Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 28, 2026

Protecting your privacy is very important to me. I'm committed to maintaining the security of all personal information provided to me by visitors to this website. This Privacy Policy details how I collect, use and manage this personal information.

Who I am

This website is run by Simon Whittaker, trading as Simon Whittaker Illustration/House of Deadleg ("I", "me"). For the purposes of UK data protection law, I am the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. If you have any questions, or want to exercise any of the rights set out below, you can contact me at .

Providing personal information

At times I may ask you to voluntarily supply personal information, such as your name, address and preferred means of communication, for purposes such as subscribing to my newsletter or requesting a quote for illustration work.

Other than for the reasons as stated above, no attempt is made to identify users or their browsing activities except in the event of an investigation, where a law enforcement agency may exercise a warrant to inspect logs, or where I believe it is required to collect and produce relevant electronic documentation to fulfil its obligations to third parties, including statutory organisations under local law.

Legal basis for processing

I rely on the following legal bases, depending on the situation:

• Consent, for example, when you sign up to my newsletter.
• Contract/pre-contract steps, for example, when you request a quote or commission illustration work.
• Legitimate interest, for example, occasional postcards or follow-up emails sent to relevant industry contacts sourced from places such as AOI marketing directories, LinkedIn, or other publicly available professional sources (see below), where I judge the impact on you to be minimal and you're free to opt out at any time.

Security

I take all reasonable security measures to protect personal information from loss, unauthorised access, destruction, misuse, modification or disclosure. When you me, your email address is automatically stored in my email address book. I only use this email address to reply to your initial query and any subsequent correspondence back and forth. I will never add your address to a mailing list or share it with a third party without your permission. All my email accounts are password protected.

In the unlikely event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, I will notify affected individuals and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as required by law.

Where I get your personal information from

Depending on how we come into contact, I get your personal information from:

• You directly, for example, when you me, request a quote, or sign up to my newsletter through this website.
• Publicly available professional sources, for example, contact directories collated and sold by the AOI (Association of Illustrators), LinkedIn, or other publicly available professional listings, where I've identified you as a relevant industry contact.
• Automatically, through this website, for example, via Google Analytics or the heatmap analytics tool described below, once you've given consent through the cookie banner.
• Where directories from sources such as the AOI are supplied as files (e.g. Excel spreadsheets or PDFs), these are stored on a password-protected computer. I will never add contacts sourced this way to my newsletter mailing list without your express permission.

How long I keep your information

How long I keep your information depends on why I collected it:

• Enquiries and correspondence (e.g. quote requests), kept for as long as reasonably necessary to deal with your enquiry, and for a short period afterwards in case you get back in touch, after which it's periodically deleted. If you'd like your details removed sooner, just ask.
• Newsletter subscribers, kept for as long as you remain subscribed. Every newsletter includes an unsubscribe link, and your details are automatically deleted as soon as you unsubscribe.
• Marketing contacts sourced from directories or public listings (e.g. AOI, LinkedIn), kept until you ask me to stop sending marketing materials, at which point I remove your details from my database, or until I judge the contact is no longer relevant to my work.
• Analytics and heatmap data, kept only as long as needed to understand and improve how the site is used, and is not retained indefinitely.

Access to personal data and right to rectification

You can gain access to the personal information I hold about you by sending a request to . This includes asking for details of where I got your personal information from and who I've shared it with. As I want to make sure the personal information I hold about you is complete, accurate and up to date, you also have the right to request rectification.

Depending on your circumstances, you may also have the right to:

• ask me to erase your personal data
• ask me to restrict processing of your personal data
• object to processing based on legitimate interest
• request that your data be provided to you in a portable format
• withdraw your consent at any time, where I'm relying on consent as the legal basis (e.g. newsletter subscriptions or non-essential cookies) — this won't affect anything already done on the basis of your consent before you withdrew it.

If you make a request, I'll respond without undue delay and in any event within one month.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about how I've used your personal information, please get in touch first at so I can try to put things right.

If you remain unhappy after raising a complaint with me, you also have the right to complain to the ICO.

The ICO's address:

Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

Use of cookies and analytics

Cookies are small text files stored on your computer by websites you visit. Simon Whittaker Illustration / House of Deadleg currently uses cookies and similar tracking technologies for two purposes: standard analytics (Google Analytics) and heatmap analytics (see below). Non-essential cookies are only set once you've given consent through the cookie banner described below.

Google Analytics

These cookies collect information about how visitors find and use this website — for example, which page you were on before arriving here, and which pages you looked at. Google Analytics is configured not to directly identify you by name; however, depending on configuration, analytics data such as IP address and device information can, in principle, be used to identify an individual, so I treat this data as personal information and handle it accordingly. It's used to help me understand which parts of the site people use most (and least) and to make informed decisions about design, usability and content. Without this kind of information, I'd probably just end up posting endless illustrations of Columbo.

Heatmap analytics

I've also added heatmap analytics to this website. This may only be a temporary addition, if I remove it, I'll update this policy accordingly.

This tool records on-page interactions including clicks, mouse movement (shown as a thermal map), repeated rapid clicking in the same spot (often a sign of frustration), and scroll depth. It does not capture session recordings and does not knowingly collect information typed into text fields.

This data is used solely to understand how visitors interact with the site, for example, which sections attract attention, where people drop off, and how navigation could be improved, so I can make better decisions about layout, content and usability. It is not used for advertising, profiling, or any purpose beyond improving this website.

This tool is self-hosted on my own server as part of this website, so this data isn't sent to or processed by any third party. It stays on my own server and is only ever viewed by me.

Cookie consent

This site uses a cookie consent tool to give you control over non-essential cookies such as those used for analytics and heatmap tracking. Non-essential cookies are blocked by default and are only set once you actively give consent via the cookie banner. Strictly necessary cookies needed for the site to function are not affected by this setting. For more information see the full Cookies Policy further down the page.

You can change your mind at any time by reopening the cookie preferences (usually via a link in the site footer or the cookie icon) and withdrawing or updating your consent. You can also block cookies more generally through your browser settings, though this may affect the cookie banner's ability to remember your preference.

You can find out more information about cookies at http://www.allaboutcookies.org/ and more about Google's privacy policy at http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/.

But don't say I didn't warn you, decline the analytics cookies, and the next time you visit, for all I know it's wall-to-wall Columbo.

External Links

Other websites may be accessible via links from my website. Please note these other websites are not subject to this Privacy Policy. Please review the privacy policy of each individual website you access via links from this website, and assess whether it is satisfactory to you before you use them. Simon Whittaker Illustration/House of Deadleg is not responsible for the content of external sites that may be linked to.

Revisions to this policy

I may update this policy from time to time, for example, if I add or remove a tool like the heatmap analytics described above. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent change. Please check this policy periodically, continued use of this website after a change has been made will be taken as your acceptance of that change.

Past clients include…