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!