conscious men that tapped into an escalating interest in design and technology. It was Wallpaper meets Stuff but ultimately never came to market due to a sudden upheaval in the company’s fortunes.
Editor-in-Chief, Digital Life magazine; Future Publishing
While still in charge of Create, Future asked me to come up with the concept and dummy for the proposed launch of a consumer homes magazine called Digital Life. Addressing an upmarket audience, the title was set up to be a read for style-
Career history, 2000-2001
Editor-in-Chief, Create magazine; Future Publishing
May 2000- September 2001
I launched Create as an original concept. A high-end design magazine targeting Web creatives, it was highly respected from launch and picked up many awards, scooping accolades including PPA Business Editor of Year 2001, PPA Design of the Year 2001, Total Publishing Art Editor of the Year 2000, Total Publishing Mag of the Year 2000, BSME Business Editor of the Year 2001 (Highly Commended).
Every issue of Create was treated as a big event. Cover treatments, features and interviews were designed to get at the heart of big issues and controversies in the industry. By building strong links with Web designers and innovators in the US and Europe, I was able to arrange round-table discussions and seminars on a monthly basis, quickly putting Create at the beating heart of its industry. Working with my Web editor, I planned the website that ran alongside the magazine, coming up with imaginative ways to keep Web designers returning to the site and building a community online that could feed back into the print magazine. Thanks to highly-focused editions of Create, I was able to keep the website fresh and relevant. One such special issue gave me the opportunity to arrange a cross-promotion with Macromedia US and after a visit to their San Francisco offices we agreed a slot on their site that drove new US traffic to our own.
While editing Create I also oversaw a relaunch of Mac Format, bringing the title up-to-date and refreshing its base of freelancers. In addition, I was also heavily involved in a relaunch of What DVD magazine, a film reviews title, and worked closely with its recently-promoted editor to train him up and revitalise his mag.
