Awards

Strengths

Affilitations

Go check out...

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.

• Available Now!!

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.

• e-mail me !

Ongoing Projects

Freelance Illustration
Under NDA. Wish I could say more!

TAGS Fest - 2023 - 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

• see examples in my portfolio

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 & Wholesale. Click & Drop, 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. 2018 - 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 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 responsibilities.Responsible for data collection, analysis and writing our annual reports.
Read our past reports here: 2025, 2024, 2023.

ECAF. 2024.
Guest organiser, responsible for event production, advertisement, exhibitor curation, and sponsorship liaisons.

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.

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. Their briefs are the clearest and most comprehensive I've had the pleasure of working with, and they clearly know how to find the particular approach 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

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.

Project management Writing Developmental editing
Art direction Illustration Graphic design
Visual Accessibility 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, the Apolline Project

"The Picts emerge from the shadows and step forward in technicolour."Dr 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)

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)

Poster, adverts, signage, 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).

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).

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.

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

Hiya! I'm Brian Tyrrell, a graphic designer and art director with a passion for communication, education, and storytelling. I'm primarily self-taught, and have been working on book publishing projects and freelance jobs for the last few years.Since 2019 I've run Stout Stoat Press, a self-started boardgame publishing imprint. My titles focus on easy-to-learn games for all ages, influenced by history and culture. I've been nominated for an won some of the highest awards in my (admittedly small) sector, but I feel I still have a to learn as a designer and art director. I feel my current strengths lie in using layout and illustrations to expand what a text is saying, rather than repeat it, and in prioritising legibility and functionality.In 2023 I co-founded TAGS Fest, an annual creator-focused market and community event in Edinburgh, now in its fourth year. Alongside budgeting, copywriting, and admin, I'm responsible for creating eye-catching adverts and visuals, to-scale exhibition floor plans, and efficient signage and visitor guide booklets.I like to think of myself as a scrappy underdog, regularly delivering big ideas on shoe-string budgets. My past work has required me to wear a lot of different hats at the same time, so I use that experience to anticipate problems across different areas of production, and more importantly, navigate to solutions without leaving any one person overburdened.

• cv
• portfolio

Hey Thought Bubble Team!I genuinely love Thought Bubble as a show so much. I've exhibited at the show before and I would really like to come back again in 2026.I want to extend a huge thank you to Steve and Martha from last year's event. I'd just debuted Carved in Stone, and been overwhelmed by a lot of positive press, and also a lot of backlash from alt-right news sources. Being able to just chat with the organisers put my mind at ease, I feel like Thought Bubble is the kindest and safest con I exhibit at. You both made me feel so normal for being cautious, and it set me up for a great weekend!-- Brian

About Me

I'm Brian Tyrrell, a multi-award winning games designer, writer, graphic designer and art director. I run Stout Stoat Press, a roleplaying game publisher based in Edinburgh, Scotland. I also do freelance work for a few larger publishers in the UK and USA. I'm queer and autistic, and take those perspectives into my work.

Carved in Stone

A comprehensive visual encyclopedia exploring early medieval Pictish society. 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.Press: BBC, Hearld, Scotsman

Scurry

Fast paced all-ages appropriate heists, set in a world where animals have inherited the earth. Players race against the clock, face conflicts and resolve them with imaginative solutions while trying to complete their goals before succumbing to exhaustion!

Border Riding

A map-drawing game about boundaries, how we mark them and who we include or exclude from them. Rooted in the Common Ridings festivals in the Scottish Borders, this game can be about any community, and take place at any time, in any setting. Scribble your town now!

More Pictish Stuff!

I'm waiting to hear about multi-year funding to keep working on Carved in Stone (we're in the final round just now). My role would involve making new zines and mini-publications set in the north of the UK around the 6th and 7th century. Even if I don't get the funding, I expect I'll have some new short-form stuff by the end of the year :)I've also got a big debut planned for Carved in Stone in November 2026, celebrating a year from being published by releasing the full book under a Creative Commons license, so Thought Bubble would be a great event to kick that off!

Main Webstore

itch.io page

PDFs for you to browse