Abram Games: Talk from Naomi Games

I was extremely excited to discover that the daughter (Naomi Games) of one of my all time favourite designers, Abram Games, was coming to present to us the work and story of her father. I've long-appreciated his work, and had already been to see the exhibition that Naomi had curated in Sheffield last year, so was eager to discover more about Abram, especially from someone with such a close connection to him.

Abram Games first learned about being creative from watching his father, who was a photographer, at work. It was here that he was first introduced to the most influential tool of his career - the air brush, which his father would use to touch up and add colour to the slides he had taken. At 15, Games left school with the desire of becoming a poster designer; yet his head teacher dismissed this by saying he would never make it. Little did he know...

Games went on to produce some of Britain's most iconic poster designs and, in 1942, was appointed as the only ever official war poster artist. According to Naomi, his posters told the truth; which hadn't been done before, and yet many couldn't handle these truths. This led to some of his designs being discontinued and banned. A great example of this is his famous "ATS" poster from 1942, more commonly described as the "blonde bombshell". This beautiful poster was banned due to concerns that it was far too risqué for a British audience, and perceived the Auxiliary Territorial Service woman as more of a sexual object than as a persuasive tool. 

It was really lovely to be able to see Games' work from a more personal standpoint, however I was a little disappointed with the overall atmosphere of the talk. Naomi was clearly very proud of her father and his achievements but the talked seemed less of a personal insight than I was anticipating, causing it to feel a little forced and lack-lustre. This was probably due to the fact that she has done countless talks similar to the one we were involved in, but I still felt a little disappointed that she didn't go further in depth into Abram's design approaches.


Despite this, the lecture was still quite inspiring and I discovered a lot more about Abram that I hadn't previously known. His work is truly beautiful and it is clear that a lot of time and skill went into producing his designs. He was definitely passionate about what he did, which was apparent from the advice he would give to his students: Always remember the '3C's': curiosity, concentration, and courage. I find the last two particularly difficult areas to get to grips with when approaching my own work, so it was encouraging to hear it from one of my favourite designers! 

TYPE MATTERS!

A few weeks ago, my tutor John invited me to attend a lecture that was being given to another of the university's courses about Typography. I wasn't told who was speaking, or the purpose of the lecture, but was intrigued to discover more especially as my current project was type-based.

(Images courtesy of Creative Review)

I soon discovered that the session was being given by Jim Williams, a lecturer from Staffordshire University, who is an advocate of good type design. He is also a member of the prestigious New York Type directors club, and has been awarded with many notable design awards. Recently, Jim has completed a small booklet titled "Type Matters!" (a more detailed book format is due to be released next year), which highlights the importance of correct type usage and the common mistakes people, particularly designers, can make when designing with type. It's a lovely little publication, really nicely designed, however not widely available (you have to contact Jim and pay a small fee of £5 to purchase a copy).

Jim's talk was really helpful and interesting. He ran through the main elements of type usage that are often used incorrectly or misunderstood, including sizing, column width, hyphenation and widows and orphans. I've discovered personally, that these elements can be so easily overlooked so it was great to have this refreshed in my mind for when I came back to my projects. 

Jim also talked us through some of his favourite and most influential type designers. These included some of my favourites also, such as Herb Lubalin, El Lissitzky, Jan Tschichold and Fabien Baron as well as many I wasn't as familar with. These included John McConnell, Gene Frederico and Otto Storch, who have all produced some really beautiful type-based design and definitely work that I will refer back to again further on in my studies.

John McConnell

Otto Storch

Gene Frederico

Jim explained that, although his book focuses mainly on type from printed formats, it doesn't have to just be a 2D representation on screen. Designers such as Sagmeister have used more crafted techniques to produce their type pieces. This was really significant for me, as I'd really been struggling to produce more experimental type work; I was too focussed and concerned with producing it digitally, which as I soon discovered is not my strong point. 

