Graphic Thought Facility

'It's to do with keeping things simple and having the confidence to present an idea where everything can be understood. You don't have to be in the know to unravel it.'

Paul Neale (b1966) and Andy Stevens (b1966) met on the MA graphic design course at the Royal College of Art in 1988. Neale had studied art and design at school and did foundation studies at Leicester Poly before doing a degree in design at Central School of Art and Design and St Martin's (now Central St Martins). Stevens did a degree in graphic design at Leeds Poly. They formed GTF (Graphic Thought Facility) with fellow postgraduate Nigel Robinson on leaving the RCA. When they left the College in 1990 the British design industry was gripped by a severe recession. Since there were no jobs on offer, they funded their activities with the aid of the government's Enterprise Allowance scheme, some part-time teaching and a bizarre and unexpected gameshow prize (a by-product of a job for Lynne Franks PR), which helped pay for their first computer in 1991.