A LITTLE HISTORY

I am a communication designer based in Hastings, East Sussex, UK. I have been working in communication design since 1993 starting off with an early version of Serif PagePlus and a humble PC. I worked on simple projects for our family business – Patrick Roper Associates – producing leaflets for local organisations, newsletters and business cards, all the while learning as much as I could about graphic design. I knew I loved this stuff but I had to ask the question: was I any good at it?

In 1994 I joined the Internet revolution with my 14.4Kbps modem and was instantly hooked. I designed my first site soon after for the Greenwich Festival (the site is, unfortunately, long gone). Suddenly I had found an outlet for my twin passions of design and technology. This is where it's at, I thought to myself.

In 1998 I decided something more was needed – I felt I wasn't learning or achieving as much as I should be; I felt like I'd been standing still for the past four years, even though I had learnt a great deal. I decided on taking formal education. University courses at the time didn't quite fit what what I needed and this troubled me. Fortunately, at the time, I had just finished reading a book by Raymond Pirouz. Through this book I found his company website and in turn made a discovery that changed (and is still changing) my life.

ENTER R35 EDU

R35edu is a pioneering, distance learning environment founded by Raymond Pirouz. It comprises of a powerful curriculum dedicated to teaching communication design, advertising, marketing and business skills. This was perfect! I signed up and became the first full-time “virtual” student there.

As time rolled on my studies continued, as did my experience with commercial projects through working at Patrick Roper Associates. My ability – both technically and creatively – increased in leaps and bounds. At R35edu, a selection of students were invited to start work on commercial projects under the wing of R35, thus gaining us valuable experience working on commercial projects in a team environment.

SO WHAT NOW?

On May 1 2002 I started my very own business as an independent designer. In the spirit of clear communication and doing exactly what it says on the tin, I named my business Charles Roper Communication Design. Things are going well and I'm working on several projects and also trying to build my client base. I prefer freelance work as this gives me the freedom to work on various projects and with many different people.

I've also taken on a more official role at R35 as a class supervisor and hope to take my own classes soon.

Watch this space for further developments.