The Lord Clifden is a hugely popular pub, restaurant and music venue located in the Jewellery Quarter in central Birmingham. Urban Art Bars were a central figure in Birmingham's cultural nightlife landscape, and their jewels in the crown were The Lord Clifden and Red Lion. Both were eventually taken over by the Laine Pub Company in 2019. Famed for their unique aesthetic that married traditional English pubs with street art, the company's venues were a creative outlet for me as a designer for the best part of a decade.
During the early stages of my design career I came to work with Urban Art Bars via my involvement with music events hosted at The Lord Clifden. I ended up as their creative lead for ten years, responsible for all visual output in both the digital and print space. My work with them was a stepping stone to a number of additional projects and client relationships.
Art Direction
Print Design
Digital Design
In many ways The Lord Clifden was the testing ground for much of my design work in the early years, and the company was keen for me to explore as many creative avenues as possible under their banner. Initially working on a campaign to campaign basis, much of the early work I completed for the venue was disparate and inconsistent in nature. As the brand developed though, so did I, and UAB quickly became an ordered, recognisable identity with clear codes and conventions.
In more recent times my work with the company spread to their additional Midlands venues, and other establishments in the area approached me, keen to give them the 'UAB treatment'. I feel fortunate to have had such a vibrant and accommodating playground early on in my career to hone my craft and grow into the designer I have become today.
