Hi there!
I've been a Creative Artworker/Designer for over 20 years, most of which have been in or around London. I've spent the last year as Lead Designer on a series of magazines for Clarion Events.
On these pages you'll see examples of the work I've done for a variety of clients, both in a freelance role and full-time. Whilst the majority of these digital images are those I've managed to collect between 2012 and 2018 at Clarion and Xerox, there are also examples of work done at MBNA, and through freelancing around London.
I’ve spent some time supporting charitable organisations. Between 2009 and 2011 I worked with the charity Poet In the City, who aim to bring poetry to a larger audience. Between 2010 and 2011 I also volunteered at the Sutton Centre of Independent Living and Learning, which supports disabled people who want to maintain a degree of independence in the community.
I enjoy drawing and painting, but have a real passion for writing and tabletop gaming. My short stories have appeared in a few anthologies, and I've had some gaming material published too. In 2017 I became Fiction Line Editor for games company Stygian Fox. I have laid out and provided illustrations for a privately printed book about investments, designed and illustrated a Christmas card for a member of the Magic Circle and created an advert for a book by Shortlist columnist Danny Wallace. Although my weirdest claim to fame is probably that I once won a haiku competition, which was judged by a panel that included Yoko Ono, and subsequently earned an appearance on Wikipedia under 'Micropoetry'.
Please enjoy this site!
Simon Brake
RECENT WORK HISTORY
2017 – 2020, Clarion Events, London
I have spent the last year working as Lead Designer on three bi-monthly magazines – iGaming Business, iGaming Business North America and
iGB Affiliates – plus a number of quarterly publications, such as the
European Gaming Lawyer, the iGaming Business Directory and the
iGB Affiliates Directory.
2016 – 2017, Unilever, London
A six-month contract, typesetting Unilever's Annual Report, using innovative new software (and relying on a layout based entirely on Microsoft Word).
It was an experience!
2016, Creative Artworker, Freelance,London
A variety of interesting roles, from completing the layout of a book of photography, for the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, to ads for the likes of Beats Wireless.
2012 – 2016, Xerox, Welwyn Garden City
The majority of my work has been for clients such as Lloyds (including Halifax and Bank of Scotland) and TSB, creating literature and layouts for some major marketing campaigns.
2010 – 2012 Creative Artworker, Freelance, London
Clients included Lloyds TSB, Barclays, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, AXA Wealth, Coca Cola, Morrisons, Reebok, Sky, Tesco and Wickes, working on marketing campaigns and costumer-facing literature.
2009 – 2010 Creative Artworker, PA Consulting, London
Artwork and overlooking multi-page documents, such as in-house magazines, reports and brochures, for this global consultancy. This included image research, sourcing and retouching.
2008 – 2009 Artworker, Freelance, London
A notable client during this time was Carnegie Orr, for whom I prepared annual reports for final print, and oversaw final work to double-page spreads and cover photographs prior to completion.
10 YEARS AGO, AND BEYOND!
2008 Artworker/Typesetter, Radley Yeldar, London
Here I worked on annual and interim corporate reports, as well as documents concerned with corporate responsibility, for many of Radley Yeldar’s high-profile clients. Great attention to detail and branding was essential.
2004 – 2008 Creative Artworker, MBNA/Bank of America, Chester (the studio later became part of Williams Lea)
Working in-house alongside the creative team and account executives, I was responsible for taking work to finished artwork stage, including graphics generation and image manipulation.
2001 – 2004 Creative Artworker, Mellon Global Investments, London
Originally freelance, as part of the investment firm’s in-house team, I worked on layouts for brochures, quarterly reports and adverts.
1999 – 2001 Freelance Artworker, London
Agency freelance artworker for several small design studios across London. Typical work included catalogue, brochure and press ad artworking.
1997 – 1999 Creative Artworker, Kysen/Design FX, London
Brochures, leaflets and corporate reports for a variety of corporate clients.