Overview
A complete book design service, for covers, text, and publicity. With over 30 years experience in the industry, I can guide writers and editorial staff through the complete design process, which is always fun. I am a highly skilled typographer and have designed many complex titles that include The British National Formulary and over 83 Oxford Dictionaries. I also have considerable experience of fine art books, especially photography and have worked with the Magnum photographer David Goldblatt. Picture research and illustration commissioning are part of the service.
I have designed books that have sold millions, as well as limited editions of one. I have a lot of expertise in reference books that are thousands of pages long and have even designed custom typefaces when needed. My knowledge of printing and pre-press has saved many of my client's thousands of pounds.
Once your book is designed, I can help find a printer. For a really unforgettable experience, I can arrange for authors to see their book being printed by some of the worlds greatest printers including Graphicom SrL in Verona. I am a passionate reader and love books.
Services
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Languages
Work experience
Self-employed
I offer a complete book design service, for covers, text, and publicity. With over 30 years experience in the industry, I can guide writers and editorial staff through the complete design process, which is always fun. I am a highly skilled typographer, and have designed many complex titles that include The British National Formulary and over 50 Oxford Dictionaries. I also have considerable experience of fine art books, and have worked with world class pre-press and printers including Graphicom SrL in Verona and Bookworks in London. I am a passionate reader and love books.
Goodfellow & Egan, Cambridge
Ran in-house design department of one of the UKs most respected book typesetters, specialisation in academic and educational publishing. Duties included designing concepts and presenting these to clients, and managing an experienced team of typesetters and repro specialists. Broad range of clients included; Cambridge University Press, Longman, Macmillan, Nelson, Penguin, and Cardozo Kindersley
Motivate Publishing
Designer at commercial publisher in Dubai UAE. Duties included design of trade books, magazines, and advertorials, including the guide to Dubai GITEX (the biggest computer trade fair in the Gulf). I also worked with the arabic typesetting team to ensure the quality of arabic content.
Oxford University Press
My career started in the ELT department at Oxford University Press in 1989, where disciplined traditional typography and an eye for detail were essential. I worked on the OUP Grammar and Usage series, including the design of Practical English Usage by Michael Swan. My interest in typography also meant I became involved with Dictionary design.
In 1994 I moved to Oxford University Press Southern Africa in Cape Town, on an exciting list of post–Apartheid books. Several of these books became award winning; A Country Unmasked, by Alex Borraine, This is my world by Susan Imrie Ross, and Ways of Dying by Zake Mda. The latter book became a best seller and Zake Mda is now published internationally.
During this time, I helped OUPSA launch their dictionary series,which has been a great success, and now covers all the official languages of South Africa. I still work freelance for OUPSA, and this dictionary series continues to grow
Portfolio
Peter has 3 reviews
Professionalism
Quality
Value
Responsiveness
dan B.
Apr, 2023
chris P.
Mar, 2023
Gideon R.
Aug, 2022