Exeter, UK
Graphic designer for Exeter businesses.
I’m Jon Heavens, a graphic designer based in Devon with over 15 years of experience working with businesses across Exeter, from the Cathedral Quarter and Princesshay to the Quayside, Heavitree, and Topsham. The work spans brand identity, print, illustration, and digital design, with a focus on getting the strategy right before any visual decisions are made.
Exeter has changed shape fast. The university brings 25,000 students into the city, the Met Office and John Lewis run head offices here, and the Quayside has rebuilt itself into the strongest hospitality strip in Devon. The businesses winning here are the ones whose visual identity actually matches their level of ambition. That is what I build.
What I Do
Design Disciplines
Brand Identity
Logo Design
Print & Publication
Packaging
Vehicle Wraps
Menu Design
Signage
Digital Design
Illustration
Apparel & Merch
Industries
Who I Work With in Exeter
Exeter’s commercial mix is broader than most South West cities — Quayside hospitality, professional services around Southernhay and the Cathedral Quarter, retail through Princesshay and the High Street, a growing tech and creative scene, and education-adjacent work tied to the university. Different sectors, same standard: design that does the job, holds up over time, and matches the level of the business behind it.
Hospitality & Venues
Cafes, restaurants, bars, and event venues from the Quayside and the Cathedral Quarter to Heavitree and Topsham. Brand systems, menu design, signage, and the print suite a venue actually needs to operate.
The Stand Off, Exeter · venue brand work · menu and table-talker design
Professional Services
Solicitors, financial advisors, consultants, and coaches working from Southernhay, the Cathedral Quarter, and the Heavitree corridor. Identities that read as credible without being generic.
Conway Coaching · personal trainer and BJJ coach branding
Trades & Services
Devon trade businesses needing professional identity that translates from van livery to invoice template to social profile. Visual systems that do the convincing before the quote arrives.
Empire Exterior · trades and services branding across Devon
Retail & Independent Brands
Independent shops, makers, and product brands selling through Princesshay, the High Street, the Quayside markets, or direct online. Packaging, labels, and stationery that reinforce the craft of the product itself.
Independent maker branding · Devon-wide retail clients
Education & Public Sector
Education-adjacent and public-sector clients needing accessible, on-brand communication. Course materials, publications, signage, and consultation graphics with clarity built in.
School of Natural Skincare · LHC Design · Teignbridge Climate Hub
Music, Charity & Community
Bands, charity organisations, and event runners with strong visual identities that need to hold up at gig-poster scale and across community channels.
Fray (BJJ Charity) · The Stand Off · Sapper Games
Local Projects
Selected Exeter & Devon Work
A selection of recent projects with Exeter and Devon-based businesses. Each one started as a conversation about what the business actually needed to communicate, and ended with design that earns its place on a shopfront, in a customer’s hand, or on the side of a van.
Areas Covered
Working with businesses across Exeter
Local clients across Exeter and the surrounding villages. Site visits and in-person meetings available for projects that benefit from venue photography or supplier coordination.
Questions
Frequently asked
Are you based in Exeter?
I’m based in Devon and work with clients across Exeter regularly, including in-person meetings around the Cathedral Quarter, Quayside, and Topsham when projects benefit from it. Most communication is handled by email, video call, and shared files, so the working pattern is the same whether you are in St Sidwell’s or San Francisco.
What kinds of Exeter businesses do you work with?
Hospitality businesses on the Quayside and Cathedral Quarter, professional service firms in the Southernhay and Heavitree areas, independent retailers around Princesshay and the High Street, and Devon-wide trade businesses operating across Exeter and beyond. The discipline matters more than the sector — if the work needs a strong visual identity, the process is the same regardless of industry.
How much does a brand identity project cost?
Quoted per project after a proper brief. A standalone logo sits in one range, a complete brand identity system with print and digital collateral sits in another, and ongoing retainers are different again. No templates, no fixed packages, no surprise fees.
How long does a typical project take?
Brand identity projects usually run four to eight weeks from brief to final files. Print and digital projects can be faster when the scope is tight. Launch deadlines for venue openings or events get worked around when the brief lands early enough.
Do you do venue signage and shopfront design for Exeter businesses?
Yes, regularly. Print-ready signage specs, supplier coordination with sign-makers across Devon, and on-site visits when fit-out timing requires it. Same applies to interior graphics, menu boards, and table talkers for hospitality clients.
What files do I receive at the end of a project?
Every asset in every format you need — AI, EPS, SVG, PDF, PNG — plus brand guidelines where applicable. Print-ready for suppliers and web-ready for digital use. You own the files outright.
Start a Project
Working on something in Exeter?
Send me your brief and I’ll come back with a clear proposal. No templates, no fixed packages, just design built around what your business actually needs.
Currently taking briefs