New Talent: Manchester School of Art

The latest Manchester School of Art Degree Show, which ran from 11 – 22 June, saw an array of impressive illustration and graphic design graduate projects on display.

From mixed media projects with experimental painting techniques to a publication that skews traditional still life photography, the 2016 Showcase is a promising selection of up and coming talent.

For those that didn't get to make the show, we've collected together five stand-out projects from the event to give you a flavour of what was on show.

01. Josh Wilson

• Course: BA (Hons) Graphic Design

Josh Wislon's graduate showcase work are a series of screen printed texture prints that stand out thanks to their contemporary and fresh look. The mixture of carefully considered shapes, distinctive colours and bold shapes all work together to produce designs that aren't afraid of trying something new.

An editorial piece created by Wilson accompanies his work, which demonstrates that he is a confident designer who is starting to find his own style.

02. Meg Cherry and Xavier Caballé Fosch

• Course: BA (Hons) Graphic Design

"My main skill as a graphic designer is based on conceptual design. I love to see a piece of work with such a valuable concept behind it," explains Xavier Caballé Fosch, who collaborated with Meg Cherry to produce this striking publication called 'The Archive.'

The piece explores the textures and elements that are all around us. Beautifully bound using various stocks and weights of paper, the oversized A3 book contains well chosen, abstract photography and art direction.

03. Dominika Wroblewska

• Course: BA (Hons) Illustration and Animation

Dominika Wroblewska has channelled her obsession with Scandinavia to produce these abstract, surreal illustrations for a book based on classical Norwegian folk stories.

Recycled materials such as cardboard and old magazines provide the base of her work, which is then built up with acrylisc; fine-liners; penciles and digital collage. All of which tie into her fondness for all things abstract and ridiculous.

"I like visually challenging images with a hidden meaning or a secondary story always present somewhere in the background," Wroblewska explains. "I'm interested in creating picture books for adults - I think the world definitely needs more of them,"

04. Jacob Philips

• Course: BA (Hons) Illustration and Animation

Jacob Philips large, confident work includes a selection of images that are the result of a collaborative project which celebrate the history of Manchester's Bradford Coal Pit.

The project is a fine showcase of Philips' talents as the wonderful textures and illustrations are all created by hand, with the use of enlarging as the only digital aspect.

05. Roisin Swales

• Course: BA (Hons) Illustration and Animation

Roisins Swales' charming work can already be found in her two books, 'Big Hid' and 'Why is Granddad grumpy.' Her professional standard work lead to her winning the picture book illustration competition in 2015, and with its brilliant use of texture and shading, it's easy to see why.