Meet the team
Louise Seastron
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!
Damon Bowles
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.
Karl Jaques
Bio: If I’m not at W&P HQ creating award-winning design, or on the road visiting our amazing clients, you’ll find me down Elland Road cheering on the other love of my life, Super Leeds United.
Words: ”Type is a dance and the designer is the choreographer.” – Richard Lipton. I’ve always been obsessed with typography and I’m on a mission to save the world from badly kerned type.
Pics: Seeing a Barbara Hepworth sculpture for the first time as a youngster triggered my obsession with how we interact with shape and form. This directly led to my decision to become a graphic designer.
Jen Majeed
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.
Alison Harris
Administration Assistant
Bio: I manage and process invoices and payments, making sure money is where it needs to be, which also means making sure my wonderful colleagues get paid. I support our Financial Director too (including making brews!).
Words: Well–behaved women rarely make history – a saying my circle of friends have when going out for lunch.
Pics: I first saw ‘Luncheon of the Boating Party’ by French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1987 at an Art Exhibition in Adelaide while on a gap year. I was struck by the enormity of it and its vibrant colours.
Hannah Tallant
Bio: Client management is a role I love, and at W&P we’re really part of the creative team – I get the chance to support on varied and innovative projects and delight clients.
Words: I grew up being obsessed with Roald Dahl, I loved his creativity and playfulness with words! Anyone who can get ‘Scrumdiddlyumptious’ added to the OED is just phizz-whizzing-ly amazing.
Pics: Travel is my favourite thing to do, I love looking at photos of places I haven’t been yet to inspire my next trip!
Rob Dickens
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.
Amy Billett
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.
Jessica Coates
Client Manager
Bio: I’m a really creative person so I love working within a creative agency thinking of “cutting-edge ideas that exceed client expectations”. In my spare time, I enjoy making cakes, which are often tested out by my W&P colleagues!
Words: “The pessimist sees difficultly in every opportunity. The opportunist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill.
Pics: I’ve always had an avid interest in art after studying it for years. One of my favourite artists is Leonard Afrenov, and I have taken a lot of inspiration from his pieces in my own paintings. I love his use of colours and the abstract nature of his art.
Tony Layton
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…
Alison Reid
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…
Rob Dales
Bio: I’m responsible for the production of all our clients’ printed materials. I like the technical aspect, ensuring that what we produce is right first time. I especially enjoy making prototypes and mock-ups of our designers’ brilliant ideas.
Words: Jonathan Swift, 1721: “Reasoning will never make a Man correct an ill Opinion, which by Reasoning he never acquired.” Truer than ever, 300 years later.
Pics: I’ve always admired Ralph McQuarrie, who painted the original conceptual art for ‘Star Wars’. That the films even got made is largely down to his illustrations.
Alan Barton
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.
Andy Holt
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!
Gillian Varley
Senior Proofreader & Sub-editor
Bio: In my role you need an eye for detail – spelling, grammar, punctuation, style, tone – it’s a good job I’m a stickler for perfection! The English language fascinates me, so I’m very fortunate to work with words.
Words: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” – Mary Oliver, ‘The Summer Day’.
Pics: Anything travel-related, particularly my husband’s photos. We’ve had quite a few framed, and dotted them round the house. They’re a daily reminder of all the amazing countries we’ve explored – and the places we’ve still to see.
Debs Duerden
Financial Director
Bio: Numbers are my thing and I’m the Queen of Excel, looking after forecasting, budgets and all things finance. Away from the calculator, you’ll find me pounding the pavements of Skipton, or on the slopes in France.
Words: Fail to prepare, prepare to fail…I believe in the power of organisation!
Pics: I’m inspired by the sight of a nice red ski slope and blue skies, or a muddy pair of running shoes after a cross country run…
Dan Webb
Client Co-ordinator
Bio: I work with all of our teams to help keep the studio running smoothly. I love organising and seeing all the different touchpoints of a project. Away from work, you’ll either find me in the gym, or the McDonalds drive-through…
Words: “In alta tende” (aim at things on high) is my family motto – I always strive for the best.
Pics: I’ve always had a soft spot for David Hockney. He’s a Bradford boy, as am I, and I’ve grown up seeing his exhibitions in Salts Mill.
John Cooper
Senior Client Manager
Bio: I love seeing projects grow from an initial briefing meeting into something that excites and engages the intended audience. I’m really proud of all the work we do at W&P.
Words: “It could always be worse” – this mantra helps keep me relaxed under pressure!
Pics: My favourite photo in the world is one I took of my baby daughter holding my thumb when she was just a week old.
John McDonough
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.
Robin Turton
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.
Claire Blindell
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.
Rachael Lightowler
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’.
Rob Yorke
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.
Joe Stoyles
Events Manager
Bio: I’ve been travelling the world delivering events ever since I left school. I love working creatively to bring memorable experiences to life.
Words: “If you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it full speed. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good.” – Roald Dahl
Pics: Any of the thousands of ridiculous photos I have of my two very favourite people – my kids. I love looking back at the memories we’ve made.
Stu Warrington
Neil Hilditch
