UAL Futures is a space to explore and create digital futures for art, design, media, fashion and technology with students, graduates and friends of University of the Arts London
Students can join visual discovery app Blippar for a workshop on Wednesday 11 May (2-3.30pm) at London College of Communication.
The workshop will give students the opportunity to explore how they can harness Blippar's image recognition, augmented reality and computer vision technology to bring their creative work to life!
Making your work ‘blippable’ could allow people to ‘blip’ straight to your portfolio at your final show, add audio to tell people about your work, or turn illustrations into animations.
The workshop will be a training session on BlippBuilder, Blippar's self-servicing tool, where students will be able to add interactive layers of content to their images across mobile devices. No code or technical skills required!
It would be useful to students working on publishing projects, final year students who want to add a layer of interactivity to their own work, or for a class to bring their final show brochure to life.
Sign up for the workshop via Eventbrite here.
Places are limited to 25. So make sure you can make it.
Before the workshop we’ll send you more information about what you’ll need to prepare to get the most out of it.
Join UAL Futures in Barcelona for IAM - Internet Age Media Weekend.
Following our hugely successful IAM X UAL Futures Talks event in December, UAL Futures are to delighted to have been invited to speak at IAM - Internet Age Media Weekend in Barcelona this April 7-10.
And we have a number of opportunities for students, staff and graduates to join us for an inspiring weekend exploring the stories that are shaping the futures of media, learning and internet culture.
Connecting diverse perspectives from around the globe, IAM features 25 speakers and workshops from Activists, Artists, Hackers, Designers, Filmmakers, Sci-Fi Writers, Niche Publishers, Creative Technologists, Editors, Brand Managers, Journalists, Curators, Learning Innovators, Internet People.
This year’s theme is Complexity to Emergence. And speakers include Tate, Quartz, BBC, Moving Brands, Made by Many, Intern Magazine, Stack Magazines, V&A, Rhizome, Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, BBC and Futures very own Luke Whitehead.
Put your trust in randomness and join us....
1. IAM X Futures Random Bursaries for Students
Two X IAM Tickets + 2 X £350 prizes from UAL Futures.
The IAM motto is “in randomness we trust,” so...
We're offering two 'Random Research Bursaries' for individual students (or team of 2) who can show how their interests, ambitions, creative work and research fits with the mission, values and themes of IAM - Internet Age Media and UAL Futures.
To apply you'll need to explain what you'll get from the IAM experience. Tell us who you want to connect with whilst you're there and why. And show us how you're going to share you're stories of the weekend with us once you're back.
In return you'll get a ticket and the full IAM treatment.
You will need to sort out your own travel and accommodation. But we will give you a £350 prize on your return!
You can apply here >> https://ualfutures.typeform.com/to/CVov0k
Application Deadline: Midnight Sunday 20th March. Any questions just email Luke >> [email protected]
2. Half-priced tickets for the UAL Futures Network.
For alumni and friends of Futures we've got some great discounts including 50% and even more if you’re a couple/duo.
For couples >> https://ti.to/if/iam2016/discount/UALFVTVR3SX2
4. Grab your gang and get a group discount.
Students, if a group (3 or more) of you want to go, and we can negotiate a discount on your behalf. Just email Luke >> [email protected]
5. If you're already going and have a ticket get in touch!
Email us to let us know you’re going and we’ll hang out!
6. Some Reasons to go.
It’s sunny in Barcelona. Futures went last year and (it wasn’t sunny, but) it was amazing. You’ll join a blue family of internet people from all over the world.
Be inspired by talks and workshops with more than 25 speakers covering the following topics:
The bigger picture of internet culture: diversity, complexity and diplomacy
The futures of niche publications: distribution, networks and perspectives
The futures of media: digital transformation, evolution and culture
The futures of learning: intersections, speculations and taking fun seriously
The futures of arts & museums: uncertainty, collaboration and experiments.
The futures of the future: design, meaning, fiction and randomness
Ten more reasons to attend.
Read the IAM Manifesto.
7. Who is going?
Trend researchers. Purpose-driven investors. Digital Transformation Officers. Learning Innovators. Social entrepreneurs. Activists. Hackers. Urbanists. Designers. Filmmakers. Students. Sci-Fi Writers. Cultural Managers. Niche Publishers. Creative Technologists. Editors. Brand Managers. Journalists. Curators. Strategists. Scientists. Co-founders. Artists. Internet People.
Current attendees coming from: Sao Paulo, New York, Manila, Singapore, Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Porto, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Paris, Monterrey, London, Manchester, Geneva, Madrid and Barcelona.
8. When IAM came to London.
9. Get ready for an inspiring, random and ________ weekend in a city that never disappoints: Barcelona.
In the next in our UAL Futures Talks series we're pondering the perplexities of two little letters - U and X.
UX Design. User Experience Design. Making stuff better. What does it really mean?
Join us at Central Saint Martins on Wednesday 2 March when our brilliant industry speakers will provide their perspectives on UX Design and share insights on this most in-demand of disciplines.
Hear how they do UX at Moving Brands, Radical Company and Well Made Studio and learn how you can apply user experience principles in different contexts, to make your projects, career, life, just a little bit better!
Students and graduates get practical advice on skills, tools and career paths, and see how you can contextualize UX around your own ideas and ambitions.
Perfect for students studying Graphic Design, Interaction Design, Product Design, Advertising, Journalism, PR, Communication. Useful to all!
