Lecture notes:
Exploring practitioners in their workplace, to gain insights into how they work and what graphic design means to them. Condensed snippets of information from Case Studies.
Intro Design
Adrian Talbot and Julian house - Creative Partners at Intro Design based in London.
"Background in 2D design, typography design, print design. We operate in a peculiar way here at Intro in as much as we are more like a design cooperative in that the creative partners each have their own style and their own clients, and we don’t tend to collaborate with one another.
There’s a broader set of things that go on this, that design becomes a visual language in terms of all sorts of cultural reference points and things.
You tread a very fine line between graphic design and art, you are part artist, part illustrator, you’re a bit of a one off in that respect."
Sarah Boris
Sarah Boris - Artist and Designer based in London.
"My influences are really wide and varied, I like to be inspired by people first and foremost. I try not to be too much looking at only graphic design things and I just say my inspiration comes from people first and foremost and from the streets.
Design is a function and an aesthetic for me. It’s a way of living. It’s a way of communicating. "
Regular Practice
Kristoffer Soelling and Tom Finn - Graphic Designers based in East London.
"What we do is graphic design, I guess you could say ‘obviously’, but maybe more specifically we like to, I think we have a whole thing about it on our website that I can’t summarise right now, but our practice is type-centric.
I think working in design is a very rewarding, sometimes, a very rewarding field and process. When someone asks you to do something you try your best to do that for them, make them something, and then it’s very much that there’s an output at the end. It’s very like A to B, and you know that there’s a tactile object at the end of it.
I guess, on the thing of why design, I guess you’ve got to be a bit geeky and get really excited in the way of wanting to try this weird process that you’ve never done before when a different project comes in."
Sam Winston
Sam Winston's practice is concerned with language not only as a carrier of messages but also as a visual form in and of itself. Based in London.
"I would say an interest in problem solving and being dyslexic sort of made me who I am.
Design, I think there’s different ways of approaching design. I would argue, and this wouldn’t work for industry, but I would argue design is more of a verb than a noun. If you 3 treat design as a noun, it’s a thing that’s solid and it’s what you do, I’m a ‘designer’. I’ve always had a relationship with design as if it’s a verb, it’s a doing thing, it’s the way that you can go running, you can do designing. In that way design then is applicable to multiple other things. I’ve always been a designer in the sense that I will design a story, I will design a book, I will design a project. Design for me is just asking questions and design is the exploration of that question."
SomeOne
Big ideas, beautifully made. Simon Manchipp - Owner and Designer of Someone. Based in London.
"I think that I chose design or rather design chose me because I’m interested in all of those things and I didn’t want to do just one thing. I didn’t want to just run a restaurant or run a business that was associated with just finance or something like that; I wanted to try lots of things. Design has enabled me over the last couple of decades to put my finger in many pies.
Design has opened the door to a lot of problems that needed solving in sectors that I’d never experienced before.
Probably one of the best bits of advice I ever had was, read weird stuff, which I try and do."
Reflection
From all of these creatives, I have been most interested to hear about why they chose to go into the world of design. For some by accident and for some it was always meant to be. I also enjoy hearing advice they give. Most to keep experimenting, to push boundaries and read weird stuff.
Task
Produce a quadriptych to illustrate your answer to the following: Who are you? What is it that you do? Where are you? Why Design?
Who are you?
I'm Danielle, a 24 year old woman born and bred in Devon. After studying Graphic and Media Design in London and having a rollercoaster journey through freelancing, full time work, and redundancy; I am now a Middleweight Designer with an addiction to anything creative. I find influence from everything around me - environment, people, media but in particular I like to create from emotion, feeling, passion. What makes you you? This is a difficult question to answer without it changing in the near future - and part of me feels I still have no idea who I really am yet! Maybe it's my age, but I feel I have learnt more about myself in the past year than ever - and this will probably continue through my whole life. We are always growing and changing. Although I will always be a quiet, introvert with stubborn and impulsive traits at the least!
What is it that you do?
I am currently a Middleweight Designer and also freelance under my business name South West Design. A pivotal project in my practice would be creating the identity for my business. It was created during a time where I had just been made redundant and couldn't find another job. It kept me going and made me sure that being a designer is my passion.
Where are you?
I am based in Honiton, Devon in the UK. Since moving back to this area from London I have found I do not miss the loud extroverted nature of London life. Being able to take the dog out to some amazing countryside gives freedom to my mind - and if effect - freedom to my work.
Why design?
I have always loved the idea that creatives create something from nothing. A word, and idea, a tune, a colour can inspire a designer to create. I also think I specially went into design for the technology. I have always preferred using a computer to create rather than a pencil which is probably frowned upon but I think that comes from the perfectionist side to me.
My quadriptych represents my design style and uses the branding of my business. I have picked out words and sentences which really stand out to me to give a good picture of who I am.
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