i. Navigate

ii. Thoughts...

iii. Selected Works (2003–2025)

iv. From The Archives

i. 01. About

Fig.01. The J.Hodgson’s

I'm an English-born designer, director and visual storyteller with over two decades of experience in the design industry. In 2003, I moved to Oslo to join Racecar as a designer. I ended up staying, became a partner, built a life here, learned Norwegian (and how to ski), and now live with my family, boliglån and trail shoes not far from the forest.

I graduated from from Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication with a first class BA(hons) degree in Visual Communication. Previously a designer for renowned design studio Kemistry in London, a small studio with big ideas and big clients like NRK — which eventually led me to Norway.

Since then, I’ve been fortunate to work on award-winning projects for some of Norway’s most ambitious and exciting clients. My passion for and belief in the power of design and storytelling continually inform my work.

I continue to be fascinated by the intersection of art and design, their subjective definitions and contrasting roles in society. Great art is like a trigger to the collective imagination, ambiguious and open to interpretation. Whereas design is the art of understanding people — what they want and what they need (not necessarily the same thing), and being able to distinguish one from the other.

This is why my approach to work is rooted in collaboration and trust. The path to the right solution lies in understanding the story you are going to tell. You can’t effectively communicate what you do not fully understand. This makes insight an intrinsic part to untangling complex themes in order to tell compelling stories.

I love striking the balance between the conceptual, strategic, broader perspective (the ‘big picture’) and paying close attention to the details — the craft of design. I strive to make unexpected choices, see things from multiple perspectives and infuse warmth, character, visual rhythm and fun to create engaging work that begs repeated viewing.

This passion has also led me to present at events like the Selected design festival in Bilbao and NRK’s BIG design conference in Oslo. I’ve also served as a juror for Grafill’s Visuelt competition several times — most recently as jury leader in 2024.

If you’d like a glimpse into how I think and work, I’ve written down ten principles that guide my creative practice — a personal, evolving set of reflections I call my Ten Commandments. They’re not rules, and definitely not carved in stone. But they’re mine.

ii. Awards & Achievments

2025

Oliasoft
Gold winner for best Information Film at Visuelt 2025
NiceMobil™

Nominated as best Commercial and Promo at Visuelt 2025

2023

Aschehoug Primodell

Nominated as best commercial at Visuelt 2023

Aschehoug Univers

Nominated as best Information film at Visuelt 2023

2022

Hydrogen Mem-Tech

Nominated as best information film at Visuelt 2022

2021

Healthy Data

Nominated as best commercial at Visuelt 2023

TV2 Slogan Story

Nominated as best Information film at Visuelt 2023

2019

S^•Banken Minibank

Nominated as best commercial & promo at Visuelt 2019

Vestre Atlas

Gold winner for best identity film at Visuelt 2019

2018

Frantz Express
Silver winner at th European Design Awards 2018

2017

Antibiotic Resistance
Gold winner for best Information Film at Visuelt 2017

Nominated as ‘Best in Show’ at Visuelt 2017

Nominated at the European Design Awards 2017

TV3 Rebrand
Awarded Gold for Channel Design and Identity at Visuelt 2017

2015

Beatles
Nominated at the European Design Awards 2015

StaminaNominated for best information film at Visuelt 2015

2014

A Void
Gold winner in the Open Class category at visuelt 2014

Awarded the Golden Gunnar for Best Short Film at the Fredrikstad Short Film Festival 2014

Finalist in the Motion Graphics category at the European Design Awards 2014

Kiss — A Love Story
Gold winner at the Bass Awards for best Experimental Film 2014
På Hjul med Dag Otto
Nominated for best title sequence at Visuelt 2014

2013

Garanti
Nominated for best Commercial at Visuelt 2013

2012

Kiss — A Love Story
Gold winner in the Open Class category at Visuelt 2012

Silver winner in the Craftmanship & Design category at Gullblyanten 2012
Staff pick on Vimeo.com

Featured on Short of the Week

Main feature on Motionographer.com

Screened at over 40 festivals worldwide and publications including creative review, computer arts, cartoon brew and Stash magazine.

Tv2 Valg Graphics
Silver winner in best Program Design and Branding category at Visuelt 2012

2011

Koht På Jobben
Nominated as best Program & Title Design at Visuelt 2011

2010

NRK Puls
Gold winner in the Program & Title Design category at Visuelt 2010

2008

Landeplage
Gold winner in the Program & Title Design category at Visuelt 2008

Telenor Colour Bars
Silver winner in the ‘Open Class’ category at Visuelt 2008

2007

Shopaholic
Awarded Gold for best title-sequence and program design at Visuelt 2006

Featured in Stash #18

Sreened at TIAF Taiwan International Animation Festival

Willy Nilsen
Nominated as Best Title Design at Visuelt 2007

Featured in Stash #18

Sreened at TIAF Taiwan International Animation Festival

2005

Typisk Norsk
Awarded Gold for best title-sequence and program design at Visuelt 2006

Featured in Stash #18

Sreened at TIAF Taiwan International Animation Festival

2004

Discovery Idents: Wild/Science/Extreme
Awarded silver at the Promax / BDA European Awards

2003

Graduation Portfolio
Screened at the Institute of Contemport Arts (London, UK)

Screened on national television Channel 4 (UK)

Screened as part of the European Ways of Life exhibition (The Louvre, Paris France & Korea)