Speakers //
Mia Chuang, Senior User Experience Designer, Moving Brands
An expert in combining technology and behaviour to support the customer journey, whilst at Moving Brands Mia has worked on major projects for Swisscom, BBC, Adama and Omega. Previously she worked as a web designer and developer, with leading agencies and businesses such as AKQA, John Lewis and BCBG.
Mia has lived in six different countries, studied Graphic Design at Art Centre College of Design in Pasadena California, and has an MA in Digital Media Management from Hyper Island, Manchester.
Moving Brands |
Rebekah Cooper, Head of Experience and Strategy, Radical Company
Rebekah loves disruptive tech and innovation – especially Fintech. In her spare time she helps out at Ladies that UX Manchester and is a founder of @UX_Bookclub. Rebekah is also an Agile convert, proudly Northern and a fan of Rugby League.
Rebekah will talk about how disruptive innovation is inventing new jobs and where experience design fits in. Today people face the frustrating challenge of preparing for careers that may not even exist yet. Not only will we see new jobs in the future, but we’ll also see a lot of old jobs become obsolete.
Radical Company | @ ThisisRebekah
Gemma Germains, Founder and Director, Well Made Studio
Gemma Germains is a Content Strategist (the latest in a long line of ever changing titles to describe what she does) and she helps brands find their voice. Some communicate in words, many in actions. Through research and investigation, she works closely with her clients to help present the best possible version of themselves.
Gemma's talk will focus on writing for UX - content strategy, micro content, tone of voice and from a wider perspective, writing as a tool for understanding. She’ll cover subjects such as collaborating with a subject matter expert, writing appropriately for an audience, and how to test writing usability.
Well Made Studio | @wellmadestudio |
Mark Jenkins, Freelance Designer specializing in UX & Strategy
Mark’s passion is crafting experiences that solve real problems, in a simple way. He works with teams to humanise digital products; observing behaviours, designing for both the new and the familiar. Mark believes that design is more than just how things are displayed visually. It’s a combination of how things look, read, work and delight. He is also a mentor, speaker and writer.
Mark will talk about Prototyping, and the value it can bring. Why you should prototype your ideas and the ways in which you can do it. The real value of a prototype and what we can learn about people’s behaviours by getting our ideas in front of them – something tangible in their hands.
AKQA Want Young Digital Makers for Paid Residency.
Ideas and innovation agency AKQA are launching a programme designed to inspire and empower young, courageous inventors to define the future of their company and its clients.
They are looking for cross-disciplinary thinkers to spend 3 months working at the company’s London office. Whilst there, successful applicants will showcase their creative, technical and entrepreneurial talent across both client and freeform projects.
During the paid residency participants will be exposed to new software, web and mobile technologies, and the latest hardware, working alongside the AKQA team to create the next generation of products and services.
At the end of each course, selected candidates will be offered a full-time position and support from the AKQA network.
Open to individual students and graduates or multidisciplinary teams with less than 3 years work experience.
>> click here for details on how to apply: http://akqa.com/inventors.
Application deadline: 15th February.
To be first to hear about opportunities like this join the UAL Futures mailing list.
Ever had an idea for improving how we fund, make, share and enjoy art?
Join Culturate for an ART x TECH hackathon - The Art Challenge.
On 22/23 January join entrepreneurs, artists and hackers to create a new art business in 24 hours.
Solve real challenges experienced by the art world, receive coaching from industry insiders and win prizes including digital artworks from Sedition.
Judges
Jonas Almgren, CEO at Artfinder
Bernadine Bröcker, Founder and Managing Director at Vastari
Ashley Wong, Head of Programmes and Operations at Sedition
David Zokhrabyan, Founder and CEO at Gitoon
Mark Westall, Founder at FAD magazine
Katy Beale, Director at Caper
Coaches
Annika Erikson, Founder and CEO at Articheck
Theodora Clarke, Founder and Editor at Russian Art and Culture
Jenny Judova, Founder at Art Map London
Harry McCarney, Managing Director at Hack and Craft
Conrad Carvalho, Gallery Director at Oaktree & Tiger Gallery
More details and tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/art-challenge-tickets-10083745755
WIN!! - The first three students to email us will get a ticket free. Just email Luke with your name, college and course.
Someone asked. We listened. Many of you have joined our mailing list or signed up to UAL Futures events since we began our newsletters back in October.
So here we have every issue, all in one place. Some of the events you may have missed, but our digital and tech picks from around the web may never get old.
If you’re new to UAL Futures, subscribe and never miss our almost every weekly round-up of events, learning and web highlights from the UAL community and beyond.
join our mailing list
09/12/2015 - A manifesto for the Internet Age | UAL Futures News #9
01/12/2015 - IAM X FUTURES 🎥 📼 | Issue # 8
24/11/2015 - Commission Your Own Satellite | Futures News #7
For the final UAL Futures Talks of 2015 we brought the
IAM - Internet Age Media
spirit to University of the Arts London with an exclusive screening of We Are Internet - a video series exploring the human side of internet culture.
Now you can watch every episode online right here.
Across seven short episodes We Are Internet tells the stories and visions of influential people behind leading niche publications, agencies, companies and institutions from around the world.
If you’re a student inspired by what you hear, get in touch to express your interest in taking part in UAL Futures projects in 2016.
WATCH >> Episode 6 - The Role of Brands and Institutions
WATCH >> Episode 7 - Dreaming Better Futures
Go to Barcelona for Internet Age Media Weekend 2016.
You’re too late. But here’s what happened!! Watch IAM X Futures Highlights...
UAL Futures together with IAM - Internet Age Media present an evening of films and discussion around internet culture and the futures of media.
