SEVN : Issue 2 by John Walsh

s r o t i d E

Letter

Once something has been constructed, the desire to play, to test it out, is often overwhelming. Experimentation is key to finding out exactly what that something is capable of. It is this inquisitive, playful nature that provides us with the theme for issue two of SEVN.

As designers, we are taught that what we produce should be conceptually sound in form and function. So what is the concept of play? And why is it important that we do play? Issue two of SEVN showcases some of the work being produced in the third year at the moment, from responses to the latest briefs, exhibitions, or reviews of design events. This issue hopes to highlight the playful energy that this group of third years pride themselves on. This month’s ‘Ask’ section presents the wise words and insights of some of our favourite designers, and is something this group of seven is particularly proud of. We would like it to act as a database of information and advice for students on the course, a resource to delve into should they ever need some inspiration. As we’re all getting ready to part ways for the Christmas break, brains addled from a terms worth of hard graft, SEVN thought that perhaps now would be a good moment to remind readers of the great importance ‘play’ has in the creative process. We’d like to leave you with the question, is it ever time to stop playing?

Contents CONTRIBUTORS Meet the makers of this month’s SEVN.

06 RESPONSE

Our interpretation of this month’s theme, ‘Play’.

CURRENT

A glance at the third year’s response to the latest ISTD briefs.

03 ASK

A few of our favourite designers wrote and gave us their thoughts on the topic of play.

01 EVENTS

04 SHOOT

A playful photoshoot with art student Annie Consiglio.

02 LIVE

Third year students talk about their recent work experiences down in London.

Find out what the third years have been up to, and what’s going on in and around Manchester.

7 CONTRIBUTORS

The

ROSTER Meet the guys and girls playing the leading role in this issue of SEVN. As this issue focuses on the importance of play within design, we decided to ask our roster what their favourite game is.

Joe Mason

Jade Stones

Charlotte Wakefield

Table Football It’s massively addictive and doesn’t seem to get boring no matter how many games you play.

Monopoly Just for a few hours I can enjoy irrational spending.

Musical Bumps Because I fall over a lot, it’s a game that comes naturally to me.

Jan Agulto

Chantelle King

Rowan Purvis

Zoey Brown

Tetris Because however hard you try building it up it always comes falling down.

Twister When I was young Twister was a favourite, getting tangled and being the last one standing. Now it’s a little awkward unless you’ve had a few drinks.

Hide & Seek I love the satisfaction of finding a really good hiding place and the thrill and excitement of getting caught.

Scrabble I like words and it doesn’t involve running or catching.

06 RESPONSE

Joe Mason

‘Play as Type’ - Geometric shapes built to represent the alphabet. Each shape has a corresponding letter of the alphabet, the viewer has to play a game of the classic ‘hangman’ to figure out my own personal interpretation of play. (Image shown A-Z of playful pictorial alphabet).

Chantelle King

All the tools for playing.

Zoey Brown

Good moves or bad, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s usually a lesson to be learnt. It reflects my current attitude to the design process. 13

Rowan Purvis

To me collage is one of the most playful ways of working.

Jade Stones

Play is hard to maintain as you get older. You get less playful. You shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, of course.

Charlotte Wakefield

What could possibly be more fun than creating a typeface out of colourful beads.

Jan Agulto

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Katie Hilton, Tales to Change the World

Lisa Barlow, Tweet Tweet

Hannah Thornton, 4’33”

Sam Hall, It Happened on This Day

Megan Young, Tales to Change the World

Daniel Johnston, It Happened on This Day

Emma Dahlquist, Tales to Change the World

Jenn Trethewey, Tweet Tweet

Adam Grifftiths, Tales to Change the World

Rebecca McDowell, It Happened on This Day

Arijana Misic-Burns, It Happened on This Day

Zac Crompton, Tales to Change the World

4 SHOOT

03 ASK

Gary Aspden Play? I guess it has its place although most of my favourite design lacks playfulness. I like design that functions well whilst having great aesthetics. I associate play with childish attributes (i.e. lacking maturity) which I think are priceless qualities in fine art but don’t sit well with my taste in design.

This very special ‘Ask’ section contains the wise words of many favoured and famed designers, illustrators, architects and creative thinkers. From unruly trains of thought, to little gems of advice, the following section provides solace for all young designers in need of a little inspiration. The SEVN team put together a lengthy wish list of those they would love to hear from. Once we crossed off those who had sadly long since passed, we set about finding ways to get in touch with the living. The question we asked? “How important is play in design?”

Some say taste is the enemy of creativity. I personally have always had a strong belief that the art of genius is knowing when to stop. My personal belief is that the best design effectively finds solutions whilst looking incredible.

Nicholas Blechman The duller a design assignment, the more one must inject a sense of play to bring it to life. ‘Play’ is essential to graphic design. Without it, design would be merely information.

