LET'S TALK...
ABOUT ALI
Definitely not the lead singer of a Liverpudlian reggae band and definitely not a life coach…
The Graphic Designer
I like Ideas. I like Creativity. I like Good People. I offer graphic design for web and print; copywriting; branding; social media and good old fashioned ideas, however, I don’t like Nice. I like Splendid; I like Magnificent; I like Gorgeous. Pretty is good. Stunning is better. Brands should be better than nice, nice is mediocre. Let’s go way beyond nice.
With a career spanning more than 25 years, I have gathered a huge amount of experience across many media channels. I understand the internet and social media sphere inside out, working with multiple retail brands through to bespoke small businesses.
I have built up a wide network of friends and former colleagues across a range of industries, giving me access to some of the most talented people in the country in including leisure, media, photography, film, PR, copy- writing, design and internet, meaning that I offer a very personal service with extensive professional experience to back it up.
The right end product comes through good communication. Through developing good working relationships, I understand that different clients work in different ways. In order to best understand and satisfy a client’s needs, I believe it is essential to be flexible. I believe it is essential to be prepared to go the extra mile (sometimes even a few extra miles) to make a project run smoothly.
You can see a selection of my favourite projects in my portfolio.
GRAPHIC...
BY DESIGN
BIKES...
STAY FREE
The Bike Mechanic
I’ve always been a bike enthusiast, but never really understood how they work. I was very nervous about maintenance and as a result, my favourite bike ended up in a right old state, so I decided to do something about it.
Back in 2015, I took the Velotech training courses – industry standard accredited awards and turned my enthusiasm into a business.
In 2017, I fitted out and refurbished an old studio building and opened Campbell Bike Workshop, part maintenance space, part bicycle lifestyle boutique. Combining my love of bikes with my graphic design skills to produce a range of graphic tee shirts, wall prints and lifestyle accessories. In-house designs are complemented by a mix of other products, including magazines, stickers and books.
The Other Stuff
Back in the day, I used to play records to entertain people, starting out in the students’ union in Galashiels, completely by accident… you can read more about it here. I got a few regular gigs in Glasgow and then got offered a midweek residency at the legendary Volcano nightclub in Glasgow (you know, the one from Trainspotting). Not feeling confident enough to do it on my own, I hooked up with another Galashiels union DJ, Martin Henderson, a.ka. Mash. From there, Jengaheads was born and became a bit of a thing. We put on great club nights; played some incredible gigs, on the same bill as loads of well known and downright famous folk; met a load of great people (and some absolute knob heads); and played and danced in some of the strangest places. If I’m being absolutely honest, what we achieved over the years far outweighed any kind of expectation. From playing the length of the country, to forays into Europe, for example gigs in Slovenia and playing the sunset set at Cafe Mambo in Ibiza, this was all a bit of an accident. It was just two guys having a laugh and taking whatever came along with it.
Something that came out of the blue was the chance to do a radio show on Beat 106 when it launched in 1999. So, after a nervous start we made it our own, mixing our music with stupid chat. Fun times.
Subsequently I was given the weekend breakfast slot, starting at 6 with a chill out mix, bringing listeners into daytime playlist. When the station changed to Xfm Scotland, I was given a Sunday afternoon show ‘The Sunday Joint’, where I had the opportunity to add my own features, including ‘Things To Do Before You Die’, where I orchestrated various challenges, including being waxed, getting a tattoo, running 10ks, having our researcher being a ‘butler in the buff’ and sending McSleazy off for a flying lesson.
Since then, I have been a frequent contributor on Radio Scotland and if pushed, I might even tell you about the time a bunch of us, dressed in Santa suits, sang support vocals for Travis to a packed out audience in Glasgow’s Hydro.
Oh, and do you know what? Somewhere in amongst all of this I qualified as a primary school teacher. Yes, really.
