Perception

One of the projects the first years are working on at the minute is based around the word 'perception'. The brief allows students to be both designer and curator for the National Gallery. In our first class together we spent quite a bit of time looking at the different meanings of the word. Working in teams of 2 we then transfered all our thoughts on to the 'concept wall'. This will be left up for the duration of the project and the second years were encouraged to add any thoughts they may have about the project. We discussed what we would include in the gallery and how we could use the space to challenge people's perception.

We looked at some interesting presentations on the TED talks website - one of my all time favourites- and used images from Flicker to challenge how many of our perceptions are built around a persons appearance. Some great feedback! I am looking forward to seeing how the ideas develop over the week.

Check out Natasha Tsakos multimedia theatrical adventure and Tom Wujec on the 3 ways the brain creates meaning all on ted.com

YEAR 2 : Mentor Brief

The first mentor brief for the Year 2 class cmoes from Graeme Cook from Elmwood. This is a short project which should get everyone thinking, and you are required to take the following shape/symbol, and 'make it your own'.



This is concept-based project where you are asked to do some thing amazing with the simple shape above. It's a vector file, so the solution needs to be created using vectors.

The deadline is Tuesday 15th Sept. You can email your submission to me before then, or alternatively email it direct to Graeme on Tuesday. Good luck!

Induction Project '09

Day one and the first and second years were expected to rise to the challenge. Given just one word - reverse- they were asked to put a 5 minute presentation together selling whatever product the word suggested to them. This was a great opportunity for both years to mix and hopefully learn from each other. For the second years it was an opportunity to meet the first years that they are going to be Mentoring over the year. This is a new proposal and one that we hope will allow better integration between the two years.

Having just a day and a half to create the presentation, the results were really encouraging. Presentations ranged from a reverse dining experience - you got your coat when you arrived and the menu when you finished - to a game show that showed us the answers before we heard the questions.

We all voted for the winning presentation with the Game Show being the overall winner. It was great to see the different concepts and how well everyone worked as a team. It is obvious even at this early stage that we have two really strong classes. It makes the journey very exciting for all of us!

D&AD Membership

For over twenty years the D&AD Student Awards have been kick-starting stellar careers in design and advertising. The work displayed on their site represents the best new creative talent in the world today. Past winners of the coveted D&AD Student Yellow Pencil have gone on to work in the best organisations around the world producing some of the most creative work.

Edinburgh's Telford College is hoping to become a member of the D&AD. The D&AD Student Awards 2010 will officially launch on September 21st. In advance of this, D&AD have already posted the first 10 briefs for tutors and students to download. These will be joined by an additional 17 briefs covering the full range of disciplines in Design and Advertising.

Some of these briefs may well find their way into the HND Project list this Semester.

'A' Award from YCN

The YCN program is based around a series of live briefs, issued each year in collaboration with partnering brands. There is an annual summer exhibition of commended work and the publication of an annual book.

The 'A' is a new award, created by YCN to be presented to emerging creative talent. Industry figures and practitioners from the various design disciplines will be chosen (and surprised) with a large physical 'A', created in a relevant material or process. Those awarded an 'A' will have their own work exhibited at YCN's studio at 72 Rivington Street.

An edition of white A's are also being created for those Commended in response to the most recent YCN Live Briefs. This will include two Telford Students from the HND Graphic Design 2008/9. You'll find their names on the list on the YCN Awards page. Check out these examples of the prototype 'A' -





A number of the Year 1 and Year 2 Projects for the 2009/10 session will again be drawn from the YCN Book, which is due out towards the end of 2009.

[Shafted] Final Year Class Award

A new year starts and we must say goodbye to another HND Second Year, all of whom are now out in the world of work, or completing their education at Art School or University.

The outstanding final project in the HND Graphic Design class of 2008/9 came from 20-year old Lyndsey Whitefield, who took on the difficult task of developing a campaign to promote an exhibition commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Miner's Strike.

Lyndsey's client was the National Gallery of Scotland, and the brief was to give the exhibition a broad appeal that emphasised the historical importance of the events to a younger audience, but also tapped into the current 1980's nostalgia for those of us who lived through the events. And of course it had to look really sharp and energetic.

What the work shows is not only how well Lyndsey dealt with the technical aspects of designing for print, but also how strong her research efforts were, and how brilliantly she managed to capture the visual energy of the events. The finished pieces are fresh and contemporary, with a bold documentary-style look and feel.

Lyndsey now works as a Graphic Designer with the Lane Agency.







See Also :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Miners%27_Strike_(1984-1985)
Strike 84 - Photography