Marion Deuchars For me, Play is a crucial component in generating new work. They say that there is no such thing as original ideas, only different combinations of old ideas. I like that notion and feel it fits with my working method. Without play there are no accidents, no surprises, no fun and in the end no interesting work. When I was working for the Guardian newspaper a few years back, I had to make images in an incredibly short space of time. Interestingly, even thought in theory there was no time to ‘play’ on those commissions, (it should really have been a case of : read the brief, get the idea, execute it), I found that ,even if it was for 5 minutes, I had to squeeze the ‘play’ element into that sequence, otherwise the final artwork would not materialise. Play can mean lots of different things too. Often for me, it means taking chances and losing myself in the moment. It keeps the mystery of making images alive and less formulaic. I still like to surprise myself with what appears in front of me.

Tony Brook

April Grieman

Call it what you will - mucking about, daydreaming, experimentation, work even - play (and the spirit it implies) is pretty fundamental to how we do things at Spin. There is always time to solidify a thought, but in first instance I like to explore as many ideas as I can generate (sometimes it is lots, sometimes one). I find ideas tend to flow when I’m in relaxed situations, so I try to put myself in situations where my mind can wander and my subconscious takes over, in informal conversations for example, or in the shower, or when I’m half awake, I like to research.

Play is essential in everything. part of cell memory. always remember ‘beginner’s mind’ and that will serve you well.

My ideas don’t come from staring at a screen that’s for sure. When I’ve had time to think I tend to start making by sketching ideas out quickly, again in the spirit of loose messing around, just letting things develop. There is a much more direct line into creativity when you are relaxed and enjoying the process. The tricky thing, and it is a problem many designers have, is knowing when to stop playing and start making decisions. Choosing the ideas that are really worth developing is, in the end, the crucial skill. All of your ideas can’t be amazing and the ability to be ruthless, start back and make good strong decisions that turn your play into something really worthwhile is critical.

Joost Grootens Play is quiet an important aspect in my design work. Perhaps it doesn’t look that way. Most of my work results in serious books on serious topics. But play is definitely a part of my design process. To play with one’s own process is something I always try to bring across when I teach. Once you become aware of your own design process, you can start to play with it and redesign it. For me, design is not a linear process of research – concept – design. It can start with an idea about a colour that requires additional research and the results in a concept that as a consequence will change ones idea about the form again. This constant jumping back and forth is for me the essence of design. It results in designs where form and content are closely interwoven.

Pierre Di Sciullo My answer IS my work. I don’t have any theory or thought in a general way, about the meaning/ necessity/ value to play in the fields of design, or more precisely, why the user would have to be invited to play with the design. I like it and I need it. Why? I am a designer because I cannot be a performer like a dancer, a musician or an actor. So my work is given indirectly to the user. But I need to build with him/her a “relationship” where his/her participation is necessary. And I wish that the user will get back a kind of gift, or at least a satisfaction, to conclude the relationship, and maybe to give the desire to try again. Is it not, in a way, a definition of “play”?

Johnny Hardstaff I don’t believe in jobs and I don’t believe in careers. I certainly don’t believe in ‘work’. What we do isn’t work. We don’t go to work. If you’re doing it right, then you go to play. Design isn’t a job, it’s a delicious hobby. At its best, a project is every bit like the games we played as children. We flex our imaginative muscles and create imagined worlds. Design is a game. Today we have the means to make our dreams reality. We make the impossible possible. We play god and art direct our own existence. We invite others in and lose ourselves in our own beautiful fantasies. When could this ever be called work? This is play. If design were a job, then I wouldn’t be getting out of bed. For me design is an opportunity to make my childhood games real, an opportunity where no one tells me what to do. It can only ever be play. Perhaps the definition is this: If you get to make the rules and decide exactly what it is that you do, then you’re playing. If you design under the instruction of others, then you’re working. Never ever work. Just play really hard.

Marian Bantjes Much of what I do is playful in that it is experimental and pleasurable. On the other hand, it’s not play in that it’s not directionless, or play for play’s sake. In whatever I do I have a goal in mind and a purpose for doing it in the manner I’ve chosen to do it. But if play is exploration and experimentation I think it’s very important in the creative process in some manner.

Henrik Kubel

Sam Meech

Paul Sahre

When I was a student, I saw lecture in which the speaker (whose name I have regrettably forgotten) proposed that we as a species have evolved from ‘homosapiens’ or ‘primitive man’, to ‘homoludens’ meaning ‘playful man’. It inspired me to take homoludens as a kind of personal motto with which to approach my own work.

One could argue that playing is all a designer does.

