--- title: "Web Designer, Copywriter & Artist in Kent | Francesco Imola" url: "https://francescoimola.com/" description: "Unapologetically simple websites, words, and branding advice for businesses and creatives. Based in Folkestone, Kent, and currently open to work." --- # My name is Francesco and I'm a designer, marketer, and artist based in Folkestone, England. My bread and butter are brand messaging, websites, and graphic design. ![Francesco Imola, smiling in front of a flowering hedge](/assets/images/francesco-400w.jpeg) I help brands with big missions stop chasing novelties and start rethinking their fundamentals. In other words, if people don't get what you do, I rewrite it; if they can't work out how to buy, I redesign it; and if they can't tell you from the guys next door, I find what makes you different and say it loud. When I’m not resuscitating brands from the brink of death, I make art with words and pixels, and work with up and coming artists. About I come from a family of makers, artists, and business owners. As a child I dreamt first of becoming a magician, then of designing chairs. And while neither of those dreams came true, I didn’t land far off. I now live in Folkestone, on the Kent coast, but I was born in Italy in a land called Ciociaria. These days, I spend my time [making complex stories a little less complex](/studio/), and drawing people closer to good products, good services and good talent. I graduated in Digital Arts from the University of Greenwich, which is where much of this started, and then spent six years between cultural institutions and the Film & TV industry. I also [write](/writing/), and volunteer with [Open Art Folke](https://openartfolke.com) to support fellow artists. And I [make art](/art/) of my own, with words and pixels. ![Francesco Imola](/assets/images/francesco-studio-shot-2560w.jpeg) - [Sublime](https://sublime.app/fran) - [Substack](https://substack.com/@francescoimola) - [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesco-imola/) * * * Philosophy We live in turbulent times. There is an overabundance of information, and in the midst of it I see designers taking on facilitator roles, aka helping people communicate. When it comes to marketing, I specialise in the trust-based kind—or the art of building credibility and long-term relationships by being honest, helpful and consistent with your audience. * * * Working with agencies It takes all sorts to make a world, and thank goodness for that! I keep an open door policy: I'm open to white-label or overflow briefs from agencies, and I'll consider in-house roles. [Here's what I can offer you](/collaborate/) * * * Recognition 2026 CSS Design Awards Public Award for Best UI, UX & Innovation | francescoimola.com Jury Special Kudos | francescoimola.com 2023 Read CV Features Breaking free from the algorithm | Essay I fell into a sustainable design rabbit hole | Essay Everything you see | Exhibition Catalogue How to Feel More at Home | Artwork 2021 Special Special How to Feel More at Home | Artwork Harbor Review 'Untitled(2)' | Artwork * * * Design thinking Your car, your phone, your dad's beloved charcoal barbecue that takes ages to heat up but, once it's hot, it really is a joy to cook with. Design is the lens through which we experience the world, and on a good day, my job is to shape those lenses by asking the question: how can I make this thing better, or more helpful? If I had to sum up my design manifesto, the synopsis would probably state "there is no good design without compromise". Good design is all about choosing the right trade-off for your audience, which may mean choosing to follow a trend, or sticking to the tried and tested, being playful or being dead serious, or bending the process in your favour. Compromise might also mean skipping the steps you deem unnecessary, starting from the answer and working backwards, trusting your gut, or making something for no better reason than to make someone smile. Ultimately, good design is imperceptible—that is, it's harder to spot than bad design. And though it may be impossible to achieve, good design is always worth aiming for. * * * On trust-based marketing With so many people losing trust in the messages being pushed by mainstream marketing, an approach based on trust is how you get people to choose you, because, well, they trust you. Not because you manipulated them, chased them with an axe or pushed them to their limit. It's a vast and wild frontier that many marketers and brands have only begun to explore, and it's very much one of the pillars of my work. To borrow the [words of Rob Hardy](https://x.com/ungatedlife/status/1584621315998486528), the main guy [who championed the term](https://forest.quest/non-coercive-marketing-primer/), "the