The story so far
Our story begins in the Summer of 2020. The pandemic has turned the world upside down, and I have just graduated with a degree in illustration. There is one question whizzing around inside my head: what the f*ck am I going to do now?
There is a good answer to this question. I will launch my own creative studio called Headless Greg, which will lead to me working on all kinds of exciting projects and meeting lots of lovely people. But I don’t know that yet.
My freelance career gets off to the best start possible under such unusual circumstances. I don’t get a degree show or a graduation but I do get a First Class Degree in Illustration (which arrives unceremoniously in the post) from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee. I am chosen as One To Watch by both D&AD and the Association of Illustrators, win a YCN Student Award and am shortlisted for a World Illustration Award.
I already have experience as a designer (I previously studied Graphic Design at Glasgow Clyde College) and as a writer (while at college, I started documenting my experiences as an art student and sharing my passion for all things illustration). This puts me in a good position to launch a business which offers a broad range of creative services. Being able to craft both articles and images turns out to be quite an unusual combination and allows me to take on a broad range of projects. My skills feed one another, and my three portfolios - illustration, design and journalism - grow bigger, better and bolder.
Highlights from the next few years include (but are not limited to) appearing on the Creative Boom Podcast to discuss happiness with host Katy Cowan; collaborating with Agency of None as the character designer for Dundee Design Festival; self-publishing Wilson Strange to raise money for the Scottish Association for Mental Health; and having my work recognised by the World Illustration Awards for a second time.
Alongside all of this, I join the (small but mighty) team at Make Bank, a social project which fights creative poverty in UK schools by providing disadvantaged pupils with free art materials and resources. After three wonderful years as Editor, I say a fond farewell to Make Bank, and I join the team at Agents for Change, an assembly of illustration agencies working together to diversify their industry, where I spend a further two years working as Community Lead.
Working on these socially driven creative projects is rewarding and educational in equal measure. Connecting with so many creative changemakers teaches me so much about championing diversity and improving diversity. It inspires me to join their mission, pushing to make the creative industries - and wider world - a fairer place.
This newfound focus shifts my approach as a journalist. I am now interested not only in the things which people make but the people who make them, and the topics which matter most to them. I want to use my way with words to delve into socially-conscious subjects, as well as more personal topics I have experience with. As a queer man with a strange brain, I am particularly interested in opening up important conversations about topics such as mental health and LGBTQ+ issues.
“As a queer man with a strange brain, I am particularly interested in opening up important conversations about topics such as mental health and LGBTQ+ issues.”
In the Autumn of 2023, Headless Greg (and real-life Greg) relocates from my hometown of Glasgow to the criminally underrated city of Birmingham. By this point, when asked what I do, I have started answering: I run a creative studio called Headless Greg, which houses all of my work as an illustrator, designer and journalist. Headless Greg has gone from a vague dream to a fully-realised creative alter-ego and business I am super proud of.
In the Winter of 2024, I launch Headless Friends, a digital magazine inspired by insightful conversations with good friends. The online journal explores the intersections of the three subjects I am most passionate about - creativity, mental health and queer culture - and embodies the ethos behind my creative studio.
At the time of writing, I am approaching the five-year anniversary of when I started my business - Headless Greg’s fifth Birthday! Along the way, there have been high-highs and low-lows, and countless rebrands. The objective of Headless Greg, however, is the same today as it was when I first started: to fill the world with as many pleasing shapes and uplifting words as humanly possible.