27.04.21

Meet the Members: Ross Norman

Now that we’re back at Gather Round, we’ve been able to have our first ‘Meet the Members’ interview of 2021 in person – how exciting!

Meet Resi member Ross Norman, a freelance designer working between the UK and New York. He’s been awarded 3 D&AD New Blood Pencils, A REBRAND 2020 Distinction & has had work featured on It’s Nice That, Stack Magazine, Intern Mag, Lectures In Progress & Vice/Munchies.

Ross Norman

Above and beyond being a talented designer who wins awards and works with great clients, he’s also one of our trendiest members. He’s raised the bar when it comes to GR fashion which is a good thing as we all need to step away from our lockdown leisurewear! We’ve loved having him join our community and enjoy checking out what he’s working on, and what he’s wearing now we’re back at GR.

This week we chatted about the challenge of working across timezones, Coventry City Football Club and Ross’s side project, Peep publication.

Ross Norman

Tell us what you do and what an average workday looks like?

I specialise in graphic design, working primarily in branding. An average day for me normally consists
of coffee making, concepting, visual explorations, tackling projects that get thrown in my direction, and pretending to look like I know what I’m doing… I kid.

You work with clients between UK & NY, how do you manage your time working across different time zones? 

Working with agencies and clients from across the other side of the pond works in my favour at times. The 5-hour time difference essentially means I’m working in the future, so I can get a good headstart on things by the time they wake up.

Ross Norman

What kit/tools can you not live without?

A coffee, a pastry, some headphones, and the holy grail — a laptop.

What are you listening to/watching at the moment?

Watched and highly recommend:
— The Trial of the Chicago 7
— Dark
— The Great Pottery Throwdown

I’m guilty of listening to the same playlists over & over. Jazz, Disco, Grime, Jungle, lil’ bit of classical – depends on what I’m feeling on the day but it’s normally a real mix.

Make it make sense.

What excites you most about the creative process?

Hands down the ideation and concepting. Coming up with ideas on how to tell stories, execute visuals, making a brand resonate with its strategy. A great piece of advice which I keep with me when creating is ‘Make it make sense.’

Ross Norman

Anything you’re working on at the moment that’s exciting you?

On the side, I co-run a publication called Peep, which is dedicated to shining a light on creative side projects and the people behind them. We recently launched Issue 3 at the very end of 2020 and have since moved into a digital world, launching Peep as an online website. We’ve got some big things coming up this year — watch this space!

www.peep-publication.com

Ross Norman Desk Details

What’s your favourite colour?

Even though you’ll only ever see me wearing mostly black and white, my favourite colour has and always will be Sky Blue. (Big Coventry City Fan)

Ross Norman

Why did you choose Gather Round?

I was on the hunt for a desk space and GR felt the most down to earth. It has a lovely creative community, plenty of plants and Aldi across the road, which fuels my pastry addiction.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Ross. If you’re interested in having a look at Ross’ work and perhaps working together, check out his website. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to get the lowdown on our other members and what they’re up to.