Week 1 – Perspectives
This initiative examines the subject of graphic design, it’s boundaries and genres in relation to personal, regional and global perspectives.
It focuses on ‘identity’ as a theme and the outcome will be based on a reflective journal, data analysis and design artefact.
Lectures | Challenges
- Introduction: who, what, where and why?
- Industry today: geo-tagged studio exercise and company analysis.
- Fields of practice: designers, design, new languages, theory and the new aesthetic.
- The self and identity: values and equities.
Introduction: who, what, where and why?
Case Studies.
The studios interviewed for the case studies vary massively, from new studios just over 12 months old, to agencies which have been around for over 20 year. People working by themselves in their own studio to large companies with dozens of workers.
Although their setups are different, there’s a common theme which is that they are all
Intro:
The two designers interviewed from Intro are Julian House and Adrian Talbot.
Who
Julian has been at Intro for 20 years, mainly working on music and film-based projects – ‘all the things I’m interested in.
What
He illustration at art school, got into design for print post-grad. He sees his starting point as designing a record sleeve for his friends’ band: Broadcast. Designing also for the band Stereolab, he brought them to Intro when he started there. At Intro he carried on designing music sleeves. The one for Primal Scream included a video in the same style as the album artwork which he sees as the moment which design expanded into whichever medium was needed to communicate a project.
Who
Adrian Talbot, there since since 1990. He sees himself as a ‘traditional graphic designer’, by that he means his interests are 2d, printed communication.
What
Adrian’s background is based in identity design. Previously working at Wolf Ollins where he enjoyed working on type and letterforms, and print work in general. His route to Intro was through designing identities.
Where
London…
Most clients are London-based, Adrian sees it as still a little odd in the current industry. Clients further afield mainly due to the ‘digital age’.
Why
I can relate to a lot of what they both say here, Julian likes the problem solving… bringing together a set of things to create a visual language which will vary from job to job: sometimes the type will be the key point, others will follow the image.
Adrian’s analogy of ‘why’ fits exactly with my path into becoming a graphic designer, in that we all go to study graphic design even though we didn’t really know much about it, we just liked art at school. Then we got an interest in words as well as pictures, being more ‘seduced’ by how things looked than how they communicated information.
Like me, he is still excited by the arrangement of words, pictures and space 30 years later.
How have you responded to changes within your practice?
Julian feels he’s had to adapt because of two things happening at once: budgets in the music industry were dropping but also because things like music videos got easier to make, it can all be done from your desk. Media available from archives and smartphone footage are easily adapted to web and digital design. Print and digital were more separate fields, completely different way to work but now there’s a crossover and clients will want their work to include all the different formats.
A drop in budgets from clients has meant that the company has downsized and now uses more freelance designers, even if clients now have the money which they had before they are used to spending less on design so everything has to be cost-effective.
Adrian: ‘I’m still something of a Luddite’ and didn’t really got into the digital age by choice, they had to adapt because everything changed in the world outside. The co-operative analogy in the company means anyone who might feel ‘short on something’ can go and talk to someone there who has more experience in whatever it might be.
How have your skills changed?
Adrian: Technology and software have changed and you can learn how to use the software, but you can’t learn how to be a designer.
I’ve experienced this myself, times when people would say ‘I can do websites’ or ‘I’m a photographer’, what the had was a computer or a camera, not the ability to be a designer who can use those tools.
Sarah Boris
Who
Studied in London for an MA in typography, she is influenced by people and ‘from the streets’ not just looking at graphic design.
What
Editorial design and branding, visual identities for theatre companies and arts organisations and artists themselves. She left Phaidon books in 2015 and was offered the chance to do an exhibition of her own work. Whilst designing the posters for the exhibition one of those ‘happy accidents’ happened from which she created a book as part of the exhibition which then lead on to meeting a publisher, she is currently working on a second edition.
Where
Based in London which has an impact on here work in that most clients are London-based also.
Why
Design is a function, an aesthetic and a way of living.
How have you responded to changes within your practice?
Her practice has changed a lot, mainly from working in different places and the need to adapt to working in those places.
How have your skills changed?
From starting in a small studio producing quick identities and literature with small print runs she has moved to larger publishers with larger projects she has had to learn more skills in terms of production, and communication with different countries.
Regular Practice
Tom Finn & Kristoffer Solling
Who
Met and worked together at RCA and have been set up as a studio for just over a year.
What
The studio is type-centric, they draw or adapt type because that’s their interest.
