the Neutral Inclusion

Combining a few different techniques, working with the department of waves and materials at the University of Manchester.

The science itself was a bit tricky to get my head around, but then learning new things is one of my passions, and creating educational content like this is one of the pillars of the design studio - to make work that has value outside of just doing the work. So what are neutral inclusions I hear you ask? Well, I'm just the messenger, here's the video.