What made you want to work in publishing?

I loved art at school and thought I would like to be a fashion designer. My father saw an advert in DC Thomson’s Courier for a junior artist and encouraged me to apply. I got the job, left school on the Friday and started on the Monday in the art department, which was quickly followed by a move to Jackie magazine.

You joined DC Thomson as a junior designer in Jackie's art department in 1971, what was the world of magazines like back then?

There weren’t as many teenage magazines on the market back then, but Jackie was the bible that many teenagers turned to for advice. 400 letters were sent to the Cathy and Claire page every week. As a Jackie reader it was surreal to be working on my favourite magazine. It was quite daunting from meeting celebrities to being part of a team when the magazine sold over a million copies a week in 1973. It sounds like a cliché – but every day was fun, from the latest gossip about pop stars to some actually coming to the office. For example, we always had the radio on, and one day a catchy tune came on, so we all did an impromptu hoedown round the desks. One of the directors looked at us through the window wondering what on earth was going on!

You celebrated your golden anniversary with DC Thomson this year, what has it been like working for the same publisher for such a long time?

It doesn’t feel like I’ve been working for the same company as I’ve worked on 8 different magazines and each office had a different way of doing things. I started on Jackie for 12 years, then 6 months on Tops, then on to Blue Jeans, Looking Great, Annabel, Classic Stitches, My Weekly, The Scots Magazine and Your Best Ever Christmas.

I have enjoyed putting my own stamp on many of the publications I’ve worked on.

I came up with the idea for the fitness magazine Looking Great and was thrilled when it was given the go ahead. I was involved with every aspect, from concept through to content and design. Only 2 of us worked on the magazine (Designer & Editorial). We used to go down to London to do Interviews and photo sessions, come back, put the magazine together then go down 6 weeks later and do it all again. Alan Cumming (now a Hollywood actor) participated in a photo session for Looking Great in 1987 doing a Rock ’n’ roll Jive routine with his then wife Hilary Lyon. Dolph Lundgren Swedish actor and Martial Artist was at Pineapple studios working out, so I asked him if he would mind doing an interview and photos session, which he did!

I was lead designer on Classic Stitches, a new DCT craft and stitching publication launched in 1994, and redesigned My Weekly numerous times over the years.

The Scots Magazine, the oldest magazine still in publication today, was first published in 1739, DCT took it over in 1927. I gave the magazine a modern look bringing it into the 21st century in 2013. It increased in size from A5 to B5 to showcase the stunning Scottish photography in a larger format.

What is something that has changed in magazines which you think has been a benefit to the industry?

It has to be computers and the internet. You can get information so much quicker and have more time to be creative. In the 70s there were no computers, so the tools of the trade were a drawing board with card held on with drawing pins, an em’s ruler (measuring type), scalpel, radiograph (ink pen), cow gum (liquid wax) and a spatula to stick the type and images onto the page.

We used letraset for titles and numbers plus zip-a-tone for the impression of shading. Artists had to spend time working out the word count, line count and col widths, it was then sent off to the typesetting department, came back on galley paper and you would wait anxiously to see if it would fit!

There’s no typesetting department any more as the type is brought on to the actual job on the computer without any need for designers having to work it all out. There was a lot of self-satisfaction doing the job manually back then.

What trends in design have you seen developing in the last 40 years? Is there something stylistically you would like to see make a comeback?

Like everything in life, history repeats itself so a page I designed say 20 or 30 years ago does a full circle and becomes a trend again. I personally would like to see fashion illustrations. The illustrated fashion pages in Jackie looked pretty cool, and I thought they were very stylish – a bit like Biba illustrations. I love the costume sketches on Strictly: It Takes Two. The outfits look amazing, very vogue!

When doing photoshoots we used transparencies but couldn’t see what the image was like so we would take polaroids to make sure everything was sharp, focused. This worked out quite costly and you paid for each image you had taken. Now you agree on a cost before a day’s photoshoot, see the images instantly and can delete what you don’t want to use in an instant. We use picture agencies who have a huge portfolio of images to choose from at reasonable prices. You still must have the creative ideas to bring the job to life though.

What do you predict the next 50 years of magazines will look like?

At the moment it looks like digital may take over but I personally like the feel of paper and anticipating what the next surprise will be as I turn the page. I am a hoarder and like to hold on to things. It’s like photographs, hardly anyone makes a photo album, everyone takes photographs with their mobiles but what happens if you lose your phone? If you haven’t backed them up then those memories are lost forever. Like I said previously, every trend goes full circle!

What's on your radar?

Well I suppose you could say podcasts. Magazine and print has been around for decades, whereas technology is moving so quickly. This can be exciting but also concerning, as working in this industry you always have to be one step ahead. Jackie magazine in its day was forward thinking with ideas and trends, so the principle is just the same.

What magazine do you stockpile?

I would say the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine. I love the variety of topics and design, fashion, beauty, food & drink and advice pages, it has everything covered. Other magazines I like are Homes and Gardens, Living Etc, Modern Garden and of course fashion (Hello Fashion and Grazia), although gone are the days of me being a fashion designer!