Thank you to everyone who has supported me during the birth of Supergrizzly. It’s been a long time coming, but in the end, or rather at the beginning, Sam and I did a lot in a short space of time; but not without a lot of help and encouragement for which we are very grateful.

Once preparations were made, and hands shaken, all that was left to do was the name and look of my own company. There then commenced 7 days (I gave myself 3 initially) of self-branding hell.

I had already had ages to think about it. I had no client, an open brief and Sam had said that within reason he would agree to whatever I thought was right. So for once, I had total creative freedom. But nothing I put to paper or screen felt like a bull’s-eye, and time was really running out.  I lost a few nights of sleep over it, and when I looked in the morning at ideas that I had thought could be close, I couldn’t convince myself that any were right.  In some kind of cruel irony, I was turning out to be my own nightmare client.

So I cleared my head by watching some Mad Men and some 24 on my iphone on the way to the Tate Modern.  I thought Don Draper and Jack Bauer might provide just the right blend of creative thinking and ruthless pursuit of truth.

When I got there, The Tate was still the Tate, my head was still like a fickle hummingbird in a giant field blooming with every flower in the world, and luckily, the gallery’s bookshop was still excellent.  I bought a couple of books including “Art Direction Explained, At Last!” by Steven Heller + Veronique Vienne, in which I found, not the answer, but something that made me feel much better and able to relax just enough to be able think clearly. I was not alone.

“Hearing the phrase “do anything you want!” is thrilling, but the thrill can be tinged with terror. When presented with an empty space to fill, with few or no guidelines, it can mean sleepless nights and hours spent staring at a blank sheet of paper while my stomach tightens into another knot with each tick of the deadline clock…. When I art direct myself, I have to resist rushing off in all directions. It’s really just about narrowing the choices down until the thing finally starts to come out into the light …” (Ross MacDonald)