SPOTLIGHT: Graphic Designer - Andrew Howell
ANDREW HOWELL - Graphic Designer
Tell us a little about yourself and your business?
Hi, I’m Andrew. My wonderful wife Amy and I have recently celebrated our first anniversary and we’re expecting our first baby in January 2021. We’ve recently moved from Epsom to Bagshot in the North West corner of Surrey and are enjoying the quieter surroundings it brings. In my work life, I’m a senior designer at Fourleaf, a design studio based in the UK and The Netherlands. I also use my design strategy skills outside of work hours, helping select organisations on various brand, digital and print projects to add value and help them grow. I also run an Etsy store creating and designing bespoke personalised typographic prints. https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/720824234
What is your role here at the Italian Garden?
I’ve been working with Kim and Stephanie to create the logo for the garden, where I was able to use my design experience to select typefaces that reflect the garden, pairing it with a simple illustrated mark that picks up on the octagonal Observatory window and the foliage found in the garden.
Why have you decided to become a friend of the Italian Garden?
My connections with The Italian Garden and Great Ambrook go back over 30 years. My great uncle and aunt, Ken and Doris Rees, originally discovered and owned the garden before Kim and Stephanie. We stayed in Devon every summer and every day I’d run across the valley from where we were staying to their home next to the garden, where Doris would usually be found cooking and Ken, tinkering out in the garden. I spent many happy childhood summer holidays exploring every corner there was to explore.
I’ve been so happy that the magic of the garden is able to live on and it was a privilege to be able to keep the family connection whilst giving back to the garden, for the memories it has given me over the past 30 years. Being the other side of the country (and not green-fingered myself!), I put my strengths in design to good use in creating the logo you see on the website pages and I hope I can do my part in helping the garden grow and be shared, so many others can discover the magic it holds.
“I hope I can do my part in helping the garden grow, and be shared, so many others can discover the magic it holds”
Now for something playful, share with us your perfect day out/hobbies/where we can find you when you’re not working etc?
My perfect day would definitely involve a walk with friends in nearby Swinley Forest. I’d also definitely be cooking at some point - in the summer, I’d light up a barbecue or in the winter a roast lamb would be in the oven, with plenty of rosemary and garlic, and of course with a mountain of roast potatoes. My hobbies have been varied over the years; I’ve been a bell ringer for over 20 years, practice calligraphy when I can and I also built an Instagram account, Doors of England, focusing on front doors across the UK, featured in the New York Times, Home and Garden and followed by Sarah Jessica Parker!
Want to know more about Andrew and his graphic design work
VISIT: andrewhowell.co.uk