Join us at London College of Communication for an exclusive screening of We Are Internet - a video series exploring the human side of Internet Age Media.
Across seven short episodes We Are Internet tells the stories and visions of influential people behind leading niche publications, agencies, companies and institutions from around the world.
They share the why’s of emerging mindsets, lifestyles and perspectives, flying under the mainstream of media.
Featuring Alex Bec (It’s Nice That), Jeff Hamada (Booooooom.com), Filip Visnjic, (Creative Applications Network) and many more, the series is the start of a conversation about understanding internet as culture, from the context of media and creativity.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with some of the films protagonists about the evolution of internet age media and what it means for students and graduates.
Part of LCC’s Graduate School Festival the night will be an opportunity to network with fellow students, alumni and industry, and grab an exclusive ticket offer to Internet Age Media Weekend 2016 in Barcelona!
Speakers on the night
Abraham Asefaw, Founder, The Pop Up Agency
Alec Dudson, Founder, Intern Magazine
Pip Jamieson, Founder, The Dots
Pernille Raven, Head of Branded Content, Crane.tv
Julius Wiedemann, Director of Digital Publications, Taschen
Igor Zinatulin, Head of Strategy, Calvert 22 Foundation
Technical support and filming will be provided by LCC alumni The Makeshift Cinema.
The second in our Futures Talks series on 18 Nov brought together six incredible creatives forging their own unique paths across a number of fields including arts management, digital design, interaction, art direction, fashion, and genetics.
They shared their stories of interdisciplinary independence, with an audience of students, graduates and creative professionals at Chelsea College of Art.
Read on for our choice takeaways from each speaker...
Julien Simshauser
German born Julien, is a London-based Director, Interaction Designer, Motion Designer and Image Maker, with a lovely turn of phrase of too. He is also the founder of Builders Club, a creative collective crafting visual experiences.
The Flow Channel
“You have to find the right balance between boredom and anxiety, between skill and challenge, so the bigger your skill the higher you have to push up the challenge, in order to stay inside of the flow channel - which is the perfect balance between challenge and skill.”
The Happiness Zine Wave
“The bigger the client, the smaller the freedom, during the project, but also the bigger the client the bigger the pay, and the bigger the pay, the bigger the freedom once you receive the money.
I have this theory - The Happiness Zine Wave - it’s basically going from budget to fun always in your life. And that’s how you have to approach it when you’re a designer.”
@BuildersClub15
Iona Inglesby
Combining her passions for art and science, Iona is the founder of Dot One, a startup that uses your DNA to create unique prints and personalised textiles.
Do what you want to
“There were three main interests when I was growing up, that have continued as an adult, interest in science in data, obsession of adventure and a love of making.”
“I studied here (at Chelsea) for my BA, and did Textile Design. After the first year I didn’t feel like I fitted in at all in the discipline, everyone was going into fashion or interiors and I had no interest in that, but I’d gone this far...my tutors left me alone a bit, they didn’t know what to do with me, and said you’re either going to get a first or a third.”
“The moral of the story is really do what you want to do, it doesn’t matter what course you’re on.”
@IonaInglesby
DVTK
Designers Kim Boutin and David Broner aka DVTK moved from Paris four months ago to start a new adventure in London. Here’s their animated story, narrated by Siri!
“Use your passions, bring external references to your work, that can lead to make original forms and concepts. With social media there’s a lot of self digestion - take everything around you and ride the zeitgeist.”
@D_V_T_K
Freya Murray
Freya runs Stamp House, a platform that supports artists working in the digital sector. As an arts manager and producer she has worked on over 60 projects and partnerships with arts organisations and artists, including setting up Sky Academy Arts Scholarships - one of the biggest awards for emerging artists aged 18 – 30.
Be flexible
“When you’re choosing your path, don’t worry about being an expert in everything. Surround yourself with really brilliant people. Be flexible, be bold, be resilient. And be patient, don’t expect everything to happen at once.”
Build your network (and go for lots of coffee).
“What’s been key for me is building my network. My last project came about by going along to a meetup called the enlightenment cafe, and had a beer with someone, because i’d bumped into a friend of a friend of a friend, and I ended up getting a job. Recommendations are key. It’s all about building up trust and building your network.”
It’s never too late to connect
“When I was first starting out I remembered a chat I had with someone five years ago, so I looked her up and sent her an email and said “i really enjoyed our chat five years ago and you probably don’t remember who I am, but I think we could have a another good chat,” and she replied instantly.”
@Frymeister
Kate Dawkins
An award-winning senior creative and art director Kate has worked with teams around the world to create stunning interactive visual experiences for some of the largest global brands including the London 2012 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Adidas, Ford, BBC, GSK, Elton John and MTV European Music Awards.
“You think you’re on a path that’s going one direction and then something completely spins it.”
“I worked on this fantastic music video [for Elton John], really loved working on it. But it was seen by David Lapel, the photographer, who was at the time working on Elton John’s show in Las Vegas, he was the Art Director, and he saw this, and he said this is the direction I want, ‘find out who did this, and I want this person and this company to make the stuff.’ So, probably from a tiny little music video we went and produced the content for one of the largest HD screens in the world at the time.
“So it was the first move into creating visuals for stage, and I think what’s fantastic about this, and what’s been talked about tonight, is this sense of collaboration, and the fact you can’t do these things alone, it is a sense of coming together, team work, family, having people who know what they’re doing and people who don’t know what they’re doing. Also there’s an understanding of it’s not about you, it’s not about your visuals, there’s amazing stage sets, band, there could be cast, there’s costumes, it’s a very holistic world to work in.”
