Pro Wrestling.
Everyone starts somewhere, but my beginnings are stranger than most. In the summer of 2006 I set out on a road that led into British Wrestling. Over the next ten years I spent time training with stars from all over the world, building on my knowledge and, most importantly, learning to effectively tell a story through an unconventional medium.
My design career started here too. I was commissioned to create local posters for a company and this quickly spread to creating work for companies in the region, then nationally, and - finally - internationally. Alongside this print work, I began building brands too - many of which are still being used today. From working with individual talents on a branding and character building basis, to crafting the look of an enitre company, pro wrestling set the foundation for a design process that I still use to this day.
Also, that's totally me being thrown, down below.
Wrestling is more than physical - it's the theory behind it which I carried through to my designs. In the ring, your role is to build a story for the crowd, within the greater context of the show as a whole. You must bear in mind individual characters, adapt to crowd reactions, and appease the needs of the promoter who hired you. Building a brand is no different. The promoter is the client and the crowd is your audience. All I do is transfer that skill to craft a compelling story for the crowd into creating a strong brand that means something to your customer base.