Graphic Design by Sean Turtle

wgdr.co.uk – new beginnings

Turts — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 22:19:41 +0000

This site has served me well for quite a long time, but as my freelance work has taken off, I find myself at something of a crossroads. I have two main sections to my design company, one focuses on commercial products (such as websites, brochures, leaflets etc) and the other focuses on an industry that in itself is a niche business: wargaming.

I spent six years working for Games Workshop, and it undeniably opened a lot of doors for me in terms of attracting new clients. As such, it has now grown to the point where the two aspects of my freelance business don't really sit together particularly well. I decided that I had to split the two to further develop both, and so I've just launched phase one of the operation, my new site Wargaming Graphic Designer (or WGDR for short).

I'll soon commence work on phase two (very exciting!) but for now this site will continue to be hosted, but I'll eventually close it down and apply a redirect.

Why good design really makes a difference

Turts — Tue, 10 May 2011 09:45:33 +0000

It's a pet peeve of mine that the availability of illegal downloads of software like Photoshop has made the phrase "I know how to use Adobe CS" a coded-phrase for "graphic design is easy". The amount of times I've opened a psd file that someone has sent me (believing it's a perfectly acceptable print-ready file), only to find it has no bleed/wrong resolution/colour-mode (the possibilities are endless) are too numerous to mention. As a result, and as the market is flooded with poorly-laid out literature and packaging, so people's perception of the importance of good design has diminished.

Which is why this article on Creative Boom should be read by those who employ graphic designers as much as those who call themselves one. It highlights how good design can actually drive sales, and slap your brand right into view of a prospective customer. Give it a read.

Mantic Journal – Issue Two

Turts — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 09:00:34 +0000

I recently published images from the first issue of the Mantic Journal. Hot on the heels of that post comes the second issue. This one really started to expand and polish the look and feel of the magazine – by this point we'd really started to get a feel for how we wanted to portray the Mantic world. It also included a map that Guy and I had worked on to give avid readers a chance to flesh out the world in their minds.

As before, there are several images below.

The Mantic Journal – First Issue!

Turts — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:42:30 +0000

As regular readers will know, I spent just over six years working at Games Workshop. For almost half my time there, I worked on White Dwarf, the industry-leading magazine for tabletop gaming. During that time, I worked under three editors, Paul Sawyer, Andy Stewart and Guy Haley.

Guy recently contacted regarding a project he would soon begin work on for Mantic Games (a company that, coincidentally, I already produce packaging work for), and enquired whether I would be interested in working with him on the inaugural issue of their magazine. Naturally, I blurted out "I'd love to" – (who wouldn't want to work on a magazine from scratch?).

And so, The Mantic Journal came into being. I've attached some pics here. I'll be adding new images from each issue as we go. Hope you like...

One Nottingham Website

Turts — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 10:53:02 +0000

I showcased an identity branding project I'd worked on for a friend a while back, and mentioned that I'd also created the website design for the project – which at that point was still in the production phase.

The site has now launched (which is handy as I've been itching to show off the design here). The site is a portal for those living in the Nottingham area, and includes details on lots of things to do and see.

You can visit the One Nottingham website here.

If you’re looking for something to read…

Turts — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:12:53 +0000

My old editor on White Dwarf/collaborator on The Mantic Journal/former editor of Death Ray magazine/journalist (phew!) Guy Haley has recently launched his own website. Guy's been a wordsmith for a very long time, and is soon to be published as an author via Angry Robot. A very funny man, he's a person I learnt a lot from in the short time I worked under him (but don't tell him that). He's also launched a new website to allow him to cast his words even further afield. You can take a look at his writings here.

Free textures

Turts — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:54:38 +0000

Viv and I recently returned from Leominster (small town just outside of Hereford geography fans!) and we spent a lot of time walking around. Happened on a church near the Welsh border, and I took a few snaps. Turns out that a couple were handy for textures, so I thought I would share them.

Wood with shadows

Stone with paint stains

Stone wall

OneNottingham – Logo and branding

Turts — Thu, 20 May 2010 11:08:06 +0000

A good friend of mine (who has helped me out with web development projects on more than one occasion) recently asked me to create the identity for a personal project of his the OneNottingham website.

One Nottingham is a one-stop website for any news/information related to the city of Nottingham.

Craig asked me to create the initial logo, and then roll this out across a branding exercise for the OneNottingham website. Although the website is still in the production phase, I can show the logo now - and I have to say I'm very pleased with it.

Why design can't be billed by the hour

Turts — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:44:00 +0000

I Read a post today by Steve Zelle on his website, concerning why design is not something that is quantifiable to the extent that you can say designing Project X will take Y hours and therefore cost you Z.

He obviously makes his point far more eloquently than I could - give it a read.

Perry Miniatures – Dragoons

Turts — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:33:25 +0000

Hot on the heels of the last box for the Perry Miniatures box, the French Napoleonic Dragoons has just gone to press.