Graphics – Andrew Fice

A passion for typography and street art inspired Andrew Fice to study graphic design. Currently working for Parker Williams Design, he still finds ways of taking something from the art form that makes him creative. ‘I love the freedom of scale and different style of graffiti and the random places you find such work,’ says Fice, who has dabbled in street art himself. ‘You can’t beat the freedom you get from painting a wall and experimenting with different paint and techniques.’

Taking inspiration from graffiti letterforms, Fice frequently creates his own type and sometimes incorporates that into his design work. On a redesign of Waitrose’s olives and antipasti range, he worked closely with the illustrator to create a type horizon conveying the details of the product’s ingredients. For the redesign of the Royal brand of chutneys and pickles, Fice’s idea, which included an Indian-style pattern illustration, made it from sketch to the final piece.

His approach to the design process is producing marker visuals and sketches of a design route before visualising it on the computer. ‘This allows me to develop and push an idea more freely and not feel constrained in any way,’ he explains. ‘I then work from these rough visuals through the development stages and watch the design progress and develop to something that will hopefully go through to print.’

Despite his love of the freeform of street art and a hand-drawn aesthetic, Fice sees himself very much as a perfectionist. ‘I like things to be spot on and crafted to a high standard,’ he says.

Working at Parker Williams, with a steady stream of big-brand clients, suits Fice, who finds some of them to be exciting and daring when choosing initial design routes. He also relishes the possibility of communicating with larger target audiences and being part of the consultancy’s team. ‘Although the design is what I do, it takes a great team and the combination of strategic thinking and project management to deliver for the client,’ he says. ‘I really love being part of this team.’

CV highlights
2006 BA Graphic Communications
University of Wales Institute
2006-2007 Junior designer The Brand Union
2007 to present Junior, then middleweight, designer Parker Williams Design

‘In addition to being talented, Andrew Fice demonstrates a great work ethic, giving 100 per cent and always welcoming feedback. He’s a creative thinker who understands the need for the “big idea”, but also cares about detail.

Andrew came to us from a foundation course at Bridgwater College Somerset, and from the start possessed significant levels of creative energy, maturity and social awareness well beyond the profile of most design undergraduates. He is open, experimental, curious, unusual and lively.

He was an inspiration and is a positive influence on those he worked with.’
Olwen Moseley Director of Enterprise Cardiff School of Art and Design

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