Futures Talks: #3 Internet Age Media
Our next Futures Talks takes place in Wed 9 Dec at LCC. Sign-up to our newsletter for details and tickets when they’re released.
Do / Futures talks: #2 Interdisciplinary Independence;
Futures Talks: #2 Interdisciplinary Independence.
UAL Futures presents an evening of talks exploring entrepreneurialism, collaboration and creativity in a digital context.
Creative people are increasingly going it alone, taking risks and creating their own startups, or embarking on a freelance career. At the same time, creative projects are becoming more complex and interdisciplinary.
Are digital technologies enabling professional independence? How can we help students find a space of their own in a collaborative world?
Hear from six creatives forging their own unique paths across a number of fields including arts management, digital design, interaction, art direction, fashion, and genetics.
They will provide different perspectives on finding independence in an increasingly interdisciplinary creative ecosystem.
When: Wednesday 18th November, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Where: Lecture Theatre, Chelsea College of Arts
Tickets: Get em’ here
This event is part of UAL’s Creative Enterprise Week.
Speakers
Kate Dawkins
An award-winning senior creative and art director Kate has worked with teams around the world to create stunning interactive visual experiences for some of the largest global brands including the London 2012 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Adidas, Ford, BBC, GSK, Elton John and MTV European Music Awards.
DVTK
DVTK is a creative team made up of Kim Boutin & David Broner combining their fields of expertise to create immersive digital experiments. Kim has a background in digital design with luxury fashion houses and David has experience as a 3D designer with post production companies.
Iona Inglesby
Combining her passions for art and science, Iona is design consultant at GENEU and is also the founder of Dot One, a start up that uses your DNA to create unique prints and personalised textiles. A Chelsea and RCA graduate, she also finds time to train sled-dogs for a Polar Exploration company in Lapland.
Freya Murray
Freya runs Stamp House, a platform that supports artists working in the digital sector. As an arts manager and producer she has worked on over 60 projects and partnerships with arts organisations and artists, including setting up Sky Academy Arts Scholarships - one of the biggest awards for emerging artists aged 18 – 30.
She is also an Associate Producer for The Space and a Trustee of Arts Admin.
Julien Simshauser
Julien is a London-based Director, Interaction Designer, Motion Designer and Image Maker collaborating with talent from everywhere to create deeply engaging media systems and content.
He is also Founder of Builders Club, a Creative Collective crafting Visual Experiences.
For the next in our Futures Talks series of events we're looking for graduates and creatives professionals to share stories around the theme: Interdisciplinary Independence.
The event, part of UAL's annual Creative Enterprise Week, will explore entrepreneurialism, collaboration and creativity in a digital context.
The Trend
Young creative people are increasingly going it alone. A generation, including many UAL alumni, are risking it to create their own studios and startups, or embarking on freelance and portfolio careers.
At the same time, creative projects are becoming increasingly complex, collaborative and interdisciplinary - blending digital and physical, online and offline, arts and science.
Questions
To what extent are digital technologies driving the interdisciplinary nature of creative work, and enabling professional independence?
In the internet age how can we help student’s find a space of their own, and give them the confidence to follow their interests and ideas?
What platforms, tools, places and people are useful to find work and collaborators?
Perspectives
We want to hear from people forging their own unique paths across a number of creatives fields, who can provide different perspectives on finding independence in a connected world.
Practical Advice
Speakers who are happy to share insights from their creative and career journeys, and with UAL Futures research findings as a guide, share practical advice on how students can tap into current trends.
Event Details
When: Wednesday 18 November, 6.30-8.30pm
Where: Chelsea College of Art and Design.
Format: A series of 10-15 min talks, discussion, networking, drinks.
Get Involved
If you’d like to contribute, or know somebody whose perspective would be a great addition to our community please get in touch.
Just email Luke or Georgina who can tell you more and arrange a chat or coffee.
Informed by student's real needs and challenges, UAL Futures research has identified a number of themes to guide the topics we’d like to cover and practical advice we want to share.
Based on personal experiences we’re looking for people to share examples of knowledge, resources, tools, skills, learning, people and support networks that have shaped their creative journeys.
You can learn more about our research into digital skills and learning here.
Journey Mapping Tool
As part of our research we’ve developed a simple tool, which we used to help students map their creative journeys. And we think might help speakers at our events plan their talks. It’s basic template for someone to plot examples of ways they access and apply technology within their practice, with questions to prompt them. We can share the tool and work with speakers to craft their talk.
UAL Futures Learn Report: Co-designing a Digital Creative Toolkit for UAL.
Be one of the first people to get a look at the UAL Futures Learn report.
In 2015 UAL Futures worked with over 150 students, staff, alumni and creative industry partners on a research and co-design project exploring ways we can support digital creativity at UAL.
Responding to student's needs, behaviors and challenges, these are our findings, along with recommendations for ways UAL can approach the delivery of new content, services and experiences.
You can view a summary of the report below.
And read the entire report in full here: UAL Futures Learn Report
Over the coming weeks we will be organising workshops to explore the findings. Subscribe to our newsletter for news of those.
Report Summary.
University of the Arts London (UAL) is one of the world’s most renowned institutions for education in arts, design, fashion and communication.
Delivering a transformative education that ensures students reach their full potential requires us to work in partnership with them, drawing on their natural enterprise and curiosity.
