We are the modest individuals whose unique talents and diverse experiences are Forum.
Like our clients, some of us have been with Forum for years, contributing to the depth of our collective knowledge, and as we’ve grown, every new recruit has given us a fresh perspective and renewed inspiration. When you appoint Forum, we draw on this successful combination of wisdom and innovation to inform our work for you.
meet bob | meet amanda | meet chris | meet jacqui | meet marianne | meet paul | meet rich | meet pam | meet sue | meet david | meet andy | meet yogi |
tea or coffee? tea, brewed properly please
Composed, authoritative head honcho, Robert (Bob) Goodacre, joined Forum as a junior designer in the seventies, when even the Forum office resembled 'Life on Mars'.
Bob's passion for his craft, and quiet conviction that the simplest idea is often the best, saw him progress through the creative ranks, delivering successful campaigns for a wide range of retail clients, house builders, estate agents and car dealerships along the way.
At the helm since 1988, Bob still believes that good work speaks for itself, so don’t expect to hear much grandiose speechifying about the strategy or philosophy which always underpins our work. Bob lead’s Forum’s culture of refreshingly honest, straightforward communication, so you’ll always know what we’re talking about.
Bob cheerfully admits to technophobia, and is happy to defer to the passion of colleagues for embracing, and delivering results in, new technologies. Outside Forum (when?) his pursuits tend toward the reflective and, if he ever actually retires, Bob might just return to fine art and pick up his paintbrush again.
tea or coffee? Costa coffee every time
A media authority with special knowledge of outdoor, Amanda has put her keen (some might say cut-throat) negotiating skills to work for hundreds of clients including LA Fitness, Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool John Lennon Airport. She has also contributed to the success of public sector campaigns including Smoking Cessation, 5-A-Day and Sexual Health.
Amanda's got a personal obsession with pushing the boundaries of traditional media, and discovering uses for new media, which will help you to squeeze the last drop of value from any budget. A covert people watcher and a consummate good listener, you'll know you’ve got a robust campaign when Amanda has run out of questions!
When no client question remains unasked, Amanda can be found indulging her inner adrenalin junkie, striving for inner peace or building a shoe collection to rival Carrie Bradshaw.
tea or coffee? green tea
Chris has always worked in advertising, starting out as a graphic designer before combining his passion with his work and moving into photography.
When he's on shoot, Chris often attracts the attention of the police or security guards, though he hasn't revealed whether it is the intriguing quality of his work or his determination to go where no other photographer has gone before which generates this interest.
Chris is our very own Jeremy Clarkson / Bob Geldof mashup: he likes life in the motorsports fast lane with the volume turned up to eleven on his lead guitar, professes a dislike for most politicians, but is a rebel with a charitable cause, often giving up his spare time to help others.
tea or coffee? cappuccino with an amaretti biscuit or two please ... mmmm
While still at college, Jacqui launched her own agency and began pitching big name local businesses for work, so when she joined Forum more than twenty years ago, we knew she was a creative with a commercial outlook.
And, as well as understanding your objectives, Jacqui's commitment to learning means she's never stopped building on the skills and knowledge she can share with Forum clients.
Jacqui's creative talents have found some unexpected outlets too: you might once have walked around wearing one (well actually two) of her creations: while at Burlington International, she designed a pair of shoes which went into production.
In her spare time Jacqui would prefer to muck out horses than fill-up at the petrol station though this doesn't stop her enjoying scooter rallies.
tea or coffee? tea, earl grey, vanilla (ooh)
Marianne qualified in packaging design and worked in the commercial design industry with some very glamorous names Maybelline New York, MaxFactor, Jemma Kidd, Chanel and Ghost, before joining Forum.
Marianne really is mad about packaging graphic design and you'll know her designs are backed by sound rationale because she puts her heart and soul into research (often mistaken for shopping).
When she's not obsessing about all things packaging, Marianne loves celebrity gossip and Facebook (gossip central) and reading, especially Dan Brown and Harry Potter.
So, if you want the lowdown on JLo, or need to have opinion on the latest bestseller without reading it yourself, ask Marianne. In return, Marianne will happily accept anything from Radley, or, if you're on a more restricted budget, a packet of Fruitellas!
tea or coffee? proper coffee or a nice glass of red
With a career in advertising and new brand development spanning more than 30 years, Paul has worked with some of the biggest brands around including Cadbury, Rolex, Aston Martin, IDV (Smirnoff), BAT (Benson & Hedges) and Asda.
