The Herald

It is not every day that you are asked to keep a secret – we are more used to revealing them. And as a newspaper designer, creating a front page daily is something we bring together as a team, widely talked about, discussions on image choice and shape. However, there are occasions when the mission becomes top secret and on a need to know basis. After 20 years as a designer, imagine my excitement when a colleague brought in an image that we alone had and I had the licence to create what I wanted. That image was from street artist Banksy’s Cut & Run exhibition which was to open in Glasgow – and The Herald was getting the world exclusive.

Original, never seen before artwork was given to us with 24 hours to set up a few ideas and speak with their team. A rat and a scalpel in a no entry sign – what would we do with, what would readers expect us to do with it. The image spoke for itself and we had one shot at this. The decision was made – we would go as bold as possible displaying the new stencil artwork as the sole image for maximum impact. No other news elements apart from a small headline. We hit send to press on a Wednesday night and there was little sleep for me as I waited to find out how our readers and the global Banksy audience would react to the front page the following morning. This was just the beginning of the story. The edition was picked up on a global scale, making news outlets on every continent. Demand for what had become a souvenir Herald Banksy front page was huge. We prepared for an extra print run and we were not disappointed.

The front page was like gold dust on news stands and further selling in incredible numbers through our website. In The Herald’s 240th year to have been able to design a souvenir edition, which still being talked about as the ‘Banksy Herald’ months on is a career highlight and why every once in a while you’ve got to take a risk.... and I am glad we did.