A much loved friend and colleague

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Fran Ruano, head of art and design at SUR, dies in road accident

In the middle of the room, Fran Ruano, calmly welding everyone's work into a professional-looking, attractive format - an inspired front page for a special edition, a supplement, web page, new graphics and layouts, as Art Director Fran was responsible for them all.

But Fran was not only a brilliant professional who had won awards from the Society for News Design (the Oscars of the media world). He was a vital part of the SUR family, loved by everyone for his genuine friendliness, his willingness to help anyone, any time, for his social commitment and personal and professional values, for the smile you could always be sure of.

So the newsroom was hit at the weekend by a tsunami of shock and grief, when we heard that he had died in a tragic car accident. His death has left a gaping hole in the SUR offices, and in the hearts of all loved him.