UAL Futures is an initiative responding to the challenges and opportunities digital technologies present for the creative and cultural sectors.
Funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund, the project requires us to work in collaboration with creative partners to inform the development of UAL services, experiences and learning programmes that prepare students for successful careers in the digital creative industries.
The Challenge
In 2015 UAL Futures invited students, staff, alumni and creative industry partners to become co-designers and help us explore ways we can support digital creativity at UAL.
The project asked participants to respond to the challenge question: how might we co-design a digital creative toolkit for UAL.
Two UAL researchers were invited to design a series of workshops with the aim of;
- Exploring and identifying themes in the current digital skills and learning landscape.
- Identifying the needs and behaviors of students in relation to digital skills.
- Mapping students’ creative journeys and ways they access and apply digital technology.
- Bringing students and creative professionals together to share insights, ideas and come up with solutions to the challenge of improving digital skills.
- Exploring how outcomes might be developed into income generating enterprise opportunities to enable UAL Futures to become sustainable.
- The project had input from over 150 students, staff, alumni and creative professionals. In workshops we were also joined by speakers from the creative industries and education including the Tate, Hyper Island, Hirsch and Mann, General Assembly and UAL.
Findings
Six steps to learning
We have identified six key elements to digital learning. These broadly describe content, activities and experiences a student wishing to learn digital skills would benefit from having access to;
1. Defined knowledge - gateway resources to define and demystify digital concepts and terminology will help students contextualize them around their interests.
2. Access to resources - products that students or anyone wanting to learn digital skills needs access to (technology, software, hardware, learning resources).
3. Access to learning - activities and services that facilitate inspiration, learning and knowledge exchange (talks, classes, workshops).
4. Opportunities to apply learning - projects and experiences that help students apply new knowledge and skills (prototyping, side-projects).
5. Access to people with knowledge - teachers, mentors, technicians, but crucially peer networks.
6. Access to support networks - communities where knowledge and experiences can be shared.
Recommendations
Responding to student's needs, behaviors and challenges, and with input from creative partners, these are our recommendations for ways UAL can approach the delivery of new content, services and experiences.
1. Defining and demystifying digital. We would like to see UAL develop content and resources that unpack fundamental digital concepts for students. Short online introductions and offline classes that act as a gateway to understanding the skills, tools and approaches used within a digital creative context.
2. Networked knowledge. We would like to explore ways alumni, industry mentors and peer networks can respond to student’s need for access to expertise and support. A pool of people with digital skills and tech expertise would ease pressure on specialist technicians.
3. Platforms for exchange. We would like to see UAL to develop systems, services and platforms that encourage peer-to-peer collaboration, skills-sharing and knowledge exchange and which reward participation.
4. Connecting digital at UAL. We would like to see UAL explore ways of connecting and highlighting the many individuals, projects and initiatives happening across UAL in this area. This would help students access opportunities beyond their colleges and elevate the University’s collective work in the digital space to the wider public.
5. Spaces to meet and make. Participants consistently mentioned a desire for an open, physical environment to meet, make and collaborate. Shared UAL spaces that offer access to resources, activities and which help create community by facilitating collaboration.
6. Cross-disciplinary collaboration. To mirror the changing nature of work in the creative industries UAL needs to provide opportunities for students to work on truly inter-disciplinary projects - and recognise their importance in developing digital skills and enhancing graduates’ employability.
7. Shaped by students. Solutions we develop should be built with students and graduates. We want to recruit UAL Futures champions to shape the project. And any digital products we develop, such as on online platform, should involve students in the process - to learn whilst making.
8. In partnership with industry. Because they face the same challenges, perspectives from right across the creative and cultural sectors are crucial to help shape the way we support digital skills and creativity at UAL.
Authors
Luke Whitehead Joana Casaca Lemos Miriam Ribul
Learn More
For more information please email Luke Whitehead, UAL Futures Project Lead.
Workshops
Over the coming weeks we will also be organising workshops to explore the findings of the report. Join our mailing list to find out more.
In July UAL Futures took over The Digital Space at London College of Communication (LCC) for University of the Arts London's (UAL) annual careers festival, Artsmart.
In the just a few days a team of students transformed the space with interactive installations, activities and talks. Visitors were able to discover, share and learn new ideas for the future of creative work, and test concepts for tools to help students learn digital skills.
Futures Toolkit Lab
in the Futures Toolkit Lab visitors tested prototypes of learning tools developed in co-design workshops we ran earlier in the year.
That challenge invited students, staff, alumni and creative employers to co-create solutions to help UAL students explore new technology, understand future job roles, and learn new digital skills.
In interactive prototyping sessions participants responded to mini-briefs and then demonstrated their best concepts.
For Artsmart our team of students took some of those ideas and developed them into working prototypes to test the concepts.
Scroll on to see what they made.
A full report from that project, which involved over 100 students, graduates and creative professionals is coming soon.
UAL Spark
UAL Spark is a fun way to connect and collaborate with new and interesting creatives around you. Drag right to Like or left to Pass on the people UAL Spark recommends. If someone likes you back, it’s a match! Tweet your matches and watch creative sparks fly!
Give it a go: www.ualspark.io/
Why did we make UAL Spark?
Research gathered in journey mapping workshops with students showed a desire for tools to help foster collaboration, connections and learning. Responding to the challenge one team came up with idea of UAL Tinder - a fun app to help students find collaborators with different skills. The prototype is a great way for us to test the concept and gather feedback and ideas.
Futures Glossary
Futures Glossary is a first prototype of an online resource with introductions to digital concepts. It has been developed by two students (Akshitha and Kenneth) and a graduate (Georgina).