I really enjoyed Jim's talk, he was clearly passionate about everything that he did, including teaching the students at Staffordshire Uni. He showed us some of the work they had produced in response to an experimental format brief. The pieces varied from large-scale A0 sized books to books encased in perspex and moulded into shapes. They were really beautiful and incredibly imaginative, and I was highly impressed with the amount of creative skill his students presented. A fascinating session.

Graphic Design and the Dotted Line, Russell Hancock

Lecture and Portfolio Discussion.

Russell Hancock is a freelance graphic designer, who came to talk to us about his experiences in the industry, but more importantly about what to expect / how to set up as a freelance designer when leaving university. I was really interested to hear what he had to say about this, as so far this is an area we haven't yet covered while on the course.

Before becoming a freelance designer, Russell worked in a collective called "Soup" that he set up with friends from university. They gained a series of small-name clients, which gained him experience, but his most influential work was the publication they produced for free titled "From Carn to Cove". It was this that gained Russell more work. Although the majority of the work Soup created was small-scale and for free, Russell told us to be very wary of clients expecting free work. Although good "for exposure" this is often just a way of taking advantage of your skills for free.

After a while at home, Russell gained a job at Empire design agency, who create many of the movie posters that we see advertising films today, but sadly lost out to a permanent position there (much to his disgust) and then worked for ASHA (Arthur Steen Horne Adamson) where he found it to be a bit of a pyramid-shaped business and his opinion didn't matter. Despite this, he got to work on some brilliant projects and gained a lot more experience.

Russell's biggest job to date however, happened a lot out of luck - he saw that his local old art-deco cinema was becoming more and more dilapidated, so he wanted to improve it, and try to get the owners to re-open it. He and a friend helped to decorate the exterior of the building for free and he produced a petition to open up the cinema again. The cinema was bought by a new owner and is in the process of being renovated and restored. The owners also have plans to create a franchise, and now Russell has the opportunity to create the branding for a whole series of cinemas.

In terms of freelance, Russell gave us a lot of really helpful hints:

- Get money upfront and a signature
- Be sure of your opinions, but rememeber... it is just an opinion
- Demand respect, but all in all keep learning
- Assess free work carefull
- Act professionally
- Remember people, and be remembered
- Sometimes clients are bad(!)
- Don't be afraid to talk about payments / salary
- Be organised
- Digital portfolios are a MUST

These may seem like common sense, but can be so easily overlooked, so it was really helpful to have someone drill them into us.

I also spent some time talking through my work and portfolio with Russell, which was really helpful. He gave us even more tips on how to create and present a successful portfolio, be it in paper or digital format. I was really pleased that when talking through mine he was very impressed with what I had to show. My portfolio has always been one of those "hazy" areas, where I've never been too sure how to present my work best. I've had quite a lot of contradicting opinions on it so far, mostly less positive from my tutors because they want me to push my presentation further, yet a lot more positive responses from others. I'm a little bit confused at the moment, but I think I want to develop it more as it is a little... generic. Here is an example:

Open publication - Free publishing - More graphic design

The Value of Design, MDS. 23/3/2011

Forgive me, once again I am incredibly behind on my blog entries!

There was a lot of buzz about the Manchester Design Symposium on various social networking sites and forums, which got me really excited to find out more about the event. Unfortunately though, I wasn't able to purchase a ticket, so when I discovered that my university course would be holding a "lucky dip" competition to win one, I leapt at the chance and was very pleased when I discovered I had won one.

Organised by Design Initiative, in partnership with Independent Northern Creatives, Manchester City Council and Manchester Metropolitan University, the symposium focussed on a central theme throughout the day – ‘The Value of Design’. Many speakers were to participate in the symposium, Si Scott (Si Scott Studio), John Walters (Eye Magazine), Bruno Maag (Dalton Maag), Jonathan Barnbrook (Barnbrook) and Tom Dorresteijn (Studio Dunbar). With such an exciting mix of speakers, I couldn't wait for the day to begin.

