About
Q&A
Peter or Pete?
Pete
Day job?
Designer and creative director specialising in brand identity, visual identity, creative communication and website user interfaces. Examples of my commercial design work can be viewed here.
Career highlights?
→ Rebranded the Bank of England
→ Captained the team that created three FIFA World cup emblems
→ Modernised the Hawk jet for BAE Systems
→ Gave the ECB three lions more bite
Birthplace?
Liverpool
Red or Blue?
Peach
Superpower?
Engaging presenter who can read the room ~ even on a zoom call.
First job?
Paperboy at my mum and dad’s shop.
Claim to fame?
Beat Coldplay in a battle of the bands.
What three words?
Art. Design. Music.
Desert island discs?
ABBA → Eagle
Booker T & The MGs → Time Is Tight
Depeche Mode → Enjoy The Silence
Elvis Presley → Polk Salad Annie (Live)
John Lennon → Serve Yourself
New Order → Blue Monday
Talking Heads → This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
The Stone Roses → I Am The Resurrection
Book: The Mighty Book of Boosh by Dave Brown
Luxury item: Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar
Vices?
Golf and guitars.
Favourite type of cheese?
Grated
Creative side hustle?
themickey.com
Dog or cat person?
Cat. We have two ~ Johnny (Cash) and Dolly (Parton). I love dogs also ~ we grew up with Alsatians, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Yorkshire Terriers, and a one eyed Pekingese rescue who was a vicious bast*rd.
Best received wisdom?
→ People don’t value what they don’t pay for
→ It’s easier to criticise than to create
→ The world is not f*cked up, people are
Favourite imparted wisdom?
→ Drinking in moderation is the killer of all good nights out
→ Embarrassment kills creativity
→ What’s left is right
More Scouse words to the wise here…
What business advice would you give yourself at the start of your career?
→ Stick with it, ride the highs and the lows
→ Don’t take people at their word, get important stuff agreed in writing
→ Keep a diary
Where have you worked?
Most recently I’ve worked client side for Kooth plc and the Bank of England. Agency side I’ve worked with and for CAS (Commercial Advertising Services), Dragon Rouge, Fathom, Interbrand, Make Complex Simple, Saatchi & Saatchi, Seven Brands, Siegel+Gale, Signal Communications, Thoburns, Thumb Design Partnership, TILT, and Whitestone International (co-founder).
Recent work?
Been busy working directly with company owners and stakeholders:
→ Rebrand for Pebl
→ Brand refresh, annual report, and website UI for Kooth plc
→ Centenary emblem and book for Mitcham Golf Club
→ Brand refresh and website UI for a global management software (SaaS) provider
Mantra?
→ Work hard
→ Stay humble
→ Never stop learning
Peter McCabe
Design & creative direction