A photo of Brian Tyrrell. He has short black hair, an upper lip moustache, and stubble. He is holding a white labrador in his arms.

Awards

  • Creative Edinburgh 2025 (Nominee)

  • The Awards 2024 (Winner)

  • ENNIES 2024 (Nominee)

  • ENNIES 2023 (Winner)

  • The Awards 2023 (Winner)

  • ENNIES 2022 (Nominee)

  • Dianna Jones Emerging Designer 2022 (Nominee)

  • Favourite son '95-'23 (Dethroned when my brother transitioned)

Strengths

  • Bold & legible design & artwork

  • Confident project management and functional feedback

  • Jack-of-all-trades experience helps foresee cross-disciplinary problems

  • Delightful displays and dioramas

Affilitations

Go check out...

An illustration of five picts.

Carved in Stone. A book blending visual encyclopedia and roleplaying resource, exploring contemporary research about Scotland's ancient Pictish people.In partnership with the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Interface and Glasgow University.

Freelance

I am available for work!A a member of the Scottish Artists' Union, I base my rates off of their recommendations.Discretionary discounted rates are available for disabled, queer and marginalised clients, and work that seems too cool to pass up.

Ongoing Projects

Freelance Illustration
Under NDA. Wish I could say more!

TAGS Fest - 2022 - Present
Graphic Design, Art Direction, Copy Writing, Advertising, Support

Past Projects

Carved in Stone - 2020 - 2026
Writing, Graphic Design, Illustration, Accessibility, Art DirectionECAF - 2024
Graphic Design, Art Direction, Copy Writing, Advertising, SupportScurry: Heists in the Undergrowth - 2025
Writing, Graphic Design, Illustration, Accessibility, Art DirectionMake Your Mark - 2023 - 2025
Graphic Design, Accessibility ConsultationVAST Guides - 2023
Development, Writing, Graphic DesignBorder Riding - 2023
Development, Graphic DesignOne Breath Left - 2023
Development, Graphic Design, IllustrationApawthecaria - 2022
Writing, Graphic Design, IllustrationScurry - 2021
Writing, Graphic Design, IllustrationVice & Virtue - 2021
Writing, Graphic DesignIn the Red - 2020
Writing, Graphic Design

Contact

Email. [email protected]
Phone. 07864 610 807

Good at

Graphics & Print. InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, Premier Pro, After Effects, ProCreate.Project Management. Budgeting, multi-tasking across projects, scheduling deadlines, contracts.Art Direction. Writing briefs, providing developmental crit, communicating expectations, navigating overlapping deadlines, soft social skills.Office skills. Word/Docs, Excel/Sheets, Powerpoint/Slides. Presenting and public speaking.Crafts. Printing, cutting and assembling mock-ups and dioramas.PDF Remediation. NVDA Screen Reader, Apple VoiceOver, FOXIT PDF Editor, Acrobat Pro.Production & Sale. Online retail (Click & Drop, Shopify, Square). Crowdfunding (BackerKit, Kickstarter). Retailer and distributor arrangements in Europe and USA. Keeping in my postie’s good graces.Events & Sales. Operating sales at local and international conventions.

Experience

Stout Stoat Press. 2019 - Present.
A self-started publishing imprint, with a portfolio of internationally award-winning games that are accessible, easy to learn, and platforming the voices of early career authors and entry-level illustrators. I've honed stress-tested resilience to thrive with crowdfunding, local and international fulfilment, events operation and sales.

Small Press Scotland CIC. 2025 - Present.
Co-director, fund bid writer and project manager. Contributing to organisation of free creator community resources and accessible events; see also Sequential Scotland and TAGS Festival.

TAGS Festival. 2022 - Present.
Co-organiser. Duties include event production, graphic design, financial management, advertisement, exhibitor curation, and sponsorship liaisons, among other duties.Additionally, I am responsible for data collection, analysis and the writing our annual reports.
Read our past reports here: 2025, 2024, 2023.

ECAF. 2024.
Guest organiser, responsible for graphic design, event production, advertisement, and exhibitor curation.

LUSH Cosmetics. 2010 - 2018, multiple roles.

  • Artworker. Christmas range 2017/18, product packaging, social media, staff training documents.

  • Retail management. Part of the team at Cambridge, then the 2nd highest profit store (including rent) in the UK. Key holder. Hiring and training staff, banking, stock management and forecasting, store front organisation, social media, visual merchandising, reporting store takings.

  • Events coordinator. Overseeing teams of 20+ staff at London debut events, delivering bespoke experiences to strict schedules and changing demands.

Certifications as fire marshal and first aider. (Now expired).

BA Illustration Hons. Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. 2013 - 2016. 1st.

Neat stuff

Awards nominations and wins from the ENNIES, The Awards, Dianna Jones, Creative Edinburgh.
Now Play This. 2024 exhibition, London.
Conventions Thought Bubble, MCM London & Birmingham, UKGE, Tabletop Scotland, CYMERA Edinburgh, Dundee Comic Con.
Workshops for: V&A Dundee, The Welcoming, Edinburgh Central Libraries, Glasgow Life Services.
Summer camp for PALS Kids Summer, 2020 and 2021.
Member of Disclosure Scotland's PVG Scheme.

Testimonials

as graphic designer

"Couldn’t recommend him more highly! He consistently met every deadline and kept the project running smoothly with his organised, proactive approach. He communicated clearly throughout and brought key expertise in inclusive design to the project. He transformed dense, information-heavy content into a clear and engaging layout. Since publication, we’ve received multiple pieces of positive feedback on the design - a real testament to his skill and thoughtful approach!"