"Bee" part of Si Scott's "Airborn" illustration series.

Professor David Crow (Dean of MMU and designer/writer) opened the symposium, and introduced Si Scott, a UK based artist / designer who primarily works with hand-drawn typography and illustration. I felt a little bit sorry for Si, as he seemed a little overwhelmed by the size of the audience (most likely down the fact he was on strong pain-killers for a back injury) but he gave us a great insight into the work that he does. He has such a laid back attitude about what he does, and spent a lot of his session talking down about the work he creates (which is a shame seeing as it is all so beautiful) but he was interesting and his talk was thoroughly enjoyable.  Si gave us insight into the value of originality and his annoyance towards those who try to imitate his very distinctive style - "the whole idea of my work, is that it is my work" he explained. He also described how he dislikes using computers to produce his work. "I'm rubbish at it," computers are too fast for him, and he finds that they have the ability to dilute design too much. Si prefers to be spontaneous, and doesn't like to plan ahead with his ideas - which often causes problems with clients who like to see the development of ideas. Si has even walked out on prospective clients because they wanted to restrict his personal style. A really interesting talk.



Second to talk was John Walters from Eye magazine. A writer, editor and publisher, John isn't necessarily a designer but has always been involved with it. John explained how we should value design in 5 ways: editorially, culturally, functionally, financially and educationally. "There's more to design than just following a brief" - as a graphic design student, I couldn't agree more with this response! John talked us through some of his favourite covers, articles and interviews from eye magazine, which was fascinating.

Current issue (79) of Eye magazine

Next up was Bruno Maag of Dalton Maag, who specialise in type and identity design. For Bruno (and many) type is the fundamental element of design, and fonts are some of the most valuable assets a designer can make use of. I found his talk so interesting, as I am currently developing my own typeface and it is a process that is somewhat overwhelming. "All you need is some black and white gouache," explain Maag, "technology is not a necessity". This was a useful tip - when working on my own designs after the symposium, I closed my laptop and just used a paintbrush and ink. It allowed me to create more interesting free-hand characters than I would have been able to produce using computer software. Bruno talked through Dalton Maag's "Ubuntu project", an open source system that offers free applications and software to the community. Dalton Naag developed a 13 style typeface in order to speak to all of Ubuntu's customers, an example of how fonts can give value to the community.

Example of Dalton Maag's Ubuntu typeface

Jonathan Barnbrook gave a fascinating, and often hilarious, talk about the value of fonts. His talk was structured under various different topics, all of which he linked back to the work that he and Barnbrook and Virus fonts creates. The topics were as follows:

1. A better society through more rational typeforms (in which he talked about his first font, Utopia and one of his more controversial typefaces, Prozac).
2. Appropriate forms for new technology (his font Bastard was created as a response to "legible" commercial letterforms, Barnbrook wanted to created the most illegible, legible font)
3. Appropriate forms from new technology (Shock and Awe was created based on the type found on the side of tomahawk bombs, and Stealth was created from Stealth bomber letterforms)
4. Appropriate forms for new language (Nixon was a typeface to tell lies with, Drone is for text without content)
5. Appropriate forms for showing the parameters of language (Tourette - based on swearing but not aggressive in aesthetics. Expletive, also based on swearing but has the charm of someone who wouldn't)
6. Subverting existing forms to tell a new truth (Olypukes; olympic pictograms changed to represent the more negative side of the event)
7. Creating and utlising beauty to understand the past (Exocet and Infidel, both based upon historical scriptures and lettering).

Again, discovering more about the type designs Barnbrook creates was really helpful for me and my own typeface explorations. Barnbrook's talk really aided me in my research, especially as he is quite experimental and controversial in his approach. A really great talk.

Section of Barbrook's "Expletive" typeface.

