17/05/2026
Don’t really get nostalgic about my design career or look back very often - but was recently doing some filming for Stornoway Historical Society and we had a flick through some old Nicolson Institute school annuals.
Person I was with mentioned the last one they did was for the 125th anniversary in 1998/99, the year I left school. Didn’t remember ever seeing it so was browsing when I clocked Apnghas Smith’s Ryan Giggs chalk drawing that I remember him spending weeks / months working on next to me the year prior… then I spotted my name next to it! 😂
Honestly, the memories came flooding back - what you see in the third slide is the first thing I ever did in Adobe Photoshop that sent me along this career path to where I am today.
I had no idea what I was going to do when I left school - got highers in maths, English etc but had no interest in them. Art was the only class I cared about, but wasn’t sure I wanted to be a traditional artist either.
Can still remember the precise moment Ian Brady stopped me leaving his class before lunch and showing me the photoshop box and said “you’re into computers, want to try this out”. Sat with him over lunch and loaded it up and within two minutes of playing around I knew that’s what I wanted to do.
Managed to get out to Aberdeen on a graphic design course on a clearings space after summer and never looked back!
Was quite bizarre coming across this very cheap looking billboard design for euro 2000 but put a smile on my face. So cheers Mr Brady, wherever you are! (Tried to track him down a few years ago but he’s off the grid, fair play to him 😄)
Sorry for the long read. Won’t happen again.
