My Big Face

It's really quite odd seeing my face on People Per Hour every time I log in. Good though I suppose.

Get in touch ben@citizenstudios.co.uk

Visit www.citizenstudios.co.uk

Or call 07764 898 010

Howdy Partners

I've recently updated the Citizen site to include a list of partners that I work with, I'm hoping this will increase Citizen's offering and expand the size and scope of work we're able to go after.

You may also notice that we've gone from an 'I' to a 'we'.

The first person on the roster is Maria Ingram. I've worked with Maria for many years. She's a creative copywriter who's got a good eye for detail, and a sound conceptual brain. She's great for bouncing ideas around with, and then sewing a concept up with a neat little strapline.

Next up, Karen Brown. Yes my wife, but also my partner in business and someone I've worked with at my previous agency. Karen is a great help to me at Citizen, she's an incredible organiser, and solid strategic thinker. Previously Karen worked at BBH, on the British Airways and Audi accounts where she was named 'Project Manager of the year in 08 and 09'.

Finally (for the moment) Phil Sharp. Phil is a magnificent photographer, I've worked with him lots of times over the years including on the One Leicester campaign in 2009.

Phil's work had been all over the place in The Guardian, Wallpaper, Time Out and NME, and he's recently been directing the photography on some short films. What makes him such a great portrait photographer is, (along side his technical skills) his ability to relax his subjects, and really get the best out of them. I really enjoy working with Phil, the best work I've done has come from this partnership.


So, there's the basis of the Citizen team, and I have no plans to stop there. If you think you have something to offer us, please get in touch and perhaps we can create something together.

I've taken some pretty big meetings in the last couple of weeks, and I've got some interesting projects lined up, so far so good. One month in and Citizen is still standing, I'm proud of that.


www.citizenstudios.co.uk
Ben@citizenstudios.co.uk


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Life on Earth Alternate Cover

It's coming up to a year since I finished the artwork for The Moons 'Life on Earth', and I thought now was a good time to reveal the first idea I pitched to Andy. It still resonates with me, and personally, I think is a more iconic design than what we eventually went with, (which I do still love by the way), but just feel like this shades it. It's more striking, and for me, looks more genuinely 60's than the final execution.

I remember finishing it and having that excited feeling the my stomach, then emailing it off and it getting rejected. That feeling when you really love something, and your client doesn't, and nothing you say will change their mind is really crushing. I think sometimes it's a problem of working on email, face-to-face you can really demonstrate your passion for a piece, and it can be infectious.

It takes me about a week to pick myself up after a debunk, and generally I can't sleep very well during that time, it's very dramatic I know! Anyway, we kept some of these elements for the artwork throughout the booklet, so it wasn't entirely wasted, and, together with Andy we forged a great campaign that I was really happy with.

You can buy the 'Life on Earth' with it's actual cover here, it's a great piece of work.

Get in touch ben@citizenstudios.co.uk

Visit www.citizenstudios.co.uk

Or call 07764 898 010