JimNorthover

Writing

I write for brands and for organisations, helping them to tell their stories and communicate clearly. I also write reviews, articles and opinion pieces, mainly on design, branding, art and visual culture.

Flights

August 8, 2024

A reflection on the long-distance flight of a bird, and that of man. This has recently been part of Rye Harbour Writers’ exhibit in Rye station.

50 years back, 50 years on: What makes brands endure?

August 8, 2024

This article was written as an insight piece for Industry Partners

Out of our heads: Is information design living in the real world?

November 14, 2023

We need balance in how we experience information, just as we do when we choose what we eat.

Brands beware: ethical minefields ahead

November 14, 2023

More than ever, brands worldwide are being held accountable, by customers, investors, employees and everyone. It’s a high bar, one that needs to be taken seriously.

Risk or caution: what’s best for brands?

November 14, 2023

When is it safe for brands to be radical? Here are some thoughts.

Lines of thought

December 31, 2020

Three reflections on a theme that’s preoccupied us in 2020. Looking close-in sometimes reveals previously unacknowledged depth and richness in our immediate surroundings.

Estuarial story

December 27, 2020

Working on the brand for Creative Estuary, we developed a core storyline that also provided the script for a launch video. Like all good stories it will develop over time. This is just the beginning.

Joining the dots

September 24, 2019

Writing for the Sussex Modern initiative was a challenge to shift the current narrative to a new place – reflecting the county’s creative spirit and focusing on new ways to experience its landscape, art and winemaking. The lead-in text for the campaign follows.

Writing a difference

August 8, 2019

Recent poetry workshops at Rye Harbour have led me to write in a different genre, mainly about place and wildlife. Three short pieces follow.

Marking out the City: Stories in Type

August 8, 2019

Article published in Typographic 71 relates how a series of screen print images evoke memories of places visited.

Too much information? Or not enough?

November 27, 2016

This article was written for the first edition of Industry magazine, reflecting on the essence of information design.

Learning to love Brutal

November 27, 2016

Reassessing our love hate relationship with Brutalism and all things concrete. Published in Industry magazine 1.

Asking the what-if? How designers gained the keys to the boardroom

November 27, 2016

Writing a personal take on design thinking and how it become an influence in the world’s largest and most innovative businesses.

Writing for Eye

June 2, 2016

Over the past five years I have been a regular, if modest, contributor to Eye magazine. Here are some links to the various articles, reviews and blog posts.

De La Warr Pavilion: brand interview

April 26, 2016

Interview with Clare Playne and Jim Northover featured in Grafik 8 December 2015 under the title Well Rounded

Transport adventures in Hong Kong: A designer’s diary 1993-1998

April 26, 2016

Part one: The Lantau and Airport Railway.

This article was written for The Beauty of Transport website.

Joseph Cornell: Magpie Man

August 18, 2015

This exhibition review I wrote for Grafik appeared online earlier this month.

Ordinary by design

April 15, 2015

This commentary I wrote was published this week by Design Week under the title ‘Is there ever a case for ordinary branding?’

The brand lessons universities can learn from supermarkets

February 3, 2015

Thought piece for Industry Branding website

Ivan Chermayeff

September 14, 2014

The editor of Grafik, Caroline Roberts, recently asked me to choose my design ‘hero’. Here’s what I wrote on Ivan Chermayeff, whose recent e

Smart cities need design

January 27, 2014

This article I wrote for Design Week appeared on 16 January.

The next big thing in higher education

October 31, 2013

This article was published in Times Higher Education 31 October 2013 under the title International treasure

Rekindling the corporate memory

March 16, 2013

Many companies today are suffering from corporate amnesia, forgetting what made them successful at the outset. The failure to recognise…

How brands transform business

December 28, 2012

This is an extract from a talk delivered to MBA students at Brunel Business School earlier this month.

Universities: the case for branding

June 16, 2012

This article was published in The Times Higher Education World Rankings 2011-12, published 15 March 2012

Crashing and burning: a piece for Eye’s 20th year

September 18, 2011

This article appeared in Eye 80 under the heading 20 years of change: graphic design in past, present and future decades

Identity crisis in academia: What’s the next move for university brands?

December 20, 2010

Part of a presentation given at a Brunel University Business School seminar in London on 10 December 2010

First Edition: Divergent Voices

December 6, 2010

Introductory note in First Edition, a publication by graduating students of the London College of Communication MA programme in Design Writing Criticism 2010

Degrees of separation: 1968/2010

November 20, 2010

Completing a post-graduate degree in Design Writing Criticism has taken up most of the summer and beyond. 

Ed Ruscha: Fifty years of painting

January 13, 2010

Hayward Gallery 14 October-10 January Review published in Blueprint 285 December 2009

From consumer to citizen: the social future of branding

December 4, 2009

For years now, brands and branding have been associated with goods and services, mainly those we see, buy and use everyday. The world of marketing has focused on these because that’s where the big money lies, or has done.

Global cities, local places: the challenge of identity and information in urban environments

December 4, 2009

Keynote talk to introduce SIGN 09, a conference organised by the International Institute of Information Design and the Sign Design Society: Vienna 3-11 December 2009.

Eric Gill: bad man, better artist, good designer

October 23, 2009

Review of Eric Gill at the Royal Academy for FAD website

Wayside messages and markings

September 12, 2009

Abstract for paper delivered at Beyond the Margins symposium on experimental typography Clare College Cambridge 12 September 2009