I joined Kennedy & Donkin (now Parsons Brinckerhoff) in May 1997 with 4 years previous design and print industry experience. Since then, my role has been to provide graphic design expertise to support the marketing communications objectives of the company.
I was responsible for producing marketing support material, including brochures, exhibition displays, bid/tender covers, posters, calendars, holiday cards, artwork for corporate gifts, mailers, newsletters and other internal notices. This included taking the initial brief, through to design, proofing and liaising with printers regarding the finished product.
In addition, I designed and prepared advertisements, PowerPoint presentations, company profiles and capability documents.
I played a major part in the organisation of the annual Europe Middle East & North Africa (EuMENA) Projects of the Year awards, including designing all support materials from initial announcements and reminders, through to event invitations, yearbook, certificates and display. The Projects Yearbook is a showcase for the best of the EuMENA region’s projects. It is intended to demonstrate the breadth and quality of work, both to staff and clients. It is made available to all staff in the region, to guests at the awards ceremony and in office receptions. In 2011, I was awarded the PB STAR Award for outstanding effort and contribution made to the event.
Throughout the EuMENA region, I helped the Business Development Coordinators with software issues and advice regarding correct logo usage, appropriate images and layout. I also ensured that they adhered to corporate guidelines, which I believe to be a very important part of both external and internal marketing.
During the integration of Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) and Balfour Beatty Management, new colleagues, including graphic designers, joined the marketing team in various locations around the UK. I helped them integrate and adopt PB’s graphic standards.

I regularly worked with outside vendors including photographers, digital and litho printers, exhibition builders, image libraries and in-house experts such as CAD designers and architects. My role was to instruct them as to my requirements, giving them parameters within which to work, the formats I required and guidance regarding the firm’s brand guidelines.
Industry exhibitions also required managing printers to produce the display and brochures/handouts; merchandise companies to supply branded corporate gifts; and couriers to get everything where in needs to be and on time.
All of this needed to be carried out within the strict guidelines of the PB corporate brand and needed to be monitored for consistency and style.

As one of only a small number of corporate graphic designers in the EuMENA region, it was among my responsibilities to ensure that PB was always portrayed as a professional coherant company. With this in mind, I had a leading role to develop and produce the corporate guidelines for our region. Guidance and advice was included on everything brand-related, from typefaces to templates, logos to letterhead, colours to capability statements, and so on. I advised business development coordinators regarding correct logo usage, layout, colours and other style related isues, in order to maintain consistency within the brand.
I believe that corporate brand guidelines are a very important part of both external and internal marketing. It gives us the tools to communicate the brand – in both message and design – in everything we do. As such, I always led by example, and ensured to the best of my ability that others did the same.
I was an active committee member of PB’s international Practice Area Network (PAN) and a member of the Global Career Development Committee (CDC). My role on the CDC was to help in the production and development of a professional recognition programme. I was also the Team Leader of the Review Panel for the graphic design certification, which assessed all submissions prior to being passed to the Board in the US for final approval. I, myself, gained the highest award of Principal Technical Associate.
I also mentored other designers from the Middle East and UK, guiding them towards Technical Associate and Senior Technical Associate certification.
I am a member of the Chartered Society of Designers. The quality of my application and interview has led to them to ask if I would be prepared to be part of their review panel.