Last but not least was Tom Dorresteijn, from Studio Dumbar based in Holland. Tom's views of the value of design, or the "design of value" often linked back to the ability of turning people on; how design should touch the emotional channel of people. As well as taking though some of Studio Dumbar's work, his talk was filled with a lot of very thought provoking statements and pieces of advice, for instance he explained how we "shouldn't try to become someone else, but become who we are. Try to enrich what you do with the broader horizons of design. If you don't you will limit yourself". It was a really insightful talk, especially for those of us in the audience who were students about to embark on careers in the industry.

Dutch Chamber Choir from Studio Dumbar on Vimeo.

"Computers are a great way of making shit faster"

Brian Cannon, of Microdot, came to talk to us the other week. I was already aware of Microdot's work, so was quite excited to discover more about what they do. Working predominantly in record label / sleeve design, Microdot was set up in 1990 by Brian. He explained how, from an early age, he knew that he wanted to enter the creative industry, and this was encouraged by his father - a coal miner with a taste for art. As Brian grew up, he found himself becoming more and more influenced by music such as The Sex Pistols and their iconic artwork produced by Jamie Reid.

Brian is an advocate of non-computer-based design work. Brian favours working with hand-made collages and photoshoots, which he prepares for weeks in advance, believing the image is king. With this in mind, Brian prefers to use small and simple type when producing his artwork, for he feels too much can interfere with the narrative of the imagery. He was also influenced by the symbolic paintings of Jan van Eyk, which further encouraged him to incorporate more of a narrative in his work. A good example of this is the artwork he produced for Oasis'  Definitely Maybe album. Each of the elements featured in the image were strategically positioned and planned in advance in order to form meaning. Brian also showed us a practice image that was taken weeks prior to the actual photo shoot, featuring himself laid on the floor in the position that Liam was later to take for the official shot.

Brian was a really enthusiastic speaker, and had a clear passion for the work that he does. It was really inspiring to see how far he had come in his career. He admitted to his "big-break" involving himself and Liam Gallagher (from Oasis) in a lift, during which Liam complimented him on his shoe-choice. Soon a relationship with the band had been formed and Brian was to create the majority of their albums' artwork. I questioned Brian on whether he felt he would be doing the same job if he hadn't had that break. "Most definitely," he replied "this is what I always wanted to do, I'd have got there somehow or another but I was just very lucky that day". This determination and pride was really refreshing to hear, as so often we have lectures from people who seem to have become a little too complacent about the work and status that they have achieved. Brian works to the best of his ability even if he isn't keen on the actual project - which is a valuable behaviour to pick up, as I find myself becoming very unmotivated if I don't enjoy the brief I've been set. I guess you have to make it your own though, and it is clear to see this is exactly what he has done. Brilliant.

DR ME

Two ex-design and art direction students, Ryan Doyle (DR) & Mark Edwards (ME), came to talk to us about their work and the journey they have taken since leaving university. They have since collaborated to form a design team called "DR ME" who work broadly with many disciplines of design such as layout, illustration, animation and typography.

They presented their work with the use of an automated voice-over, which was a little odd and at times difficult to understand, but a much more dynamic method - their intention was to keep us interested (rather than rambling to us in person) and it seemed to work. During their time at university, they took part in an oversees placement with Mike Perry in Brooklyn, NY. They had some really positive advice about placements, and gained some great experience and more opportunities from it. Mike taught them lots, including the following points: get a website (a blog won't do), work hard, but have time off too, be patient - you won't always succeed, and if you persist, one project can change your life forever. They made a point about advising us to put ourselves out there and to take risks. This is something that I really struggle with as I lack a lot of confidence and fear rejection. After seeing what they had achieved from taking chances and contacting people for work, it made me realise that I won't probably get very far unless I do similar. I need to push myself harder and gain some more design experience in order to do well once I leave.