The idea that we should try not to see things as work, to transcend that role as ‘worker’ to take on a more engaged, creative approach, is an important one. Playing can be seen both as an expression of self and a refusal to be a “useful little engine”. But it also opens up possibilities, deviating from the plan by using realtime experience, experimentation and interaction, rather than pre-fabricated ideas and assumed values.

If it doesn’t feel like play, you shouldn’t be doing it.

It is hard to make space for play. I find myself becoming habitual, thinking practically, doing what my diary tells me needs to be done. But I try to break this cycle, often by volunteering myself to take part in silly shenanigans, things which are impractical, unpaid, and just for fun. Taking part in activities with other artists, experimenting with new software, etc. Getting involved in new situations forces you to think differently. The creative mind is a wild dog, and you have to let it off the leash occasionally, otherwise it will drag you through the bushes. Though I made a New Year’s Resolution to focus on work this year, I have found myself drawn into all kinds of shenanigans, from running skype karaoke events, to experimenting with 16mm film for the first time, and even making footballs out of pigs bladders. Strangest of all, I have found myself the co-owner of a 5-seater Swan Pedalo. There is no plan, there is no money, but there are a few friends involved, and it’s fun to think what the Swan Pedalo might do next. It’s a ‘see where it goes’ project. My latest thing is analogue video titlers. I’ve just blown £200 on ebay buying up loads of them because I have an urge to plug them all into each other and see what happens. My mum will despair if I tell here I’m wasting my money on these, but it’s not the point. The things I’m most proud of have all come from these playful urges and experiments. And I never wanted a proper job anyway.

I don’t mean that its all a goof. Play can be that, light, fun and self-indulgent, but it can also be hard work. Play can be dangerous. Play can have consequences. Skipping rope is a form of play but so is climbing a mountain.

Adrian Shaughnessy The value of play in graphic design? Does it have a value? I wonder. I get annoyed when you show clients work and they say, “go away and have a play”. It seems to indicate that they think designers just ‘play around’, or ‘fiddle with stuff.’ if we want clients to take us seriously, they have to realise that design is not play, it’s work. It’s what we do for a living, what we’ve trained for. Maybe I’m being too sensitive here. Playfulness is a good thing, and yes, there’s a place for play in design. But I worry if designers see design as all play. Maybe it leads to the infantilisation of design? I don’t see design as a po-faced, business-school discipline, but I do see it as a social and aesthetic discipline that can make our lives better. And for that, we need to be serious, at least for most of the time.

Jan Wilker Play is very important to us, and should be for everyone. We do understand that play is detrimental to efficiency (aka moneymaking), but that makes it even more worth keeping alive.

Craig Oldham

Kyle Cooper

Personally, I don’t think I have a process (which probably is my process), however, play is definitely a big part of what I do for a living and a lifestyle. But that is by my definition of play in the context of what you’re asking. I think ‘play’ in design has multiple definitions and iterations, for example a piece of design can be described as playful (I’m thinking of Alan Fletcher-esque here) and generally this term is used to describe the more light-hearted solutions produced to a problem. However, play can often be another reference to a heuristic way of working, almost regardless of the subject matter and tone of a piece you have to mess about with it to get it working right. When I work, as with every Designer, the latter ‘play’ is always undertaken. But I personally try to ‘play’ in the manner of striking a positive emotional response to something, making someone laugh, or smile, or appreciate something.

I like sequences that are controlled chaos. I like to set up conditions for experimentation and see what happens if you break things or burn things or blow things up. Scrape, melt or splash stuff. This is how I played as a kid, only I did not get to film it. I like to expressively involve myself in the work. I like to listen to the work. I think the final film can decide what it is going to be, you can not always force it to be what you intended so you might as well have a good time. Fear is bad. Faith is good.

These of course, are only two of the many meanings of play in design, but I think they are the two that are most prominent in the majority of Designers working. Experimentation is another one, but this is equally complicated to define as it is under-practiced in Graphic Design. Experimentation can be triggered when striving to find a solution to a problem at hand, but it can also be someone just dicking-around to see what happens—two things that are quite restricted and rare in Graphic Design.

Play is for learning, which is why children play so much and why Art & Design education is so obsessed with experimental play. The computer is arguably the most effective place to introduce play. As a media, a material, it never breaks down. Where other media eventually disintegrate and become useless, digital media will withstand sustained play. In fact the endlessly reworked version is as just as good quality as the original. As a context, it offers a unique possibility of play without any real risk. Arguably this may be true of a range of Art & Design media but its instant reversibility and ability to simulate makes it unbeatable. Nor does the digital craftsperson need to limit themselves to the simulated realities. Digital context exists beyond a need to mimic physical realities and structures. It can be its own world. It will support generative structures that can be based on natural processes or it can evolve its own process.

