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."