Let’s start with the obvious stuff! Andy Boothman is a professional designer, with over 29 years experience building brands. Andy has lived and breathed design since childhood. It’s been a passion that has seen him work with a broad range of clients from around the world.
Early inspiration
Andy was passionate about art and design at school, he was initially drawn towards the craft and techniques of technical drawing (complete with Letraset, parallel motion bars and drawing boards). Growing up in rural Yorkshire, Andy’s early inspirations came from occasional visits to the Design Museum, avid reading of Design Week and Creative Review, and of course exposure to brands in every aspect of life.
Time to explore
Post GCSE, Andy’s teachers (and the whole education system at the time) were not supportive of his decision to explore design further. If anything, their ‘closed views’ increased Andy’s desire to explore the areas he was being told held ‘no future’.
Andy’s design career was significantly influenced by a BTEC Foundation Course in Art and Design at North Lindsey College in Scunthorpe. This course exposed students to the many disciplines that fall within the creative sector. For Andy it was a wonderful opportunity to explore fashion, fabrics, photography, film making, fine art, sculpture and graphics, including the many materials, machines and processes that fall within all of these areas (Yes that is an Onicrom machine above).
It was during this time that Andy began his first business, initially creating vinyl graphics for commercial vehicles. These were painstaking hand-cut using scissors, a process which earned Andy the reputation as ‘Edward Scissorhands’ amongst his friends.
The vehicle graphics expanded into include window tinting, where Andy’s patient, methodical approach and eye for detail came into it’s own. Then came motorcycle helmet designs, creating custom graphics and painting murals onto the surfaces of the helmets. These micro businesses supported Andy as he continued to explore what a design career might look like.
The next step was to study for a Graphic Design degree, where Andy learned from industry experts (including an internship with Landor), working alongside time served craftspeople, learning about all things design, marketing and communication. Developing skills that were recognised in series of student awards.
First job
Andy was offered a junior position by a respected Manchester agency before completing his degree. This was a wonderful opportunity to work side-by-side with typographers, illustrators, photographers and other designers. Developing concepts, project management and art direction skills – delivering the all important results for clients.
Developing his ‘style’
When the opportunity arose to develop his own business with trusted friends, Andy jumped in with great enthusiasm, building a small agency in Knutsford, south of Manchester.
The initial roster of clients focused on food, drink and hospitality. The agency won awards for the work, which attracted more business. However there was an element of ‘all your eggs in one basket’, Andy knew they needed to diversify, introducing their skills and services to other areas.
The end result was a healthy mix of clients – a mental health charity, sixth form college, fashion labels, travel and tourism, automotive and consumer technology products that sat alongside the food and drink work.
Refining the plan
Andy’s business reverted back to ‘Busy as AB’ in 2014 following the arrival 6 months earlier of Andy’s daughter, Eva. Creating virtual agency was an opportunity for Any and the bee team to have a better work-life balance. Letting the technology do the commuting, allowing him and the rest of the team to reframe the working week, achieving all important time with family and friends.
It’s all about the service
Busy as AB services customers from around the globe. We work with business leaders to ‘create a buzz’ for what they do. No two projects are alike, everything is bespoke, because no two businesses are alike. All the work focuses on ‘people’ and the ‘humanisation’ of business, following Andy’s core principals that we (Busy as AB) exist to connect people with products or services, solving problems and offering solutions.
Business Drive
In 2015 Andy began to run networking events around Cambridge. Having spent a lot of time networking himself, he felt that there was a need to offer something more supportive.
These in-person events featured inspiring business owners and leaders including Peter Cowley, David Cleevley, Martina King, Andrew Hatcher, Kelly Vickers, Rory Underwood, Ruscha Fields and many more. This evolved into Drive The Network. Working with Ann Hawkins, Andy had the opportunity to give back, sharing his experience with other small business owners.
What is DressCode?
DressCode is a business Andy started in 2018. The creation of DressCode allowed Andy to fulfil two passions
1 – continue his brand design and development
2 – explore his interest in fashion design and repeat patterns
A lot of the work we produce within Busy as AB is under NDA (non-disclosure agreements). This can make it difficult to show other people what we deliver for our clients. Andy decided that developing a brand (DressCode Shirts) from scratch allowed him, and the rest of the team, to demonstrate their skills, creating a living case study.
DressCode also allowed Andy, the opportunity to explore his ideas for tech inspired fashion – in both the physical patterns on the garments and the wearable technology within them, creating the CashCuff – the world’s first payment shirt!
DressCode is an idea that was triggered by a printer glitch in the Busy as AB office. But it is about much more than shirts. It champions inclusion, sustainability, mental health, STEM and equality. All things that Andy is passionate about.
Trust in Rust!
For a while now Andy has felt a strong connection to rust. He is fascinated by the relationships we establish with objects — the time we spend developing them, coveting them and the power of nature to return these objects to dust. This personal project became public with this talk. Watch to the presentation here.
Useful links
Busy as AB 