Audio recording of Caroline Brown (b. 1966)

Caroline Brown came to work at David Lock Associates in 1992 in their newly opened premises in Central Milton Keynes. She remembers the interview, first impressions and first jobs she did. She was the first graphic designer and talks about how the standards for graphics and the way of drawing things up was influenced by people’s experience at Milton Keynes Development Corporation. Graphic design as David Lock Associates defines it is very different from the conventional image of it. ‘It is very bespoke and contains a lot of cartography’. CB describes how technology has changed since she started, particularly the advent of computers and she discusses the various software programmes they use. She thinks that something has been lost by moving away from the old hand drawings, although John Seed and she still do it for particular jobs. David Lock Associates’s Graphic Design team have mostly been recruited from school and CB, talks about the skills and characteristics they look for and about inculcating the ‘David Lock Associates way of doing things’ into them, without suppressing their creativity. She also talks about spreading new knowledge through CPD events. She believes that David Lock Associates were at the forefront graphically years ago but others have emulated them and might even be overtaking them, and they are constantly trying to get that edge to be different. CB has taken a lead in organising David Lock Associates social events and talks about the importance of these in creating a family atmosphere. She also talks about staff meetings and their importance in transmitting information. Memorable jobs discussed, including Peterborough Town Centre and the work in North Northampton, particularly the North Northants Summit Exhibition, Kent Thameside and Emerson’s Green in east Bristol.