The (talented) fuel behind our fire

Clifford is the original founding partner and owner of Firedog. As a nipper (in 1994), he completed his Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design securing distinctions. He subsequently developed his skill-set under a formal design apprenticeship with legendary German typographer, Gerhard Schwekendiek. Clifford enjoys spanning all aspects of the agency remit, both working with clients and also dabbling with the studio crayons. With a career spanning 15 years, Cliff has been responsible for re-branding multinationals and just about everything else that can possibly be placed under the creative umbrella. When he’s not drawing pictures, Cliff likes to kick back with his bass guitar and keyboard and bang out the odd deep techno anthem. Nowadays, with two young daughters at home, Cliff has finally given up his dancing shoes (to everyone’s relief) and is now concentrating on how to pay for the ponies.

Lee heads up our talented design team with a rich mix of experience spanning over twelve years in branding, literature, campaign development and interactive media. Lee likes to flex his creative muscle unleashing thought provoking design on a wide range of communication problems.
Since graduating from Falmouth College of Arts with a first class honours degree, he has worked with leading creative agencies such as Henrion, Ludlow and Schmidt, Interbrand and Corporate Edge. During his career he has worked with a diverse range of clients including: Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Care International, Crimestoppers, Deutsche Bank, Inland Revenue, Kew Gardens, Kidde, Mercedes Benz, Miele, NHS, and the Royal Albert Hall. Lee likes his ‘me’ time on the train from home, escaping the trials and tribulations of being a father of two, by routinely crushing villains on his PSP.

After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology with distinctions, and then a subsequent postgraduate degree in Brand Strategy, Natasha decided to leave sunny South Africa in 2007 to come to London. She started her career at Big Green Door gaining valuable experience in brand research and strategy working with clients such as Johnson & Johnson, Coutts Private Bank and PepsiCo. Since then, Natasha has expanded her horizons and been involved in design and digital communication projects, working on a range of different brands including Pfizer, British Land, Samsung, Getty Images and World Duty Free. Natasha strongly detests Jaffa cakes and is personally spear-heading a campaign to ensure that the evil chocolate and orange combination biscuit is removed from all supermarket shelves.

After leaving university with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and working as a freelance writer for local publications, Hannah joined what fellow journo students called ‘the dark side’ and moved to a more creative environment. Between then and joining Firedog in 2011, Hannah was at Skandia working on international financial branding and communications, and later moved to Ten Alps Creative where she focused on both print and digital communications for leisure clients PGL, Ramblers Worldwide Holidays, Royal Navy Museums and more.Hannah is our digital diva and believes in nothing less than being pixel perfect. Outside of work, Hannah has two main loves; cheese (Leicester Blue is her current fave) and music. She can be found anywhere from the seats of a glittering Dolly Parton gig to falling over in the mud at Glastonbury (both of which she did this year)!

Alan flew the Firedog London nest in 2007 and we’ve had trouble letting go ever since. He calls Christchurch home now but still routinely creates brilliant brand strategies and subsequent corporate identities for the Firedog HQ. Alan earned a Bachelor of Design from the Christchurch School of Art and Design (CPIT) and has project experience across a range of different sectors. Before joining Firedog he was employed as a senior identity and branding designer at Enterprise IG’s Dublin office. He has worked with a range of international clients including Ulster Bank, Hypo Real Estate Intl and the All Blacks rugby team. Alan’s other incarnations include musician and vintage robot fetishist.

Nadav is our integrated designer from sunny Tel Aviv. He came to the UK to study a masters degree in graphic design at LCC. Now that he resides in London, he enjoys the grey and rainy weather and finds the change very inspirational when designing. When Nadav isn’t taking inspiration from the rain and creating beautiful design work he enjoys playing the drums.

Samuel joined Firedog in April 2010 after studying Graphic Design and Web Development in London. Specialising in digital and print layout, he is classified as “an obsessive” when it comes to attention to detail in both areas. Samuel has become our digital wünderkid, working with PHP and HTML/CSS to design and build websites for our clients. Previously, Samuel was an Account Manager for a leading Sales House on Shaftesbury Avenue before the creative pull took hold. He’s also Firedog’s only fully qualified butcher and fishmonger, relevant – no, unique – yes.

Mauricio is a Brazilian graphic designer who landed in London with his graphic Design degree and 4 years background in advertising. He left the rodizios and sunshine to explore new horizons, connect with important designers and most importantly, to broaden his skills in illustration and typography. Mauricio loves the challenge of undertaking different kinds of projects and was recently involved in the direction and art direction of a music video clip. He used to play the drums, but has now turned his interest to the guitar. Mauricio is the studio’s resident Jimi Hendrix – a flamboyant party animal who’s a legend on his guitar. Only real difference is, Mauricio managed to make it past his 27th birthday.

Born and bred in London, Helena has also lived in Northern Ireland. She did her Foundation Year at Chelsea College of Art and graduated from Bristol UWE with a degree in Graphic Design. Helena has worked as a Studio Manager for major London design agencies including Lewis Moberly, Hat-trick and Hyperkit. She is currently working part-time towards her MA in Art Therapy at Roehampton University and is a counsellor at a primary school. Helena’s pet subjects (apart from Maud, her nervy cat) are London life; art, markets and restaurants that serve a proper roast.
Spare time finds her on a yoga mat perfecting the headstand and the crow! Guilty pleasure – 1950’s musicals!