Vaughan Oliver

On the 15th of February we were incredibly fortunate to have a talk from the acclaimed graphic designer Vaughan Oliver. I was so excited about the event as I have long appreciated the work he has done, and knew that this was a brilliant opportunity to discover more about him. As soon as he began speaking, it was clear that we were in for a treat. Vaughan  was a brilliant communicator and was highly entertaining by making jokes throughout his presentation. This was such a bonus - I am such a fan of his work and it was exciting enough to be there as it was, but even better knowing that he would keep things lively throughout.

Oliver is most noted for his work with design studios V23 and 23 Envelope, and the work that they created for the record label 4AD (who represented bands such as Pixies, The Breeders and Cocteau Twins). He loves how the artwork on the record sleeves he produced act as a gateway to the music and the personality of the band; the artwork is the signifier. 4AD was all about the music; there was no marketing team, just Vaughan. He loves to reclaim imagery, explaining how he transfers them from the mainstream and subverts them.

He also likes to promote mistakes in his prints; the edgier the better, and makes them a feature. In fact, one of his most recognised pieces - artwork for the Pixies' 'Bossanova' album, was actually produced by mistake. Vaughan accidentally flooded the image with red light, causing a saturated effect on the image being taken, yet he preferred this approach more than the original. I like this approach, as it adds another facet to his work - what may have been thrown out by other designers is used to Oliver's benefit which is a great direction to take.  He enjoys collaborating with other designers and photographers, and loves to experiment with imagery. The artwork that Oliver produced for The Breeders 'Pod' album was incredibly forward thinking at the time; and very experimental. Although it appears like he has edited the photograph using digital methods, it was in fact staged in his own front room using only filters to cause the colourful, trippy effect in the image. The individual is Vaughan himself, performing a sort of fertility dance. This was really inspiring to see, especially knowing how well he has done in his career - it would be easy to be drawn into the grips of computer editing in this industry, yet he has avoided doing so.

Ambiguity aids Vaughan's work; he enjoys producing work that throws questions rather than answers. In one of his first roles - working as a label designer (for jams, wine etc) he first began to realise the potential of typography. Before then, he never really saw the value of type and illustration was his favoured approach. It was good to see that Vaughan had changed his opinion, as some of his type experiments are really beautiful.

I really impressed by what he had to say, and mainly by his ability to always experiment with techniques.  His work is so exciting and varied that he had to reduce a lot of his talk down to a video reel of his best pieces. It was a fascinating piece, and brilliant to see his range of work. Before I dsicovered Vaughan was due to speak to us, I had been looking at his work as part of research for my latest brief. I was so inspired that I had to get him to autograph my sketchbook (although I did feel somewhat embarrassed asking!)

(I think) it reads "Gemma more visual presents, Vaughan xx"

YCN and Propaganda Design Agency

Zoe Barratt, the project manager from YCN came to talk to us about the company and the recent student award briefs that they have set. The agency was established in 2001, and not only produces work from across all media, but helps to represent young creatives for commissions and collaborations. Through their longstanding award programmes they are able to identify the best emerging talent from around the world, and welcome it into their network.

As I had already completed one of their student briefs (M&S Plan A brief) I was intrigued to find out what Zoe's and YCN's interpretation of it was. I was relieved to discover they wanted us to approach it in a similar way that I already had, so it was good to see that had I entered the competition, I would have been on the right tracks. Every year YCN holds an award ceremony for those who have successfully completed the briefs, and each year they produce an annual to commemorate and promote these new young graphic designers, illustrators and moving image designers. I have received this annual every year now since being at university, and although it is a really interesting insight into what talent is emerging and how people have approached the briefs, I have never really been that impressed with the book itself. Zoe agreed, explaining how they felt the last annual was too detached from the students. It's always seemed quite cluttered, and considering it showcases designers, it didn't seem well-designed enough to do the work justice. However, their latest copy (YCN annual 2010-2011) was designed in-house so that they were able to promote the young creatives more personally. They approached many writers, big-name designers (for example Johnny Hardstaff and Jeremy Leslie) to help to create the annual, and commissioned young illustrators to help create a more interesting and exciting layout. I have to be honest, this was a far better approach to the annual, which has a better aesthetic now and is definitely more of an interesting read, with passages and advice from various well-known creative people.