But, talking without definition, or on the whole, play is an important thing in design. Practically, play can sometimes be a driving force for progress in the industry, due to theory being way down the pecking order unlike many other professions. But maybe that’s a positive thing, if I want a house building I probably wouldn’t appreciate my architect ‘playing around’ when creating it. However I see it as a massive developmental tool and extremely important in education.

David Crow

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S r te

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To book-end this issue’s “ask” section, the SEVN team sat down with Peter Saville for a chat about the mechanics of the magazine, and his thoughts on the topic of play. If something seems interesting, or particularly remarkable to you, it would be wrong to presume that it comes across as anything more than filler to anybody else. So why continue reading this great lump of text? It was an issue Peter Saville hovered over for some time during the course of our encounter. I should say ‘encounter’, as our meeting didn’t a typical interview. There was no verbal volley of question and answer, question and answer, repeated senselessly until someone eventually gives up and calls for new balls. Instead something else happened.

It is very interesting to witness a grown man, no matter how seriously or un-seriously, organise his thoughts on the world. Watching Peter speak felt as though we seven weren’t his only audience. Amongst great pauses, used mainly for head scratching, face pulling and thought forming, Peter seemed to be using the interview for SEVN as an excuse to methodically archive a chunk of his own thoughts on life.

Luckily, his great locomotive of thought was triggered by our initial question, ‘How do you value play in design?’ And so what followed next, does unexpectedly find its place, propping up a rather hefty ‘ASK’ section.

Peter mused on the topic of what play is, and how our perception of it can change dramatically, depending on our careers. He expressed his opinion that anybody who manages to make a career out of a vocational interest, could be considered to be ‘playing their way through life’. He suggested that a great proportion of people in the world give a large portion of their day, week, and life to something they don’t feel emotionally connected to. The consequence of this, Peter explained, makes their relationship and perception of play completely different. “People trapped in a room somewhere get more extravagant ideas you know, they really want to climb mountains or swim with sharks or race cars or go go-carting or whatever”. For Peter, a walk in the park or a gallery visit is sufficiently self-indulgent, or playful enough. The ‘bad side’ of play was also discussed at length, and it was clear that Peter had plenty of experience in this area. He spoke about his lack of self-discipline when it came to early nights and arriving on time. He put this down as his reason for never being about to have a conventional job. He described his two years at Pentagram as, “an introduction on how to be responsible, and the consequences of not being.” In a moment of clarity, Peter admitted, “it was difficult for me to do things most of the rest of the world find really easy.” By this he meant simple things such as turning up for a days work before 6pm. Peter had a way of editing his thought processes down to their starkest, simplest form. Statements such as this one stood out because of it, with sparks of unexpected honesty. Having studied at Manchester’s Art School (then, the Polytechnic) Peter came over all reminiscent during our meeting. He credited the Manchester Polytechnic library as the very first “intelligent and enlightening” place he

“The day that you actually start to learn, because you want to learn, is the day that you actually start to live.”

went to ‘play’ during his latter education. On a day in December in 1978, Peter discovered (via friend Malcolm Garrett) the library as a great source of inspiration. “My education started that day,” Peter recalled fondly. “That first afternoon I discovered the history of Graphic Design in this college library was the most playful day of my life in the four years I spent in this college. It was mind blowing.” Peter went on to state that books, and learning became his new kind of play, “My play led me to realising things that I didn’t know, and which I needed to know”. He talked about the satisfaction of finding things out because they were exciting, and then finding ways to channel that to other people. “The day that you actually start to learn, because you want to learn, is the day that you actually start to live.”

Whilst he was weighing up the pros and cons of play in design, it struck me that Peter really has an insatiable urge, or need to make sense of things. He covers all areas, backtracks and revisits topics, taking into account possible alternative viewpoints. He embodies both sides of a great debate, single-handedly. One of the points he touched upon concerned the potential restrictions that hinder ‘play’. A “big dilemma” Peter highlighted was in communications design, when you are not in charge of

the content. Although this can cause problems, Peter did recognise that some designers are able to become all consumed by ‘the idea’, regardless of what it’s for. He advised us that it helps to work for brands and companies you admire, if possible.

Progressing from restrictions, the conversation veered towards ‘play’ as a much needed form of escapism, from everyday life. Peter admitted that things like watching football, or pornography, were perfect forms of playful escapism, as they were so far removed from aesthetics, and creative issues, that they would completely take his mind off work. Having this sort of distraction is essential, Peter explained, as it helps you see past an issue in design. He told us that, “Play - most of the time, should inform and feed you, but then every so often it’s good for play to just get you out of yourself.”

