The Team
Soo Smart
Double S Design has been in operation since 2002 and has built up a diverse range of clients ranging from Blue-chip to youth market to individuals.
Soo has over 25 years in creative design, has managed the in-house design studio at Guardian Insurance (GRE) before the AXA takeover and set up Double S Design in 2002. Soo has a reputation for creating original design themes for websites and printed materials. She has previously worked on contracts for Willis, AXA, Ipswich Buses and Suffolk County Council including Suffolk Connexions working on projects involving young people, working directly with young people and getting them involved in the design process.
Brand Design:
Soo has experience in creating brands from the ground up and developing established brands, including the Vetstream and Berridges Jewellers online and in print. She created the new brand for Eastern Savings and Loans and more recently worked on new product branding. Soo has devised many brands for local small businesses often tailoring the budget to suit the expectations of smaller enterprises. She is equally used to working for larger companies and organisations such as AXA Insurance’s Exhibition design and concept for Airmic exhibition.
Public Sector work:
Suffolk Connexions – Suite of educational documents and information leaflets
Suffolk County Council – Rising High Suffolk – website for work placements for graduates, interns and work experience; Local Hero Campaign pack for teachers in Mildenhall area; and P4I a growing learning resource for young people and their parents and carers.
Fun Stuff
Soo enjoys the occasional life drawing sessions with Nicki, she firmly believes that continuing to develop perception and drawing skills is a bonus for any designer. In addition, Soo has taken up running to compliment Yoga and is a regular at Ipswich Park Run. And if you think this is not enough, she can be seen singing in the Singing Safari performances that take part twice a year. We are all told that exercising the brain as well as the body helps keep you fit and young, and being interested in many things is good for a rich life. Do come and join her!
Employment History
Senior Designer at GRE Creative Services from 1988 and later managing the design studio for Williams Lea, GRE office and Willis in-house studio.
Freelance work in Ipswich and London for a variety of design studios including Marriott Howard and Fish in London.
Health Media in Ipswich and London as Senior Web designer and project manager from 2001 – 2002.
Teaching and learning:
Teaching Web Design, Image Manipulation and Animation at Colchester Institute from 2003 – 2012 part time.
Gained a high level Diploma in Graphic Design with Illustration at Suffolk College (equivalent to HND) on leaving 6th form at Sudbury Upper School.
Continuous improvement in SEO, web technologies, design trends and skills. WordPress Theme Creation, PHP and CSS, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign.
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Nicki Porter
Nicki is working at Double S Design providing high quality, polished graphic design on a freelance basis. She gained a degree in Graphic Design at Suffolk College and in addition works freelance for a variety of other businesses in Suffolk, from fashion to window cleaning – variety is the spice of life! Nicki has a love of greyhounds and enjoys making 3D greyhound art dolls that reflect the personality and markings of your pet. She also enjoys life drawing and explores many other art and craft subjects.
Associates
Alex Redgrave
Alex initially created the Red Lodge Business Directory in old style html, it was created to help the residents of Red Lodge. But the Directory soon outgrew the capabilities of a static website and needed to have more modern methods applied. Alex has been working with Soo on a swish new Directory website that is continuing to grow and branch out to the rest of Suffolk. Businesses can put their listings on the site completely for free, and if they want to have more visibility there is a provision for two grades of advertising – for more information check it out here:- Suffolk Business Directory.
Sabina Lewis
Sabina worked at Double S Design for four and a half years between 2013 and September 2017. She is now pursuing a new avenue in digital art and we wish her every success.
iMarketing
We work closely with SEO specialists at iMarketing who we are one of the longest established SEO agencies in the region. They guarantee to achieve an agreed number of top ten rankings in Google organic search – a target they have always exceeded. iMarketing build on the solid grounding that Double S Design gives to its customers’ websites whether you are a small or medium sized business.