About Freelance Creative
I am Michael Ruddy, a freelance creative with more than 28 years of experience working at advertising and design agencies large and small. I am an award-winning website designer, copywriter and conceptual creative, with experience across many different sectors. I also hold MSc (By Research) and BSc (Hons) degrees in Psychology, with particular expertise in how people use language to construct themselves and the world around them. Constructing a brand identity, or cogent brand messaging, is no different.
If you require a service that I don’t provide (Pay per Click (PPC), print or media buying) there’s a good chance I work with someone who can provide it.
Why use a freelance creative over an agency?
In the words of a long-term client: “I can brief you on a job and know we’ll get it out the door in 24-48 hours. With the agency who supplied our website I’ll wait 10 days for them to reply to my email let alone start the job”. I’m quicker, cheaper, and will create something just as good (if not better). There’s a hierarchy within agencies with the ‘sexy’ work reserved for senior creative teams. Whether you sell top end audio equipment, heavy industrial equipment, or mattresses to prevent bed sores, I view every brief as an opportunity to be creative. I’ve won dozens of creative awards and, being a small business owner myself, I’m acutely aware that the type of work that awards juries love isn’t necessarily what your customers respond to. Creativity can be applied to your offers, how you couch your unique selling proposition (USP), or even where you connect with prospective customers. My goal is always to help you get the most from your budget.
Some of my clients have worked with me for 20 years. I think that speaks volumes to the value I add to their businesses. Whether you have a project in mind or just need to better understand the challenges your business faces, get in touch to arrange an informal Zoom call.
VIEW MY WORK
About Freelance Creative
I am Michael Ruddy, a freelance creative with more than 28 years of experience working at advertising and design agencies large and small. I am an award-winning website designer, copywriter and conceptual creative, with experience across many different sectors. I also hold MSc (By Research) and BSc (Hons) degrees in Psychology, with particular expertise in how people use language to construct themselves and the world around them. Constructing a brand identity, or cogent brand messaging, is no different.
If you require a service that I don’t provide (Pay per Click (PPC), print or media buying) there’s a good chance I work with someone who can provide it.
Why use a freelance creative over an agency?
In the words of a long-term client: “I can brief you on a job and know we’ll get it out the door in 24-48 hours. With the agency who supplied our website I’ll wait 10 days for them to reply to my email let alone start the job”. I’m quicker, cheaper, and will create something just as good (if not better). There’s a heirarchy within agencies with the ‘sexy’ work reserved for senior creative teams. Whether you sell top end audio equipment, heavy industrial equipment, or mattresses to prevent bed sores, I view every brief as an opportunity to be creative. I’ve won dozens of creative awards and, being a small business owner myself, I’m acutely aware that the type of work that awards juries love isn’t necessarily what your customers respond to. Creativity can be applied to your offers, how you couch your unique selling proposition (USP), or even where you connect with prospective customers. My goal is always to help you get the most from your budget.
Some of my clients have worked with me for 20 years. I think that speaks volumes to the value I add to their businesses. Whether you have a project in mind or just need to better understand the challenges your business faces, get in touch to arrange an informal Zoom call.
Featured Work
A website that I recently created for chartered physiotherapist Adele Cole. Visit the site here.
Featured Work
A website that I recently created for chartered physiotherapist Adele Cole. Visit the site here.
Creative Services
I design and build websites to suit all types of businesses and organisations. I can build you a website that requires no ongoing maintenance or I can build you a site that you can manage yourself, using WordPress. If you are planning to sell online I can provide a Shopify store or a WooCommerce-based WordPress site. I believe a large part of designing your website is making it search engine friendly. I don’t charge extra for this (like many agencies do). I consider it part of the core functionality of your website. I’m also averse to technospeak and abbreviations in general. I won’t speak in acronyms or initialisms and assume that you know your SQL from your JSON or PHP (OK, that time it was necessary to make the point). It’s plain English all the way.
To find out more get in touch today.
Video is no longer the preserve of large companies with deep pockets. It’s a fantastic way to keep visitors on your website or to put a friendly face to your business. This is especially important if you operate in a sector that is heavy on technical jargon or suffers unflattering stereotypes (I’m talking to all the solicitors and car sales people out there).
You don’t have to be a slick presenter to appear in your own videos. I will help put you at ease and guide you through the process. And you definitely don’t need a Holywood budget to produce a professional and engaging video.
Video is far more impactful than print media to demonstrate your products or services.
Video also makes fantastic social media content. Like taking your existing Google Reviews and bringing them to life in short animations. Again, this isn’t Disney budgets stuff, yet it jumps off the screen of anyone scrolling their social feeds. Compared to the ‘one shot’ nature of local press advertising, online advertising and social media posts have a far longer shelf-life, too. To find out more get in touch for a chat.
From radio and TV scripts to long form brochures and snappy headlines, I can write it for you. This is where my creative career began: as a photography and graphic design student one of my tutors noticed my flair for words and encouraged me to develop my writing skills. My first steps into the advertising industry were as a copywriter. Since then I’ve gone on to achieve a MSc (by Research) with Distinction in Discursive Psychology – the study of the social actions people carry out through language.
Click the links on this portfolio page to read some copy examples. To discuss a writing job simple get in touch.
I’ve created brand identities for a wide variety of start-up businesses and new products. I also design and write brochures and other literature for all types of businesses – from sole traders to regional offices of multi-national organisations. Whether you are looking for understated elegance or a “pile ’em high” retail brochure, I’ll produce literature that’s on brief and on time.
You’ll find links to full brochures and other print media that I’ve designed on this page. To discuss your specific requirements get in touch today.
With a first class stamp now costing well over a pound, it’s little wonder that print direct mail isn’t the force it once was. Email marketing lets you reach customers for a matter of pennies. Even better, detailed analytics will show you who opened your email and who clicked any links, allowing you to follow up these leads while they are still warm. Plus, once you’ve created your email you can send it multiple times – either as a nudge to non-responders or to a new mailing list. You can’t do that with print.
To find out more get in touch today.
I regularly do tabletop product photography as part of web or brochure projects. I also offer on-site photography and visualisation. For example, if you need to see how your planned signage is going to look before you commit to it or want to capture training or other events for use online. I have exhibited some of my landscape photography at The Gallery in Slaithwaite. I am also a contributor to image library Shutterstock.