Amy McSimpson

Amy McSimpson – Designer

Amy is an award winning graphic designer, commissioner and illustrator who has been working in Children's publishing for over 15 years.

Overview

I started my career in the preschool department of Dorling Kindersley many moons ago. Since then I have worked as a senior designer at Kingfisher Books and part time at Arcturus as a jacket designer (ongoing). I specialise in both fiction and non fiction titles, using high level photoshop work or fantastic illustration. I am a highly skilled commissioner and have had the privilege of working with such wonderful artists as Kate Sheppard, Colin Jack, Marc Aspinall, Mat Edwards, Tudor Humphries, Tom Morgan-Jones and Nishant Choksi (to name but a few). I have worked on countless novelty books over the years and the subject mattersI have brought to life are varied and fascinating.

I am now a freelancer and run a successful packaging company with the highly skilled writer and editor Clare Hibbert. Our clients include Arcturus, Franklin Watts, QED, and the British Library. I have also worked for Carlton, Harper Collins, Hachette, Egmont, Plurus, the NHS and Macmillan in a freelance capacity.

My illustration career has recently seen me work on an animation for Oxfam and 6 pre school titles for Plurus Books.

I look forward to working with you.
Services
Non-Fiction
Children’s Non-Fiction Education & Reference History Life Sciences Nature Philosophy
Fiction
Middle Grade Picture Books
Certifications
  • BA Hons in Illustration

Work experience

Self-employed

Dec, 2013 — Present

I run a successful packaging company for children's books with the wonderful writer and editor Clare Hibbert. We cover a wide range of subject matters as diverse as Animals, Dinosaurs, Religion, Space, Science, History and Art (to name but a few of the topics we've covered). From initial concept through to print ready documents we manage every aspect of the books. I specialise in storyboarding and working closely with illustrators to produce books that are not only beautiful and exciting but interesting and educational. Our clients have included Arcturus, Franklin Watts, The British Library and QED.

Kingfisher Publishing, Pan Macmillan, London

Oct, 2006 — Dec, 2012 (about 6 years)

My role involved commissioning and project managing a number of varied and exciting series of illustrated and photographic books for children. From initial concept, visualising, styling and commissioning, through to keeping the projects on schedule, I worked on every aspect of the books. This involved discovering new talent in the illustration community, personal photography, photomontage, picture research and high-resolution Photoshop work.

Portfolio

What would you do if you were being chased by a super-speedy Utahraptor or found yourself face-to-face with a ravenous T. Rex? This exciting, fact-packed guide contains all you need to know about dinosaurs and how to survive extreme encounters with these prehi... read more
An award-nominated and highly original series, now in paperback
Who am I?

Richard Walker

Who Am I? Starting with the basic questions, "What does it mean to be human?" and "What does it mean to be me?O this book is an exciting, unusual, and thought-provoking exploration of what human identity is at the most fundamental level. Full description
The Alien Hunter's Handbook This practical handbookNan entertaining introduction to the field of AstrobiologyNshows readers how life evolved on planet Earth, and how to go about finding other forms of life in other parts of the Universe. Full description
Wow, I Didn't Know That! Animals Examines characteristics of a wide range of creatures, including the facts that goats have rectangular pupils, gorillas can catch human colds, and rhinoceros beetles can carry up to 850 times their own weight.

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