hello, bonjour, hi, guten tag, hola, Hallå
Hello. I'm Stuart Tolley, a freelance art director and graphic designer specialising in print, editorial and typography led graphic design. My experience spans art direction, editorial design, creative leadership and strategy with an emphasis on clarity, concept, and craft.
Book Design
I craft illustrated 'coffee-table' books for creative studios, global publishers and arts, culture, lifestyle brands, including: Aston Martin ARAMCO Formula One Team, Uncommon Creative Studio, Thames & Hudson, The Maverick Group, Bloomsbury, Dorling Kindersley, The Smithsonian Institute, Telegraph Travel and Quarto Press. My portfolio spans a variety of subjects, having designed book titles about art, design, photography, screen-printing, travel, interior design, gardening, and the universe.
Magazine Art Direction
I have extensive experience working as an art director and graphic desifner with high-profile magazine publishers and lifestyle brands. My career includes full time roles as a designer at Sleazenation and Esquire UK, and as the art director of The Independent on Saturday Magazine. I have also directed the launch of publications for numerous brands and organisations, such as: Show Media (Schweppes, TagHeuer, French Connection), Fallen Vodka (Glenmorangie), Wella Professionals, Jazeera Airways (Ink Global) and Denison Yachting.
Editorial Consultant
With twenty years of experience in editorial development and design, I offer my expertise to arts, culture, and lifestyle brands, as well as brand design studios. I help these entities develop bespoke publications that foster lasting relationships with their audiences.
For more information and availability please email: stuarttolley@icloud.com
View my LinkedIn account for more information.
selected freelance
Editorial and graphic design for Make a Mark, the 200 page digital sustainability report highlighting community, charitable and environmental initiatives by the Aston Martin ARAMCO Formula One Team.
Editorial design and print management for a limited edition photography book created in partership with Xerox. The 250 page publication documents the culture of the Aston Martin ARAMCO Formula One Team while demonstrating the Xerox Iredesse print capabilities.
The Atlas of Fungi is a 224 page illustrated coffee-table book exploring the global fungi and mycelium networks.
Proof of Concept is a 200 page art catalogue documenting the ephemeral and activist art of Armando Rascón.
Zen and the Art of Record Collecting is a 192 page coffee-table book offering practical advise about starting and maintaining a vinyl record collection.
Quiet Drama is a 200 page coffee-table book documenting the interior design projects created by Detroit based Laker Studio LLC.
Graphic design and editorial strategy for a limited edition 'yearbook' designed to promote the launch of a Clash Royale (Clash of Clans) video game character, published by SuperCell.
Lazarus: The Second Coming of David Bowie, is the first biography that tells the full and candid story of what happened in second half of his career. Other book covers include Rate This Book and Your Money or Your Life by Marco Pirroni
Presentation design for Psyche, A History of Psychology and Greek Myths and Legends.
The World Atlas of Language is a fully illustrated 288 page coffee-table book exploring written, verbal and grammatical curiosities.
Author of the article History on Tap: An ode to the design legacy of traditional pubs published on the It's Nice That website and social channels
Online platform and book publisher exploring the cross section between art, design, music and culture.
The Atlas of Space is a 400 page illustrated coffee-table book that documents and maps the exploration of space.
Small Space Revolution, authored by television presenter and activist Tayshan Hayden Smith, is a gardening book that aims to transform urban spaces into green sanctuaries.
Hudson Willow are a brand design studio based in London, UK. They needed help to develop a coffee table book for an important architectural client.
Freelance book design for Europe by Train and Hello, South Korea which was selected for the American Illustration Winners online archive. Published by the DK Life division.
Frank is a luxury travel and maritime life magazine developed for Denison Yachting, a superyacht broker and builder based in Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Out of the Box, authored by Tom Buchanan, is a hardback coffee table art book documenting art that has evolved, been created within, or even escaped from a box.
Create original digital content to inspire and educate students studying the MA Graphic Design (online) course. Digital content created included exclusive interviews, lectures, podcast and webinars.
FUSE is a lifestyle and marketing brochure that offers readers an insight and market intelligence into the world of yachting.
Build+Become is an illustrated 'smart thinking' book series exploring contemporary topics such as technology, politics, philosophy and sociology.
Baxter & Bailey are a brand design and strategy studio based in Brighton, UK, who needed help to redesign an annual print magazine for Brighton University.
MIN: The New Simplicity in Graphic Design, authored by Stuart Tolley, is the first thorough look at this rebirth of simplicity in graphic design.
Malaria Consortium Learning Paper publications highlight the malaria prevention charity work in Africa and Asia.
Collector's Edition: Innovative Packaging and Graphics, authored by Stuart Tolley, is a hardback design book that celebrates the new wave of limited, deluxe, special edition graphic design created for the music, book and magazine industries.
Sign Language is a series of printed coffee table books that showcases the humorous public entries to the online column with the same name.
25th Anniversary photography book, published by international humanitarian agency Care International UK, showcases their international development projects.
Book cover design and original graphic illustration for numerous non-fiction titles about media, music, film, philosophy and culture.
J Magazine is the in-flight travel and lifestyle magazine published for Jazeera Airways, the low cost airline servicing the Middle East.
Disappear Here a playful and irreverent pop culture, music and fashion magazine. The launch issue cover, illustrated by Alex Trochut, appeared in Computer Arts '200 Best Moments in Design Ever' feature.
MovieScope is a quarterly film industry magazine created by filmmakers for filmmakers.
A Touch of Color is a stylish printed brand book created to promote the launch of Color Touch haircare developed by Wella Professionals.
Imperfection is a newspaper format magazine created to promote the launch of Fallen, the new vodka brand developed by Glenmorangie. The brand design and creative direction by Williams Murray Hamm was awarded New York Festival (Gold), D&AD (Wood Pencil, Packaging).