“Play — most of the time, should inform and feed you, but then every so often it’s good for play to just get you out of yourself.” 51

At this point, we posed the question of whether Peter felt he is more playful now, or as a student. He answered that as he has grown older, he has become less concerned with image, and this has caused him to become more playful in a way. He did however briefly dwell upon the slightly sobering issue that being able to play around can be a luxury. “When things are difficult, you don’t have any money, you can’t pay the rent, you don’t feel like playing around.” A prospect that may well have flashed through the minds of the current third years. The remedy for this, Peter suggested, is in finding the right sort of balance, between play, life and work. They complement each other and for him, they become a continuum. Peter warned, you can’t have all one, and not the other. It doesn’t work like that. He explained that it did take him until the age of fifty to arrive at this realisation, and now he lives quite happily in his studio.

When asked what advice he’d give to students about to graduate, the message was simple and clear. “You have to care about what you do. It actually doesn’t matter how comfortable life is, and it’s probably not going to be that comfortable, which you’ll accept, if you feel that what you are doing matters. Be somewhere that matters.” And that’s all there is to it really. In the space of an afternoon, the seven students in charge of issue number two experienced something quite unexpected. Prepared for a gruelling question and answer session, what they actually got, was a very honest, entertaining, and at times, quite eye opening account of the inner workings of Mr. Saville’s mind. The only thing that remained, was to find out his favourite game. Football if you’re interested, watching it, not playing.

02 LIVE

A group of eight third year students were successfully offered work experience at Topman Creative after Impressing Topman Designer Gill Patchett with their responses to a live brief. They each offer an insight into their experiences working at Topman.

Lisa Barlow

Bekki Guyatt

I felt so privileged to have been given the opportunity to go and work with the Topman Creative team in London. Not only was I able to see inside the bowels of one of the most prestigious high street fashion houses, I was also given live briefs to work to and embraced into the day to day activities of working in an in-house creative team. Throughout my time there I participated in a number of projects from promotion material for a restyled store opening to creating signage for London Fashion week. Working within budgets and deadlines and signing off through a number of different departments only reminded me of the realness of what I was contributing to and I thoroughly enjoyed these aspects of the job.

Working with Topman was really interesting as you got to see what it was like working for an in house design team, which was very different to my other placement within an agency as the way you liaise with the client is very different. I worked on invites for the Personal Shopping, and promotional items for the store opening at the Westfield Centre in Stratford, London, as well as producing some mood boards of different trends and styles. I wasn’t sure what to expect from an in-house design team, and was surprised by how different it was to agency work. They work for the same company all the time, so know what they like and rarely checked that they were on the right track. They would have chats with the other designers about their work but generally the were spot on with what the company needed so didn’t spend anywhere near as much time in contact with Topman as agencies do with clients.

We worked alongside everyone including marketing, press, clothes designers, shop window designers etc and everyone was somehow connected within different jobs they had been asked to do. The atmosphere within the office was welcoming and friendly and I soon felt at home within the creative space the team had formed around them. There seemed to be a birthday and cake every other day, which showed what a caring ‘family’ the Topman team had become (something I had not expected to see.) Working within London was a wonderful experience for me as it opened my eyes to the mass of creative ‘stuff’ readily available, ‘stuff’ that designers normally have to travel miles for. The only other thing left to say is Thank you. 56

I gained a lot of experience from this placement, and enjoyed my time there, but a longer placement would have been much more worthwhile, so that I could have got my teeth into a project and see it through. I gained knowledge from the industry that made in house design appeal to me though, and I found the work I was involved in very interesting, so would look for more opportunities for similar companies in the future, and have already returned to Topman to experience a different department with the people who produce the graphics for clothing.

Adam Griffiths

The brief I was given at Topman was to design a logo, flyer, poster and a range of promo material for a series of secret gigs the company were organising for a number of their international stores. At first it felt quite daunting as I was in charge of designing the whole campaign but once I had bounced some ideas around with Gill and the design team I felt quite confident in working in that position and felt I could cope with the work load. I was given a lot of creative freedom with the brief, with the only restriction being that I couldn’t reveal the acts playing at these gigs and could only give teasers. With it being so open I tried producing work that had an injection of my working style and for it to be something I’d find appealing as a student consumer. I was really happy with the final outcomes and was proud to be able to work on a live brief for the company and for them to use my designs. Working in the industry was far less intimidating than I first planned out. Obviously the work comes in thick and fast and you regularly have to think on your feet, creating a number of daily creative challenges, which as designers, is quite healthy. I definitely gained a knowledge of all the behind the scenes work that goes on before the designs are printed and used, including many meetings with several teams such as marketing and merchandising. I gained a lot of confidence in my work and as a designer during my placement too, learning to create ideas at a quick pace and to apply the skills I’ve learnt over the course to a live brief for the real world.

“The atmosphere within the office was welcoming and friendly and I soon felt at home within the creative space.”