It responds to a need for content that help define fundamental digital concepts for students. Resources that act as a gateway to understanding the applications and possibilities of technology, skills, tools and approaches used within a digital creative context.
New Stuff Club
New Stuff Club’s concept was a weekly meetup where people share new things they have learned, projects, tools or tech. To complement the physical aspect was an idea for a ‘New Stuff Tunnel’ - a pop-up gallery of creative and tech inspiration that changes everyday, with a new curator every week.
For Artsmart we developed the concept into a student and graduate showcase., curated by Futures Project Assistant Anna Kolosova.
Anna picked work that’s inspired her by students she’s met at graduation shows, or who have applied for UAL Futures bursaries or competitions.
Global Skype Relay
Our Global Skype Relay celebrated UAL’s international alumni and global network of creatives friends.
Every 30 minutes someone from our global network skyped in to share their experiences of the way new technologies are transforming the creative ecosystem and thoughts on what that means young creatives all over the world.
Students signed-up for a slot, span the globe and spoke to creatives from Barcelona, Berlin, Italy, Tokyo, Singapore and Iceland.
Futures Jobs Board
Students were able to explore the Futures Jobs Board for the creative jobs of tomorrow and predict they might be doing in 2025.
Prototyping Lab
In the prototyping area students could find collaborators, respond to briefs and prototype solutions using new technology including Little Bits.
Futures Talks
We were joined on the day by industry speakers who shared insights with students and there was the chance to play with some tech. Including Tom Box of Blue Zoo Animations who showed off the virtual reality music video they made for Squarepusher.
What’s next?
It was amazing what a small group of students achieved in just a few days. And it’s exciting to think what more students and graduates, given more time, support from industry, and a little bit of money could achieve.
If you’re interested and want to get involved with UAL Futures please get in touch.
Thank You
Nathalie Zeitoun
Ian Hutchinson
Akshitha Victor
Kenneth Lim
Carolina Scarpetta
Vania Kristiani
Mamako Yamazaki
Annelise Keestra
Anna Kolosova
Georgina Bourke
The first in a monthly series of talks exploring digital skills and creativity with University of the Arts London students and graduates.
Join Animade and SuperHi to discuss interaction, animation and the internet. From gifs and motion graphics to interactive web-sites and creative coding. Learn the tools, skills and approaches to express your personality from the page to the web.
Perfect for graphic designers, illustrators, animators, interaction and interface designers, and anyone who likes the way the web moves!
Grab a beer or juice with us afterwards, meet the speakers and learn about UAL Futures. More speakers and activities TBA soon.
When: Thursday 8th October, 6pm - 8pm
Where: Wilson Hall, Camberwell College of Arts
Tickets: Get ‘em via Eventbrite
Speakers
James Chambers, Founder and Director, and Ed Barrett, Creative Director, Animade.
James and Ed will talk about Animade's approach to mixing and experimenting with animation and interactive design, and how the two worlds can collide in very exciting ways.
About Animade
Animade is a London-based animation and interactive design studio. A mix of illustrators, animators, designers, developers and producers expressing their personality through animation, interaction and everything in between.
Aside from commercial work they’re famed for their side-projects like hoverstat.es and feedhop.io which we love. And not forgetting FrankenSim (pictured below).
Rik Lomas, Founder, SuperHi.
Rik will share his story of creating SuperHi - an online coding platform that teaches beginners, and especially creatives, how to easily create professional websites.
About SuperHi
Previously co-founder of London code school Steer, Rik left to start SuperHi a year ago.
He was one of the first instructors at General Assembly London and has personally taught over 400 people to code.
He has presented at TEDxESCPMadrid, Shoreditch House and Guardian Masterclasses and is a mentor at Founder Institute
London Design Festival starts this Saturday 19 September and with 387 events to choose from over 9 days, Futures have selected our top 10 not to miss!
1. V&A Digital Design Weekend, 25th-27th
The V&A Digital Design Weekend brings together artists, designers, engineers and scientists, celebrating the intersections of art, design and technology.
Check out the events on offer here.
2. The Intelligent Optimist, 19th - 27th
Central Saint Martins presents The Intelligent Optimist, an exhibition and events programme exploring various futures for design. All events are free but must be booked in advance.
Find out more
3. Polyphonic Playground, 23rd - 27th
Free interactive installation by Studio PSK using conductive paint, at London College of Fashion.
Find out more
4. private_i, 25th-27th
Free exhibition by Signal Noise exploring the consequences of sharing personal data, at Shoreditch Design Triangle.
Find out more
5. The Objects Agency / Futures Day, 22nd
Free talks hosted by Nesta, imagining a future world populated by smart objects at the V&A.
Find out more
6. Ommatidium, 21st - 27th
Free installation by Simon Wilkinson in collaboration with Lottolab. Using ‘immersive messaging' app Traces, to celebrate the digital tech of London by occupying the space between physical and digital. 243 Old street, EC1V 9EY
Find out more
7. Odyssey, 21st-27th
Free installation by Tino Schaedler with Optimist Design & United Realities, experimenting with digital and analogue technology as a means of story-telling, at Somerset House.
Find out more
8. Family Rituals 2.0, 19th - 24th
Free exhibition, multi-disciplinary research project exploring the evolving nature of family life within the digital age at Royal College of Art
Find out more
9. Moments of Reflection, 19th, 21st - 26th
Free exhibition, Dominic Harris creates sensorial experiences that reveal the relationship between the human and the digital, at the Sarah Myerscough Gallery.
