Life and times - John Spencer
Award-winning creative director and graphic designer
Waving the flag for instinct and imagination

Author of Time Flies When You're Having Fun, an A to Z of idiosyncratic letters Coming soon, my new book There’s no bullsh*t like design bullsh*t. Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Member of the International Society of Typographic Designers

Offthetopofmyhead - http://offthetopofmyhead.co.uk/
We’re creatively led but all our work is underpinned by a sound understanding of business strategy. We work in a more flexible, responsive way than conventional, studio-based agencies. Offthetopofmyhead is a collaboration between the most talented and experienced people around and brings together the best team of specialists for each job. We work together remotely using the latest technology so we don’t have high overheads and offer better value. Importantly, our virtual agency model is allowing our clients to work safely with us during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Career
Offthetopofmyhead
Founder and creative director
2012-present

Birmingham City University
External examiner
2014-2016

Spencer du Bois
Founder and creative director 
2002-2012

Spencer Landor
Founder and creative director
1990-2002 

CleaverLandor
Creative partner
1987-1990

Allied International Designers
Head of design
1976-1987


Clients
Mindboggling technologists, philanthropic financiers, lionhearted managers, adventurous capitalists, go-getting campaigners, visionary policymakers, ingenious manufacturers, risk-taking trailblazers


Work
Names include… 
Alcohol Change UK for the merger of Alcohol Concern and Alcohol Research UK; Rethink, formerly National Schizophrenia Fellowship; Shape the Future, a campaign for The Royal Academy of Engineering; Showhow, formerly London Arts Training Consortium; Tribal Voice, a project by Survival International; and UEFA People, a campaign by European football's governing body 

Logos and graphic identities include… 
English Shakespeare Company, King Edward VII’s Hospital, Lloyd's Register, MS Society, Royal College of Nursing, Sadler's Wells, Survival International, The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, The National Archives and The Royal Academy of Engineering

Campaigns include… 
Assume Nothing for Terrence Higgins Trust, Held to Ransom for International Planned parenthood Federation, Enough Said for World Society for the Protection of Animals, Putting the Pieces Together for MS Society and Stop the Con for Survival International.

Support the show

Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting