1/11/26 • 1 min read
Harriet Richardson wrote an interesting article in Design Week - “Design courses are failing everyone”
It’s a critical reflection of the tertiary education environment in the UK within a design context and how universities in Britain are funded. She also reflects on the ramifications for faculty and the learning environment.
I have been cautious not to quote out of context for fear of being misunderstood or misrepresenting the original author, much as she acknowledges the concern in her article. I’d encourage you to read her article in full on the link above.
1/1/26 • 1 min read
You may not know Jon Hicks but you’ve likely seen his work as the graphic designer of Firefox, MailChimp and Shopify logos.
In 2012, he published a book entitled ‘The Icon Handbook’ - it’s a great primer and culimination of two years of work and guides you through the process of designing icons - from identifying an appropriate metaphor to drawing symbols through to the practicalities of implementation. Best of all, he is providing it free of charge on the basis that quite a lot of the content has aged although that does not apply to many of the foundational principles.
Even if you’re not interested in creating your own icons, the chapters on history, metaphor and use are valuable and accessible to a non-design audience.
Warning systems rely on icons to overcome language barriers and issues with translation so understanding the design process can only inform better briefs and more effective design.
12/20/25 • 2 min read
Vol.co, an imprint of Thames & Hudson delivered Woman at Work today. I was a backer of the production so got to see my name immortalised in print in the special edition.
Margaret Calvert is one of the most important British graphic designers of our time. Her groundbreaking work on the signs for the British national road network means that it is almost impossible to travel anywhere in the UK and not benefit from her ultra-clear typography and cheerful pictograms. Her work has provided the gold standard for international highway directional signs. In a parallel career she became an inspirational teacher at the Royal College of Art, where for nearly four decades she taught a generation of graphic designers, many of them going on to establish worldwide reputations.
Born in South Africa in 1936, Margaret came to the UK with her mother and sister in 1950. After studying illustration and printmaking at Chelsea School of Art, she was invited by visiting tutor Jock Kinneir to assist him on designing the signs for Gatwick Airport (she had just turned 21). When Kinneir was put in charge of designing a new system for British road signs, it was the beginning of a long working partnership that led to the creation of the now famous road signing for the motorways alongside a complementary approach for the entire network, including pictograms, and onto work for the British Airports Authority, British Rail and the Tyne and Wear Metro in 1980. Margaret designed the lettering for the latter project, which is now available from Monotype as the Calvert typeface.