About Us | Jo Menhinick Design

A little bit of my work history…

After graduating from Kingston University, London with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design, I worked firstly for Scott Stern, part of the WPP Group headed by Sir Martin Sorrell. I worked on major brands such as Classic Malts Whiskey, Shell Oils, 7-Up, and spent many hours late into the night preparing visuals and presentations, art directing photo-shoots up and down the country. I learnt about below-the-line advertising, packaging for confectionery, point-of-sale promotion, and many other hands-on skills of a designer. I then moved on to head up the design team at Bell Design & Communications in the West End of London. At Bell I designed brochures for the financial services sector and central government departments. Working on major launches such as The National Curriculum for the Department of Education, initiatives for the National Health Service, the Department of Trade & Industry, the Department of the Environment etc. Seven years later I married, started a family and soon it was time to move out of London and rear my three lovely children. At this point I started my own business in Worcester, partly for reasons of flexibility but also because I knew I had wide experience and was ready to make this big career step.

Work/Life balance is always a juggle but I still love designing. Running a business is as much about the money side as it is about creativity and design . It took around ten years to learn about the money side of the business. Fortunately I met my business mentor Jenny Bracelin in 2006, she helped me tremendously and did in fact change my life for the better, for ever.

I also love to paint and sketch on holiday and sometimes teach others. I have taught at Worcester University as a visiting lecturer on their Graphic Design B.A. degree course. My summer art schools have always been great fun and there’s lots of artworks on walls to show for them.

I use Macs and PCs and the latest graphic design software, as well as traditional skills – brushes and pens.

I occasionally employ staff on a contract basis as most of the work is fast turn around. I know most of the Adobe Creative Suite inside out and I’m techy enough to solve most Mac and PC issues. I use specialist code writers for some types of web, WordPress experts for custom web work, writers and proof readers, photographers, illustrators, printers, sign manufacturers. So it’s busy and exciting all the time.

I only offer high quality, bespoke design.

Relocation to Cornwall during 2020 took longer than expected due to complex house moves, the pandemic etc. But now we are happily up and running all over Cornwall and still travelling to the Midlands regularly.

Estimates and Schedules

All work is carefully estimated, based on the requirement, time involved, and your budget. Estimated costs and schedules are agreed with you before we start work. We do not provide any work speculatively.

Design

All design, concepts and art direction is personally overseen by Jo Menhinick. Having studied at a top design school, I still call upon the creative skills learnt there on a daily basis. The process of creating new, effective ways of communicating remains essential criteria for successful design solutions – for any brief. Trained to listen, think and create, I will ‘spark off’ new ideas with you, making the journey from concept to solution an exciting and rewarding process.

Writing

I can provide copywriting and translation wherever needed. I regularly provide strap lines and headlines, and am happy to help you edit your own rough draft of text. I can also source writing for highly technical subject matter if required. I have experience and samples of work to verify writing capabilities. For specialist projects I have a bank of specialist writers; using the right person for the right job.

Marketing and Sales Advice

The solutions I create help market your product or service. I have around 120 clients on my books, so have insight into a diverse range of businesses and services, and how they’ve achieved success. I also have my own business advisers to help find my way. Graphic design is by nature a way of enhancing a product’s image and sales, so the way I approach a project naturally incorporates sound marketing principals.

Photography

I provide most photography and on location, only commissioning independent professional photographers when necessary. Occasionally I will use the wealth of photographic resource online, but prefer to create bespoke photographic imagery.

Illustration

I create a large amount of illustration in-house, and sometimes commission where needed. Most of my projects require some illustrative or image content whether it be conceptual or technical.

Proof Reading

All work is checked by us before publishing, but can accept no responsibility for errors. I will ensure all work is ‘signed off’ or instructed to ‘go to press’ by our customers before printing or publishing online.

Web Work

I will help you define your web requirements and help provide the website solution that best fits your needs. I build WordPress websites from the wide range of editable themes available. This open-source Content Management System , suits most of our new customers as can enable easy editing by the non-web savvy. I can also help access your existing website and make minor changes instantly, and help you move forward with your website. Although I build in search engine optimisation (SEO) into the way I build websites, I will refer you on to specialists in SEO should that be your requirement. I can also provide administration services once your site is up an running. I don’t provide shopping cart solutions or support, but can provide consultancy for you on the design side of things, and help liase with more specific web companies.

Print

I manage all projects through to finished print. I have a bank of reliable printers and provide some digital printing in house.

IT

I use www.haslamit.co.uk to sort out our IT, and highly recommend Darrel’s excellent service.

My Terms of Business

All invoices must be paid within 14 days unless agreed otherwise.
For BACS information JMD bank with HSBC. Please contact us if you require our bank account number and sort code in order to make payment.
My accountants are Duffy Regan in Worcester.