It all started back in 2005, i had been “playing” with Photoshop for a few months and was pretty confident with what i could do. I had a friend that ran a pub/nightclub in Teesside and he was telling me he needed some new flyers done for a particular night, i decided to chip in and tell him i would have a go. He agreed, after all, it wouldn’t cost him anything (well the design at least). As soon as i got home i decided to have a crack at this flyer he wanted as i was so eager to get it done, after a couple of days of messing about and tweaking the design here and there, i e-mailed it over to him. He loved it (if only i still had a copy of it) and sent it straight off to the printers to get done. The following week i went to his pub and the flyers had been delivered. They looked even better than i remembered. Maybe it was the 300gsm glossy card that made them look more professional? Who knows? I think all designers remember their first design that ever went to print, that first ever hard copy of your work. 5000 glossy little postcards, all compiled by you and ready to be seen by people from all over the area. What a feeling. To be honest, i still get a little sense of achievement when i see something i have done, do all designers? or is it just me?

I continued to do flyers, posters and other print material for my mate, all for free of course (apart from the payments in alcohol) as i was trying to build a portfolio. I still had the same feeling of excitement when i saw the different flyers printed (they were changed on a monthly basis). Each flyer i did carried my e-mail address and it wasn’t long before the e-mails started coming in from various people, Some asking for quotes, others asking for more information about the pub they were for and even the odd little bit of abuse. The e-mails i was getting asking for quotes soon turned into work and the amount of work i was getting was really testing my Photoshop skills. I had my ups & downs, from working with one of the biggest drinks vendors in the UK to getting stitched off a print shop in Manchester (D21Mediaworks – avoid at all costs) and a Nightclub Promoter from Liverpool. Despite that, here i am five years later (That’s me below, the goon in the dodgy hat!) and my design work is still going strong. A lot of my work comes from recommendations by people i have done work for but last year (after 2 years of thinking it) i finally decided i needed a website to be able to showcase my work. This is JamieCollinsDesign v3 – a fully interactive blog platform, split between my blog and my portfolio.

The portfolio side of my site will be kept strictly for showcasing my work, however, the blog side of things will be the most interesting (or boring, whatever floats your boat) part. It will give me chance to share my thoughts, share some good photoshop techniques, point you in the direction of the design features/tutorials and even allow me to have the odd rant now and again. I hope you enjoy my website, i will try to make it as humourous as possible because lets face it, its the only way i shall keep you interested in what i have to say. I hope you enjoy my website.

Jamie