TechHub Design Collaboration

TECHHUB – Design and installation by Richard Raby & Lisa Dale

Five 2^nd year BA (Hons) Design & Visual Arts students were involved in a live collaborative project with TechHub in Manchester this month. Becki Derbsyhire, Lewis Hatton, Adam Bower, Lisa Dale and Richard Raby were asked to consider several spaces within TechHub, a new co-working space for tech entrepreneurs in the Northern Quarter, Manchester.

Richard Raby & Lisa Dale

Their brief was to inspire members through typography in the meeting room, kitchen and other spaces on the ground floor. The students did an incredible job. TechHub founders Doug Ward and Shaun Gibson are thrilled with the work.

TECHHUB – Design and installation by Richard Raby & Lisa Dale

Founding TechHub member Stephen Biggs said, “I’m so impressed with the work that the students have done this week. They’ve bought the kitchen, lockers and meeting room to life in an inspirational, fun way. All of the students were a pleasure whilst working in the space – they did their course proud.” Not only have the students impressed TechHub, they’ve also been commissioned to do the same job elsewhere via the sharing of their work on Twitter. Overall, it was a very successful live project, one that we will be glad to repeat next year with other organisations

Growing Together on the Allotment

Adam Pilkington, Harley Del Rio and Ian Parkin working on the allotment

First year BA (Hons) Graphic Arts & Design students were involved in a green-fingered live brief this month. The project was organised through Laura Murphy, responsible for the Stockport Olympic Legacy fund, at Stockport Council and saw students working with the Growing Together Project, based at the White Hill Allotment in Reddish.

The Growing Together Project is run in partnership with Stockport-based charity SPARC (Stockport Progress & Recovery Centre) and Pennine Care’s Recovery & Inclusion team. Once a week the Growing Together Project participants take part in the general maintenance of the allotment, which in turn aids their recovery from mental health challenges. The project also encourages a sense of community and social engagement.

 

White Hill Allotment, Reddish

The project was an opportunity for students to literally get their hands dirty as they grappled with a design challenge. The brief was to design a series of posters that will be used to promote the Growing Together Project. It was also a great opportunity to potentially have their work used commercially, in the real world, for a real client. At the briefing and ideas development stage, students worked on the allotment for an afternoon, digging and planting – truly hands on design research! They then returned several weeks later to pitch their work to the Growing Together project team.

All fingers are crossed now for the winning idea. Well done to all students who took part.

LOVE, The Chase and Textbook Professional Practice

Stockport College School of Arts, Design & Media HE students studying on the BA(Hons) Graphic Arts & Design course have recently been involved in several studio visits in Manchester.

Studio visits are organized throughout the 2^nd and 3^rd year of the course to enable students to contextualise their practice professionally, and also to inspire them and enable them to imagine themselves actually working as a creative practitioner, in the real world!

2^nd year students visited Taylor O’Brien, LOVE, Textbook and the Chase. The visits were such an eye-opening experience for them. Each of thestudios were diverse in their own way. Helen Taylor of Taylor O’Brien presented the strategic element of their brand work, whilst also discussing how they acquire new business. Stephen Owen and Patrick Harvey of LOVE spoke of their creative passion for ideas, which bridges a range of disciplines. Lise Brien of The Chase introduced the students to several of their current interns and junior designers to hear their stories to date, which was wonderful. Lastly, Textbook – alumni of the course, showed students around their second, new, studio in Islington Mill, then took everyone off to the local pub for a catch up. Overall it was a wonderful, insightful day for all.

3^rd year students Phil Earnshaw, Paul Muray, Rachel Wilmott and Cat Egan visited Grant Windridge of Hemisphere in the Northern Quarter. Phil said, “The visit went really well. We had a good conversation with Grant, Kat and a junior designer called Nick. I'm just emailing Grant now to say thanks again and hopefully arrange a portfolio visit. I really enjoyed learning about their practice – it inspired me with regards to my personal aspirations.”

Graphic Arts Study Trip: London

With another jam-packed itinerary under our belts, the BA (Hons) Graphic Arts & Design course took to the streets of London recently for the 2013 trip to the capital.

 

Our first stop was The Times newspaper. The course has a good relationship with design editor, Jon Hill, who was good enough to speak at our graduation ceremony in 2012. We met with Fraser Lyness firstly. Fraser is a designer at The Times - a member of Jon's team. Fraser is alumni of London College of Communication and studied with programme leader, Lucy Brown. Fraser kindly gave students a tour of the building before a Q&A session about the industry - later joined by Jon. Fraser emphasised the importance of work experience to the students, as well as the ability to diversify within your role once you have one. The role of graphic design in the newspaper industry is ever evolving. On a daily basis, both Jon and Fraser are faced with the challenge of keeping design directly behind and in support of editorial. Jon also spoke of his willingness to have students on placement at The Times which is wonderful. As I write this, students are coming to me to discuss their portfolios before sending them to him. This emphasises the importance of such trips, and in making a human connection, face-to-face.

 

Later in the day we were given a whistle-stop tour of the LCC letterpress facilities by Alex Cooper, before learning all about the life and works of iconic filmmaker Stanley Kubrick and prolific designer Tom Eckersley over a few hours spent with the staff of the University’s Archives & Special Collections facility.

 

On Wednesday, student's visited the offices of popular culture website It's Nice That, and later visited either the Duchamp exhibition at the Barbican, Designs of the Year at the Design Museum, Schwitters at Tate Britain or Lichtensten at Tate Modern. Such visits enabled students to consider the

 

Thursday bought the joys of a letterpress workshop, run by graphic designer/educator/printer/philosopher/wonder, Sheena Calvert. Sheena works from a small studio in Hackney Wick. She happily spends hours at the press, setting metal type and getting inky fingers. Sheena talked students through a whistle-stop history of printing, before encouraging them all to set and print their own letterpress design. To be able to deal with physical letterforms is an invaluable, tangible way to educate students about typography. It was a wonderful day and completed our time together in London perfectly.

 

Lisa Dale, 2nd year graphic design student, wrote the following about her time in London:

"This year's trip to London was an aspirational journey in discovering what lies outside of Manchester. London is a big place but with so many people willing to help and give advice. It's now easier to see that my goals are not impossible to reach just by meeting fascinating people like Sheena and Jon who were full of wisdom and willing to share their journey. The Times gave me an outlook on design I had never considered until then, working for a newspaper. It's Nice That was inspirational hearing the story of the founders from students to then building a company. It gave me confidence that it really is possible to achieve yourdreams. My favourite part of the trip was meeting Sheena and her world of Letterpress. I have a lot of respect for the craft and the most important thing is I have came away feeling hungry and wanting more. Thank you to the tutors for making it possible."