Their first work on a project with ‘meaningful scale’ was an exhibition of recent type experiments by students at the RCA, there was no set brief, just to do whatever they saw as being right. Different applications, different products, signs and graphics.
Where
East London. Share a studio with friends who invited them to use the space. There are a lot of creative studios, printers, etc. close by, which has helped a lot.
They feel that low cost of their setup helps them to have more freedom to look for the type of work the would prefer, that are able to turn down work they feel doesn’t fit in with their goals.
Why
It’s (sometimes) a rewarding industry to work in. There’s something at the end of a project which gives a sense of achievement. Their prime reason is that they can do the things they want to in the way they want to do them. To be excited by projects which come in where they have to learn new techniques or processes keeps it interesting.
How have you responded to changes within your practice?
They see every project as a reason for change, they’re curious and want to learn on every one.
How have your skills changed?
Mistakes from a lack of understanding of the business side of running a studio have been fixed as they’ve gone along. The work is the same as the days in art school, it just has to be created much faster and more accurately, mistakes while studying was part of the learning process which made it a little easier to adapt to professional practice.
Sam Winston
Who
Studied in London. Has dyslexia which he sees as a fascination rather than a problem. It lead him to design, typography and an interest in language and writing.
What
Thought he would work in books as a graphic designer or writer, and therefore assumed publishing. Realised how diverse the design world was and so began to see his work as a separate thing from graphic design, something which could be commissioned directly from clients, rather than working for a design studio.
Where
Based in London with a studio by himself where he enjoys the silence while working.
The studio is set within a complex where other designers and artists are based so there is a lot of creative activity around. His work takes him to a lot of different countries and his opinion is that he doesn’t need too be based in a city to be able to do the work he does, but, the surroundings are good to soak up an atmosphere.
Why
Design is an actual thing which is applicable to lots of other things which gives the freedom to do the whole body of work a project brings, not just one specific part, which calling yourself a graphic designer would do. He likes the process of resolving a problem, ‘design is just asking questions’.
How have you responded to changes within your practice?
People see change as something apprehensive, changes which bring a lot of fear but he thinks he is good at avoiding change yet his working methods are to try and introduce changes to the work he produces when possible, so and idea is able to change from one outcome to another if an outside change happens. The ‘working day’ is very structured which keeps a sense of control.
How have your skills changed?
Definitely changed over time, from needing a basic level of using technology to work to having to deal with budgets, deadlines and other methods of working. Being able to learn different skillsets means you can stay in charge of what you are doing, a key one is how to handle people.
SomeOne
Simon Manchipp
Who
A partner at SomeOne, Simon comes from a creative background in terms of family, studied at St Martins then straight into a job so the ‘journey’ has been smooth. From a design and advertising background at successful agencies. Worked as a company called ‘No-one’ which was part of the ad agency he was working in at the time. When things stated to slow down he and some others left and set up SomeOne, taking all the clients with them.
Best advice: keep your influences varied.
What
A branding agency which covers every medium, their projects ‘tell a story’. The agency is good at dealing with large projects involving a lot of people, getting people to agree is important. ‘Branding’ covers everything, getting people talking, thinking and a lot of strategy so the ideas can run.
Where
Shoreditch in London, originally a rough part of London which has become ‘gentrified’ but is still a creative area. They also have offices in Sydney, Berlin and New York but the London office is the main ‘hub’ which has helped all the other studios ‘find themselves’.
Why
Chose design because it combines many things and let you become a ‘mini-expert’ in other jobs. Design has allowed Simon to learn about the different sectors which have brought in new and exciting work.
How have you responded to changes within your practice?
Constantly changing, change is important in design but is a difficult line to tread, you need to be different enough to stand out but not so far in front that nobody knows what you’re doing and therefore don’t want it. They change by listening to what clients want.
How have your skills changed?
Digital is the main format, a graphic designer is seen as the architect and the digital designer is the engineer. The data side is the common area, sites work the same because it’s seen as the best practice, the graphic designer brings in the difference. They see themselves as fitting in the middle, able to bring those two sets together to get the best from each side.
Why
Chose design because it combines many things and let you become a ‘mini-expert’ in other jobs. Design has allowed Simon to learn about the different sectors which have brought in new and exciting work.
How have you responded to changes within your practice?
Constantly changing, change is important in design but is a difficult line to tread, you need to be different enough to stand out but not so far in front that nobody knows what you’re doing and therefore don’t want it. They change by listening to what clients want.
How have your skills changed?
Digital is the main format, a graphic designer is seen as the architect and the digital designer is the engineer. The data side is the common area, sites work the same because it’s seen as the best practice, the graphic designer brings in the difference. They see themselves as fitting in the middle, able to bring those two sets together to get the best from each side.
