Theo Smith is a British freelance graphic designer based in High Wycombe. He has over 10 years of experience in graphic design including earning a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design from Anglia Ruskin University and an MA in Graphic Design and Typography, also from Anglia Ruskin, with Merit. Prior to freelancing full time, he gained in-house experience at Costello Medical Consulting as their first in-house graphic designer.

1. Exark Designs
Curriculum Vitae
of Theo Smith

2. 2
Contact Details
Address: 141 Heath End Rd. Flackwell
Heath, Bucks, HP10 9ES
Phone: +44 (0) 1628 520 451
Mobile: +44 (0) 7982 513 531
Portfolio Website: Exarkdesigns.co.uk
E-mail: theo@exarkdesigns.co.uk
Personal Information
Full Name: Theodore James Smith
Nationality: British
Date of Birth: 20th
July 1990
Place of Birth: Windsor
Introduction Summary
0504 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
Furze Platt
GCSE
Blue Goose
Work Experience
Homebase
Customer Service
ESA
Live Brief
Section Design
Freelance
FHRA
Charity Design
Costello Medical
Graphic Designer
Furze Platt
AS Levels
AW College
ND
Anglia Ruskin
BA (Hons)
Anglia Ruskin
MA
Exark Designs
Freelance

3. 3
Development and Objective
My decision to take a ND in Graphic Design, rather than continue to A2, allowed
me to focus on my selected subject and gain an insight into essential, practical skills
and methods as well as specialised and relevant forms of media, such as silkscreen
printing, letterpress and FontLab.
The practical grounding achieved on this course, together with the large portfolio of
work I created, satisfied the requirements of the foundation course normally required
by A2 candidates, and gained acceptance on all my chosen degree courses.
My final choice of course was based on the availability of facilities and on a course
content catering for a wide range of production methods, with a leaning towards
typography and, most importantly, one that equipped its students with the real skills
needed for the industry.
I succeeded in my objective to secure employment in a graphic design role to raise
funds and gain experience to support my MA in Graphic Design and Typography
which I completed in 2014.
My long term goal is a career that leads to a strong creative influence in the
execution of projects and continues to enhance the skills needed to excel in the
professional environment.
Relevant Skills
Fluent in the use of Adobe InDesign and Illustrator with a good knowledge of
Photoshop, with experience in the use of Flash, Muse and Fontlab.
Proficient with most Microsoft Office applications including Word, PowerPoint Excel.
Interests and activities
Skiing is my favourite pastime, and despite a late start in life I have reached an
advanced level. In my final year of my BA at Anglia Ruskin I was Captain of the
Ski Snowboard Club and arranged the annual trip and many social and sporting
events. I qualified as a PADI Open Water Diver in Barbados, and plan to continue the
qualification to extend my skills and visit deeper, more technical dive sites.
Pro bono work for local village charity, the Residents’ Association, producing
advertising and marketing material for locally run events and fundraising efforts.
The success of these events helps bring the community together and benefits the
village as a whole.

4. 4
Professional Experience
Summary
Section Design
Information Graphics
Costello Medical
In-House Graphic Design
Graphic Design Work
3 Years
Other Work Experience
3 Years
Exark Designs
Freelance Design
Homebase
Part Time Retail Customer Services
Details
2014 – Present, Exark Designs, High Wycombe
Self Employed Freelance Design
Following the completion of my Masters degree I found it to be a suitable moment to end
my time with Costello Medical, after assisting with the recruitment of a new designer.
Primarily to find design work with a broader creative field, greater creative freedom
and more client content, all of which I see as important experience for my career, with a
secondary goal to seek full time employment.
Over the past year I have undertaken a wide range of design briefs for a broad range of
clients and charitable organizations in a solo freelance capacity, and while this did have
its limitations and challenges, it was ultimately very rewarding. The projects ranged from
basic print materials and small books, website design and branding work. This wider
range of work was a great opportunity to improve client interaction skills, learn more
about the software I use, refine and develop my design process, hone my quality control
methods and skills, and learn valuable administrative skill, among other benefits.

