Meet the Designer - Meghan Cole

Meghan has been designing products for the Globe Shop for the last 18 years. 

What got you started creating your designs?

I have an art degree and I’m always sketching out ideas. The Globe doesn’t have a lot of imagery that would readily translate to retail products – there’s no portrait of Shakespeare for instance. What we do have are Shakespeare’s wonderful words and the architecture of the theatre. I couldn’t find products on the market that celebrated these, so I started to design them myself.

How would you describe your designing style?

Chaotic at first, focused at last. I have little sketches of possible product designs all over the place, on till receipts, scraps of paper, in the margins of meeting notes! I use a lot of hand-drawn lettering in my work, so there are sketchbooks full of experiments.

What is your motto?

If in doubt, have breakfast…

What was your first success with your designs?

I won a few design competitions straight out of university and started designing my own products for sale. I now use a print to order eCommerce platform so I can upload new ideas without having to create actual products. I usually have two or three sales a day.

Tell us about your design process.

For the Globe, I tend to start with a quote from a play and go from there. I’ll mull ideas for a while (often while I’m out walking) until one idea starts to come to life. Once I’m happy with a design, I move on to the product development stage, translating the design into mugs, t-shirts, bags etc.

How important is the environmental sustainability of your products?

Very. Every product that goes into the Globe Shop is interrogated regarding its environmental sustainability.

What has been your most interesting commission?

The design I am most proud of is the Shakespeare Underground Map that was commissioned by TfL to celebrate the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. To be able to work with design elements such as the Tube map and the Johnston font was a dream come true.