26 and counting

I'm one of the founders of 26, an organisation set up in 2003 to up the profile of writing in business and beyond. We're called 26 because that's the number of letters in the alphabet - the DNA of language.

It's all been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. In the early days we hoped to attract 26 members. We now have over 300. We put on evening events, organise collaborative projects with like-minded partners, run a message board, and have had several books published (see below). But the best thing about 26 is there's a real sense of community - we've brought together not only writers, but publishers, clients, designers and even the odd accountant.

I've been keeping busy editing the monthly newsletter and developing the Elmwood-designed web site, www.26.org.uk.

Just keeping you postered

As part of the 2007 London Design Festival, ‘26 Posters’ set a challenge to twenty-six pairs of writers and designers. To create a six-word poster that somehow comments on or reflects its immediate location. That’s it. Simple, but devilishly tricky. Billboard posters and Street Talks (sponsored telephone boxes) appeared all over London, as well as Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

I was honoured to team up with my old friend, the prodigiously talented Jonathan Barnbrook, fresh from his one-man show at the Design Museum. We created a poster for Birmingham’s Gun Quarter, which in the 18th century claimed to be ‘the world’s foremost producer of guns’. Through a tension between words and image, ‘This smoking gun. Made in Birmingham’ intends to pose intriguing contradictions and questions.

You can see the rest of the posters on the 26 web site.