Overview
Magazine and book layout design is one of my earliest passions and is a skill I have honed over many years. From magazine design and travel guide series, I naturally migrated to designing books, working with seasoned authors and publishing houses as well as first time self-publishers, who require guidance and advice navigating the intricacies of this industry.
My skill lies in designing books from cover to cover in both print and digital formats for Mac and Kindle. I am also able to give advice and guidance on the best e-commerce platforms to select for the sale of your book and offer uploading to these sites as part of my service.
Each book I design is such a personal reflection of my client, so communication is key throughout the entire process. Assessing your audience and sector, we then make decisions together on elements such as typography and structure, whereby I then deliver a selection of concepts for you to get an idea of the direction we can take. My greatest joy is pulling together all the elements we have chosen and of course seeing it take pride of place on some of the largest e-commerce platforms!
TESTIMONIALS
Dear Cath, I love the layout of my book – you did a really wonderful job, and I’m super-proud to show it to people. Thanks for being so great to work with, I loved your attitude from start to finish and hope we get to do it all again one day. Big thanks Todd
- Todd Eden, Author of Own Life have worked with Catherine on the covers for five published novels. Catherine is a joy to work with and can be relied on to deliver. She is keen to understand fully her clients' brief and needs, both from a technical and creative perspective and is proactive in providing solutions and suggestions. She is approachable, friendly and encouraging, bringing her own enthusiasm and skills to whatever challenge is presented. Her creative suggestions are sensitive both to the brief's requirements and budget and she communicates well both before and during the job, fostering a collaborative approach. I have no hesitation in recommending Catherine and will be looking to work with her again on my next project.
- Paul Mariner, Author (UK)
It is always a pleasure to work with a professional and Catherine is just that. We’ve worked together on a number of books and she has been consistently creative, efficient and a real asset to the overall project.
-- Teena Lyons, (UK)
Cath was a consummate professional and an absolute delight to work with. I couldn’t be prouder of the internal layout of my book and wouldn’t have anyone but Cath do the next one. She spent hours patiently working through every detail and continually made suggestions that enhanced the look of my manuscript. She always responded quickly to my queries and was great at following me up. As well as the layout of the physical book Cath created the e-book., Given that technology is continually changing she was happy to conduct research to ensure that we had the latest information to hand and that the layout of the ebook was the best that it could possibly be. Thanks Cath the money I spent with you was well worth it. My book wouldn’t be the same without your input
-- Fiona Evans, (Australia)
Services
Non-Fiction
Fiction
Languages
Work experience
Self-employed
My varied career has spanned over two decades experiencing and becoming expert in many varieties of print types: from producing monthly magazines to producing numerous travel book series and gift books for Publishing Houses, then working for myself so I could raise my two little girls. Whist working for myself I expanded my print knowledge and a few years later joined a print house to manage their Studio and get creatively involved in all sorts of print types from exhibitions to stationery to branding.
Giving every client a personalised service no matter what the project. I make the production as seamless as possible whilst presenting imaginative solutions. I will work every step of the way with you to produce excellent results. I understand how important and all-consuming your ideas are and I am here to help you bring it all to life.
I work with a range of clients in the UK and internationally on projects ranging from marketing products to complete bespoke books and promotional material.
I care passionately about design, have an eye for detail and continually prioritise and multi-task to hit deadline. I am patient and understanding and am happy to give a helping hand to those who need it but work just as well with seasoned in house teams and agencies. And all with a smile.
I'm based in Bracknell, Berkshire near London and am always available for a chat about potential projects, so if you're looking for someone to bring your project to life, please feel free to contact me.
I am fully set up on my beloved Imac, using the latest Adobe CC products . Indesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Microsoft products.
The Printroom Group
Along side being the senior designer my role was managing the busy, fast paced design studio. Ensuring the day-to-day processing of jobs flowing smoothly between sales, clients and designers. I promoted a positive team atmosphere and a can-do attitude in all the designers. A happy team is a creative team which encourages open communication. My focus was achieving our clients goals by listening to what they want, reading between the lines and using a mix of past experiences, empathy and compassion to create an end product the client loved.
AA Publishing
Layout design and typography from cover to cover on launch titles. Updating the design and technical elements to create a fresh, modern look on older outdated titles. Creating files for Co-Publishers using spot colour black / fifth colour plate. Converting books from Quark to Indesign. Creating style sheets, master pages and libraries to ensure ease of use for editors and future designers. Managing project work flows and freelancers. Taking creative briefs from initial concept through to production within set deadlines (however tight)
Faversham House Group
Senior Magazine designer for four monthly B2B titles. Creating new design, updating out dated design, creating supplements and artwork for exhibitions.
Highbury Safika Media
Magazine designer on a number of titles.
Portfolio
