I started started my graphic design career in Dublin in 1996 when I qualified with a distinction in design communications – from College in Athlone RTC (Now AIT).
After leaving Athlone I started my first design job in 1997 in a graph design agency in Dublin but this was not the right fit for me and at the time I felt a little creatively burnt out so I decided to take a year out and do some other work which was totally non design related – carpentry! After taking a year out working as a carpenter into 1998 I started work in my first big agency ‘Watermarque Communications’ which was then one of the busiest marketing communications agencies in Dublin with clients such as Budweiser, Carlsberg and Sony to name but a few. It was here that I designed what I feel is one of my most renowned Graphic Jobs – the ‘Carlsberg’ tulip glass which is possibly one of my biggest personal achievements in my career if only because of the success of the design.
If I were to choose one other big personal achievement in my design career it would be that designwest was given the honour of designing and creating the now famous Mayo.ie logo(M) which has at this stage been marketed worldwide. Indeed the creation of this identity for Mayo county Council led to many other County Councils around Ireland to create a more distinctive brand for their county – most of them moving away from the marketing of the traditional crest.
After three years in Watermarque – I went on to join another of Dublins biggest Agency’s in the form of Strategem where myself and my team created many award winning designs for clients such as Smirnoff, Baileys, Tayto, Batchelors and many more. I can certainly say that in this job I learned a huge amount about deadlines and pressure in my role as a senior graphic designer/studio manager.
After my time in Stratagem I decided to freelance for about 6/7 moths where I worked with agencies such as Rothco and CawleyNea which at the time were two of Dublins top level above the line agencies. Whilst in freelance mode here I worked on various advertising and marketing briefs for clients such as Aerlingus, Avonmore, Yoplait and Coors Light.
In late 2005 I did a short stint of freelance work for another of Dublin’s best known marketing agencies at the time – Banks love – and whilst here I was made an offer to join the team on a full time basis. I worked here for over a year and indeed this was probably one of the most enjoyable years in my working career because of the fantastic team that was in place in Banks Love such as fellow designers and friends the infamous Kevin Keenan and Brian Byrne both of whom had attended Athlone many years previous …
