“We named ourselves after a Velvet Underground song because we thought we
were edgy.”
Autobiography...
As a boy growing up in Essex, I loved reading. There was something about print that I found magical, whether it was comics and football magazines, George Orwell books, or my Dad's newspaper.
I was therefore hugely excited when my parents gave me a manual typewriter – a chunky old German thing. It was my gateway into publishing. I decided to create my own 'magazine' called The Alternative Voice.
I wrote the stories with friends, knocked them up on the typewriter and assembled a template. I then persuaded the school librarian to print 140 copies of each issue for me to sell in the playground every few weeks. It was really puerile stuff but I loved the process and knew there was only one career path I wanted to pursue. I wanted to be a writer.
After studying English Literature at the University of Aberdeen, I landed a trainee role with William Reed Business Media in London (Frazzle's Big Break). I also later gained a huge amount of experience at Michael Heseltine's Haymarket Media Group.
But in between the two companies, I spent a year as a newspaper reporter in Istanbul, working for an English daily called the Turkish Times. It was an extraordinary experience that included manoeuvres with the Turkish Army, hanging out of a helicopter to help a cameraman take aerial footage of the city and getting run over by a taxi on Christmas Day. I looked apprehensive in my press card pic with good reason, but I loved my time there.
I then become editorial director of Brass Tacks, one of the pioneers of customer magazine publishing, working for clients across our offices in London, Bristol and Edinburgh, and learning from my great boss Kim Conchie. By this point, I had moved back to Scotland (the country of my birth) and, together with the Edinburgh team, also launched Fitba, the short-lived but much-loved Scottish football magazine. Then in 2001, together with my friend (and Fitba designer) Alan Lennon, we launched a publishing and content agency in Edinburgh called White Light Media. We named the agency after a song by the Velvet Underground because we thought we were 'edgy'. However, as we began to win work with banks, utilities companies and the NHS, we rapidly distanced ourselves from any subversive associations.
This was still the era of print and we built a team of 12 writers and designers in our studio in Leith. Things got bumpy for a short while during the global banking crisis but we then developed a digital content model that led to projects with Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Life and Royal Bank of Scotland. Among many other clients, we also worked for Tesco, Channel 4, Maersk, Total, and numerous universities. We even launched our own magazine, Hot Rum Cow (see below), which, in 2015, was voted the world’s best drinks publication at the Spirited Awards in New Orleans.
So much happened and, one day, I should write about it. But, in 2019, I handed White Light on to my long-serving and talented design director Eric Campbell. This enabled me to focus on the two aspects of my career that I enjoy most: working directly with clients, and writing great content.
I’ve worked with many wonderful people and interesting brands since then, combining that with my role as Editor-in-Chief of IQ magazine (see below) – and I'm always interested in discussing new projects. I live in rural East Lothian, with my wife, daughter, and Head of Security, Angus the Terrier. And when I’m not tip-tip-tapping away in my little office, I love cooking, music and long walks.
Left: An early award win, collected with White Light co-founder Alan Lennon and Jill Spink from the EICC; the old White Light office in Leith.
Below: Hot Rum Cow (designed by Eric Campbell); a PPA Festival 'edition' of NME 2007; IQ; and head of security, Angus.
© 2024 Fraser Allen Communications / DESIGN: lennondesign.co.uk