It was clear that Zoe loved what she and the agency did for young people. She was excited about every brief they were presenting, which was really refreshing to see as I am assuming she has had to explain them numerous times now to numerous different people and institutes.

The lecture was then handed over to Lee and Joe, from Propaganda design agency based in Leeds. I was interested to see what they were presenting as I am often in Leeds, so it was good to see a more local agency talk about what they do. Propaganda came to discuss their representation of the energy drink brand Boost - which is one of the products setting a brief for students via YCN. Lee and Joe made it clear that Boost was a challenger brand; there to compete with the bigger name drinks companies such as Lucozade and Red Bull. I found this interesting; it seemed that they were trying to promote Boost to us, and try to get us to buy their product, rather than promote the brief or their other projects which became a little frustrating at times. On the plus side though, we did get some free drinks which made it more worthwhile!

Propaganda showed us a reel of the work that they did, which was interesting. They represent big name brands such as GHD, Republic and Habitat. Their style of work wasn't really to my personal taste if I am completely honest.Their work was very commercial and I found it to be a little generic. I felt that their reel was over-worked and really didn't do their projects justice, which left me feeling a bit put-off by them. But I suppose that's just down to personal taste, and once put out into the industry the campaigns seemed to be successful. I must admit however, I did feel that they didn't speak to us very well, at times they came across as quite patronising and the had clearly stuck to a script when speaking making the whole lecture seem really unnatural and over-rehearsed which was a shame! In hindsight though, if it was me stood there, I would probably act the same - we are a pretty scary bunch to talk to!

It was definitely interesting however, to see people from the industry and to see the background behind a large-scale campaign. I don't think I want to go into advertising when I leave uni, but it was good to get more of an insight into this area.

Helen Butterworth: Ex-D&AD student

Ex Design and Art Direction student Helen Butterworth came to talk to us about her experiences on the course, and since leaving university.

Helen graduated with a first class honours degree, which is excellent, but what I found to be more inspiring was that she considered herself to not necessarily have the best graphic design skills, and it was her actually ability to work well with other aspects of the course that enabled her to achieve such a brilliant result. I found this to be quite a reassuring and interesting point; after all, being a designer isn't simply about putting text and image on a page in an aesthtically pleasing manner. Helen was good at conceptualising her ideas, and developing them until they become incredibly complex, yet well-considered pieces of work. One piece that really stood out was titled "Viseme" in which she explored lip and mouth movement in order to visualise our verbal thoughts. Helen "graphically developed shapes to form avisual language, which stems from the eighteen positions formed by the mouth within the phonetic alphabet." It was an extremely long project; Helen was able to develop this project for a longer amount of time than was originally set, as it was such an intricate and complex topic. The final outcome is fascinating, the shapes she has created are visually beautiful and intriguing.

Above: a section of Helen's Viseme piece.

Helen was brilliant at offering advice about how to approach our time on the course, as well as what to expect when leaving. Another advocator of gaining work experience, she told us about the work she entailed on leaving uni and how she managed to gain extra time working at her her first role, which was inspiring and slightly reassuring (it was originally only meant to be a 2 week placement). She also gave us advice about how to raise money for our degree show, which at the time was a daunting concept for us. We hadn't yet begun our fundraising, and there had been discussions about what would be the best options but nothing had been planned. Helen gave us more insight into what worked well and enabled us to then feel inspired to do the same. A good talk, from a great girl, see her work here.

