If you're looking for exciting new graduates for your studio or agency, don't miss Computer Arts' New Talent special, issue 230, featuring our handpicked selection of the UK's best graduates - on sale 24 July.
Last week Computer Arts brought you eight outstanding graduates from the London College of Communication's BA Illustration degree show. This week, deputy editor Julia Sagar presents 15 top-class graduates from LCC's Graphic and Media Design degree show.
For us, LCC's class of 2014 raised the bar on last year. In fact, while the majority of our previous new talent roundups highlight a maximum of 10 stand-out graduates, we were so engaged by some of the concepts on show at LCC's Graphic and Media Design exhibition that we raised the number to 15.
Here are a few of Computer Arts' favourite new graduates from LCC's Graphic and Media Design exhibition...
Jese Siu
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: http://jesesiu.co.uk
- Project: Luminary - The White Project; and LCC Archives
Jese Siu's rebranding project for LCC's archives of artwork was one of the first that caught our eye. Hinged around the uppercase 'H' of 'archives', the identity re-imagines the letter as an extendable shelf that can house the names of different departments or artwork collections inside the archives.
It's a neat graphic device that can be applied across the identity – working particularly effectively in three screenprinted posters highlighting the work of English painter Edward Bawdeen on display at the show [pictured top], and Siu's Stanley Kubrick posters [above].
Both collections of work are instantly linked to the LCC Archive via an extended letterform - an 'E' in Bawdeen's case; 'L' in Kubrick's.
Siu's self-initiated research project Luminary also stood out. A sensitive exploration into the "notion of the colour white", the project was presented in book format and encompasses a number of traditional design processes.
"Luminary looks at how we perceive white, and whether understanding white on a more profound level might add value to our everyday lives," explains Siu. "The project is an intriguing visual test, asking the reader to ‘fill in the blanks’."
Joana Passos Fernandes
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: www.joanapassosfernandes.com
- Project: Mar Português
Mar Português is an exploration of word, shape, pattern and storytelling. Inspired by Portuguese poem Mar Português, Joana Fernandes created 57 experimental letterpress patterns - one for each of the ballard's 57 words - to produce a visual poem that stretches beyond language.
The project moved from letterpress to collage and back to letterpress, culminating in a beautiful French-fold book (housing the original letterpress experiments) and a digitally printed hand-bound book.
"Throughout the process, being true to the original poem was the biggest challenge," she says. "However, it was extremely gratifying being able to work very freely using a hands-on medium like letterpress."
Greg Jackson
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: www.greg-jackson.co.uk
- Projects: Becher Typeface and Upper/Lower Pocket Squares
Greg Jackson's abstract Becher typeface was a highlight for the entire Computer Arts team. Based on the photographic work of Bernd and Hilla Becher - in particular their documentation of framework houses throughout Germany - it's an angular, uppercase, headline sans serif that comes in three different weights: light, bold and stroked.
"The aim of the project was to take one existing piece of artwork and transform it into another medium, but still communicating the same essence," he explains.
"I created the typeface by drawing up a grid based on the architectural framework of the houses. This allowed the letterforms to have the same structural foundation and helped communicate the same essence."
Another standout project of the show was Jackson's fascinating Upper/Lower Pocket Squares project, which explores the concept of British identity through the nation’s clothing and class system.
To highlight the contrast in dress codes between upper and lower classes, Jackson applied imagery from deprived areas of London to a traditional gentleman’s accessory - the pocket square.
"I have a strong interest in designing for print, but this was the first time that I had made the transition from printing on paper to printing on fabric," he says.
Marie-Pier Tremblay
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: cargocollective.com/mariepiertremblay
- Projects: Clammy Hands; and Beginners
Clammy Hands uses emotive illustration to visualise the psychological findings of researcher Brené Brown, an expert in vulnerability. The project sensitively communicates Brown's thoughts by capturing small moments of vulnerability in daily life.
"The biggest and most rewarding challenge was to find ways to visualise complex and intangible feelings though small, simple scenes of everyday life," she explains.
Beginners [above] was another notable project from Tremblay. The book provides further information on the references found in Mike Mills' 2010 comedy-drama film, Beginners. "The book became very playful and interactive," recalls Tremblay.
Bijun Zhuge
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: www.lccgraphics2014.com/bijun-zhuge/#6297
- Project: Polyhedral Sound
Polyhedral Sound presents different interpretations of six different sounds. The project started with a survey, with graduate Bijun Zhuge asking volunteers to listen to a sound and 'draw' it on a piece of paper.
"Through the survey, I figured that some of the sounds I created could be imagined in totally different ways. Some did not," explains Zhuge, who then animated the drawings in a "pixel style" to communicate the "unclearness of the sound".
Lauren Messervy
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: www.laurenmesservy.com
- Projects: Be There; and Get Dirty
Aimed at a young, modern audience, Lauren Messervy's provocative Get Dirty campaign uses humour to reposition the National Trust as a fun, more lighthearted organisation.
"The National Trust and nature itself are often sold to us through a very serious tone of voice," Messervy recalls. "Also, it struck me as odd that no one mentions how much nudity you can find at a National Trust property," she laughs. "Needless to say, this was a very fun project."
