james at terrapin-graphics.com
991 Avenue Road, Toronto ON M5P 2K9 CANADA
TERRAPIN GRAPHICS is a one-man operation located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The one man is myself, James Peters. My firm has been in existence for twenty years and has always specialized in graphic design and illustration for print. My firm’s site has been on the web for very close to ten years and I update its look and content every two years.

Various pieces designed by me have been selected for inclusion in nine books on graphic design. Here are their titles:

DESIGN SPEAKS

THE BEST OF BUSINESS CARD DESIGN 5

BY DESIGN

SMALL GRAPHICS

DESIGNING WITH COLOR FOR AN INTERNATIONAL MARKET

HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND USE DESIGN AND LAYOUT

THE ART OF DESIGN

DIRECT RESPONSE GRAPHICS

DESIGNS THAT STAND UP, SPEAK OUT AND CAN’T BE IGNORED
A lot of design students visit this site and write to me, so the following is for them. If you’re looking for a job, I’m afraid I don’t have one as I have no intention of expanding my firm. If you’re curious about design as practised by me, you will find remarks on the subject added to the descriptions of some of the items in the site’s other sections. If you have a question regarding a specific aspect of design which I haven’t mentioned, please write to me. I love to discuss graphic design. If you want to know how to get into the business as a free-lance operator, write to me and I’ll see if I can muster any useful advice. My superficial impression is that it is now a lot harder to start up as a free-lance than it used to be, simply because there are more designers everywhere.

Other than design my chief interest is literature in all its variety: novels, poetry, plays, history and even books on science. I love animals and like to walk, watch movies, smoke cigars, drink bourbon and sleep. I become wary when any person or thing is described to me as “cool”.