Trevor Johnson, Creative Lynx

Back on December 12th (seriously behind here, forgive me!) Trevor Johnson, of Creative Lynx - one of the UK's leading design agencies - came to speak to us. Their client list is incredibly impressive and long; they have worked with the likes of the British Council, Colgate, London 2012 and on numerous county Police schemes. Not only this, but Johnson himself has had an extremely dynamic career, starting in the industry as a commercial illustrator before moving onto freelance graphic design. His most acknowledged for the work he produced for Factory Records and the Haçienda nightclub (alongside Peter Saville and Malcom Garrett, another 2 notable Manchester-based designers). Because both he and Creative Lynx are based in Manchester, this was a really valuable lecture as we were able to discover more about Manchester's creative industry, which is right on our doorstep.


Trevor talked us through some of his earlier works, and how he has developed since working as an illustrator.  He has been a consistently notable contributor to the urban renaissance of the city through his work for many of Manchester's most prestigious brands and organisations. Trevor has most definitely played a massive role in establishing Manchester as an international city of creative excellence. He has produced many record sleeves, for bands such as New Order, and was influenced by Constructivism. This movement is also one of my biggest influences, so to see his work and how it referenced similar aesthetics was really interesting. I found it to be really beautiful; sometimes I find it difficult to find commercial art or design that I really enjoy so it made a pleasant change to see something that really reflected what I am interested in. 

Above: FACT 137: Shorts. Various Artists. (video promotion)

Above: A Certain Ratio, Wild Party.

Trevor was really good at advising us about how to approach our work and the graphic design industry. He encouraged us to make mistakes: as this will only help you to improve, but also to know when to stop. Johnson described how we shouldn't be overcome by "Optophobia" - or the fear of opening one's eyes. He explained that his best work has been influenced by the world around him, and we should be influenced in the same way too. This was a really valuable piece of advice; as I often find myself falling at hurdles when I make mistakes in my work. I can give up far too easily.

Trevor was a keen promoter of hand-rendered design; although Creative Lynx works with a lot of Digital media, Trevor finds it hard to embrace (as he explained, it is mostly a generational thing, as he has been in the industry for so long). Most of his work is hand crafted, and this was really refreshing to see as so much of our commercial art today is digitally created, it loses a lot of the individuality that more hand-made pieces can hold. I found this encouraging; I love being able to move away from the computer when creating my own work (although it doesn't happen as often as I would like it to) so I will make the conscious effort to try and bring more hand rendered elements into my work again. A very inspiring lecture!

Joana Niemeyer

Back in November last year (apologies this is so late, I've been very slack it seems), Joana Niemeyer from studio April, came to talk to us about their work and her views on how to approach the graphic design industry. 

The design group have produced many print, identity and signage works - which can be seen here. 

I have to admit, I wasn't overtly excited about some of the work she showed us, but one project that really caught my eye was the self-initiated book titled "Graphic Europe" they had produced. Essentially a guidebook, it documents 31 cities across 31 countries Europe and each one illustrated by a designer from that particular country. It was really dynamic and beautiful. The varying styles of each designer changed the pace of the book and made a really exciting aesthetic.

Joana was really supportive and encouraging. As well as speaking about her own work, she gave us more of an insight into what to expect when we leave university.  She told us about what to expect to charge when we undertake  work, dependent on our level of experience. Although these were just rough estimates, it definitely put it into perspective for us, and emphasised just how valuable experience is. Placements, Niemeyer explained, are invaluable. They are a way of learning about the business without actually needing to worry about the business; that is the revenue, costs, background etc. This was really helpful, as I need to definitely be more pro-active when it comes to gaining more experience if I want to succeed when leaving university. Her talk was really insightful, and certainly explored areas that we are often quite sheltered from when studying. It is easy for speakers to talk about the "glossiness" of the design industry - and although we are often told about how competitive it all is, we aren't often told about the more...gritty side to it all.  