Be There is a service that enables users to share their experiences with others. "It was initially developed with the idea of collaborative consumption in mind," says Messervy, "which I think is what makes it unique among other services designed to encourage more charitable giving."
Qinyun Lin
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: www.cargocollective.com/qinyunlin
- Project: Nothing is Futile
Nothing is Futile is a graphic interpretation of a phrase attributed to ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Zi: 'No one should be turned back; no item should be discarded.'
In the project, Qinyun Lin focuses on the beauty of discarded objects found on the beach of the river Thames. Lin used textured patterns and a stripped-back palette to emphasis the delicate, unique nature of each object - celebrating the effects on each of prolonged exposure to wind, water and sunlight.
Callum Copley
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: www.callumcopley.com
- Project: The Short Range Future Forecasting Study
We were also drawn to Callum Copley's large-scale interactive installation, The Short Range Future Forecasting Study. As part of an exploration into how digitally mediated communication is changing the way we feel, Copley plotted emoji against a psychological diagram showing the full range of human emotions to visualise the shortcomings of the icons.
"It's clear how this simplistic form of dialogue is biased toward representing certain feelings - restricting what can be expressed," he explains.
Laura Claire Meyer
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: www.lcm.sg
- Project: British Brutalism
British Brutalism celebrates the community and structural success of Britain's social housing system, highlighting beautiful details hidden in brutalist architecture through renderings, posters and stamps.
We were particularly taken by the technical craft and level of detail evidenced across Laura Meyer's architectural-style drawings.
Shinji Pons
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic & Media Design
- Website: www.shinjipons.com
- Project: Computational Typography; Modulo Typeface
At the crossover between software-led graphic design and generative design, Shinji Pons' computational typography project explores what it means to give up user interfaces, the mouse and immediate visual feedback inside Adobe InDesign.
Pons used a library called basiljs to programme scripts that could be executed from within InDesign to create a wide variety of visuals, all of which would be impossible to achieve through conventional methods.
"The outcomes produced prove that graphic design and programming are fields of practice that, when combined, can offer new possibilities and opportunities to question and reshape current design practices," says Pons.
Modulo, meanwhile, is a bespoke display typeface designed on a 128-unit square grid. Pons defined all eight styles and 21 weights of the family algorithmically, according to simple but strict rules.
"My main objective was to take an ambitious idea for a typeface and develop it into a fully finished product," says Shinji Pons. "I learned a great deal about the technical aspects of font development, plus how much patience is needed to design a typeface and how even the smallest details matter in making a perfect product."
Modulo can be downloaded for free here: http://shop.shinjipons.com/modulofont.php
Elsie Ofori
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: www.elsieofori.co.uk
- Project: Alpha Kente
Alpha Kente is an abstract typeface containing three weights based on traditional Kente, a material originating from 17th century Ghana.
As Elsie Ofori explains: "Kente is made of patterns that each represent a traditional proverb. These messages can only be understood if you're familiar with them, so typographic design culturally appropriates this aspect to make a typeface for the audience to write and read their own message in Kente."
"Producing the type specimen and the fabric screen print were both a labour of love," she admits. "I really enjoyed the whole process of creating something that is both legible and illegible, working with heat transfer foiling as well as the effort of working with gold ink in screenprinting."
William Branton
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: www.williambranton.com
- Project: Illuminated Proverbs
"To begin with I looked at Illuminated Manuscripts at the British Library, begins William Branton. "I saw that the craftsmanship, materials and time spent on manuscripts had been used to add beauty, value and honour to the text."
Branton applied these qualities to a series of A1 posters, combining hand-drawn, typographic and ornamental elements to illustrate a series of Proverbs from the Bible.
Sophie Naylor
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: www.sophnaylor.com
- Project: Cutting Processes
Cutting Processes spans a series of printed publications that document Sophie Naylor's investigation into the sensory experience of traditional and digital cutting techniques.
"The biggest challenge I faced was developing the message I wanted to send," admits graduate Sophie Naylor. "But it was overcome through the variety of materials I used, and inserts of information that provide the reader with a sensory experience."
She continues: "The most successful part of the final outcome is the contrast between the textures. The reader is encouraged to differentiate between the digital and traditional pieces."
Alisha Naeem
- Course: BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Website: www.alishanaeem.com
- Project: Driver’s Bag
Based on Nicholas Winding Refn's 2011 movie Drive, Driver's Bag is an in-depth interpretation of the belongings of an anonymous getaway driver, known only as 'Driver'. "The idea was to transform the main character so that his life could be explored while still retaining his anonymity, and each item within the bag was carefully designed or chosen to best portray this character and his life," Alisha explains.
"My favourite part of the project was receiving my letters that were marked 'return to sender', as it meant my research into the idea had made the experiment a success."
Siddhi Goel
- Course: BA (hons) Graphic & Media Design
- Website: www.siddhigoel.com
- Project: Design For Kids
Promoting collaboration, Design for Kids is a guidebook designed by Siddhi Goel to help parents work together to organise after-school workshops in their local area. "The project also promotes sustainability through clever usage of waste materials in the activities performed by kids, up-cycling it to form something more useful and powerful," says Goel.
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