I’m sad to say my year out has ended now. I’ve soaked up so much on this year out (2008-2009) and can’t even imagine how I would have be able to manage after I graduate even I hadn’t done this work experience. I will be heading back to University to continue my degree course in Graphic Design. More exciting projects and studio sessions to follow!
Bye Bye year out! Hello again Uni!
Back from India… I headed down to London today to visit some exhibitions that were put on as part of the London Design Festival. One in particular that I was really looking forward to, was an exhibition showcasing bags by ten designers that were inspired by illustrations done by kids at an Orphanage in Vietnam which Paul Cooke and Jemma Collins, two heads from my class at LCC, had conducted; from start to finish. A really exciting project that they accomplished, it was great to see them raising money for children in Vietnam whilst producing something tactile and real. A great idea!
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First up, I went to the Kemistry Gallery in my favourite part of the city, Old Street, to see the Typographica exhibition by Rick Poyner. On show were large scaled spreads from the legendary graphic design journal which ran from 1949 to 1967 started by Herbet Spencer. The spreads showcased modernist british graphic design and typography.
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I also went to Michael Johnson’s Guitars and Graphics talk at the V&A. Ahh!… Don’t you just hate technology sometimes? Poor Michael… Anyway….aside from the technical issues, it was a very different kind of presentation in which he was discussing how over a century of guitar music and graphic design where the two combine. He mentioned that as soon as Jimi Hendrix arrived that was the ultimate point where the two were just inseparable. I got to hand it to him, he is a good guitarist!… Very impressed. I was a bit weary at first that the music might distract me from the discussion, but he pulled off an interesting talk and clearly articulated how the 60s, 70s and 90s were when the two combined (even if the amp was rather loud at times!)
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Whilst there at the V&A, I also took a look at the London Poster Project. An exhibition of posters reflecting on how London is seen by well renowned graphic designers from the likes of Michael Wolff (top left), Andy Altmann (top right), Nick Bell, Alan Kitching (bottom right), Jonathon Ellery, FUEL (bottom left), Harry Beck amongst many others.
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I then popped down to the London Transport Museum to see the work contributed in The Outer Limits – Beyond Zone One competition. They were placed in quite a tight space and the designs themselves were pretty disappointing. However, the winners design by Alex Jeffries London Lidos was impressive, simple and communicated the message clearly along with Daniel Norris’s ‘The Best Bits’ and ‘Hackney, Habitat of the Party Animal’ by Nicola and Tim. Unexpectedly found some typographic posters within the London Transport museum that I found interesting…
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The last one of the day was a poster exhibition at The German Gymnasium. A stunning building opposite Kings X showcasing posters by several designers who were asked to create an original poster interpreting an Olympic sport or discipline. There were some really great concepts used. For example, John Morgan’s take on Boxing, so so simple. Love it. And on the right, Michael Johnson’s; Triathlon.
With the panels for Design Temple’s ten year exhibition approved and completed, I left the colourful and glorious land of Mumbai to…. 7 hours of nothingness at Bahrain Airport…. and then continued my journey home. Mumbai is rich in colour and hand typography. I loved every minute of it, even from the barefoot walking on Marine Drive on Ganpati Visarjan (religious festival) to the yummy delicacy of Pani-puri’s on Chowpatty beach. I think its really key to get stuck into the local lifestyle and transport to really experience a place at its fullest!
The internship flew past ever so quickly but it was a great experience working in a fast paced environment where the city never sleeps. Divya certainly knows what she likes and dislikes which I think is totally vital for any designer. I was able to design some graphics for the exhibition as well as direct my own photography shoot which was a lot of fun! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and have learnt a hell of a lot in just four weeks. Four weeks in which I’ve crammed in a lot including the Design Yatra and even had lunch with Michael Wolff! This intern specifically tested my judgment of typography, point sizes as well as my ability to work using my own initiative and as equally within a team, working with others to complete the panels. I have realised how important it is to be able to comfortably bounce ideas of one another, whilst having a laugh but most importantly, enjoying design. I love being in a small studio environment and intend to work in one once I’ve graduated.
Six spoons of sugar and several head shakes later, I can safely say I have quickly settled into the lifestyle of a Mumbaikar! Having finished the graphics for the presentation I ran through it with Divya. Glad to know that she’s approving the work I’m producing! Yes, there’s a few amendments here and there, no ones perfect! I like not being perfect, it only makes my work better and better and gives me something to work to, wouldn’t it just be boring to be perfect?….Anyway, so I was happy to go through that before the Kyoorius Design Yatra hosted by Patrick Burgoyne from CR and Divya, which by the way, was an inspirational and exciting 3 days of talks and presentations by some great designers and ad heads. It was awesome to finally see Patrick in flesh as opposed to printed words as I’m a big fan of CR and his interesting articles. My personal highlight was Paul Hughes talk on ‘Holos’ (a term he uses to articulate the possibilities beyond singular meaning of ‘logo’) and equally, the reunion of Wolff Olins. As entertaining as it was, it was also a great insight into one of my fav studio’s. As well as other talks by Michael Wolff, Erik Spiekermann, Rodney Fitch, Ben Terrett from RIG (who’s blog I’m a regular reader of so it was awesome to see him and gives me a face and voice to relate back to when I read his blog), Lopez, Van Der Laken and Sir Martin Sorrell.
