Kate Parsons

This is where I show you design projects I'm proud of which are in addition to the main catagories of my work, and share small insights, observations, tips on process and creative problem-solving (and the occasional gripe).

Design miscellany / hospitality / marketing

Gurt Lush Pub Co. Ltd. The Little Hop, Swindon

A quirky little boozer. Menu, website and events design. Collage design created with photos of pub paraphenalia, staff and beers.

Swindon pub, Devizes Road, Swindon, hospitality, design, marketing by freelance graphic design consultant, Kate Parsons. Designed the website and created website content.

Possibly the first UK pub to set aside a quiet time to welcome neurodivergent adults. I also worked behind the bar.

Alternative Life Drawing is run by Artsite, Swindon. Click the image.

design miscellany / author / book design / publishing

Bobbydazzlers: a potent collection of mankind's innate creative expression

I wrote, designed and published this 'novelty' 48-page book, ISBN: 978-1-80352-769-7. Unsure why I started taking photos of "naïve, instinctive, phallic street grafitti" and posting on Instagram, then Tom Blake suggested I create a book and offered to write a foreword. It's crammed with 66 specimens, an author's note and pseudo-science statistical diagrams.

For sale (£10 incl. P&P) – [email protected]

art / placemaking

Swindon trilogy

Swindon roundabouts: the infamous Magic Roundabout and four other Swindon roundabouts

Vector illustration artworks. Colour-themed set of three limited edition prints celebrating the town's infamous roundabouts, its many hills and public art. A few still left for sale (£50): [email protected]

Swindon hills: places in the town – Toothill, Kingshill, Gorse Hill, Penhill (and the name Swindon derives from 'swine dune' – pig hill)

Six public artworks in the town

insight / charity communications

A few notes for non-profit organisations' donor communications

Worth watching: This TEDTalk discusses how and why charities undervalue marketing whereas businesses know it is vital. See Charity communications and philanthropy

data visualisation inforgraphic, showing the amout of visitors and what they visted the site for, colour-coded and easy to understand

Infographic from Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust case-for-support document explaining visitor numbers and segmentation

A photo of an empty living room may not say 'counselling' to anyone who hasn't seen the room in which that takes place. Finding images to portray sensitive services can be tricky but avoid images that don't really say anyting at all

  • It’s not about you, it’s about your (potential) supporters and service users. Reframe sentences that start with ‘we’. Talk directly to the people you want to reach directly and empathetically. See examples below:

    • A heritage charity's website introduction – talking about themselves: 

    “Welcome to [our] website. Here you will find a range of information about who we are and what we do. We work hard to make the place where we all live more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive. We encourage high standards […]. Whilst helping to shape the future, we strive to protect and celebrate […]

    Improved by writing less about themselves, more about the benefits of the work for the common good and more succinct:

    By celebrating and protecting local heritage, [Charity] is dedicated to making [place name] a more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive place for us all to live now and in the future”

    Design miscellany / book design

    Franks & Ernest: the life and art of Frank Ernest Quinton

    Book design, sub-editing, image colour-correction, artwork and project management of a hardback 'coffee table' book celebrating the Swindon watercolourist's life by J. Stooke.

    Vanity pubishing project. Clients who don't understand the process need guidance. John Stooke refused to pay for the plethora of changes and edits I was asked to make in order to make the professionall designed hardbacked book. Print management, image manipulation, photoshop and managment. Sub-editing and proof-reading.

    ISBN 978-1-5272-9291-8

    Above: folio 8 (the last chapter) + front and back covers. Produced as a hard-cover book with dust cover.

    insights / design

    Design thinking and why it's not the same as art (or clever software)

    this is an inforgraphic that shows the motivations of an artist compared to a designer. The infographic was created for a children's graphic design workshop

    A slide from my KS2 ‘introduction to graphic design’ presentation for schools

    1. To be a graphic designer you need to think creatively but you don’t necessarily need to be artistic.
    2. Art is often about expression – artists want to express what they think or feel or have observed. It is entirely subjective. The artist wants the viewer to understand their personal perspective.
    3. Graphic design is mostly about communication. Making sure the viewer notices and understands the message is much more important to the designer than their own feelings.
    4. Note to clients: this means you can constructively critique a designer’s work without fear of upsetting them.
    5. Design is problem solving. For every project the problem to be solved is ‘how do I best get the message across’ given specific conditions.
    6. A designer has to keep in mind the people the message has to reach and where they’ll encounter the message. The style may be subjective, but design can be judged objectively.

    7. Good design software is not the same as good design. See below:

    what makes good graphic design? This image compares 2 versions of the same poster to show how simple changes improve the function of graphic design. Graphic design should always give information to the viewer that is quick and easy to understand.

    Left: by a non-designer, with decent mastery of design software. The poster is for display in the venue and its windows. Good choice image and title layout. But...all caps, quirky font on a crazy background is too much work for people glancing at a poster. Right: the totally non-award winning, easier to understand redesign.

    “It's not about [the designer], it's about finding clever ways to successfully articulate somebody else's message... Design isn’t self-expression. It’s translation. It’s articulation. It’s communication.” Peter Saville, co-founder of Factory Records

    Peter Saville via @mockiro on Instagam

    View this post on Instagram

    A post shared by Mockiro (@mockiro)