ABOUT ME_

I have spent more than 30 years working in the creative and publishing industries, building a career around art direction, design, photography, styling, food, and interiors.

My career has taken me from UK magazine publishing to Dubai and back again, working across some of the biggest names in celebrity, fashion, lifestyle, and food publishing. Along the way, I have worked as an Art Director, Art Editor, Creative Director, designer, photographer, food stylist, recipe developer, and content creator. Today, I am using that experience in new ways through my food brand, gasmarksix, my freelance creative work, and my interiors and decorating business, setch-decor

My early creative career
I began my career in graphic design and magazine publishing, developing the skills that would eventually lead me to senior art direction and creative direction positions. I studied at Huntingdonshire Regional College, Lowestoft College, where I gained an OND, and Reading College, where I completed a Higher National Diploma.

From the beginning, I was drawn to the combination of design, photography, typography, pictures, and editorial storytelling. Magazine publishing gave me the opportunity to bring all of those disciplines together.
Over the years, I worked across a wide range of publications, developing my experience in editorial design, art direction, photography, production, and brand development.

Magazine art direction
As my career progressed, I moved into Art Director and senior creative roles, working across celebrity, fashion, lifestyle and specialist publishing. I have had the opportunity to work on a wide range of recognisable magazine brands, including OK!, HELLO!, Grazia, Red, Cosmopolitan, You, Marie Claire, Elle, and Friday.

The work has covered everything from covers and fashion shoots to celebrity photography, editorial layouts, features, redesigns, typography, picture direction, and complete magazine production.
I have always been particularly interested in the relationship between words, pictures and design — and how a strong visual idea can completely change the way a reader engages with a story.

Food writing, styling, and photography
My work with Gulf News also allowed me to develop another side of my creative career. I began creating food content, combining my editorial experience with my passion for cooking. I wrote recipes and food features, cooked the dishes, styled them and photographed the finished results.

Food became much more than something I enjoyed personally. It became another form of art direction. I was able to approach a plate in much the same way I approached a magazine page — considering colour, composition, texture, lighting and storytelling. Living in Dubai also gave me the opportunity to experience an extraordinary range of international food and cooking traditions. I travelled, ate, cooked and learned from chefs and home cooks, experiences that continue to influence my recipes today.

Remote food photography
I have also developed a remote food-shooting service. The idea is simple: a client supplies the recipe or brief and I take care of the rest. I cook the recipe, style it, photograph it and deliver imagery suitable for print and social media.

This has allowed me to combine my professional photography and art-direction experience with the practical reality of food production. I have recently worked with The Guardian Labs, Redactive Media Group, and u3a on recipe content using this approach.

Where am I now?
Today, I see my career as one continuous creative journey rather than a series of unrelated jobs. I started with graphic design. I moved into magazine art direction. That developed into creative direction, photography, and international publishing.

My time in Dubai introduced me to new cultures and cuisines, which eventually led to gasmarksix. Food led me into recipe development, food styling and commercial photography. And now my design and styling experience has led me into interiors and decorating through setch-decor.

I have never really stopped being a designer. The medium has simply changed. A magazine page, a plate of food and a room may look like completely different things, but the principles are remarkably similar: colour, composition, texture, balance, proportion, detail and, above all, understanding how something should feel.
That is what I have spent more than 30 years learning. And that is what I continue to do today.

‘Pleased to share that everything has now been sent off for tender! Just wanted to say a huge thanks for all your work on this. We’re delighted with the end result and appreciate your flexibility throughout‘

_{Natasha Glazebrook, Creative Services Manager, Seven C3}

‘Your layouts are in the presentation deck, and everyone’s happy with them. Thanks a lot for supporting us on this. You delivered some great work’

_{Neil Cook, Creative Director, Seven C3}

^{Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Illustrator
Graphic Design
Creative Direction
Art Direction
Editorial Design
Magazine Design
Brand Development}

^{Digital Publishing
Social Media
Marketing
Brochures
Typography
Photography
Food Photography
Food Styling
Recipe Development
Content Creation}

^{Packaging
Brands
Graphics
Banners
Layout
Set Building
Prop Styling
Interior Styling
Painting & Decorating}

<sup>Nutricook Frost
Recipe developer, food photographer, and food stylist
I was commissioned to create recipes and images for an online recipe book for the launch of Nutricook Frost, the latest innovation from Dubai-based Nutricook. Sleek and beautifully designed, Nutricook Frost transforms simple ingredients into delicious frozen creations — from ice creams to frozen cocktails — in just 15 minutes. With a built-in chiller, generous 1.8L capacity, and effortless clean-up, it delivers a seamless, indulgent experience made for sharing.

Nutricook
Recipe developer, food photographer, food stylist, and video art director
I was headhunted to join the launch team for Nutircook, part of the Nutribullet family, when they rolled out the electronic pressure cookers across the MENA region in 2019. Responsibilities included creating recipes, video content, and food photography for their social channels, website, and cookbooks, and managing and curating their Instagram account. As their in-house creative director, I also worked across product and lifestyle shoots for packaging and in-store promotions.</sup>

^{Hello Fish
Recipe developer, food photographer, and food stylist
I was commissioned to develop a series of recipes for HelloFish’s website and social media. I enjoyed the challenge of creating twelve recipes complete with food styling and photography for one of the UK’s leading online seafood suppliers.}

<sup>Spinneys
Art director and food stylist
Joining the product team at Spinneys, one of the leading supermarkets across the Middle East, I devised and curated how-to videos and styled dishes for their in-store displays and packaging to launch one of the first meal kit ranges in the region.

Levanthyme
Food stylist and photographer
Joining forces with Levanthyme, a London-based Middle Eastern restaurant, I refreshed their online presence. I increased sales by shooting their extensive menu more creatively for social media, website, and food-ordering apps.</sup>

^{Sopexa Agency
Food writer
During the 2020 lockdown, I collaborated with the European Commission for the Butter of Europe Programme to devise and ghostwrite a book charting its rich history and exploring our love affair with butter.}

<sup>Jashanmal Department Store
Brand Ambassador
As a brand ambassador for Jashanmal, one of the biggest retail stores in the Middle East with over 100 curated brands, I regularly reviewed their new product lines across their extensive social media platforms. Marketing activity with them included hosting Delicious Desserts workshops and live cooking demos at their flagship store in the Mall of the Emirates.

Guardian Labs
Recipe developer, food photographer, and food stylist
As part of a unique collaboration with Guardian Labs and Thatchers’ Gold Cider, I created a bespoke series of BBQ marinade recipes using the Somerset brand. The menu included cider-infused options for meat lovers, pescetarians and vegans.</sup>