Michael Wolff’s individual talk was really something special. He was telling stories very cleverly while explaining a point. No keynote/powerpoint business… just good old, plain english. As all eyes were on Wolff, so it was obvious that his technique worked. It was like I was a little girl again and Dad was reading me stories! And he was so prepared; from the “Four Rooms” to the “Destination,” his talk has given me pointers and aspects of my work to look out for and think about which I can apply to myself and work when I’m designing. Amongst many of his amusing and very appropriate stories he mentioned three very (in my opinion) important points that I think a designer should naturally have; (1) Curiosity, (2) Observation and (3) Imagination. I was fascinated by his stories and am really intrigued by his perspective on design. He expanded on each pointer he made and the biggest of all… “What is the point?” Which is something I’ll ask myself everyday, whenever I’m doing anything.
So last week I flew down to the hustle n bustle of Mumbai to start my one month internship at Design Temple. I’ve already been assigned to dive straight into an exciting internal project where I am immersing myself into their identity and producing fun and cute info-graphics and illustrations! Work ethics here are a lot different and working on Saturday is a normal thing here – crazy! But it’s all good, there is a lot of creativity going on in the studio and I’m getting a good insight into printing techniques, so time is passing by real fast which is a shame. I will also be working on an exhibition for their 10 year anniversary! …Should be going to see the space next week so I am looking forward to it!
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I’ve been arranging this for a while now…So let me cut straight to it! I have just secured an internship in India with Design Temple! I am really looking forward to this very much and I’m ready to get stuck into some more exciting projects! While I’m there I’ll be attending the Kyoorius DesignYatra too! Good times! …So, see you in a month or so (…or maybe sooner, if I have the internet!)
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Big thanks to Connie, Divya & Nainesh!
Back from an interesting 3 months in Berlin and after touching down in my hometown of Luton, I’m off again (suprise, suprise..) down to London, to pop into the Kemistry gallery in Old Street and see one of my fav inspirational designers – Anthony Burrill – who’s put on an exhibition there and I also managed to catch up with a few heads from pd3 in the evening.
I also went down to JWT last week to a talk by Graham Fink, a C.D at M&C Saatchi. I first heard of him when I read an article of him in Campaign, round about this time last year. His name has cropped up in a couple more articles, and I liked what I read so I thought it would be worth seeing.
Involving us (the audience) he got us to do some crazy meditating stuff. He wanted to do a “different” kind of talk. This was definetely different…Managed to find a clip on YouTube, check it out…
Throughout the talk, I found his referencing very interesting. He referred to David Lynch quite a few times as well as the late Paul Arden a couple of times & his book which I just happened to have in my purse at the time (freaky… and yes… what a geek! – I don’t care what you think, it’s a great read!) ‘It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be’ and he also showed us a few clips of Arden and his Dad singing which was quite amusing.
It was great to also see what inspires him from the film Apocalypse Now to Gandhi and Anish Kapoor as well as his collection of on-going photography of found marks on walls and pavements. From torn down posters which make abstract shapes to flaking paint on walls, his obsession to attention to detail, the things you’d usually walk past on the street reminded me a lot of the German’s I was working with back in Berlin at Meta – very precise and on-point.
He showed us a clip of his documentary he filmed within his studio to find out where people think ideas come from. Throughout the talk, I grasped a good insight into identities – our different “i’s” – as he says. We all have different persona’s according to the different people we meet and situations we are put in.
At times he got a bit heavy and me just wonder. Like at the end of the talk, he quoted something from Richard Dawkins, ‘The God Delusion’ which really got me thinking….
“He asks us to think of a childhood memory. Making it as vivid as we can. The colours, the smell, everything about it. Now here is the amazing thing. Not a SINGLE ATOM in our body now was there then. We are not our thoughts, we are not his body. So who the f**k are we? As Dawkin says, if this doesn’t make the hairs of your neck stand up on the back of your neck, think about it again, because it is important. And on that bombshell, I bow out.”
Wow! The last 3 months have just flown by so fast! From the many galleries and exhibitions to the pure history of Berlin along with an internship at Meta, this has been such an amazing time of my life. I have been working on guidelines, illustrations and presentations for around 3-4 clients at Meta and I have soaked up so much more than I had expected. The amount of precision and detail that goes into their work is outstanding. I have been learning well from their work ethics …And not just on a creative level but another as equally important element of work; planning and organisation. On taking this year out in the industry, I have noticed how these skills will play a key role in my future endeavours. I have met many inspirational people here, made such good friends and am constantly learning, so a big thank you to MetaDesign! …Maren, Vince, Esra, Trond, Wolfgang, Kathrin, Basti… and especially Hendrik, Bernhard, Ulla and Anja! =D
So…on Tuesday I’ll be on my way back to Luton & London (for now) …I will miss you Meta & Berlin!
P.S: I’ll be back!…
Paul Van Der Laan, a typographic designer from Type Invaders, came in the other day from Netherlands (as he was down he to do a workshop at TypoBerlin) to share his experiences and processes of how he designed the Audi typeface. Amongst all this, he even explained how and why he created a 356-glyphed-typeface. The process he went through from ideas, sketches to digital was very long but fascinating. He had to create the typeface in several languages for the client meaning that he had to create each and every glyph for the different languages! He works with a friend in a team of two, even though its a very small team they design a vast amount of typefaces and really precisely. When seeing all the glyphs in one go, you realise how much hard work has actually gone into each and every single glyph. After seeing this talk, I really admire the patience and designs by typographers. They either have really good patience or have students/freelancers/assistants to boss around! ….And when I see my Typo-studying-friends in London, no doubt I’ll give them extra love!
Yesterday at Meta, Nicki Ryan (also another student from LCC in Berlin) joined me in attending a Moving Picture Conference featuring animators and designers from all over the globe showcasing their amazinggg showreels. Throughout the night there were moving pictures that we’d never seen before, and also ones we had. They were all really interesting and inspiring but two that really stood out were Spin and FeedMee. Showing well executed ideas and talking about how they started as graphic designers then when into moving image. A really fascinating and interesting talk.
