Design for Annuals & Book Covers
The Matchbox Club.
Originally known as MICA – The Matchbox International Collectors' Association – The Matchbox Club was an organisation with members all over the world. As well as being an incredible source for everything to do with Matchbox Toys, the Club had regular conventions held all around the world, for which limited-edition models would be produced, complete with their own original-style boxes. I had the privilege of designing and producing the liveries, transfers and boxes for many of these models – a couple of examples are featured below.
Between 2008 and 2013, a 100-page 'Annual' was produced and sold around the world. In addition to all the news about the latest models, and collectors' tales about finding rare models in obscure corners of the world, this soon became an important historical resource as former workers at Matchbox Lesney's factory recalled their days of working for the company. The crowning jewel was an interview, after decades when no-one knew if he was still alive, with Rodney Smith, one of the co-founders of Lesney. Featured below are a few covers and inside double-page spreads as examples of the kind things each annual contained.
Sadly, The Matchbox Club was sold to a new owner after 2013, and subsequently specialised in just producing new versions of old display units for Matchbox Collectors.
Book Covers.
For SB Publishing Limited of Stratford-Upon-Avon, I was commissioned to design the cover and flyleaf for a new book by Professor Mary C. Lacity and Dr Leslie Willcocks, world authorities in their field, entitled Service Automation: Robots and the future of work. While a main cover image - a selected classic work of art - would be provided, my brief was to design a background, layout and type-style that would reflect the subject whilst not distracting from the main image.
The first publication was so successful that it lead to an additional print run, and further publications resulted, for which I was asked to continue to develop the themes that had helped the first book be so well received.
