Adam Hay – Designer

I specialise in design for publishing, concentrating on book covers and illustrated books, whilst continuing to work in most areas of print design. I work for many major London publishing houses and for several in Germany and, thanks to Reedsy, I now have a number of regular clients in the US. I approach each project afresh wishing content to lead the design process. I prefer to keep a close working relationship with writers, authors and editors as this tends to produce the most intelligent, appropriate design solutions. Please visit the studio’s website for greater detail of recent output. A small selection of work is also on display below.

I was invited by Richard Hollis– one of the most influential figures in British graphic design who has worked as a printer, magazine editor, print-production manager, writer, teacher and a graphic designer – to work on his best-selling book Graphic Design: A Concise History, part of Thames and Hudson’s World of Art series. The book was put together sitting with Richard at his home studio. Images were embedded in the text following what Richard had done in John Berger’s book Ways of Seeing.

This was actually the start of my freelance career. Pearce Marchbank, RDI, offered desk space at his Islington studio – which relocated to The Archer Street Studios in Soho and changed its name to Studio Twenty – in order that I provide desktop publishing, (new at the time) leaving me the chance to continue building my own client base. Pearce’s output is prodigious. I art-worked Music Sales books, catalogues, broadsheet newspaper redesigns and material for the wine merchant John Armit. Being around such an influential designer as Pearce afforded me an ultimate opportunity. I began to work in book publishing and soon started my own studio.

I designed annual reports, logos, marketing campaigns and a magazine for the RSPCA, among many other projects. Accounts: Greenpeace, ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), RPSCA, National Asthma Campaign and the National Schizophrenia Fellowship.

Intercity Magazine. Hired by Paul Harpin. I re-designed the title and art directed it. I brought in the first Apple Mac to Redwood’s design dept., then situated at Old Street. I also worked on several special advertising supplements for TimeInc., London

Now a worldwide company I art directed for Wordseach, the original publishers of Blueprint and Eye Magazines, at the Cramer Street building in Marylebone.

I was hired as assistant art editor for The Architect’s Journal, known affectionately as the AJ, by Simon Esterson, who had just re-designed the magazine and was still overseeing it at the time

I was responsible for art editing Computer News, a weekly broadsheet, and ICL’s flagship monthly ICL Today.

I was hired by Art Director Roland Schenk. Management Today Magazine. Campaign Magazine.