Find out more
10. Open Mile & Recode the City, 19th - 27th
Discover the Maker Mile: a thriving hub of art, design, technology and maker spaces in Hackney.
UAL Futures are proud to announce the winners of The Store WPP Retail Futures Competition!
In May 2015 The Store WPP, supported by Intel, worked with UAL Futures to invite University of the Arts London students and graduates to submit designs for projects, prototypes and products that demonstrate how technologies relating to the internet of things, wearable tech and big data are transforming fashion, retail and shopping.
Launch Event
The competition was launched at a special event at Central Saint Martins, Platform Bar, on Wednesday 6 May, when industry guests discussed the latest trends and demonstrated the latest tech shaking up the way we shop.
Speakers included Andrew Grant – The Store WPP, Neil Bruce – Mindshare, Tommy Howard – Holition, Marcus Belcher – Holition, Dominique Bonnafoux – Fitch, David Brebner – Umajin, Lynne Murray – LCF Fashion Digital Studio.
After receiving a fantastic range of submissions from across UAL, judging took place on 10th July 2015. After a thorough examination of projects proposed, the team of judges finalised a winner, a runner-up and two commendations.
The Judges:
Duncan Wilson - Intel Director at ICRI Cities
David Roth, CEO, The Store WPP, EMEA and Asia
Andrew Grant, Consultant to The Store WPP and Chairman, Satalia
Neil Bruce - Head of Mobile, UK at Mindshare
Tim Greenhalgh, Chairman, Fitch Worldwide
Dominique Bonnafoux, Senior Strategist, Fitch Worldwide
Tommy Howard, Head Creative, Holition
Prize Winning Concepts
Winning Concept: £1000
Name: Szu-Chia Chen
College: Central Saint Martins
Project Title: Cycle Surfing Soho Hunt
Runner-up: £500
Name: Milya Basharova
College: Central Saint Martins
Project Title: A wearable haptic navigator for blind people ‘Sense’
Commendation: £250
Name: Katherine Gowin, Alexa Chan, & Nikita Singh
College: London College of Fashion
Project Title: Smardrobe: The Connected Wardrobe
Commendation: £250
Name: Ji Hyun Oh
College: Central Saint Martins
Project Title: E-reflexo
Read more about each of the winning entries here.
Congratulations to all taking part! It was a great pleasure seeing so much innovation going around UAL - it was a tough task to pick the winner. We can’t wait to see the chosen designs at Customer of One Event at Central Saint Martins in September. Until then - have a wonderful summer!
Photography: Cesare De Giglio
See more photos from the competition launch on Facebook
Sarah T Gold is a University of the Arts London alumna who is currently doing pioneering work in the digital space. Sarah challenges the very nature of the internet and how we consume it - or perhaps, how it consumes us. Recently, Sarah founded, IF, a creative company working on the future of the Internet.
Futures: You trained in architecture, then studied industrial design. There were maybe more obvious routes for you. What made you research the internet?
Sarah: Too often in my architecture education, the response to any brief had to be a building - which makes sense if you want a career designing and building buildings. But I didn’t. After a couple of years working after my bachelors degree, I realised I wanted work in a design field that that had broader applications. I took the plunge and applied to study Industrial Design.
I found the creative freedom of studying Industrial Design transformative: the response to a question or brief could be anything rather than a specific thing. Looking back, I relished the blank canvas of Industrial Design briefs: over the two years of study produced some fairly brief-testing responses - for instance, when asked to design a future mobile phone headset I presented plans for a human cyborg…
For our final project, we were free to choose any topic, and were given complete intellectual oversight to develop our own briefs. Initially, I had no idea what I was going to base my project on. The project emerged over the summer by reflecting on what I was most interested in - such as wearable technologies and public data sales, and what seemed most important - Snowden’s revelations. In addition, probably as a result of my architecture education, I have always been aware of and interested in what is public and the notion of civic.
I knew immediately that I had set myself a big challenge because at the time I had a very limited knowledge of digital privacy. To be honest, I did not even know what a cookie was. But being a novice gave me greater incentive to research thoroughly and learn. In fact, having limited prior understanding of digital privacy was beneficial because it meant I tackled the research with few preconceptions.
As I attempted to answer my question, ‘In an era of global surveillance how can we reclaim our privacy?’ I noticed a trend - the majority of the (few) design projects that deal with privacy offer darknet solutions; the seductive idea that in order to solve surveillance we should hide and become anonymous. Whilst some of these projects were meant as provocation pieces, I fundamentally disagreed with their premise. I believe anonymity, used in this way, offers us false choice, because not only does anonymity protect dissent, it also prevents us from enjoying what we enjoy doing on web - for instance online shopping or posting on social media. I wanted to investigate a transparent, civic alternative that had the data sharing capacity of the Internet, with the data control of the Darknets.
My brief evolved from privacy to digital privacy and then to data ownership. Simultaneously, the output of the project changed from an awareness-raising campaign to building a proposal for a radically different physical and digital structure for a telecommunications network.
Futures: Explain the Alternet?
Sarah: Here’s a brief explanation: The Alternet is a proposal for a civic network. It is an autonomous network that runs alongside the Internet as its fair trade alternative. The Alternet is decentralised, community run and open, but more importantly it gives individuals control of their data through its data licences. In this way the Alternet provides the essential civic framework for our citizenship on the web, because it is imperative that we engage beyond the technology itself and consider the civic framework for our data.
