Write It Out!

As Erik Spiekermann once observed, "a real typeface needs rhythm, needs contrast, it comes from handwriting, and that's why I can read your handwriting, you can read mine."

So as part of their Typography unit, HND Year 1 were tasked with celebrating the handwritten word with a project entitled 'Write It Out!'

With the proposed client as the National Museum of Scotland, the brief required two submissions - handwritten letters to our industry mentors, and a set of visuals creating a campaign to promote an exhibition. Two of the most engaging results came from Stefano Cocchia and Katy Johnston.

Stefano gathered together some great quotes about handwriting, and created a series of bright typographical posters and then combined them all into this funky ad -




Katy Johnston's concept began with an inventive letter to Alan Lennon of Lennon Design, in the form of a doctor's prescription, with some great copy - Junior Designer, *Intern, 1 X daily as required between 9am and 5.30pm (weekends - emergency use only).




Katy then developed the medical theme and came up with some great
visual ideas alongside further examples of her inventive copy -

Age UK Mentoring Project

HND Year 2 presented their first mentor project of the year earlier this week, a fairly recent D&AD brief which we dusted down and reworked due to the fact that the client has just recently changed their corporate identity.

Age Concern, now Age UK, had set the task of tackling ageism and highlighting their mission to confront and eradicate it. The mentors agreed this was not the easiest of briefs, but the class still managed to come up with plenty of inventive work.

A standout solution came from Viktorjia Kravcova, whose 'Age Is Just A Number' concept produced some great combinations of typography, iconic subject matter and inventive in situ promotional visuals.

NC Typography

Well done to NC Graphics for their terrific set of typography posters. This is just their second class project, and their first with any substantial digital work, and across both groups the results are refreshing, bold and confident.

It helps that we gave them some great subject matter to investigate - an event at the London Design Museum, focussing on a typographer (Brody, Renner, Frutiger, Gill, Bass) or a typeface (Garamond, Futura, Gill Sans, Bodoni or Frutiger).

All the posters are on display outside R310, and here is just a quick sampler:



Andrew Palfreyman (Group B)



Craig Nicholson (Group A)



Calum MacKinnon (Group A)



Emils Blums-Blumanis (Group A)



Craig Dodds (Group B)



Magda Milek (Group A)



Iona Wright (Group B)

We Love Alliance Graphique International

Earlier this week, some of our HND students made the trip to Spain to attend the Alliance Graphique International (AGI) Open Conference in Barcelona.

The guys were lucky enough to see some of the world's most famous graphic designers showing their work and sharing their ideas.


Tadas, Jonny, Viktorjia and Sarah meet the one and only Paula Scher.

Pentagram illuminaries Paula Scher, Angus Hyland and Michael Bierut all presented talks, as did Marion Banjtes, and of course Stefan Sagmeister, who talked about his upcoming movie project, 'The Happy Film'. Educators and writers Steven Heller and Lars Muller were also amongst the speakers. In total there were 27 AGI members presenting their work and ideas on design.

Will this event ever make it to Edinburgh? We hope so! The 2012 conference will however be held in Hong Kong.

More:
AGI Open

Our 'A'mazing YCN Winners

Abbie Macpherson and Sarah Crawford, YCN winners 2010/2011

Earlier this week, YCN staged their annual Student Awards in Shoreditch Town Hall, London.

I attended along with fellow Design tutor Alex Gunn, and two of our three winners - Abbie Macpherson (White & Mackay brief) and Sarah Crawford (Boost brief). Unfortunately Gill McColl (Ted Baker brief) was unable to make the trip down, but we were still able to celebrate Edinburgh's Telford being the only Scottish College or University this year to pick up commendations.

YCN put on a great show and had guest presenters Johanna Lundberg and Elin Svensson (a.k.a. Åh), Sam Green, James Gilpin, James Chambers and Tom Judd (of Chambers Judd), Hattie Newman and Daniel Frost, presenting the commendations. Each guest also presented a short animated film about their work, in collaboration with Plastic Horse. One great example came from digital agency ChambersJudd - with their '22 ways to kill a cowboy' App -




Designer Philip Oakley presented the custom-designed 'A' award to Student of the Year Dominic Mckenzie, of Cambridge School of Art (Open University brief), and the evening was nicely finished off with an after-event party at the Strongrooms, just around the corner from YCN's HQ in Rivington Place.

A selection of photographs by Owen Richards and Elinor Jones can be viewed on the YCN website, with more to follow.

Meeting Our New Mentors

Talking to the Line Agency's Rufus Spiller - our newest Mentor.

Well done to all who participated last Wednesday evening as our new Mentors for 2011-2012 came along to the Design Studio to meet HND Year 2.

Fuelled by wine and an excellent buffet, the mentors enjoyed our famous speed dating ice-breaker, and then settled down to watch Steven Brown, Zia Vest and Nic Cameron present their solutions to the 'Conspiracy' brief. A feedback and advice session followed on portfolio and project-work.

The Mentors also underwent a short filmed interview for our archive. Ian Lauder and Ian farmer were unable to make the session, so they'll have to face the cameras at a later date.

Helena gave out the first mentoring brief - a typography project to design or modify a typeface - and as part of the research gathering for the brief, the students interviewed their mentors with a set of carefully prepared questions. This project will be presented in three weeks time.


R310's 'Design Process' mural gets the critical treatment.

A special mention must go to HND student Terry Smith, who is recovering from a serious medical operation, and managed to make the event, bringing his portfolio along on his iPad.

The Mentors for 2011/2012, in no particular order -

Ian Kirkby : Lewis Agency
Ian Lauder : Redpath
Ian Farmer : Upright Creative
Graham Neish : Neish Design
Kirsten Murray : Children 1st
Alan Lennon : Lennon Design
Veronica Ferguson : Heedi Agency
Rufus Spiller : Line Agency