Martin Shovel is a communications expert, writer, cartoonist, facilitator and teacher. The starting point for his work is his belief that the most engaging and persuasive communicators – people who are really good at getting their message across – use more imagery and metaphor in their language than other people. Martin’s expertise lies in enabling people to express and communicate their ideas in words that inspire, engage and influence their listeners and readers.
After graduating in philosophy, Martin taught English and developed his own innovative, cartoon-based approach to language teaching. His first book, Making Sense of Phrasal Verbs, became a world-wide best seller and launched his successful career as a cartoonist. Over two decades Martin illustrated countless books on a wide variety of subjects from Tony Buzan's Mind Maps for Kids to The Official Grumpy Old Men Handbook for the BBC. As well as publishing regularly with clients such as The Daily Telegraph, Oxford University Press and HarperCollins, Martin has also worked on campaigns for advertising agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather and McCann-Erickson.
Alongside his illustration career Martin continued to pursue his deep interest in the relationship between visual imagery and language. He began exploring ways in which drawing and visual thinking could be used as a tool for thinking, learning and communication in organisations, and in 2002 he founded CreativityWorks with Martha Leyton to develop this further.
The cartoons on this website are all by Martin. If you'd like to see some more, click here to see his on-line cartoon portfolio.
Martha Leyton is an experienced teacher, trainer and group facilitator, specialising in designing learning experiences that enable people to communicate more effectively. After an honours degree in English Literature and a postgraduate teaching degree (PGCE) she taught English and Communication in the Further Education sector, and developed courses specifically for adult learners. Following a period in educational research, Martha moved into educational publishing, working on textbooks, e-learning and reference books as both writer and editor for a variety of publishing houses, including: Philip’s, Epic, Hodder and Stoughton, and the Education Journal.
Her research into the role of visual thinking in adult learning led her to join Martin Shovel in founding CreativityWorks in 2002. She brings a wealth of experience in designing open, interactive and developmental learning experiences.