Jim Northover
I’m Jim Northover.
This is my online presence, for people to see what I’m up to and engage in a dialogue, if they wish. The blog aims to track my thoughts, reflections, writings and activities as they evolve or happen.
I’m also in business…
As co-founder and chairman of Lloyd Northover
As a designer and design thinker
As a writer and lecturer
As a business and brand consultant
Contact me: jim@jimnorthover.com
Biography
I studied design at Kingston and the LCP (now London College of Communication), where I have recently completed an MA in Design Writing Criticism. I combine writing, consulting and other activities with my role as non-executive Chairman of Lloyd Northover, the design and branding consultancy I co-founded with John Lloyd in 1975. John and I were student contemporaries, and before starting Lloyd Northover, I worked with some of the enduring names in the design business - Peters, Conran, Fitch - gaining experience in retail and corporate design work.
We started Lloyd Northover to pioneer new ways of looking at business through the medium of design. Our early clients included the English Tourist Board, as well as a number of arts organisations, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Whitechapel Gallery and the Arts Council.
Over the years Lloyd Northover grew to become one of the most influential design consultancies in the UK, concentrating on strategic and integrated approaches to corporate identity and the building of brands. By the 1980s our clients included Amtico, BAA, Barclays, BNFL, British Rail, BRS, BUPA, Courtaulds, John Lewis Partnership, Reuters, Rover Group and Sun Alliance. By the end of the decade we had been recognised with a New York Art Directors Club Gold Award and the Grand Prix of the Design Business Association's Design Effectiveness Awards.
The 1990s heralded a shift of emphasis to the international scene, beginning with the opening of an office in Hong Kong, in the first instance to design the identity for the new Airport Express and Lantau extensions to Hong Kong's metro network. Further transport and infrastructure related projects followed, and in 1995 an office in Singapore was opened to develop an identity for the new Land Transport Authority and subsequently a sign system for the country's integrated transport network. Our other Asian clients included China Light & Power, Millennium Hotels and Air Macau.
In 1997 we acquired the BassYager office in Los Angeles, taking over Saul Bass's impressive heritage, and we continued to work for Esso/Exxon, AT&T and other US based clients. Offices were also opened in San Francisco and New York. Back in the UK, the London office worked extensively with public sector clients and in education, becoming a leader in these fields. To date, Lloyd Northover has helped over 30 UK universities develop their brands and communications. Towards the turn of the century we were appointed brand consultants to the Millennium Commission and other public bodies including the British Council, Ordnance Survey, the Financial Services Authority and Network West Midlands.
In 2003 an office was opened in Dubai to serve the growing Middle East market. A key project was the development of an identity and sign system for the Dubai International Financial Centre. Further evidence of the consultancy's place-related branding expertise was the commission in 2007 to create a brand for the city of Belfast.
In 2009 Lloyd Northover was appointed for a third term as brand consultants to National Savings & Investments, the UK Government's retail savings provider.
Today my role continues as Chairman, with an increasing set of activities beyond the company, including writing, lecturing and business consultancy.
Advisory roles:
University of the Arts Research Unit for Information Environments
Brunel University Business School Brand Management programme
Memberships and affiliations:
Fellow Chartered Society of Designers
Fellow Royal Society of Arts
Fellow International Society of Typographic Designers
Member International Institute of Information Design
Member Designers and Art Directors Association
Member Sign Design Society
Exhibitions:
Lloyd Northover at the Design Centre; Design Council 1981
Lloyd Northover: Perception, Aspiration, Reality; Paperpoint Gallery 1989
Lloyd Northover: Partners in Design; London College of Communication 2005