Exciting times

The birth of the internet and a truly global economy. The ability for those with the freedom to do it – to get on a plane and visit a far-away culture, or even set up a business. Large populations now crowd source, via social networking, or even congregate on-line; to inspire revolution and over-through a repressive regime.

The challenge of managing global warming, fueled by a population explosion, and an enduring human spirit to believe that; within our own ecosystem, we can ultimately control the effects of our causes.

The earnest drive to develop ever more sophisticated technology, ‘improving lives’ and entertaining some of us in our increased leisure time, while so many around the World fight a daily battle for food and water.

Driven by a ‘get-on-and-do’ energy, Dodridge has, from an early age, been engaged in all manner of exciting projects.

At eleven; Dodridge became a volunteer Watch Leader for The Hackney Adventure Holiday Project. Following a years leadership skills training in a variety of locations, including: HMS Victory (once moored in the Thames in central London). His six weeks of school summer holidays, during his teenage years,were spent managing an activity programme for his ever-changing team of eight children from The East End. This powerful experience, at such a formative age, has never left him and today, Dodridge is volunteer Communications Manager for The Imps Motorcycle Display Team, which grew out of the Hackney Project, some forty years ago. His marketing agency: Silver has selected The Imps as its core corporate social responsibility partner.

With artistic parents, leading by their example of painting, weaving, cooking and gardening, and always encouraging, Dodridge found his natural calling in graphic design.

Following art school, during the mid eighties he worked for a 'one-man-band' + Dodridge called; John Walsh Creative in Covent Garden, London, where he learned to handle the client meetings, before starting out on his own. He began Dumbleton Design in the former Hat Factory in Hollen Street in Soho and then via a brief spell as Creative Director of Graphic Impressions in Clerkenwell he began GyroHSR.

Gyro began working on property brochures, from a bedroom and attic in Putney, South London, before moving to the New Kings Road and then onto its current Wold-wide HQ in Chelsea Harbour.

With an unbounded energy, the Gyro team grew quickly in the nineties, achieving Virgin Atlantic, Sunday Times FastTrack Top 100 status two years running. A major focus on direct mail in the technology sector saw Team Gyro open offices in New York, San Francisco, Miami, Geneva and Stockholm by the end of the decade. Gyro has fifteen offices worldwide that deliver marketing solutions for companies such as Hi-Tech, American Express and Google. Graham retired from the business in 2004 to focus time on his growing family, having recently established the family home in The Cotswolds, where he grew up.

Following a two year hiatus, in which Dodridge engaged in an extensive landscaping project at the family home, he was asked to rebrand a charity and this provided the ignition for Silver.

Silver started out in the stable block at home before migrating to Eagle Tower in Cheltenham. With a brand focus, Silver has been instrumental in helping a number of dynamic brands instantly establish themselves, such as Cheviot Asset Management, as well as developing key programmes for companies such as Logica and Cisco Systems. Recently the fast growing team at Silver has been delivering worldwide brand development for leaders in steam engineering, Spirax Sarco, as well as creating a personality-based brand for BBC Countryfile's Adam Henson.

Silver delivers a full service from brand strategy, through great creative programme execution with a totally integrated media mix including all aspects of digital and social media.

Visit: www.silver-worldwide.com

Through the lens

Never without his camera, Dodridge has travelled extensively on business, while building his agencies over the last twenty years.

He flew to San Francisco on the eve of 911, arrived their once again on the day that the second Gulf war began and coincidentally found himself at Ground Zero in New York as the families of victims of the WTC Twin Towers disaster responded to the proposals for the memorials, now taking shape. Having created extensivemarketing material for WTC 1 and 2, for The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1991, Dodridge found this experience all the more poignant.

More recently Dodridge took a trip to Cairo to capture the atmosphere of the region. The day after his return, the Egyptian people took to the streets to topple the autocratic government.

In another life, he laments, that he would like to have been a war photo-journalist, like his friend Steve Back, but notes that his record of leaving a day too soon or arriving a day too late would not enable him to tell the story most effectively.

An Inspirational Character

Photographer – Dan Eldon (1970 – 1993).

On the 12th of July 1993, Dan and three of his colleagues raced across Mogadishu to cover the bombing of what was thought to be General Aideed’s headquarters. In the ensuing confusion, all four young men were beaten, clubbed and stoned to death by an angry mob furious about the death of more than fifty of their friends, fathers, and brothers at the hands of U.S. andU.N. soldiers. The journalists who died that day were Hos Maina, Anthony Macharia, Hansi Krauss, and Dan Eldon.

Dodridge says “Dan’s photographs passionately capture, often with humour, sometimes not, the absurd normality of war in some peoples lives. Unlike the black and white, often horrific, shots of the brilliant Robert Cappa, which tell of a story far away, Eldon’s colourful, beautifully cropped, evocative photographs, make me look inwards. Although he died nearly twentyyears ago, at the tender age of just twenty two, his brilliant ‘story-telling’ pictures look like they were taken yesterday.

Visit: www.daneldon.org

Beyond brand and photography, Dodridge has launched an ecological and ethical clothing company called: EcoCreeper and has designed a range of furniture, currentlybeing developed by DFG. He is also putting the finishing touches to ‘Baptism by Fire’, his first novel.