Erin Burke
Make Your Mark in Volunteering

as art director

"Brian is an excellent art director to work with as an artist. Their briefs are the clearest and most comprehensive I've had the pleasure of working with, and they know how to find the particular approach to an art brief that will allow an artist to shine within a larger project. In the several projects I've worked on with Brian I found them to be approachable, professional and organised, and I look forward to working with them in future."

Letty Wilson
Freelance Illustrator

as illustrator

"Brian is a rare illustrator who not only understands a brief, but transforms it. He approaches every project with insight and imagination, delivering work that feels truer to the vision than what I had imagined myself. Each piece reveals something new about the world I’m building."

Filip Hartelius
Rebellion Unplugged

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Carved in Stone

A Storyteller's Guide to the Picts

A comprehensive visual encyclopaedia digesting much of what is currently known about 7th Century Pictland and the ancient precedents to Scotland who lived there. Through its pages you will see, touch, taste, hear and smell your way through everything that modern scholars currently know of the Picts’ enigmatic culture.Produced in partnership with the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, the University of Glasgow, and with support from across the Pictish academic sector.

Writing Art direction Graphic design
Illustration Visual Accessibility
Project management Prepress Publicity

Also check out: Lead Researcher Dr Heather Christise (ArchaeoPlays).

Flexicover book, 160 pages, 260mm x 300mm

"It's basically the best book on the Picts ever written. It brings the Picts to life more effectively than any other depiction I've yet seen"Dr. Adrián Maldonado
National Museums Scotland

"[This book] stitches landscapes, languages, foodways and social structures into a coherent, vivid whole. Even better, it does so through an approach that I find increasingly essential; storytelling not as ornament, but as a way of thinking."Dr. Girolamo Derdinando De Simone
DPhil Oxford University, the Apolline Project

"A fresh perspective which is wonderfully creative yet grounded in thorough research and accessible in our age. The Picts emerge from the shadows and step forward in technicolour."Prof. Katherine Forsyth
University of Glasgow

Border Riding

A collaborative history-building game about borders and small communities

A game about drawing maps, printed on a large fold-out hiker's map. Accompanied by a 24-page risograph essay, On Common Riding, and accessible digital booklet versions of the game.Jo pitched this tactile game to me as an exploration of Common Riding traditions from the Scottish Border's. It ended up being so much more. Thanks to the teachers who emailed me to say they used this game to open conversations about Palestine with students ♥

Project management Developmental editing
Art direction Graphic design Visual accessibility Prepress

Also check out: Author (Jo), Illustrator (Eli/Goyagoat), Editor (Roz), Sensitivity Consultant (Penny), Printer (Dennis Maps)

An illustration of five picts.

Folding sheet, 890mm x 1,000mm (hiker's map style)
24-page zine, 105mm x 200mm

TAGS FEST

Tabletop and Graphic Storytelling Festival

Having completed its third year, TAGS is an arts festival aiming a spotlight on Scotland's small press and solo publishers in the comics, zine, graphic novel, roleplaying and boardgame genres.Located in the heart of Edinburgh at the Fruitmarket, TAGS will return again in 2026.For more details, see the TAGS website.

Project management Copy writing Art direction Graphic design Visual accessibility Prepress Advertising Exhibitor support

Also check out: Co-organiser (Eve), Partners (Ancient Robot, La Belle Adventure), Venue (Fruitmarket)

An illustration of five picts.

Poster, adverts, signage, merchandise and window displays

Scurry

Heists in the Undergrowth

A set of three new heists for players to embark on with the all-ages roleplaying game, Scurry!

Project management Developmental editing
Art direction Illustration Graphic design
Visual accessibility Prepress Motion graphics
Sound editing Advertising

Also check out: Authors (Steph, Elliot, Yubi), Illustrators (Yasmin, VER, Letty), Editor (Roz).

An illustration of five picts.

Staple-bound zine, 36 pages, 210mm x 148mm

Scurry

A Game That Gathers Speed

A roleplaying game of that takes you through Scotland’s verdant under brush like you’ve never been able to before—as wee beasts!Players race against the clock, face conflicts and resolve them with imaginative solutions while trying to complete their goal before succumbing to exhaustion.

Project management Writing Developmental editing
Art direction Illustration Graphic design
Visual Accessibility Prepress

Also check out: Illustrators (Fraser, VER, Atlanta), Editors (Vi, Roz).

An illustration of five picts.

Hardcover book, 108 pages, 210mm x 148mm

Make Your Mark

Toolkit and Report on Inclusive Volunteering

Toolkit with form fillable worksheets, and project report on the research behind it. Aiming for pared-back layouts that work in print and on the web.
Make Your Mark website

Graphic design Visual accessibility Prepress
Web design (basic and functional)

Thanks to Erin for being a wonderful project manager for both Versions 1 and 2.

An illustration of five picts.

Perfect bound folios, 64 and 60 pages, 210mm x 297mm

Visual Accessibility
Skills & Tools

A toolkit with information, tutorials, step-by-step graphics, and examples of how to implement visual accessibility tools in PDF design.VAST Guides websiteAlso check out: Yubi Coates, lead consultant.

Writing Video design Graphic design Visual accessibility Web design (basic and functional)

An illustration of five picts.

Website & Tutorial Videos