David Siddall
Starting as a trainee paste-up artist in a publisher's studio my career so far has taken me via commercial printing to newspaper and magazine production, to advertising & marketing consultancies to management and back again to design and the multi-media creative business Angie and I run today.
Along the way I've added 'marketing director' to my CV working in fields as diverse as leisure & tourism, construction, engineering and corporate finance.
Other enjoyable diversions have included being responsible for organising a local music festival, serving as vice-chair of a young people's charity and enjoying a couple of forays into slightly different businesses: hot-air ballooning, sign-making and a motorcycle courier operation – however I'm always happiest as a designer and that's what I returned to in 1998.
It's important to stay sharp and up-to-the-minute in this business and I do that by teaching part-time. "It's virtually impossible to get into a design rut when confronted by younger minds whose most persistant question is ...why?"
I've seen many changes in my profession over the years, the most liberating of which has been digital technology. Whilst I do sometimes miss traditional design techniques, computers and the Net have given us the opportunity to combine business with our chosen lifestyle in ways that certainly wouldn't have been possible when I first started out. These days it's getting to the stage where it doesn't really matter where we are; in our office at home overlooking rolling contryside or in our touring caravan overlooking somewhere equally beautiful and historic – we can do the job just the same!
However, whilst my final years in that industry were enjoyable and challenging my growing interest in the development of Social Media and e-Commerce, and my experience of running an on-line cosmetics business, suggested a new direction. As did that bane of life in the care industry... a back injury!
Whilst David could be described as an 'old-school' designer who has wholeheartedly embraced new technology, I've been fortunate enough to come to the industry at a time of complimentary growth and development which requires a fresh approach and the time to research and assimilate new ideas.
I'm not suggesting that you can't teach an old dog new tricks! Just that where diversification can offer our clients almost limitless opportunities based on cost-effective, proprietary solutions there's a distinct advantage to having two minds on the job. One contributing traditional values, the other promoting exciting new developments.
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