Joe Gillespie studied graphic design, printmaking, bookbinding and jewellery at Belfast College of Art from 1964 to 1968 and won a place at the Royal College of Art, London, in September 1968.
As a student, he had work selected for an exhibition of young British artists at The Louvre, Paris, in 1970.
Graduating from The RCA in 1971 (Master of Design RCA) he began a fulfilling career in advertising. Among his many accolades, he won D&AD Silver Awards for Benson & Hedges (most outstanding point of sale campaign, 1981) and Cockburn's Port (most outstanding packaging, 1985)
In parallel with his art direction and design work, Joe experimented with computers and the fusion of fine art and micro-electronics.
Sidestepping conventional design for print and advertising and combining his unique art, design and computer skills, he founded Pixel Productions in 1989. As a pioneer in the area of 'new media' (CD ROMs, software, video, internet) he worked with clients such as Apple Computer, Microsoft, Canon, Sony and led the development of the first electronic (Web-based) newspaper for The Daily Telegraph.
MiniFonts.com was formed in 2001 to produce and market 'pixel' fonts for Web and interface designers – including his now ubiquitous Mini 7 font.
Again, using his proficiency in art and computer programming, he began creating abstract imagery for contemporary printmaking in 1997.
Now retired to the seaside in Dorset, he enjoys birdwatching, making music and has been writing science fiction novels.
Printmaking images are created digitally in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and are glicée printed on heavy art paper.
Photography spans many decades, from black and white film college work in the 1960s to modern digital colour photography.
As a graphic designer primarily, I have designed many typefaces for companies and eventually, had my own foundry – MiniFonts.
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