OWT creative

3 members of the design collective OWT creative; Ben Kither, Jon Hannan and Sarah Stapleton - who I have blogged about previously - gave us a presentation of their work and advice on what to expect during our final year on the course. The group are previous students of Design and Art Direction at MMU, so it was valuable to hear about their own experiences of the course and what to expect in this final push towards graduation. They were very relaxed and helpful; and gave some good advice on how to cope with workloads, approach our briefs, contact designers and produce good portfolios. They are now embarking upon their studies in a masters. I was a little disappointed that they didn't give us much of an insight into the masters course, as this is something that I wanted to know more about, and I think it was the reason Hitch had asked them to speak to us, but despite this the presentation was helpful and interesting.

Reasons to be Cheerful

...the Life and Work of Barney Bubbles.

Paul Gorman, journalist, author and owner of fashion label The Look Presents, came to talk to us about Barney Bubbles; the radical graphic designer of the 70s and 80s. Although radical and highly acclaimed, Bubbles was an incredibly private individual; never signing his work or attending interviews. In fact Bubbles, whose name is actually Colin Fulcher, only ever gave one interview throughout his whole career - and poignantly only 2 years to the date before his death in 1983 - to The Face magazine, and provided them only with a collaged portrait (below) rather than a photo in order to maintain his anonymity. His career was not really recorded of celebrated until long after his death, and much of his work is still being identified.

Bubbles embraced messiness; his work and concepts influenced many designers, for instance Peter Saville. He is most renowned for his distinctive contribution to the graphic design associated with the British independent music scene.

I've admired the work of Barney Bubbles for a long time now, however I did not realise the vast array he had produced - or even the fact that he wanted to remain away from the public eye. I'm not sure what my opinion is of his choice to remain private, but I do feel that it was a shame he couldn't step forward and take credit for the amazing work he had produced. It is true to say he was a very troubled man; he suffered from depression and long-term financial problems, which eventually led to him taking his own life. I think it is significant to mention that his death occurred just 2 months before the introduction of the Apple Mac computer - Bubbles worked entirely by hand and rigidly stuck to using grids, despite his work being quite "messy". However by the time his death, design styles had changed - there was less of a need for his quirky style, which led to rejection from some clients. This definitely contributed to him wanting to end his life long before it could have been celebrated. I think this is quite a poignant thing; I would hate to find myself becoming less and less popular due to the changing of styles. I feel it is important to remain open and not too close-minded with the way that you approach your work; but also maintaining those elements that are recognisable to you. In the current age of the digital and ever-evolving technologies and design techniques, this is a really difficult skill to hold on to, and something that I will need to refine when leaving university and taking on work in the outside world.

Zines, zines, zines.

I was really excited when I discovered Teal Triggs was coming to speak to us, as during my dissertation research I had come across her name quite a lot, and her research work on fanzines. Also, I had received her “Fanzines” book as a gift, just a week before I discovered she was due to visit, which was even more exciting.

Fanzines is such a varied subject; and also very hard to define. Teal helped to explain what exactly makes a zine, and referenced a lot of really interesting pieces during the lecture. This was really helpful, as it is an area that I am looking into for my dissertation, and until now have been unsure as to what they actually are. More importantly, she spoke about the rise of the webzine which I am writing about as my dissertation topic. It was really helpful gaining first-hand insight into what the internet and online publishing will mean for the printed fanzine from someone who is so knowledgeable about the subject. I was pleased to discover that she had a similar viewpoint on the subject as me; that the internet will not mean that the future of print is dead, but more that it is a tool to help promote and distribute it. A really interesting and highly influential lecture.

Further to this, I recently purchased OWT creative's first zine, "Beginnings". The design group studied Design and Art direction (like me) at Manchester School of Art and have since set up the design collective in order to help young creatives in the North West and showcase some of Manchester's most exciting talent. The issue shows the five members of OWT's interpretation of the word Beginnings. Produced in a limited run, each 52 page zine has a hand-screened cover and centre spread as well as being numbered in its run of 100.

I loved their responses, collected in a beautifully compiled publication. They have since released issue two, so keep your eyes peeled for further work from them.