Hi, I’m Jay Young, a small, independent book designer working and teaching in the heart of the Welsh capital, Cardiff, in the UK.
When I’m not designing children’s books I work as a senior lecturer at the Arts Academy in Cardiff helping students to develop their skills at idea generation and prepare for careers in the creative industries.
See me being interviewed by Made in Cardiff The Lowdown for their Visual Art Season here
As a boy I was a huge table-top science fan. I loved building things, taking things apart and generally figuring out how stuff worked. Nowadays I particularly like creating unusual children’s science books and, if they’ve got a three dimensional element, then that’s even better.
I love this ‘hands on’ approach and it’s probably why all my projects have ended up being part book, part toy, part game – I just can’t help myself!
Growing up in the 1970s, I adored the classic books and toys of that era. They helped to feed my imagination along with the TV shows and games – like Mousetrap – that also had simple yet ingenious ideas at their heart.
I was raised on a diet of Ladybird Book projects, BBC children’s programmes (like ‘Vision On’ with its brilliant animated logotype – pure design inspiration for a ten year old) and of course Blue Peter with its regular model features. As a result I was never far from a roll of sticky-back-plastic or Sellotape – a brand I later went on to redesign in the 1980s whilst working in London.
In particular ‘Vision On’ co-presenter Wilf Lunn helped develop my fascination for automata and in turn my love for pop-up books through their combination of art, design and engineering.
My first major book launch – ‘The Most Amazing Pop-Up Science Book’ won both the ‘British Book Awards’ and the ‘Children Science Book of the Year’ quickly becoming an international bestseller with its low-tech approach to explaining high-tech gadgets. It was even used as a teaching resource at a poorly equipped school in Rwanda.
The book seemed to strike a cord in people with its three dimensional working models that set out to simply explain and demonstrate the principles behind modern-day technologies in a playful, interactive way. Even New Scientist heaped praise on it in a review, describing the models as “stretching the limits of paper engineering”. I am convinced that this physical, truly interactive approach to education remains uniquely effective in the pursuit of our understanding of the world around us.
Since then all my projects have ended up being part book, part toy, part game – I just don’t seem to be able to help it! It’s been such a thrill to see my books translated into different languages and enjoyed by children from other countries. I’m passionate about my work as a practitioner and educator and love nothing better than the challenge of creating unusual children’s books. If they have a three dimensional element to them, then that’s even better.
I’ve collaborated with some pretty cool people over the years including ‘The London Science Museum, ‘Aardman Animation’ and even made guest appearances on television and radio programs.
With the publication of The Amazing Pop-Up Science Flea Circus I fulfilled a childhood ambition to be able to utter those immortal words, “Here’s one I made earlier “ live on CBBC when I was invited to be a guest on a show hosted by Holly Willoughby.
Biddy Baxter would have been proud!
When I’m not designing children’s books I work as a senior lecturer at the Arts Academy in Cardiff helping students to develop their skills at idea generation and prepare for careers in the creative industries.