5. 5
2013 – 2014, Costello Medical Consulting, Cambridge
In-house Graphic Designer
The role began with myself being their first In house
designer, all previous work being outsourced to an
agency. During the initial stages of my employment
I worked with the company to bring all aspects of the
design work In-house, and under my responsibility (with
the exception of the website hosting). This included the
administrative side of the business, such as infrastructure
procurement, the growth of our service offering within
design and creative support areas, and providing an
advisory function to the company and colleagues.
As the role developed I took on responsibility for the
growth and refinement of the company brand, supporting
the acquisition of new designers and their integration
into the company. During this time the delivery of the
expanded service offering increased the volume of client
work and opened up new opportunities for the growing
design team, with a corresponding increase in project size
and scope.
Infographic
Exhibition
In-House Client
Digital
25%
Branding
15%
15%
10%
35%
Typographic
My responsibilities included:
Typographic
Template designs for MS office and Adobe
Creative Suite, and layout design for in
house and client print materials and
digital presentations
Branding
Development of the brand as a whole
and creation of a complete set of brand
guidelines, for use by staff members
in non-creative roles, approved and
implemented by the company
Information design
Creation of data visualisations from
scientific trials for use in presentations,
web and print materials
Web digital
The development of the company website
and its back office functions and hosting
infrastructure, and creation of static and
animated content for digital display.
Exhibition packaging
The creation and production of materials
and displays for client and in-house
congress presence and visual identity for
client hosted events

6. 6
2012 – 2013, Section Design, Ipswich
Freelance Designer
Several assignments of information graphic work for Which? Magazine, and a number
of overseas companies to a high level of finish.
2011 – 2012, FHRA, Flackwell Heath
Charitable Freelance Design
Work in support of local residents’ association to produce promotional and informative
materials for a range of diverse events for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. These
included a variety of formats from large scale banners, to tickets, fliers and maps.
All promotional materials, both digital and print based for the Anglia Ruskin
Ski and Snowboard Club, in conjunction with a fellow student.
2009, European Space Agency
Live Project Brief
Practical assignment as element of ND to develop a logo for use within ESA Literature
and web site for their ISO 9001 certification project literature.
2006 – 2009, Homebase, Loudwater (Part time)
Customer Service Representative
Part-time job at this nationwide DIY store for three years, moving from point of sale to
Service Desk, taught me the importance of being punctual, never having been late for
work, managing my time, commitment, customer relations and
improved my people skills.
October 2005, Blue Goose, Harrow-on-the Hill
Work Experience
The year 10–11 work placements offered by school were not relevant or interesting
so I applied to 15 design workshops until I got a positive response from design
consultancy firm Blue Goose. There I saw how the industry works, got a good idea of
what the designer’s role is within a company and also as a part of a team working on
a brief. Particularly enjoyable was being able to contribute to real projects by sourcing
copyrighted images for the designers to use.

7. 7
Education Qualifications
Summary
Furze Platt
5 AS Levels
Anglia Ruskin
2:1 BA(Hons)
Graphic Design Education
ND, BA(Hons) MA – 6 Years
General Education
GCSE AS Level – 3 Years
Anglia Ruskin
MA with Merit
Furze Platt
12 A–C GCSE
AW College
National Diploma
Details
2013–2014: Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
MA Graphic Design Typography degree, with Merit
Undertaken while continuing part-time employment as a Graphic Designer. This
intensive one year course, with tight deadlines, explored and investigated issues and
practices in graphic communication. The course culminated in an end of year show for
the School of Art, with promotions and publications designed and produced communally
by myself and other Graphic Design students. My primary contribution was designing the
Degree Show Book, containing details of my MA coursework and now publicly accessible
online at: http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ruskin/en/home/prospectus/pg/graphic_design_and_
typography.html
2009–2012: Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
BA Graphic Design degree, upper second with honours.
Coursework included a team based, live brief to produce a dedicated prospectus for the
Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge School of Art that led to its production as designed,
its publication and taking the design forward as a template for use in future years. In
addition I participated in two competition briefs.

8. 8
2007–2009: Amersham Wycombe College, Amersham, Buckinghamshire
National Diploma (3 Merit Profile) in Graphic Design
Election as course student representative in first year of ND, required me to put forward
ideas and suggestions on behalf of students for improvements to the course content and
college facilities.
2001–2007: Furze Platt Senior School, Maidenhead, Berkshire
12 GCSE A–C Grades including Maths, Statistics, English, ICT, Art Graphics
5 AS Levels in Product Design, Art, Maths, Biology and General Studies