London College of Communications’ Summer Show
This summer has been busier than ever, which means I have not had much time to write… this entry is another review of two summer graduation shows in London: London College of Communications and D & AD New Blood.
My friend, Seonyoung Song who studied Book Arts at the London College of Communications invited me to their private viewing at the Elephant and Castle campus on the night when England got knocked out of the World Cup! It was a fun evening, there was ball games, free booze (not the reason why I was there) and we watched the World Cup in the canteen followed by a visit to the Wetherspoon, the evening reminded me of the days when I was a student!
Top left: Seonyoung Song (Book Arts and Design); Top middle: Eldon Pickles’ “Hagia Ikea” (Graphic and Media Design); Top right: Paige Cartledge (Surface Design); Bottom left: Laura Vanweydeveld’s 2015 Calendar (Interactive Moving Image); Bottom right: Marika Samek (Graphic and Media Design)
Seonyoung Song‘s project is about the South Korean’s ferry disaster. The long scroll is a compilation of the event’s news report at different times. The times are highlighted in bold and the scroll ends in a bucket of water.
In one small room, I was particularly intrigued by Eldon Pickles‘ “Hagia Ikea”, featuring colourful acrylic architectural sculptures. Inspired by Islamic design and AyaSophia Muzesi in Istanbul, the collection combines modern parametric design as an extension of Islamic geometry, with the vibrant neon hues of Post Modern Arabia.
Using the same acrylic material, Marika Samek‘s “Awaken” installation is inspired by the sounds of nature. The aim of this installation is to transform the organic, clear form of wood and translucent acrylic into a shimmering world of light, shadow, and brilliant colour. It is a metaphor for how Sound can integrate with other senses and create beautiful vision in the form of a vibrant picture.
Top row: D & AD New Blood at Spitalfields Market; Main: One minute briefs
At the D & AD New Blood exhibition, a vast amount of work from recent graduates around the UK were showcased. One of the booths near the entrance was “One Minute Briefs“, a concept by Nick Entwistle & James Clancy at The Bank of Creativity, which aims to change the way people think about advertising.
Top left: Adam Chescoe Top middle: Joseph Boaden‘s paper card models; Top right: Kate Parkes’ Takeaway theatre; Bottom right: Emily Elvin’s “We need to talk about Sleep“.
The show featured a large range of graphics work including advertising, packaging, illustrations, poster designs, corporate identities, editorial and designs etc. Here are just some that caught my eye:
Adam Chescoe‘s YCN Fedrigoni Woodstock “Perpetual Deadline Calendar” is a desk calendar for Fedrigoni customers to promote the Woodstock paper range. The paper range made from 80% recycled pre-consumer waste and 20% FSC certified Virgin fibre. If I had a big desk, I would love to have this colourful calendar on my desk.
Kate Parkes‘ “Takeaway theatre” is a flatpack cardboard theatre seat, in its takeaway packaging, designed to be a front row seat in one’s own, personal, theatre. The Takeaway Theatre event is a fictional collaboration between the National Theatre, Cardboard Citizens Theatre Company and homeless charity, Crisis. The performances become fundraisers for homeless charities.
Top right: Josh Ross‘ illustrations; Bottom row left: Poster seen at the University of Leeds’ booth; Bottom row middle: Lukas Stasytis’ Playlist; Bottom row right: Toby Adams‘ “Diversity – The Cyril Diver Project”
Lukas Stasytis‘ “Playlist” is a project featuring visual representations of the most popular musical genres within the designer’s personal collection of electronica. The project’s outcomes include animations, a brochure, and a poster indicating where the individual genres emerged.
Top left: Mandi Halonen’s Long Drink; Top right: Jonathan Walley’s Pilgrim’s choice
Mandi Halonen‘s rebranding project for the Finnish Long Drink was awarded the Best in Show award. The Finnish alcoholic drink was banned in Finland due to being considered ‘too tasty’
and ‘too drinkable’. The designer’s project focuses on its Scandinavian heritage through simple and nostalgic graphics, I especially love the poster’s slogan, “So good, it got banned…”.
I also like Jonathan Walley‘s rebranding of the well known cheese/cheddar brand Pilgrims Choice. Very eye-catching and fun packaging.
Top left: Caitlin Parks’ “The Great pacific Garbage Patch”; Top middle: Marianna Madriz’s children book illustrations, “Man from a golden land”; Top right: Sasha Moxon’s “My Grandfather’s war story” on 9 silk-screened postcards; Main: Helen Archer’s DIY artist book for sculptor, Kendall Buster; Bottom left: David Doran’s illustrations
Caitlin Parks‘ collection of striking bird illustrations are used in the campaign posters to bring awareness to the oceanic cause “The Great pacific Garbage Patch”. The aim is to highlight the horrific amount of plastic and human waste that ends up polluting and damaging the ocean’s ecosystem every year.
I also love Venezuelan illustrator, Marianna Madriz‘s nostalgic illustrations, especially her children’s book project, “Man from a golden land”, inspired by Venezuela and Latin American folklore musician Simón Díaz.
David Doran is an AOI award winner who graduated from Falmouth University this year. With a strong interest in traditional print techniques, his work explores textures and overlapping colour palettes. Often involving a sense of narrative with conceptual elements, he frequently employs figures and symbolism and his work has been featured in The New York Times, WIRED and Nobrow.
