Meet the team

Bio: When I was younger, I wanted to be a journalist. I changed my mind after gaining a degree in English, but still found a role I love working in communications, which plays to my strength in organisation.

Words: e.e. cummings died in 1962, but for me his quote, “to be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else – means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting”, has never been more relevant than right now.

Pics: My favourite artist is Peter Blake. I love pop art and I dabbled with collage when I was younger. I guess the pulling together of lots of elements is reflective of what I do in my role!

Bio: I’m a professional busybody for whom ‘why?’ and ‘how?’ are the most important questions. They speak of belief, trust, motivation, inspiration, human experience and outcomes people give a damn about. They’re where great stories live.

Words: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou.

Pics: I just love the artwork of Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki. Half real, half fantasy, his worlds are stunning, dreamlike creations. Just irresistible.

Client Services Director

Bio: My role involves looking after our clients and our people to create some truly amazing work. I love the variety as no day is the same.

Words: In a world where you can be anything, be kind.

Pics: I love taking photos, possibly too much! Whether it be places I’ve travelled to, or capturing everyday moments with my daughter.

Writer and Content Manager

Bio: As a kid, writing stories was my favourite thing to do, and not much has changed. At W&P I get to do this every day, fuelled by excessive amounts of tea!

Words: “Always look on the bright side of life”. I’m an eternal optimist and a big believer that you can take something positive out of any situation.

Pics: I love to travel and pictures of places I’ve visited and those still on my list are a great reminder of all the possibilities that are out there.

Senior Designer

Bio: Every day, I’m challenged to do something eye-catching for different audiences. I originally started out as an old school signwriter/maker – which is where my love of letter form and typography began.

Words: “I’ve learned more from pain than I could have ever have learned from pleasure.“ – Anonymous.

Pics: The album cover to New Order – Power, Corruption & Lies, designed by Peter Saville. The juxtaposition between the still life ‘A Basket of Roses’ and colour block typography, representing the band’s move forward, is just genius.

Associate Writer

Bio: I’m inspired by new places and by brilliant writing, and my own work has taken me all over the UK. A lifelong bookworm, my career has proven my childhood belief that words take you on fantastic journeys.  

Words: I think that W.B. Yeats’ poem, ‘The Cloths of Heaven’, is just a beautiful and succinct expression of love; and the evocative lyrics to Ray Davies’ ‘Waterloo Sunset’ never get old.

Pics: I always have an image of Battersea Power Station somewhere on a wall at home. It’s an icon of the capital’s skyline, and transports me back to living in its shadow in south London.

Bio: Founded Words&Pictures, just over 25 years ago, with the stated aim of developing the UK’s best internal communications agency. Former editor and foreign correspondent based in Rome and Madrid, with continued passion for southern Europe.

Words: The first sentence by Anthony Burgess in the masterpiece ‘Earthly Powers’: “It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.”

Pics: Velazquez’s superb, tender portraits of court dwarves in Madrid’s Prado museum. Stand there, alone; stare, and notice what’s happening…

Bio: My A levels: English, Art, Business Studies and Psychology, an odd mix at first, have shaped what I do. I love being in a creative environment and working with people to develop new ideas to meet their needs.

Words: “Promise me you’ll always remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne. This quote reminds me of discovering my love for books and it promotes self-belief – in both adults and children.

Pics: It’s very hard to narrow this down, I’ve gone from album covers to sculptures, to photos of the sea and paintings of Yorkshire landscapes…

Head of Photography

Bio: I produce photographs in a diverse range of settings for our diverse client base. I enjoy learning about people – their interests and career paths. I love being out and about and drinking good coffee. 

Words: “What’s the point of getting killed if you’ve got the wrong exposure?” – Don McCullin. He not only took powerful photos, but showed compassion in some of the worst situations.

Pics: I’ve loved Denis Thorpe’s photos from an early age as I saw them in my Dad’s newspaper every day. His timing and way of seeing pictures is quite special.

Bio: I head up W&P, collaborating with lovely clients, herding fabulous, creative cats and keeping the good ship heading in the right direction. I grow my own stuff and enjoy washing it down with a nice drop of something!

Words: George Orwell’s ‘1984’ has the best opening line ever in my opinion: “It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

Pics: My favourite picture would be any of the Hockney’s East Yorkshire Wolds paintings or, generally any picture of a cat wearing a comical hat!

Associate Writer

Bio: I’m a gatherer of facts, comment and anecdotes, compiled into simple stories to engage and entertain readers. I love the clever use of words. Seeing colleagues cringe over my cheesy puns is one of life’s pleasures.

Words: Will someone for whom English is their second language understand what you’ve written? If not, start again.

Pics: The drawings of the Bisto kids. Because Bisto is gravy. And gravy is dinner.

Associate Designer

Bio: My interest in design grew out of a love of drawing from an early age. My ideas stem from an interest in art history and illustration, but I’m very at home with the occasional juvenile cartoon too.

Words: My favourite book is ‘The Fall’ by Albert Camus. A strangely comforting monologue set in a mist-shrouded Amsterdam winter. Very atmospheric, perfectly paced and impossible to paraphrase its meaning, it evokes a state of mind as much as a time and place.

Pics: I saw ‘The Concert’ by Titian in the Uffizi, and it really captivated me. I see it as a 500-year-old band shot, it feels so contemporary. No painter beats Titian for capturing personality in a face.

Associate Designer

Bio: I love the challenge of coming up with compelling visual concepts and ideas. Out of hours you’ll find me getting my hands dirty in the screen-printing studio, or wandering round a gallery soaking up the art.

Words: “You can find inspiration in everything. If you can’t, then you’re not looking properly.” – Paul Smith

Pics: It’s hard to pick just one thing! One of my favourite painters is Jenny Saville, and my favourite painting of hers is ‘Rosetta’.

Digital Partner

 Bio: Since the creation of the first home computers in the early 1980s, I’ve wanted to understand and use them to make things better. In my life today that means using the internet to provide tools to help people. 

Words: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke 

Pics: Jony Ive, designer of Apple devices, is my all-time favourite designer.