Alec (Fal) Carmichael
Senior Graphic Designer with 30+ years’ experience
fal@aleccarmichael.orgaleccarmichael.org
stuffbyfal.co.ukUK-based | Eligible to work in the UK
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Before we begin…I’ve tried to keep this as free of LinkedIn-style nonsense and pomposity as possible: no buzzwords, no corporate speak, no cringeworthy clichés. CVs and résumés are notorious for this utterly ridiculous way of speaking, and I’m sure you must be sick and tired of reading about people who are “universally known for calm and level-headed problem-solving, strong visual judgement, and dependable delivery” or who can “rapidly onboard with an existing team with minimal ramp-up” I mean, really. Nobody speaks like that…I’m the sort of person who’ll say “I changed a lightbulb” rather than “I successfully executed a facilities optimisation task improving workplace illumination and operational efficiency”
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What am I looking for?• Freelance & one-off projects.
• Part-time / retained roles.
• Short or medium-term support.
• Remote-first working.
Of course, if we find we instantly love each other and can’t imagine working with anyone else, I’d be open to a full-time position 🙂
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Salary/financial expectationsLet’s get this bit out of the way at the start. I’m of an age now where money isn’t at the top of my list. It’s important, yes, but it’s not the be-all and end-all. My mental health, happiness, well-being, blood pressure, anxiety levels, and work/home life balance are all far more important to me.
I’m open to discussion.
Maybe there’s a fantastic project out there somewhere that won’t ever take off simply – and sadly – due to budget constraints. But maybe it could if it were taken on by someone not solely motivated by money and profit; I like that idea a lot.
Of course, that’s not to say that I’ll work for nothing, but hopefully you get where I’m coming from.________________________________________
Core Skills & DisciplinesDesign & Creative
• Brand identity and logo design.
• Print and digital marketing collateral.
• Campaign and promotional design.
• Website and UI design.
• Pen and ink comic art.
• Weird, intelligent, odd, experienced, creative, fresh, humorous, and sometimes left-field approach to things.
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The Tools of the Trade• Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator.
• Adobe Animate, Dimension, After Effects, InDesign & Premiere Pro (working knowledge)
• WordPress (installation, design, builds, testing, maintenance)
• CSS (basic working knowledge)
• Xara Designer Pro.
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Professional• Professional, capable and reliable… but still with a sense of humour and the knowledge that the work I do doesn’t save lives and isn’t – in the grand scheme of things – worth losing any friends, sleep, hair or weight over.
• Long history of being able to talk with people, throw ideas around, find out what works…
• Proofreading, problem solving, ideas and quality control.
• Not a 9-to-5 person. I’m not governed by the clock. I work when I’m inspired and do other things when I’m not.
• Quite capable of working within a team, but am at the age now when rank, hierarchy and job title are meaningless. I also have no desire to climb any corporate ladders. I’ve been the Co-owner/Artistic Director, I’ve been the Senior Graphic Designer, I’ve been the Only Graphic Designer; I’ve headed teams of designers and I’ve worked on my own; I’ve done everything from top-level strategy down to three days of correcting the white balance on 2,000 photos of ties and cravats. Basically, if something needs doing it’ll get done, and it’ll be done to the best of my ability regardless of who’s asked me to do it or how lowly the task might seem.
• Most capable of working on my own. Remote working has always worked best for me and, judging by the things various people have said about my work, it’s the best thing for them too.
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Career SynopsisI spent 9 years at
a secret military establishment where
did a bunch of secret stuff before taking voluntary redundancy in 1996; I used a chunk of my redundancy money to help fund the creation of a web design agency which, by its end in 2001, employed over 30 staff. From the early 2000s onwards, I worked in several design roles for various agencies before deciding that remote freelance work suited me a lot better!
For the past decade-plus I’ve worked remotely, either as part of a team or on my own. The odd trip into the office can be worthwhile, fruitful and surprisingly bearable, given my intense dislike of driving and office politics, but I don’t think I could do it every day again!
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Professional ExperienceFreelance Graphic Designer — Stuff By Fal (Remote)Jun 2023 – Present
• All manner of print, digital, and WordPress designs for creative professionals, SMEs, and agencies.
• Long-term creative collaborator with musician Nick Harper, responsible for all his album artwork and associated materials since 2004, most recently 58 Fordwych Road, his 16th full-length album.
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UK Design Lead — Bark Like a Big Dog (Remote)2021 – Jun 2023
• Branding, marketing assets, print and web graphics, animation, and web projects.
• The WordPress “Go To” guy, but in a Kingdom of the Blind kind of way 🙂
• Worked fully remotely within an international team, delivering to tight deadlines.
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Freelance Graphic Designer — Stuff By Fal (Remote)2011 – 2021
• Delivered diverse web and print work for a diverse client base: Logos, WordPress sites, posters, advertising material, brochures, photo enhancement and manipulation, animation, basic video editing, marketing and social media imagery… all the usual suspects!
• Maintained long-term client relationships built on trust and consistency.
• Managed multiple projects simultaneously from start to finish.
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Senior Graphic Designer — Spiracle Dot Net / Hot Creative Media (Remote)2009 – 2011
• Sole creative lead responsible for all visual output.
• Delivered branding, brochures, websites, and rebrands for SME clients.
• Operated fully remotely, years before it became the norm.
• Resigned in 2011 (from my hospital bed, no less) and took the owner to court, as he owed me £14,500 in unpaid salary. I’m a loyal kind of bloke, but there is a limit!
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Senior Graphic Designer — Wowi Digital (Office-based)2007 – 2009
• Worked on corporate and consumer projects including branding, web, large-format advertising, and promotional materials.
• Clients included Dr Hadwen’s Trust, for which I designed a multitude of cartoon characters for a flash-based virtual march through the streets of Brussels. Amongst the many celebrity caricatures I created were ones for Moby, Ricky Gervais and Brian May. All of whom – I later heard – loved their cartoon personas greatly.
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Senior Graphic Designer — Gopher Systems Ltd (Office-based)2001 – 2007
• Produced design work for hundreds of web and print projects.
• Supported various external marketing and PR agencies through outsourced work.
• Contributed to the company’s growth from a small operation (the owner and myself) to an established agency of 8 people.
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Artistic Director — Shift F7 Design Ltd (Office-based)1996 – 2001
• Co-founded and helped grow a creative agency to 30+ employees.
• Artistic Director and one of five major shareholders.
• Led creative direction for corporate clients including The Financial Times, Swindon Borough Council, Intel, RAF Benevolent Fund, and Eagle Star International Life
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If I told you, I’d have to kill you(1987–1995)
Official Secrets Act, tho’…
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Education & Certifications• A-Levels: Geography, History — Marlborough St John’s Sixth Form.
• O-Levels: 8 subjects — Pewsey Vale School.
• Paediatric First Aid — Expired March 2026.
• Enhanced DBS — Update Service.
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Additional Information• Musician and founding member of a long-running covers band called Pants.
• Registered childminding assistant.
• Vegan.
• Owns “too many” guitars…apparently.
• I run an online shop called
Stuff By Fal, where I sell my own artwork through Teemill.
• Once met Donald Sutherland on Canada Day in Canada House whilst drinking a bottle of Molson in my “My name is Joe. I am Canadian” t-shirt, whereupon he bestowed Honorary Canadian Citizenship on me whilst giving me a slice of Canadian flag cake.
• Once annoyed Peter Sarstedt by playing a JJ Burnel-style bassline to “Where Do You Go To My Lovely?” during a jam session in his kitchen.
• Did I mention I’m vegan? No? I will 🙂
• Thanks for getting this far. Gissa job! 🙂
