Matthew Eley BA(Hons), MISDT, MCSD

“No matter how big or small the brief, I have always started the creative process with a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. You’re searching for a way to engage with your audience. That can be a single word, sentence, phrase or drawing – you’re looking for the hook, a way into people’s mind set. Only when you’ve grabbed somebody’s attention, can you really begin to communicate your message.

As you begin to fill the sheet of paper with your ideas, you are truly in the purest creative zone. Sometimes writing a single word can steer you in a completely different creative direction, which allows you to develop fresh and unexpected solutions. Although the process can be chaotic and random, the moment you scribble an idea that solves the brief – you know it. A few lines, a word or two – just enough to prompt your mind’s eye to see what it can be when nurtured to its full potential.

In the days or weeks that follow this, despite the process still being creative, the excitement and immediacy of these initial ideas is never repeated. All of the development work that follows, colour palettes, typefaces, formats, timings, reviews and roll-outs are essentially the measured execution of the initial spark. That’s what this work is about, letting the ‘sparks’ take centre stage in their unvarnished form.

These paintings aim to capture those truly raw creative moments, seemingly random but all somehow linked to something bigger. Most of the ideas on that initial page will mean nothing and go no further, but some speak to you - they resonate. It’s like hearing your name or birthdate used in a song, film or written in a book. Or hearing your name in a room among dozens of chattering voices. They break into your subconscious, they’re a smile in the mind, just for you.”

Matt studied at UWE where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in graphic design. Having had his work appear in Creative Review and won a Proctor & Stevenson Design Award, Matt was recruited from his degree show in 1994 by the Pentland Group where he began his professional design career. He joined the then fledgling design team, working on some of the largest sports and leisure brands (Speedo, Ellesse, Lacoste, Berghaus, Kickers, Red or Dead, Mitre) in the world. During his tenure at the Pentland Group he was elected to the Chartered Society of Designers (www.csd.org.uk) at the age of only 23.

After three years with the Pentland Group Matt left to pursue a freelancing career before co-founding 313y Limited (www.313ylimited.co.uk) in the late nineties. In his first year at 313y Limited he was elected to the International Society of Typographic Designers (www.istd.org.uk). As creative director of 313y Limited for over two decades, Matt has delivered creative and engaging solutions to a wide cross-section of corporate clients, (T-Mobile, Bupa, Santander, Direct Line Group, easyJet, Balfour Beatty, TFL, NHS, Bank of America, RBS, NatWest, ITV) helping them solve sometimes complex problems in results driven creative wrappers, across a wide range of media platforms. Matt continues to enjoy his role as Creative Director at 313y Limited.