Nick Yates

Clare Merrick

When I arrived at the Arcadia offices, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was really surprised by the vastness of the place. The 5th floor on its own comprises of all of the Topman and Miss Selfridge teams so there were a lot of people. In contrast, the Topman creative team is quite small with only four full time designers.

Topman was a really great company to work for, as I loved working in a graphics team, and I enjoyed the type of graphics I worked on too. I was really nervous at first, however working in industry turned out to be better than I expected. I liked how within the graphics team, everyone gave each other constructive criticism and helped each other out. It was a really fun environment to be in and I also enjoyed the 9-5 experience.

I was dropped in at the deep end so to speak, being given quite a large project to work on and not a lot of time to do it. The project was to work on the promo material for a day of DJ’s event at the Oxford Street store in support of a charity called CALM. The work that needed doing included several poster designs, flyers, lanyards, t-shirts and a back of window display. My role was to do some research and try and come up with a design concept for the event. The inspiration I found was then used to aid the designs. Other projects included doing some research for Topman’s POS graphics, designing a logo for ‘Christmas at Topman’ and some flyer concepts for a store refresh in Londonderry. Overall, I was able to have a larger involvement in ‘actual’ work than I had thought I would, which was great. The environment I worked in was quite different to what I expect a lot of industry workplaces are like. At Topman, the creative team is mixed with the PR team, the fashion designers and marketing etc. so there are a lot more people than there would normally be in a design office. I’d have to admit that I wouldn’t aspire to work at a place like Topman, the work has to be produced in such a short time that it’s not normally very concept driven which is something that interests me more. However, that’s not to say that I didn’t really enjoy the week, as it was a great learning experience. The team were all really friendly and they produce a lot of really interesting work. As my first internship experience, it was great and I hope that I can keep in touch with them all in the future.

Throughout the week I developed designs and ideas for a new student 20% off logo and also a give away pack, which was my own idea as something students could receive at the 20% off event, or for when they arrive at university etc. I would say that I was given a fair amount of freedom when designing, however I was given a mood board of graphic inspiration to work from as the team wanted a particular graphic style and look which they thought would work best for the designs. Working at Topman was really beneficial, as I gained a great insight in to what it would be like to work within a retail graphics industry and feel that it is an environment I could see myself happily working in after university.

Laura Jackson

It was an extremely worthwhile experience working with Topman Creative. With never having worked with such a well-known company it was extremely enjoyable and I learnt so much from it, which has helped me during my project work within third year. I did not know what to expect from the week, as I had never experienced anything like it and I had never worked in London. It was all very overwhelming to begin with having to find my way around the city and being surrounded by thousands of professional people rushing past you. However you soon get used to the lifestyle and I found myself fitting in quite quickly. The team was extremely friendly and helpful. They made me feel very comfortable and I was able to ask them anything. They gave me a really good insight in to how they work within industry and why things are done a certain way. However it was not just the

design side of things that I experienced, I was allowed to sit in on some meetings where they discussed marketing and facts and figures of different stores from all over the world. This allowed me to see a little bit of the business side and also how big their workload is. Even though every one was extremely busy it was quite a relaxed and happy atmosphere, which was something I was not expecting. I thoroughly enjoyed my week at Topman and I wish I could have stayed there longer to experience more of it. It opened my eyes to industry and it actually made me realise I might like to work in London after I have graduated, as before this week I was a bit dubious about it. Although I was only there for a week, I am able to take a lot of knowledge from it. I am extremely grateful I was offered a place by Gill and I would encourage any student to take the opportunity if it arises.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I would encourage any student to take the opportunity if it arises.â&#x20AC;?

Nick Handley

I had never done an internship before, so I didnt really expect anything before hand but I was excited to get an insight into what it was like to work in industry. At the start of the week I was given a brief for the 20% off student campaign and was told to think about ideas and create mood boards, which would be presented at the end of the week. Throughout the week, I was also given jobs with a quick turn around, ranging from 30 minutes to 3 hours, for example, e-flyers to be sent to Topman in New York, visuals for the pitch for Topman to sponsor a music festival in New York and invites for the launch dinner of the Marc Hare footwear range. When given the briefs there were specifics that had to be considered but there was nothing major that stopped me having the freedom to design what I thought was best visually. I really enjoyed my time at Topman Creative and the internship gave me the opportunity to gain an understanding of what the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;buzzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of industry is like, which has given me the desire and ambition to work in a place like Topman after university.

