DPS @ LCC 2014/2015

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Since today is the last opportunity I get to post, So in a nutshell here go the last four and half months.

Since my last editorial internship at DK, I went on to develop a brand Identity for a local baker in Birmingham on a freelance basis, I wasn't able to display any of the work developments until now.A very short project filled with its wonders and serendipity. Straight after, I went on to teaching at the summer schools at both LCC and New Addington High school. A short, crash cross on typography and letterpress.At the time, Iwas granted an opportunity to go Spain for a week to explore Atipo design studio, please see their awesome work at... http://atipo.es/en/. Once I got back to London I started working for T-G trading Branding Agency, Currently developing and branding a new Hospital that specialise in Hemodialysis in China. My current contract runs until the end of October, however, it may seem, I am able to work weekends and remotely. After settling in for a week, and reviewing what I have accomplished over the last couple of months, I was able to compile all my resources and information, which help me to build strong body work for my thesis. As you can see I've always went and tour the design festival, favourite was the brand exhibit at the design museum. I have  had a great year! D.Robinson

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Here are a couple of pieces from recent weeks! The first poster is part of the artwork I made for the Sketchbooks Are Dead, an exhibition ran by Pam from ToandTO. The exhibition will feature 10 sketchbooks from independent artists, 10 from practitioners at the Hackney Downs Studios, and then eventually visitors to the exhibition will be invited to participate. He started ToandTO around a year ago aiming to connect people, put on talks, exhibitions and other such good things. I had a meeting with him after my friend connected us, and I’ll be doing the visuals for their shows in the future. I’ve been working at Hospital Records one or two days a week since February now, at first remotely from Amsterdam, as my internship at HOAX only had me 4 days a week, and now I’m back in London I go to their HQ in Forest Hill. They put on events all over the world, so that’s pretty nice in visual exposure terms! I usually have around an hour or two to get something for event identities though, so I’ve learned how to be quite quick there.. The third is an illustration to be used as the hand held map for The Big Draw at Granary Square (Central St Martins campus). People will be using it to travel around the area and draw at certain points they have designated.  There are 8 key points, and I was also commissioned to create poetic clues as to the areas that participants will be drawing. It’s my first paid writing / poetry, which is good! Dale Croft

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Sophie Kate Newton & Chloe Kelly - Bauer Media 

You might remember me and Chloe’s post about the cover we did for Media Week a while back, well quite excitingly, our pattern for the magazine cover is now on a wall at mediacom (Including some custom pillows apparently). It looks amazing and it’s so nice to have some of your work as an actual physical thing.

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Alessia Arcuri | You Me Bum Bum Train

Hello, my last post is not really recent and from now on I am gonna try to update you on what happened in the last few months.

This post is about a great experience I had yesterday which I recommend to everyone.

I volunteered at  “You Me Bum Bum Train”, an “immersive theatre experience” produced by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd. The last show was at the Barbican Centre in 2010 and it was the most fast-selling show ever. Now they are back with a new experience, which is gonna be on till October. The show take place in a secret location near Totthenam Court Road and it is designed to throw the audience (quite literally) in different kind of extreme, unexpected and surprising situations.

Signing up on their website, everyone is eligible to volunteer, taking part either in the preparation of set, props and costumes or becoming a proper ‘actor’.

I recommend anyone interested in immersive theatre to sign up and become a volunteer or even just to go there and learn how to organise a set and a show.

Really worthy experience!

Here are some articles which can explain a little bit better about it

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/you-me-bum-bum-train-378

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/9535160/You-Me-Bum-Bum-Train-the-volunteering-experience-of-a-lifetime.html

Sign up here to volunteer! http://www.bumbumtrain.com

Image credit:  http://www.bumbumtrain.com

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Self initiated project | Vaida K.

Another mini project of mine from series called ‘Searching for Details’. The idea to tell the story about the doors is part of the previous project ‘Walls Are Talking’. 

Textures, colours materials and conditions were the main aspects choosing my objects and having a ‘dialogue’ with them. These pictures were taken back home in Vilnius. It is kind of retrospective of my roots and a historical/cultural background. 

Work is still in progress.. 

:)

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TOAD | Karina Stolf

So last week I finished my last internship of the year :( I can’t believe how quickly it’s gone and we are back at uni in a month!

After I finished interning at City AM, I started at TOAD straight after and was there for the whole sumer. TOAD is a creative agency specialising in web design and development and they have a sister agency called Mother’s Best Child who specialise in video content creation.

While interning there, I worked on a diversity of projects for both companies. Some were a little boring, like creating Power Point presentations for clients and updating brand guidelines, while others were very exciting like designing websites and creating illustration campaigns for well-known charities. As well as doing a lot of design work, I also participated in idea generation and brain storming sessions, so the work was always very varied.

We also got the chance to visit the ITV studios to see the second pilot of ‘The Week That Wasn’t’, which is a comedy show that talks about the news that happened during the week. It involves manipulated video clips that were produced by Mother’s Best Child.

