Mick Marston

branding and Illustration for study on Obesity for LBU

To provide a new interior for the wards and corridors at the children's hospital at LGI

Others are up-and-coming, for example Charlotte Ager and Leah Yang. Martin Salisbury draws on decades of experience as an illustrator and educator to shed light on the lives and work of each artist.

Armitage and Marston led the visual communication strategy for the Re:Mission Study—an NHS low-calorie diet programme—translating complex clinical research into accessible materials for both patients and healthcare professionals. Collaborating closely with health researchers and a Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Group (PPIE), the project resulted in an animated patient journey film, a short explainer animation, and an illustrated summary document for practitioners. This interdisciplinary collaboration addressed a significant gap: prior to this intervention, there was no central, accessible source of information about the NHS low-calorie diet programme. By involving both researchers and patients in the co-design process, the team developed materials that bridged the gap between clinical research and public understanding, responding directly to real-world needs. The project distilled 20,000 words of clinical research into engaging, easy-to-understand formats suitable for a broad, lay audience. These materials are now embedded within NHS platforms, raising awareness of Type 2 diabetes remission strategies and encouraging behaviour change across the UK. The outputs have been distributed in GP surgeries and were presented at the Diabetes UK Conference in April 2024 to 2,000 delegates from academia, policy, and healthcare practice. The Re:Mission project has influenced national guidelines, reshaping how the NHS delivers Type 2 diabetes care. The collaboration between creatives and health researchers provided invaluable learning, ensuring the development of communications that address public health challenges. Ongoing qualitative research led by Louisa Ells will assess the long-term effects of these materials on healthcare practice and patient outcomes. https://remission.study/summary https://remission.study/patient-journey

Exhibition of sketchbook work from 2021 to 2023 comprising of 13 sketchbooks and additional artefacts and moving images informed by the books.

13 Sketchbooks from 2021 to 2023

Commissioned by A+E Networks for The History Channel – A Brief History of Football was a series of five animated shorts created for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The animations were broken up into five discrete titles – The Ball, The Boot, The Stadium, The Kit and The Goalposts and the intention was to distill centuries of information into a one minute short using humour. The approach to the animations were initially inspired by the markings of a football pitch – this constraint led to the simple methodology of transitioning between associated shapes to enable the rapid narration of the story. The constraint of the simple white line and circle also allowed very complex scenes – a medieval crowd for example – to be abstracted into a series of simplified forms and provide seamless connections between disparate objects. A Brief History of Football was broadcast on The History Channel worldwide for the duration of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and on The History Channel Twitter Feed for the same duration. The acccompanying commentary was provided by Jonathan Pearce. The audience stats for this are immeasurable. http://mickmarston.du.st/articles/history-of-football/ It is extremely rare for an illustrator to be commissioned to storyboard and dictate how the animated sequences transition using only a provided script. Illustrators are generally only required to supply key frames of an agreed style to a signed off storyboard.

‘Alicante’ Short Haul Flights Campaign for British Airways commissioned by BBH London. 48 sheet poster, web banners and magazine ads. September 2016 http://du.st/articles/british-airways-alicante/

Huddersfield University Prospectus, Poster and Animation Campaign commissioned by Peter and Paul. http://www.peterandpaul.co.uk http://formfiftyfive.com/2016/06/peter-paul-huddersfield-university/ January 2017

‘Catalyst Festival of Creativity’ Group Exhibition at Sheffield Institute of Art Commissioned by Human Studio in Collaboration with SHU http://www4.shu.ac.uk/mediacentre/3d-printing-exhibition-explores-sheffields-creativity July 2016

A View of Sheffield – Group Exhibition at S1 Artspace. Commissioned by Uber Agency. https://www.uberagency.com/news/a-view-of-sheffield http://aviewofsheffield.co.uk November 2016

Soho not Soso. Group Exhibition at Getty Images Gallery and Berwick St Market commissioned by BBH London. December 2016. https://www.creativereview.co.uk/work/work-bbh-london-launches-soho-not-soso-campaign/ https://twitter.com/SohoGeorge/status/807327730920464384

‘Animal Procession’ 40 prints in a permanent exhibition at Sheffield Children’s Hospital – commencing May 2015. Commissioned by Cat Powell of Artfelt – Children’s Hospital Charity Trust. http://www.tchc.org.uk/shop/#animal%20prints%20by%20dust All sales raise money for the charity.