As a proposal the Alternet highlights the importance of design thinking within the context of the future of the Internet(s), particularly when considering service layers of the impending Internet of Things or the development of open source products.
You can read more about the Alternet here.
Futures: How important is it for artists and designers to learn how the internet really works?
Sarah: As articulated by Aaron Swartz, and recently reiterated by Martha Lane Fox in her Dimbleby Lecture - it is no longer ok for individuals to not understand the Internet. And I believe it is critical for designers to understand the Internet. Designers are in a unique position to shape our future digital landscape and produce products of social and economic value and impact. The Design Commission expresses this very well in their Digital Economy report: ‘Designers are critical agents who are able to mediate between people, places and technology. They have the ability to ask bigger questions that put people at the centre of the Digital Economy, and not the technology itself.’
As a result, designers must understand what kind of future infrastructure and culture their product implies: centralised or decentralised? For citizens or consumers? Towards an information economy or a civic commons? Whilst we need more experimentation and diversity online to increase our opportunities to propose, share, make, debate and learn etc, we also need to have a greater understanding of how those experiments and ideas fit in the existing infrastructure or what new infrastructure they require.
Futures: You're not a coder or developer yourself, how did you test your idea, how did you find the right people to collaborate with?
Sarah: The whole project was very collaborative. From the beginning of the project I was talking with colleagues, friends and family for feedback and advice - I shared my project whenever possible. I tried to be as proactive as I could outside of my existing circles too, by using Twitter, Reddit and going to MeetUps or Hackspaces/FabLabs to make new contacts and meet people who could help me. Most people felt so passionate about digital privacy, that they were only too happy to help. I set up regular meetings with key collaborators to test the project, and used each meeting as a workshop to interrogate a particular question or difficult area.However, I was quite concerned that I did not want to take up too much time of any one person, so I used as many open source projects and code as I could to develop and test the project, key examples include Commotion Wireless, Open PDS, The Free Network Foundation. I would encourage other students to use the plethora of open source work available on the web, and also release their own work to contribute back. I simply could not have completed my project if it were not for those specialists who had licensed their work under Creative Commons.Towards the end of the project when I was building things, I was fortunate enough to have the help of a friend’s brother who was more comfortable navigating and manipulating code than I was. Working collaboratively, we were able to build, test and iterate reasonably quickly.
Futures: You have some interesting ideas about the Internet of Things and future of the information/data economy. Could you explain those?
Sarah: Data is becoming the most valuable resource, and I believe many connected devices will likely become free in lieu of the data they harvest. The norms of the online services that are ‘free’ to use will drift into the products around us. So as Industrial Design has shifted from product to service, I believe it may shift again to data/performance. The future of industrial design may be intrinsically linked to the future of data ownership.But the information economy and its associated business models have even greater influence. There is a growing appreciation that new web technologies will transform our cities and industrial economies, by producing new digital platforms that will be 21st century infrastructure. There is growing concern that these infrastructures are and will be owned by oligopolies, beyond the reach of citizens or government. We can see this in popular digital services, like Uber or Airbnb - centralised, data intensive, privately owned companies, and within the Internet of Things - currently developed as a closed, insecure network of gadgets. But it is in these areas where there is opportunity for positive change. Blockchain technology, the technical architecture behind Bitcoin, provides a unique way of building decentralised, scalable, trusted systems that can, where appropriate, be owned by everyone contributing to a democratic Internet of Things, or a digital commons. Of course, technology by itself will not save us. We need designers, anthropologists and other professionals to bring user research, ethnography and agile processes to craft the most meaningful devices and services. Devices and services that critically engage with user needs and desires, the complexities of real life and our future civic frameworks.
Futures: What are you working on at the moment? Who are you working with?
Sarah: At the moment I’m working on a variety of projects dealing with civic design: a social impact DApp (decentralised application) for blockchain, interrogating the future of digital identities and system and interaction design for data licences. So far I’ve been working with startups, SMEs and Quangos.
Futures: We are working on a project to develop a 'creative digital toolkit' for UAL. What skills, knowledge, tools do you think are essential for any creative student?
Sarah: Skills. To develop creative and critical work from any brief. And If you don’t like the brief - test its limits! Challenge the status quo. Work collaboratively wherever possible - find those who have the skills you don’t have and work with them, learn from them and build professional connections for future projects.Tools: There are so many brilliant tools I could list. But apart from the usual design packages, make use of online tools like GitHub, The Noun Project, Thingiverse etc - all super resources for open source code, 2D and 3D files - we all stand on the shoulders of giants.Knowledge: Read widely and often, keep up to date with current affairs to keep your work relevant and on topic. To find out about early-stage, emerging technologies or other less-mainstream topics, follow groups and professionals on Twitter, join MeetUp groups and go along to free events like the People’s Parliament or Royal Society lectures. Immerse yourself outside of the design world to enrich your process and your projects.
Futures: One challenge for students now is that it is increasingly difficult to imagine future job roles. What job title can you imagine for yourself in 2025?
Sarah: I don’t think job titles are particularly relevant or that important. They only really exist on LinkedIn, and even then you can use an online tool to create the most exciting title for yourself.The reality is that for a number of creatives, your job simply doesn’t exist yet. You carve the perfect career for yourself. I’m not going to say this is easy, so far I’ve found it pretty daunting, challenging and unnerving at times. I don’t fit into one design category so explaining what I do can sometimes be a little tricky. But with time and experience I’m gradually figuring it out. The most important question is not what your job title will be, but rather - what problem do you see in the world that you want to work on solving?