I really enjoyed my time at TOAD and met some amazing people. The guys are all so nice and friendly and I really felt like a part of the team there. It’s only been 3 days since I left, but I already want to be back :(

But now to start on the dissertation research.. yay!

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Twinned With... | Karina Stolf

One of the most exciting things that I got to do this year, was to design a cover for Twinned With... It is a book written by Rob-Self Pierson and it’s about his journey around Europe exploring Twin Towns. Rob chose two designers to illustrate his book, one being me - working on the cover, and the other being Frankie (she’s also from LCC, but a year above us) - working on the inside illustrations.

The book was meant to be out in November, but it took such a long time to get all the copy sorted, that I didn’t even start designing up until April.

Anyway, when it was finally launched, we got some amazing feedback. We were mentioned on the Design Week, which was exciting. I also went to the book launch at the London Review Bookshop, and it was amazing seeing so many people buying the book.

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Back to the Lab | Loi Xuan Ly

I was commisioned by Sadler’s Wells Breakin Convention to make a short documentary on one of their annual projects, Back to the Lab; bringing hip hop into a theatre space. 

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKvkBJNRqf4)

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Landor | Jihye Lee

Hi all, long time no see. I hope you are having great holidays and internship experiences!

I am still working at Landor. I have been extending couple of contracts at Landor. So I have been here for over 5 months. So far, I have worked internal illustration projects for global and London office. I had a great illustration opportunity for Landor website. www.Landor.com The second picture is series of Landor picture frame - Walter Landor(our founder), our world office map and Klamath(our icon). they said that it is displayed next to the finance permanently! - Sooooo amazing! Also, Now, I have finished another illustrations for Alitalia magazine and some live projects which would be published soon! (If client likes it!) 

My experience at Landor has been really great! I have been working serval live projects closely with strategy and design teams and learning a lot! Also, my illustration skill has been getting better. 

I am really sad that my internship will be finished soon. Hopefully, I come back to Landor to work with great people again! - cross my fingers!

See you soon in the class!

Jihye Lee

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I was asked by an old friend to design an EP cover for her and her friends folk duo! They play tradition folk tunes with a contemporary twist, and particularly enjoy being nostalgic about letter writing, tea, cake and the British countryside. Using gouache, I painted them an illustration inspired by their music, traditional folk design and objects personal to them. They were thrilled with the results and I received a printed copy in the post last week!

*(Slight annoying thing thats probably only noticeable to me - I was asked to send the file with a 3mm bleed, which was also printed!!)*

Grace Hands

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Some production shots from my work so far with Gilles & Cecilie -- final ones to follow once complete!

Grace Hands

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I think I have mentioned on here previously that I have been involved in illustrating a guide to Elephant & Castle for new UAL students. I received the final printed booklet last month and am really happy with it! They decided to use one of my illustrations as the front cover, and it is really nice to see such  a range of illustrative styles-- there are some very talented people in LCC! I was initially worried that my illustrations would not fit well on the page due to them all being landscape, but I actually really like how they work with the minimal design and white space.

Grace Hands

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Grace Hands | Updates!

Hey guys, lots has ben happening so I thought I’d post an update! 

I’ve finished my 3 month internship at XAG-- it was fantastic and I loved it and everyone there is amazing. I learnt so much and got to work on some fantastic projects. The last month was spent working on a window display for Adidas to promote their new Winter Collection.. no big deal.. I was the only designer working on the initial ideas, and was heavily involved in their development and the prototyping the final design, so it was great to see the project through to the end! It will be up in stores from September/October (I think?!) so can’t show you guys anything now, but I will say this it is cool. Although out of all the possible pathways for the display, they went with the safest one, which was a bit of a shame as some other ideas were really exciting and using materials I had never even thought of working with. Adidas are notorious in XAG for being very safe (dare I say boring?) and predictable. But still cool, and I am really happy with how the final prototype came out. It now acts as a guideline for each store, as it will have to work in a variety of spaces, and will vary depending on who is installing and how much of the Winter collection the shop is stocking. Really hoping it will be in London so I can see it for real in the next few months!!  I was also working on pieces for Liberty, Karen Millen, Sophia Webster and Charlotte Tilbury stores. 

I started a 3 week internship with Gilles and Cecilie immediately after XAG so it has been all go for me! We are working in a special needs school in east London, painting large scale images and type onto wall spaces such as corridors, and a huge entrance area. Everything is already designed, so I am just assisting with the production. Still learning lots though-- learning about their process and how time consuming it is!! There is a very close attention to detail, and they must stay true to what has been confirmed with the school before hand, so no room for spontaneous interpretation or new ideas. It’s still a lot of fun though and very satisfying to see finished pieces. It is making me very aware of how much longer a final show might take than I initially thought-- something that will hopeful help when preparing for our degree show! I am there until the 14th, when Gilles and Ceclie go to Paris for a month to finish another wall painting! They are just non-stop! 