The Beauties of The Common Tool Exhibition of prints at ROCO space Glossop Rd Sheffield and accompanying newspaper for delegates for OFFSET conference held in Sheffield during November as part of The Year of Making. http://www.iloveoffset.com/news/offset-sheffield/ November 2016

‘Just Do Good Shit’ Group Exhibition at 156 Gallery Sheffield, commissioned by Side by Side. Held during Sheffield Design Week 2015 http://www.justdogoodshit.com/posters/ http://theultralinx.com/2016/05/designers-posters-show-the-most-important-thing-that-theyve-learned/

50 Things To Do Collaboration with Julian Wood – Head of Wybourn School – to produce a book to engage children at Wybourn School in Sheffield to participate in extra curricular activities and to encourage play, inquisitiveness, curiosity and perform simple tasks. Illustration and concept August 2016 http://du.st/articles/50-things-to-do/

‘The Shit Show’ Group Exhibition, commissioned by WaterAid America. At the Thierry Goldberg Gallery New York. November 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuUwBvmdVPM

‘Present!’ Group Exhibition commissioned by We Are All Equals for London Design Festival 2015. http://www.weareallequals.co To raise money to build a home for Indian street children.

Clapham Junction Station Advertising and Wayfinding Campaign for British Airways commissioned by Ruth Armitt at BBH London. September 2016 http://mickmarston.du.st/articles/beach/

‘A Beginners Guide To Coding’ Illustrated book commissioned by Bloomsbury Publishing. http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/a-beginners-guide-to-coding-9781472928641/ August 2016

Logo Design for International Labour Process Conference, Sheffield, April 2017. Commissioned by Kirsty Newsome at Sheffield University September 2016

Info Graphics for The Malala Fund. May/July 2015 nfo Graphics for The Malala Fund. May/July 2015 https://www.facebook.com/MalalaFund/photos/a.683448525002336.1073741826.541807025833154/1109724065708111/?type=3&theater

Tailster Advertising Campaign illustrations. Commissioned by BBH London. Extensive poster, animation and web campaign for pet minding service. https://www.tailster.com October 2016

Reframing The Myth – Group Exhibition at The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London. Collaboration between Central Illustration Agency and Graeae Theatre. http://www.graeae.org/news/reframing/ 2nd – 26th February 2016 Featured in Creative Review 10th Feb 2016 https://www.creativereview.co.uk/cia-teams-up-with-theatre-company-graeae-for-new-illustration-exhibition/

Background National Health Service England piloted a low-calorie diet programme, delivered through total diet replacement and behaviour change support via 1 : 1, group or digital delivery, to improve type 2 diabetes in adults with excess weight. Aim To coproduce a qualitative and economic evaluation of the National Health Service low-calorie diet pilot, integrated with National Health Service data to provide an enhanced understanding of the long-term cost-effectiveness, implementation, equity and transferability across broad and diverse populations. Research questions What are the theoretical principles, behaviour change components, content and mode of delivery of the programme, and is it delivered with fidelity to National Health Service specifications? What are the service provider, user and National Health Service staff experiences of the programme? Do sociodemographics influence programme access, uptake, compliance and success? What aspects of the service work and what do not work, for whom, in what context and why? Can the programme be improved to enhance patient experience and address inequities? What are the programme delivery costs, and policy implications for wide-spread adoption? Methods A mixed-methods study underpinned by a realist-informed approach was delivered across five work packages, involving: semistructured interviews with service users (n = 67), National Health Service staff (n = 55), service providers (n = 9); 13 service provider focus groups; and service user surveys (n = 719). Findings were triangulated with clinical data from the National Health Service England’s first cohort analysis (n = 7540). Results Fifty-five per cent of service users who started total diet replacement completed the programme and lost an average of 10.3 kg; 32% of those with data available to measure remission achieved it. Examination of programme mobilisation identified barriers around referral equality and the impact of COVID-19, while effective cross-stakeholder working and communication were key facilitators. Service delivery and fidelity assessments identified a drift in implementation fidelity, alongside variation in the behaviour change content across providers. Perceived barriers to programme uptake and engagement aligned across service providers and users, resulting in key learning on: the importance of person-centred care, service user support needs, improvements to total diet replacement and the social and cultural impact of the programme. Early National Health Service quantitative analyses suggest some socioeconomic variation in programme uptake, completion and outcomes. Insights from the evaluation and National Health Service data were combined to develop the programme theory and underpinning context, mechanisms and outcomes. These were used to develop a list of recommendations to improve the cultural competency of programme delivery, total diet replacement delivery, peer support and address psychological support needs. Cost-effectiveness analyses using short-term follow-up data indicated there is potential for the programme to be cost-effective, but not cost saving. Conclusions The National Health Service low-calorie diet can provide a clinically effective and potentially cost-effective programme to support weight loss and glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. However, this evaluation identified areas for improvement in referral equity, uptake and completion, and fidelity of delivery, which have informed the development of the programme, which has now been rolled out nationally. Ongoing programme monitoring and long-term follow-up are now required. Future work and limitations The real-world setting limited some data collection and analysis. Future work will focus on the analysis of long-term clinical and cost-effectiveness, and addressing inequalities. Funding This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme as award number NIHR132075.