Zac Crompton

I had no idea what to expect really, although I did imagine a huge open studio with bare brick walls, floorboards, screen prints and Macs as far as the eye could see. The studio was really just an office, which housed every element of the Topman creative team. The brief that I was given during my placement at Topman was to design a VIP gift card that would be sent to celebrities to try to encourage them to wear clothing from Topman. When I started the brief I felt quite nervous because I had never done anything like that before. I was shown previous examples for inspiration and had the help of the graphic design team. I was pretty much told I could do what I wanted; however each unit had to cost no more than three pounds and there was going to be one hundred units. Once I had finished my design and made about a million mock-ups, I had to present it to the team. I was then told that the units could cost up to one hundred pounds, so the format I had chosen wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t nearly expensive enough although most of the work was still valid. I really enjoyed my time at Topman, however I would have preferred to have had a more exciting brief but it stillv showed me what it is like to have to work on something completely alien to me and have such a short turn around.

n o i t i t e p Com s f e i r B A select few of the vast selection of live competition briefs for you to enter over the coming months.

GRAPHIC COMPETITIONS Google / Saatchi Photography We challenge you to come up with photographs that will make us laugh, cry, listen, hop on a plane, start a conversation, or start a revolution. Pick from one of 10 categories below and submit up to 8 of your best shots (see link for info). Deadline: 31/01/2012 Prize: Work exhibited in Saatchi Gallery London & photography trip.

GRAPHIC COMPETITIONS STARPACK STUDENTS Blue Sky Soft Drinks Come up with an idea that looks at the future of soft drinks and the packaging used for them and, maybe, some ideas about what could be done with these big soft drinks brands by launching them in categories other than just ‘beverages’.

Supremebeing Typeface Design a typeface (using any media you deem suitable) including all 26 characters. The final piece should be a static image including the brand ‘Supremebeing’ somewhere in the outcome. Deadline: 06/01/2012 Prize: $350 web voucher

Deadline: 02/03/2012 Prize: £500

STARPACK STUDENTS Busy Chocolate

GRAPHIC COMPETITIONS Typographic Games Posters

Design a new assortment of chocolates and a gift pack that is relevant to the modern world that we live in.

Conqueror, the global premium paper brand from Arjowiggins announced its Typographic Games. This graphic design and typographic poster competition issues a challenge on the theme of sport and on the phrase “It’s not what you win, but how you conquer it”.

Deadline: 02/03/2012 Prize: £500

Deadline: 06/01/2012 Prize: Gold medal & a pair of tickets to see the 2012 Olympics.

For more info: www.graphiccompetitions.com www.iom3.org/content/design-briefs

EVENTS

On Wednesday 16th November, Bekki Guyatt, Chantelle King, and Jenn Trethewey, were lucky enough to attend a sold out D&AD North lecture, presented in association with Creative Lancashire’s ‘Conversations in Creativity’ Network. Following this, they gave SEVN a review of the talk and things they took away with them. Gary Aspden grew up in Darwen, Lancashire, and was the guiding force for some of Adidas’s most influential collaborations for twelve years. For two hours, he spoke about his life, including the highs and lows. His presentation was minimal, with him sat on a chair in front of us, and a few slides on a projector in the background. We were captivated by his storytelling abilities and could easily have sat their listening to stories about his life all night. He began his lecture by telling us that much of the work he has done, has had a lot to do with his upbringing. It was the

building blocks for what he has made into a successful career. Aspden lived in a two bedroom terraced house with his Dad (a mill worker) and Mum (who worked on a market stall). He went on to explain that he was disinterested in school, but had been good at art. When Aspden was about eleven, he was invited to the local disco by one of the ‘cool kids’. However, upon arriving at the house, dressed poorly in flares rather than drainpipe jeans, he was kicked to the side, and had to resort to an evening in front of the TV with his parents. This was his first real contact with fashion, and it scarred him for life.

As Aspden grew older, he kept a keen interest in fashion. A fan of brands such as Pringle, Fred Perry, Farrah and Pierre Cardin, he was part of the ‘casuals’ scene of 1980s Britain. To him, music and clothes were everything. As a teenager, Aspden was interested in electro music, hip-hop and break dancing. He took fashion influence from kids in the USA, although with many of the brands not available in the UK, he wore Adidas instead.

“When Gary was about 11, he was invited to the local disco by one of the ‘cool kids’.”

We found out that music and fashion has played a huge role in how Aspden has turned out. In his early adult years, the Hacienda and Acid House music fuelled his partying. He partied late into the night most nights of the week by the sound of it! A year at MMU (Manchester Polytechnic as it was then) didn’t work out for Aspden, as he spent more time in the Hacienda than in college and he eventually dropped out altogether. The partying took its toll and in the early nineties, he found himself broke and unhappy. Aspden described it as, “The comedown from all the years of partying”. It was at this time Aspden decided to do something with his life, and enrolled at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). It sounded like he thrived in this environment and knuckled down, making a real success of his time there.