My response
Listening to the case studies I share a lot of the same views as each of them. Their way into design comes from a curiosity, a ‘thing’ which you feel is just there. Like Adrian at Intro, I just liked art at school, I had no idea what graphic design was or meant but someone told me it was like drawing but you got paid for it. I was the only person I knew who went to art school, everyone else at school went the usual way to do A Levels or work at a bank, I didn’t want to just do that.
Lots of changes have happened whilst I’ve worked in design, right at the start we still did camera work in a darkroom in the corner of the studio to send off artwork with overlay instructions for the printer to follow. Digital was there but only up to a point. When the Internet arrived web design wasn’t a separate career back then, it was more like ‘by the way, we can do websites’ and people had them just because they thought they should.
Later we would say in meetings that we could do things we couldn’t, then we then had to try and figure out how to do it. I’m still doing that now but I’d like to try and specialise more into something I enjoy.
Enjoying design is the key to wanting to carry one, when a project you get excited about comes along and the client doesn’t wreck it, it makes the crap work go away.
Week 1: Workshop Challenge
Who are you?
(Name, background, influences, what makes you you?)
Where are you?
(geographically and does this have an impact on how you work?)
What is it that you do?
(Showcase a pivotal project or moment in your practice)
Why Design?
(What does design mean to you? What does it do?)
Task
Produce a quadriptych (four images) to illustrate your answer to each question above. Design your four images as a grid and save as one image. This is a relatively quick exercise but all final images must be considered in how they communicate and answer the questions. Your quadriptych should be posted onto the ideas wall to be shared with your coursemates. Please also email to your online tutors and module leader and post on your blog before the webinar.
Project notes
Keypoints for ideas.
Notes:
- Designer for 20 years
- Didn’t like last ten, hated the last five
- Disinterested – monotonous – relentless
- Dire need of variety and challenges
- No value to work
- Path of the business just left to run – no input or ideas
- New start
- Guide the path of the studio
- GET AWAY FROM OLD SETUP – do not repeat!
- List the positives – stay in control
- Read, talk and review situation –
Who am I:
All these link to the same person, me. Each one a different way to get in touch and each one likely to get a different response: formal, suspicion, friendly, angry, caution or no response at all.
Rather than just list the details and leave it at that I’ve highlighted the daily links which usually get a good response, Falmouth being the new bunch at the bottom. I’ve crossed one out*, that’s the one I need to move away from but unfortunately I still need it as that’s where a chunk of work comes from, along with frustration (you’ll hear a lot about this*)…
What makes me seems to be varying moods and reactions.
What do I do:
(a pivotal project or moment)
This is a piece of work which looks back on what I’ve been doing before setting up my current studio. It covers a period of 10 years, 10×10 = 100 pages, the title: Ten Years Later (TENYRSLTR), (felt more like ten years too late at the time*) and the Vimeo clip of the page sequence lasts 10 seconds. It’s the most important piece for me as it turns a negative into a positive.
TENYRSLTR from S E V E R N on Vimeo.
Where am I:
Shrewsbury. The studio is in the town centre and there’s life going on around it*. It’s an interesting town from many points of view, mine being the way things look. A lot of things have been left alone so there’s a lot of detail to take in as you walk around especially if you look up or take the back streets and shuts.
Why design:
(what does design mean to you, what does it do)
Design changes feelings: good design feels good, bad design feels bad*. Obviously good design is the one I want to see and do, it gives confidence that positive things happen and that the hard hard work is worth it. This is a totally unexpected email from Dominic Lippa at Pentagram, I found a CV from when I left art school that never got posted at the time so I sent it 20 years late.
I read that email a lot.
Final Outcome
Weeks’ Reflection
A strange week which went much quicker than I thought.
The idea of research and writing reviews on things is a little foreign to me now, studios over the years haven’t allowed for research, it’s just been a case of ‘get it done’ with it all coming out of your own head. Past jobs have frowned upon looking at reference because you were wasting time, you weren’t working. Quick sketches are all I’m used to doing, I know what I mean on there and what I need to do, but they don’t say much to anyone else, they don’t explain my thinking.
It’s rubbed off on me without realising, I hadn’t read everything set out in the module properly, I just got on with the bit I saw as the work.
Didn’t get to the Ideas Wall so didn’t add anything to it except for the link to the blog after the event. I was late to the conference too because I hadn’t prepared by checking where to go in advance. I need to fix this…
Just in time for a little feedback thanks to Gajan.
