I've put my CV below, but in case you want to know me a little better - hello! I'm Fran. That's me in the middle, optimistically wearing sunglasses, halfway up a mountain in the Scottish summer. I'm a 40 year old British-Irish woman. My dad was Irish and my mum was from Yorkshire, where I grew up. I've got one husband and three daughters.
In July 2025, we moved to the beautiful to Haute-Savoie region of France to be closer to our family. I love hiking and cycling and skiing and sunsets and cups of tea and dungarees and sleeping and cheese and French grammar and Pink Floyd and hedgehogs. I love diversity, equality and inclusion.
And I love my work.
I love beautiful fonts, consistent branding and a great colour palette. I love clean alignment, white space, gorgeous photography and clear messaging. I love impact.
I love the stories.
I've always loved telling stories, which was why I spent my teenage years working in theatre, then trained as a broadcast journalist and spent the first few years of my career working in TV and radio production.
It was when I began working at Cambridge University in 2013 that I became driven to tell stories about the biggest issues we face, like climate change - and I've been doing that ever since. I now use a wide range of tools to tell those stories - principally graphic design for print and online, and interactive and video production. I feel lucky to have been able to use my skills for such an important cause for the last 12 years.
Climate change research doesn't often need a huge digital screen sparkly advert in an international train station - but I had the joy of spending a year designing for the Leeds Playhouse and I had such a great time designing in a much wider range of formats.
For me, each piece of work is standalone, as well as connecting to a wider story or brand or communications purpose. I take pride in delivering consistently beautiful designs that move people to take action, whether that's writing to their political leaders about climate policy, funding a non-profit organisation, or buying a ticket to a new all-female production of Hamlet.
I love building relationships with amazing people. The people I collaborate with are driven by a need to make the world a better, fairer, and safer place. That's what drives me too. They often have difficult time and budget constraints. Most of them are scientists, academics from other disciplines, innovators or communicators.
I get to know my clients, so that I really understand their goals and motivations, and so I can learn what moves their audience. I've been an in-house designer in a scientific setting for 12 years, thus my freelance work is about recreating that close working relationship so my clients feel like they too have an in-house designer.
So whether you're a company wanting to market, a non-profit aiming to maximise impact, a startup looking to raise funds, a research group trying to reach a specialised audience, or an NGO or IGO with an important story to tell - get in touch. I'd love to hear from you.
Key Skills and Proficiencies
Design & Creative Tools:
Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere)
Microsoft Office Suite
Web Design & Development:
Content Management Systems (CMS): Drupal, WordPress
HTML/CSS (basic knowledge)
Communication & Writing:
Science, Environment and Climate Communication
Copywriting and Editing
Data Visualization
Video Production (filming, editing, and post-production)
Project Management:
Briefing and Leading Creative Teams
Asset Creation and Management
Brand Creation and Management
Languages:
English (Native)
French (B2)
Professional Experience
July 2018 - present
Senior Graphic Designer and Multimedia Producer | Freelance – various clients
Multimedia advertising design including billboards, programmes, online advertising, brochures, and social media.
Brand design for various projects, creating logos and visual identities, brand guidelines, and multimedia assets.
Briefed and managed external creatives, including designers and filmmakers, ensuring alignment with project goals and quality.
Clients include Leeds Playhouse, Reclinker, and other non-profit organizations
September 2013 – March 2025
University of Cambridge | Graphic Designer and Multimedia Specialist
Led graphic design for a high-profile climate research programme, with a strong focus on data storytelling and layout for stakeholder engagement.
Designed and produced over 20 high-impact publications and reports for policy and public audiences, including the most-downloaded report in University of Cambridge history—cited in UK Parliament.
Created compelling data visualizations and infographics to translate complex scientific research into accessible, engaging visuals for web, print, and social media.
Led branding for multiple climate initiatives, including development of brand guidelines and oversight of consistent visual identity across platforms and outputs.
Designed materials, including brochures, flyers, reports, and digital content, ensuring design consistency across translations.
Developed and managed content for websites (Drupal and WordPress), improving visibility and user engagement with research outputs.
Delivered in-house training on branding, publication standards, and accessible design to support internal capacity and visual consistency.
Presented design concepts to internal and external stakeholders, aligning creative outputs with strategic communications goals.
Served as Creative Director for major outreach initiatives, including the 88 Pianists STEM project and ICTP2017 international conference.
Earlier Experience
Communications and Office Manager | Fever Media | 2010-2011
Production Secretary | Pozzitive Television | 2009-2010
Stage Manager | The 100 Comedy Club | 2009
Comedy Department Coordinator | BBC | 2009
Production Coordinator | RDF Television | 2007-2009