It was his year out at Diesel that was the big push for Aspden. During his placement year, he worked down in London for the Diesel Jeans press office. Here he made a lot of contacts, which he then passed onto Adidas, through a girl he was seeing at the time. Conveniently, she got too big for her boots , and was fired. Aspden was found to have been the source of the contacts, and he was asked to come into the office. In 1999 Adidas realised Aspden was not the music mogul they had expected, and were surprised that he could know so many people in the music industry. After some debate, Aspden was offered the job and he took it. He has worked for Adidas ever since, although not exclusively. He became freelance in 2008 following the birth of his son.

instincts on what or who a product should be associated with early on, must be incredibly difficult, but also a lot of fun. Aspden certainly seemed to have had fun meeting his musical heroes.

Aspden’s career at Adidas has seen him meet and collaborate with some incredible people, notably Kazuki Kuraishi and Ian Brown, Noel Gallagher and Peter Saville. Jenn was reminded of a great quote she had seen in ‘No Logo’. Christopher Vaughn was describing the German Adidas executive’s reaction at a 1986 Run-DMC concert, which they had been persuaded to attend because of their scepticism of an association with rap music.

Every project Aspden’s been involved with, was full of such creativity and finesse. He has done wonders for the company, and we all agreed that we don’t think Adidas would be such a wellestablished casual clothing line, (as well as a sports brand) if Aspden had not made such a strong impact.

“At a crucial moment, while the rap group was performing the song (‘My Adidas’), one of the members yelled out, “Okay, everybody in the house, rock your Adidas!” and three thousand pairs of sneakers shot in the air. The Adidas executives couldn’t reach for their check books fast enough.” The sort of icon that a brand can become because of collaborations with artists is so exciting. The momentum of that job, keeping ahead and trusting your

The collaboration with Kazuki lead to Aspden and Kazuki working together on a shoe for himself. It was originally named ‘the Aspden’, but was later changed to ‘The Darwen’, in favour of his hometown. For a designer of Adidas to receive an honour such as designing his shoe, cements the impact he has had on the company. It only made us more envious of the fabulous life he appears to have head, and who’s career just seems to have grown organically, and perfectly fitting for the person he is.

Something we took away from this talk was that Aspden had an idea of what was cool, and what he and Adidas as a brand, should be associated with. He knew who was setting trends, who to give free trainers to, and when had sort of grown out of knowing himself, he asked the right people who knew the answers for him. Another thought to hear, and probably the one that held most resonance, was that what is important in design, is what’s going to happen, and creating ideas that reflect our environment now, and everything that is current.

In Translation 25/02/2012 — 23/02/2013 Manchester Art Gallery (FREE Admission). This exhibition is part of a major project working with women who have migrated to the North-West of England from all over the World. The women, drawn from a range of diverse backgrounds, are working with artists’ collective UHC (Ultimate Holding Company) to co-curate a display featuring and inspired by Manchester City Galleries’ collection of Empire Marketing Board Posters.

CUBEOpen 2011 Exhibition 16/12/2011 — 04/02/2012 CUBE Gallery Salford (FREE Admission). The University of Salford’s CUBE gallery is delighted to be announcing its annual CUBEOpen 2011. Each year the exhibition highlights contemporary insights into the urban environment. We accept applications from artists, architects and designers whose practise reflect these themes.

Forest: Darnhill Festival Association and Cartwheels Arts. 26/11/2011 — 28/01/2012 Touchstones Rochdale (FREE Admission). This exhibition features community artwork, photography, and representations of the Forest theme, created through collaborations between artists, heritage craftspeople and the Darnhill community.

Heatherwick Studio: About the exhibition 31/05/11 — 30/09/12 Heatherwick Studio London (FREE Admission). This exhibition will show the enormous variety of projects that Heatherwick Studio have worked on over the last two decades spanning the disciplines of architecture, sculpture, engineering, furniture and product design.

Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration 08/02/2012 — 22/04/2012 The Porter Gallery (Admission charge will apply). To celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the V&A is holding an exhibition of portraits of Her Majesty by photographer Cecil Beaton (1904-1980).

Beatrix Potter Country: A Legacy in Lakeland and Beyond 13/12/11 — 10/06/12 Gallery 102 (Free Admission). This display explores the profound connections that Beatrix Potter’s artwork sustains with the Lake District and the part her lasting legacy has played in the preservation of this region and other parts of Britain’s heritage.

Visual Dialogues 01/02/11 — 12/02/12 Manchester Art Gallery (FREE Admission). This display features the gallery’s two recently purchased artworks by Grayson Perry: a large ceramic vase Jane Austen in E17 and one of his first major etchings, Prints for a Politician.

Alice in Wonderland 04/11/11 — 29/01/12 The Tate Liverpool (Admission £8). Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland have fascinated children and adults alike since its publication over 150 years ago. Alice in Wonderland at Tate Liverpool is the first exhibition of its kind to explore how Lewis Carroll’s stories have influenced the visual arts, inspiring generations of artists.

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