BA (Hons) Graphic Arts & Design
Employability Trip - London 2014
Employability Trip - London 2014
Our trip
began with a visit to London’s iconic fashion hub, Dover St Market, to see
archival material from the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) curated amongst
the many splendid clothes, shoes and accessories. Both students and staff enjoyed
discussing the context of ‘art’ within a high-end fashion space, alongside
comment with regards to how the archival material might be perceived
differently there as opposed to in a gallery, for example.
Later that afternoon, we took a
trip to SWD (Shaun Webb Design) in Soho. Enthusiastic senior creative, Kate
Hill, showed the students a huge range of work from within the performance and
theatre sector of the arts. It was great to see a relatively small studio
thriving having built up a sterling reputation for quality within the community
of the West End.
To
top off our first day, we took the Victoria line all the way, arriving in
Walthamstow. We had an appointment with Michael C. Place of Build. Michael
kindly showed us around their beautiful studio space, before discussing project
work with the group. Level 6 student, Lisa Dale, wrote about the visit: “It's difficult to say which studio I got the most from because they
were all so diverse and offered different things but Build was a personal
favourite because Michael C. Place was so humble and honest. I felt comfortable
around him and slightly less on edge. I enjoyed seeing the future that I want.
Every time we go to London I feel refreshed and committed - more ambitious and
hopeful.”
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| Students at Build with Michael C. Place |
Our second day included a visit to LittleBrown
book group, based on the River Thames in the striking Unilever building. Senior
creatives, Sean Garrehy and Hannah Wood, spoke to the students about their
roles and the company as a whole before taking us around the space, later
placing students into small groups to spend some time with a designer of their
choice to discuss project work in more detail!
The afternoon saw 5 final year students present their work to a senior panel of creative, editors and marketeers, which marked the culmination of a collaborative year long project between LittleBrown and the College. Hannah Wood said, “We would like to reiterate how impressed we were with the students, it took a lot of courage to present to us and we hope that they found it a valuable and enjoyable experience.” Level 6 student, Becki Derbyshire, pitched her work to LittleBrown and said:
“Working with LittleBrown on the Josie Dew project was a really great experience. Being involved with the industry and having the chance to pitch your ideas to various sectors of the company is certainly something you don't get the chance to do everyday. It has been a pleasure to work with LittleBrown and definitely something I would do again as I enjoyed it so much.”
Lewis Hatton also pitched work and said:
“Working with LittleBrown on the Josie Dew project was a really valued opportunity. I personally found it to be a great experience as it opened my eyes to the world of publishing design, which was something I had never considered before. Working on the project provided by LittleBrown was great fun; they left everything open to us, which led us to produce our best work without being restricted by what we could or couldn’t do. They were also very easy to communicate with and very helpful in pushing our work forward to get the best possible outcome.”
The afternoon saw 5 final year students present their work to a senior panel of creative, editors and marketeers, which marked the culmination of a collaborative year long project between LittleBrown and the College. Hannah Wood said, “We would like to reiterate how impressed we were with the students, it took a lot of courage to present to us and we hope that they found it a valuable and enjoyable experience.” Level 6 student, Becki Derbyshire, pitched her work to LittleBrown and said:
“Working with LittleBrown on the Josie Dew project was a really great experience. Being involved with the industry and having the chance to pitch your ideas to various sectors of the company is certainly something you don't get the chance to do everyday. It has been a pleasure to work with LittleBrown and definitely something I would do again as I enjoyed it so much.”
Lewis Hatton also pitched work and said:
“Working with LittleBrown on the Josie Dew project was a really valued opportunity. I personally found it to be a great experience as it opened my eyes to the world of publishing design, which was something I had never considered before. Working on the project provided by LittleBrown was great fun; they left everything open to us, which led us to produce our best work without being restricted by what we could or couldn’t do. They were also very easy to communicate with and very helpful in pushing our work forward to get the best possible outcome.”
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| Lewis Hatton's work for LittleBrown |
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| Lyndsey Hall's work for LittleBrown |
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| Jamila Hodges' work for LittleBrown |
For
the remainder of the trip, students visited Mortar & Pestle, founded by LCC
graduates Daniel Camacho and
Richard Knowles who graduated in 2009, followed by a
trip to the V&A for an awe-inspiring tour of the ceramics gallery,
alongside a Shakespeare exhibition designed by world-class designer, Jonathan Barnbrook. Last but not least, the students visited Browns / Jonathan Ellery. Level 6 student, Adam Bower, wrote about the visit:
“The studio visit I enjoyed the most was Browns / Jonathan Ellery. Jonathan's harsh approach at the beginning was somewhat of a shock but showed that he cared and took time to talk individually to each of the students. His professional advice was hard to hear initially but by the end most of the other students and I had a lot of respect for what he said and had learned a lot of lessons.”
“The studio visit I enjoyed the most was Browns / Jonathan Ellery. Jonathan's harsh approach at the beginning was somewhat of a shock but showed that he cared and took time to talk individually to each of the students. His professional advice was hard to hear initially but by the end most of the other students and I had a lot of respect for what he said and had learned a lot of lessons.”
In summary, our trip this year was
a jam-packed 3-day tour of some of London’s finest studios and creative spaces.
The student’s thrived on the inspirational practitioners that they met and
their aspirations soared in light of their experiences. This is a key part of
our vision for the course. Level 6 student, Adam Bower wrote, “The trip has given me a great insight into different kinds of professional
practice and has aided my decisions about which kinds of studio I wish to
pursue. Also, hearing from the designers themselves about how they started out
has been hugely inspirational to see how far they have made it from a similar
situation to my own.” Becki Derbyshire continued, “It was great to be able to
get out of the college environment and travel at the same time as learning
about the industry through visits and having a great time with friends.” Each
year the employability trips go from strength to strength. Our thanks go to all
of the studios who accommodated us.