I am going on holiday to Rome for a week on the 15th, then returning to London to work on a new dissertation proposal, start some personal projects and generally sort my life out/have a lie in. Having a full time job is hard- it often feels like there is no time for anything else, and you will never get everything done. Its a huge adjustment from uni and college. I am looking forward to being more in control of my working hours, and not having to travel so far to where I need to be ( I have been commenting over an hour each way for about 4 months now -.- )  

There are a few other projects I have been working that feel relevant, so they will get their own post now! 

Hope everyone’s enjoying the sun and a well deserved rest before returning in October! 

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Grace Hands | Xag and Gilles & Cecilie Hiya all, it's been a while since I last posted on here as I have been incredibly busy! Still at Studio Xag, my 3 month internship finishes at the end of the month (eep!), and I'm having a great time. Learning lots, and working on a few different projects. I can't share any images or details as most of what I have been working on is still in production etc, but some of the clients have been Adidas, Persol, Rayban and Karen Millen. I have been working on the computer a lot, mocking up window displays, as well as testing practical pieces out in the workshop. I am starting a 2 month internship a few days after I finish at Xag with Gilles & Cecilie, and duo who work with illustration, 3D and spacial design. My first day will be assisting with painting a large scale piece onto a wall, more details to follow! I'm looking forward to working more in illustration and making physical pieces. Because each project and each client differs hugely at Xag, you can be working exclusively digitally for weeks, which I have found is quite strenuous, and I begin to miss making things. Luckily I have been moving around so don't stay on one project for too long. Gemma and Xav (the bosses) are very aware that I want to try as many things as possible so keep me occupied with a variety of tasks that push my existing skills as well as teach me new ones. I plan to rewrite my dissertation proposal, and am also in the process of looking for a new house, so each day is none stop! No time for a summer holiday unfortunately but hoping to get a long weekend away in the next few weeks. Hope everyone is well and enjoying themselves! Grace Hands

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Intern at Toad | Ho Ming Lam

Hello guys,

Been a hectic and fab month at Toad. One of the best internships I had during the year. People here are amazing working, playing and eating with! More exciting is that my intern has been extended for another month!

We’re treated more like junior designers here with only me and 2 Karinas from DPS. Things I learnt during here:

Essential of updating and commenting with director

Materials need to be pitch perfect for clients

How to deal with client issues

What stood out most was that my developer colleagues showed me the importance of the digital world (now I'm on code academy online classes).

Have a wonderful Summer!

Ho Ming

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General Assembly Coding Class | Serena Gan

So it’s been pretty quiet on my side ever since I finished my internship with Johnson Banks few weeks ago. Things happened in between but today, I attended a coding class at General Assembly, Second Home in Shoreditch. For the longest time, I wanted to explore and expand my design knowledge and translate it to the web/digital. 

I found this HTML and CSS coding class through General Assembly. General Assembly is a school, learning platform where they provide mostly web development courses and user experience design courses for all audiences. They range from many different types of courses from 12 week long workshops to a 4 hour workshop in a day. 

What I really enjoyed about the class really was that the teaching isn’t just linear. James, our coding lecturer provided us with extensive yet basic knowledge of coding, at the same time allowing us to conduct our own, in coding our very own websites. He provided with information and clarified differences on how print and the web works. What is really interesting is looking at two sides of the internet, which is the front end and back end development. James explained the differences in HTML and CSS which really helped and aid alot in understanding that crucial difference. HTML in summary is used for mostly content based while CSS is the fun part where the designing and presentation of the web happens. He touched on the subject of JavaScript but sadly we didn’t have enough time to have a hands on exercise on it. Designing on web and coding is rather different therefore, having knowledge on how web interfaces and the background knowledge of the internet is imperative. The two images above are examples of what we did in class. Looks pretty hardcore but once you understand the differences and the terms like html tags and so on, it becomes easier and faster to handle. 

I recommend anyone who wants to learn coding through classes definitely try out General Assembly. Also, a useful website for those who wants to learn for free but still have good extensive knowledge would be: http://www.codecademy.com/

Till then, have a great summer you guys! xx

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Graphiction · Christian Schmitz Keeping in touch with your ex work colleges is a priceless piece of networking. During my stay at Mucho Design I made some really good friends who have a similar taste in film and design as me. So a month ago or so, we decided to start a mini blog showcasing fictional graphics from film, tv and other media around the globe. Nowadays it is more and more common to include fictional brands or logos into tv/film sets to make the whole experience more convincing or authentic. The way this Instagram “blog” works is that we post up a series of three photos:

·The Fictional logo on a white background ·1st photo/frame of logo put in context in the film or show ·2nd photo/frame of logo put in context in the film or show Each photo has a brief explanation of what kind of graphic project it is, year release, designer, what film/show it appears in, etc

This isn’t so much of a business idea but more like a fun and interesting collaborative research project which could easily lead to a very nice publication, should we gather a solid amount of examples. 

If you want to give us any cool suggestions give us a comment through the Instagram account #graphiction or through: https://instagram.com/graphiction.info/

Hope you like it!