Aude Watson

Professional profile-

Following studies in fine art, drawing and painting at Ealing College of Art her first job was in a Fleet St. advertising agency. She then studied fashion and textiles at Hornsey College of Art and completed her BA (Hons) in textile design. During this time she won an R.S.A. shoe design bursary, was involved in a project to create a living space for design conscious young people, which featured in Ideal Home, and sold textile designs to Heals and Liberty. Her work was experimental and strongly influenced by drawing and painting.

After leaving college she started a small business producing hand-printed fabric and short print runs to commission and was offered a design position with a boutique in Carnaby St. Her prints often featured in PR and publicity and work also included body-painting and the design and production of bespoke clothes, some of which were used in TV dramas. Her designs appeared in magazines and on the news. She also began lecturing part-time and when a full-time lecturing post was offered she accepted and became head of a fashion and textile department for five years. Linking student designs with manufacturers such as Courtaulds provided opportunities to experiment with new techniques and materials which later fed back to commercial production.

In 1976 she joined forces with Steve Keeling and started a small design practice. This evolved into Total Image, a multidisciplinary practice where she worked with a wide range of clients across many industry sectors. Their collective talents complimented each other and they were able to encompass a wide variety of projects. This called upon all her previous experience and was necessary to achieve the design principle of creating a 'total image' that the practice embraced. Her key skills were applied to 2D surface design, exhibition design, large format printing for exhibitions (some produced in-house), publicity etc. Her drawing skills were employed in a variety of applications from advertising to hand painted murals, corporate identities and interiors.

The practice's clients included large corporations, property developers and industrial companies. As the work became more diverse and the projects larger Aude was involved in design development and production of project visualisations and presentation to prove concept for client approval. She also designed and directed interior refurbishment schemes and was responsible for the selection of products, furniture, surface covering and decoration for a variety of office, hotel and retail interiors.