ValWoodhouse

"Hey Val, you're a good typist, fancy helping me out with some work?" With those fateful words from my friend in 1992 I stumbled into the wonderful world of freelance desk top publishing. The work was producing a monthly circular for a department of my local council and, within a couple of months, I had conquered the mysteries of Mac OS 6 and was in plenty of demand for not only the circular but also directories, application forms, flyers and all manner of other printed materials. The department I was working with recommended me to colleagues and all through the 1990s I had regular work just through word of mouth. When these sources eventually dried up, I took a couple of years out to do other work, with the sole intention of saving up to go back to college and get an up to date qualification. In 2006 I enrolled at Walsall College for a HND Graphic Design course. I discovered a new talent for illustration and I also enjoyed having the friendship and respect of my classmates, most of whom were half my age! So now I am here to offer you an excellent service as an illustrator and graphic designer with 16 years' experience of Adobe PhotoShop. I mostly work with Adobe Illustrator and I can do layout/desktop publishing projects in Adobe InDesign. I am also able to tackle writing projects as I have an impeccable standard of written English (UK native) and enjoy creative writing, both fiction and non-fiction. In my spare time I publish a blog about popular arts, design and media and I upload some of my own designs to be printed on T-shirts, mugs, badges and other gifts.