Fired By Design features news, reviews, interviews and articles by Michael Burns, a freelance writer based in the UK.
It focuses on a broad range of the visual arts, from graphic design and illustration through to visual effects and film and TV postproduction.
Content includes news of hot projects and commentary on general design, film and broadcast industry trends, as well as other exclusively online material.
Fired By Design also acts as an online resource and showcase for my published work, offering an archive of interviews and features, some previously available only in an edited form.
I’ve been a freelance writer and journalist for almost fifteen years, writing for magazines covering design and digital content creation, broadcast production, TV and film postproduction and animation. Before this I held various editorial posts in the UK publishing market, including positions such as editor of CGI Magazine and creator and editor-in-chief of the Future Publishing portal Computercreative.com, as well as senior editorial roles on Macuser and Macworld magazines.
Here are some links to my work online:
Articles for Broadcast Magazine
If you are interested in hiring me for my copywriting and editing skills, please get in touch using the form below. I can send a PDF Portfolio on request.
If you’re in PR, you can find out more details about me by searching for Michael Burns at the Journalist Directory
Please use the form below for enquiries or to send any comments
Michael Burns, April 2009


A private equity house, Endless LLP, has acquired Cinesite from Kodak for an undisclosed amount [...]
Adobe has unveiled the full Creative Suite 6 product line and Adobe Creative Cloud. [...]
Get a move on if you want to submit an entry to Rushes Soho Shorts Festival 2012 [...]
The co-founder and the former MD of the design outfit Airside have together formed new agency Rupert Ray, which will open its doors in April 2012. [...]


Recently I reviewed the new version of the venerable DTP software and set out some key tips for using it in a Masterclass feature for Macworld [...]
In this feature, commissioned by Macworld, I track the last ten years of Mac OS X. It ends with a preview of Mac OS X 7- Codenamed Lion, which is due this summer. [...]
What is the secret of convincing portraiture, whether done digitally or in traditional media or a mixture of the two? Find out in this feature [...]