Paul's meticulous attention to detail means that Forum clients know that he’s a stickler for precision and for delivering work of the very highest standard; he hates a botched job of any kind, even his coffee has to be proper.
All of which might make Paul sound a bit formidable but when he’s not trying to create a perfect world, he’s happy to admit that he never acts his age and, gets really excited about anything that floats, flies or moves fast on land or water.
And if you want a recommendation for an obscure ethnic restaurant to impress your friends, Paul’s your man.
tea or coffee? tea-quila!
From concept to completion, Rich is the brand and design guardian for all of your campaigns. Joining an advertising agency straight from university, Rich cut his creative teeth on a range of arts, financial services and leisure accounts before (post) graduating to Forum.
Renowned for his ability to see an argument from every perspective, and agree with all of them, Rich is particularly well suited to agency life: reconciling the conflicting needs and priorities of campaign stakeholders, pulling team members together and balancing creative innovation with budgetary constraints.
A virtuoso piano player and one-time band member, Rich owns numerous keyboards and guitars all acquired at a discount using his charm and a negotiating philosophy of "if you don’t ask, you don’t get … and if you don’t get, ask again" (Please note that this approach does not work with Pam).
tea or coffee? tea or Pimms if the sun’s shining
With Forum since 1996, (April 29th to be precise and she remembers these things), Pam is our organiser and keeps everything and everyone running smoothly. So clients get accurate invoices, we all get paid every month, there’s always enough toner, and she takes care of all of the other little things that no one notices unless they don’t happen.
Faced with a challenge, Pam’s tenacity knows no bounds, this woman will not be beaten. And, while she dreams of retiring to the Cornish seaside, Pam assures us that she actually loves working with numbers, which is such a relief for the rest of us that we’re hiding her lottery tickets so she can’t win an early retirement.
tea or coffee? tea, not too milky, not too strong, with one sugar ... perfect
Sue joined Forum as senior designer in 1993 and has spent the majority of her career in design for the retail sector. She has in-depth knowledge of the creative and practical requirements of the retail market, as well as specialist expertise in packaging design.
Whatever obstacles are thrown in her way, Sue remains doggedly determined to see projects through to completion, she’s a practical girl who likes to get things done and at home is the proud owner (and accomplished user) of her own powertools.
Whatever the pressures, Sue exudes a calming air of serenity which is in sharp contrast to the competitive streak Sue discovered when she ran her first half marathon. She's also a keen cyclist who loves racing downhill very, very fast: eat dust slow coaches!
tea or coffee? hard choice, whatever you’re making
A real believer in the maxim that "no idea is a bad idea", when David presents concepts, what you might not see is the off-the-wall starting point for the innovative, pitch-winning creative that is the end result of his design process.
David keeps the office amused with his quirky sense of humour and random facts and oddities from around the web world, culled from his daily search for new ideas and the latest online developments.
Outside of Forum, David’s taken web design and screen printing courses, assisted with wedding photography, designed gift bags and loves making stuff, most recently a wall – just because he hadn’t tried it before. The wall’s still standing but his experiments in aerial photography from a kite need a bit of refinement.
Oh, and he’s no poker face, so you’ll never have to wonder what he’s thinking.
tea or coffee? tea, out of a Nescafe mug
Methodical and thorough, Andy delivers the artwork for most of our biggest accounts and prides himself on getting every job done on time, in budget and with only one proof. He loves taking on a fresh challenge and, over the years, Andy has added a range of skills, including 3D drawing, to his repertoire of services.
Andy is a little obsessed with Bear Gryll’s Born Survivor programme and is most likely to have seen the latest action film and played the latest computer game, relieving the rest of us from any obligations in these areas.
Honest, helpful and enthusiastic, Andy is always ready to answer your questions and really only needs a nice cup of tea and a slice of cheesecake to keep him happy.
tea or coffee? tea
Yogi worked for a London creative agency on travel industry accounts including P&O Scotland and Stena Sealink before joining Forum in 1999.
In a past role as a part time lecturer on De Montfort University’s design faculty, Yogi has put his graphic design training and MA in design management to good use, nurturing the next generation of creatives.
Now, when he’s not designing for Forum clients, Yogi loves all the shiny, noisy aeroplanes at airshows, space travel and heavy duty engineering and loathes the dumbing down of science programmes. If rocket science isn’t your thing, you could always ask Yogi about evolutionary biology, or Tudor history, or maybe get him really excited on the subject of men who spend too much time on their hair.