big secret is that non-coercive marketing isn't actually about marketing at all, but instead about how we relate to ourselves and to others, and healing the wounds of distrust that ripple through generations." My work in this field incorporates everything I have learnt from working in marketing (mostly content and inbound), internal communications, exhibition design, and graphic design over the last 8 years. * * * Favourite projects I get on best with folks who have a meaningful message to share or people who have spent a long time developing a solid product or service that they want to see succeed. This category often includes—but isn’t limited to—charities, indie makers and small businesses with a long-standing presence. That said, I won’t work with clients in the fossil fuel sector, or anyone who's directly tied to the industry. I'm not interested in fast fashion, weight loss or gambling either; and I steer clear of briefs that call for dark design patterns, manipulative marketing, or anything that makes people feel worthless in order to win a sale—though luckily these are becoming less common occurrences. * * * About this website This site is not merely a self-promotion machine, but a self-invention machine. An [island](https://notbadnotbad.substack.com/p/i-hope-someday-i-get-to-visit-your) to inhabit with my work, ideas, and the things I care about. Built for the long term, but malleable enough to change over time. I've taken steps to make this island as engaging and accessible as possible. I hope that you'll enjoy your stay. [How this website is built](/about/colophon/) [Learn about its accessibility](/about/accessibility/) [See the code on Github](https://github.com/francescoimola/rummikub) * * * Credits - The photo in this page is by [Amy (Mooie Fee) Kolsteren](https://mooiefeephotography.co.uk). The rest are mine. - Illustration are by [Atipo](https://drands.atipoillustrations.com/page/about). - The typefaces in use are [Ronzino](https://www.collletttivo.it/typefaces/ronzino) by Collletttivo, and KC Pelletier Sans by [Luke Pelletier](https://www.instagram.com/lukepelletier/) for Kern Club, used for the main headings. - All graphic design is produced by me, and licensed to me only for marketing and promotional purposes. Please don't use any of the imagery on this site without permission. ## Featured [![Open Art Folke homepage](/assets/images/Outdoor_Hero-400w.jpeg)](/work/open-art-folke/) ## Open Art Folke Print, Branding, Web Design, Strategy [Read case study](/work/open-art-folke/) [![The Loft offerings section](/assets/images/the_loft_offerings_section-400w.jpeg)](/work/the-loft/) ## The Loft UX/UI Design, Copywriting, Brand Messaging [Read case study](/work/the-loft/) [![The Collective homepage](/assets/images/the_collective_homepage-400w.jpeg)](/work/the-collective/) ## The Collective Web Design, Copywriting, UX Consulting [Read case study](/work/the-collective/) ## Index ![Screenshot of a social walk page on folks.directory](/assets/images/folks-directory-400w.jpeg) ## folks.directory Strategy, Web & Print Design, Community Outreach [![Make & Mind workshops page](/assets/images/makemind_homepage-400w.jpeg)](/work/make-and-mind/) ## Make & Mind UI/UX Design, Copywriting, SEO, Framer [Read case study](/work/make-and-mind/) [![Blog post for Mega Seating Plan ranking 4th on Google search results](/assets/images/megaseatingplan-400w.jpeg)](/work/mega-seating-plan/) ## Mega Seating Plan SEO Research, Content Writing [Read case study](/work/mega-seating-plan/) ![Person holding a stack of books in front of the camera](/assets/images/bookshop_email-400w.jpeg) ## The Folkestone Bookshop Email Marketing, Template Design ![Cards showing a before and after copywriting example from Sarah's website](/assets/images/life-coaching-400w.jpeg) ## Sarah Yuk Lan Copywriting [![Blueberry instagram post with text 'Toss aside the rule book'](/assets/images/blueberry_socialpost-400w.jpeg)](/work/blueberry/) ## Blueberry Content Marketing, Internal Communications [Read case study](/work/blueberry/) [![Camera operator using a gymbal to film in a studio](/assets/images/ftv_peter_operates_camera-400w.jpeg)](/work/greenwich-ftv/) ## Film & TV Department, University of Greenwich Community Engagement, Graphic & Learning Design, Copywriting [Read case study](/work/greenwich-ftv/) ![Exhibition poster on the window of the University of Greenwich Gallery](/assets/images/greenwich_gall_poster_padding-400w.jpeg) ## University of Greenwich Galleries Social Media, Graphic Design, Event Coordination ![Design for the 2019 TEDx Programme website](/assets/images/tedx-400w.jpeg) ## TEDx University of Greenwich Web Design, Graphic Design, Stage Design big-idea person? let’s get your big ideas across