Tag Archives: freelance graphic designer

I couldn’t recommend Elizabeth highly enough

14/01/2017 | admin | another satisfied customer!, blog | 0 comments

Over the past 6 months, I have been working with the Institute for Public Policy Research. One particular stand out project was the recent 'Future Proof: Britain in the 2020s', a report discussing the economic, social and technological changes that will reshape Britain in the coming years.

It was decided to use a more visual approach to this report than the usual IPPR publications, resulting in my working closely with the author Mathew Lawrence. Together we discussed ideas and how best to put his and the funders ideas together, whilst getting the key data points across.

Here's what IPPR research fellow Mathew Lawrence had to say:

I worked with Elizabeth on IPPR's 'Future Proof: Britain in the 2020s', a highly designed, visual examination of the changes set to reshape the country in the decade ahead. Based on her work, and working closely with her throughout the project, I couldn't recommend Elizabeth highly enough. Her work was of consistently excellent quality, produced under considerable pressure. Elizabeth managed the design of the project from inception and storyboarding through to completion, demonstrating excellent project management skills to go with her design and visual skills.  Her attention to detail and skill in both design and layout undoubtedly were key to the report being the most widely downloaded report produced by IPPR in 2016, generating over 18,000 website interactions and almost 4,000 downloads within the first ten days of publication.


Alongside being excellent in her role, Elizabeth fitted in to the office immediately and was a valued member of the team overall.

  Thanks Mat! It was great to work with you on this project and hope to work with you again in the future :)
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From the outset was enthusiastic about the project

20/12/2016 | admin | another satisfied customer!, blog | 0 comments

Justlife, a leading organisation working with vulnerable people living in temporary accommodation in Brighton and Manchester has been working with the IPPR for the last 3 years. The final package, 'The Journey Home' contains not only a research report, but a handbook and a wall chart which visualises the journey of a person working through the temporary accommodation system, detailing the psychological impact of that journey.

The iceberg was a visual concept conceived by the Justlife team who were keen to produce a visualisation of their findings, having interviewed 45 homeless people and found similarities across all of their stories.

Charlotte Snelling, IPPR's lead researcher on this report, managed and co-ordinated the process between myself and Justlife, and here's what she had to say:

I worked with Elizabeth to develop a wallchart, to present the findings from a three-year research project examining the experience of individuals’ journeys into and out of unsupported temporary accommodation. At IPPR, we are always looking for new and innovative ways of presenting our research, to be able to engage with a wide and diverse audience and enjoy prolonged impact, exploring creative outputs which go beyond a traditional report structure. The wallchart designed by Elizabeth used the metaphor of an iceberg to demonstrate the different stages in one individual’s unsupported temporary accommodation journey. It was important for us to ensure the all our research participants were included – to reflect their contribution to the research and the variation in their experiences – and Elizabeth was able to manage to include this large amount of information in a way that was clear, visually appealing, and something organisations and agencies would want to put on their walls! It was great working with Elizabeth who from the outset was enthusiastic about the project and able to bring numerous ideas to the table, while also being responsive to the ideas from the research team.

  Having seen the visuals that Justlife were inspired by, I couldn't help but think this project would turn out successfully! I'm glad that the outcome went down well with both the IPPR and Justlife teams.
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A northerner in London

09/11/2016 | admin | a northerner in London | 0 comments

As with all my adventures, it starts with a ticket to somewhere and a whole load of stuff...

At least this time it's only hundreds of miles as opposed to the usual thousands of miles between my new destination and home, but it's far enough to be considered an adventure. Destination London. I have relatively high expectations of what I want to achieve here. I want to see if the legends are correct and that the streets really are paved in gold, I want to get some work, hopefully enough to keep me above water and I want to experience all those cultural highlights that never seem to make it past the edges of the outer ring road of the M25. Yes London, I want to experience you to your fullest. As the old saying goes... Tired of London, tired of life. Let's see what you've got :)
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Overwhelmingly sad

27/06/2016 | admin | blog | Comments Off on Overwhelmingly sad

I am saddened by the EU Referendum result. Overwhelmingly so.

And unfortunately, almost 50% of those who voted are, not to mention those who didn't get to vote who will have to live with the consequences much longer than we folk who got to put our cross in the box. In fact, of the 64 million living in the UK, only 17 million are definitely up for leaving, which leaves around 47 million having this situation thrust upon them... I am saddened for a number of reasons (read my previous blog!) as I fear that my nieces and those of their generation won't get to share the same freedoms that I have taken for granted - be it equality rights, working rights or travel. I am also afraid of how the nation is obviously divided on this subject, and some very real tensions have already bubbled to the surface fuelled by the media. Personally, as a freelance graphic designer, working rights don't necessarily affect me as I run my own schedule, work when I want, sleep when I want and holiday when I want. These are definite perks of being a freelancer. There are more and more of us about as permanent jobs become fewer. I graduated at the time of the recession a few years ago and (really) struggled to find a job. Of any kind. At all. I was registered with numerous recruitment agencies and didn't hear a thing as there were so many like me. Hundreds of applications sent on a weekly basis - to absolutely no avail. Luckily for me I managed to get my foot in the door eventually. Some of my fellow chums took even longer than me to find a position and around 75% of my friends have been made redundant at some point - some of them more than once. I only hope this situation isn't going to be repeated on todays graduates and further generations upon leaving the EU. It may turn out all well and good in which case I will graciously accept that I had been skeptical - but if that's not the case - will those who brought us here accept that they were wrong? One definite result of last weeks vote though is that the rich will indeed continue to be rich, and those on the lower end of the financial scale will struggle, possibly even more so, but will their stories be the ones that get told?
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