Reflective Journal

Thomas Hardwick 

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Welcome to...

BA1 

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PROJECT

One Word Poster 

Design a typographic poster that clearly 

communicates the meaning of one of the words 

listed as listed. As part of the design process, 

it is essential to also document and evidence 

the various stages of visual development 

that supports the poster design. Enabling us 

to generate visual ideas and to select and 

communicate those ideas effectively. The 

brief promotes visual research skills and 

encourages lateral rather than literal thinking 

and to start being imaginative. Develop 

the concept of the chosen word(s) using 

wit, irony, parody, cynicism and metaphor, 

anything considered appropriate so long as 

it is relevant and communicates effectively. 

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Presented as a fully finished visual, and including our 

selected word(s) as an integral part of the image, not just 

as a caption. Carefully documenting throughout the design 

process and gathering evidence for the various stages of 

visual development that supports our poster designs. It is 

important that our poster designs clearly communicates 

the meaning of our chosen words in an inventive and 

appropriate manner. 

Researching our chosen words to add personality to our 

typographical edits, by trying to put the words meaning 

into the physical design of the typography itself. Turning 

everyday boring words and transforming them into visual 

posters to communicate across our chosen words definition 

and meaning. 

I found this project to be a great starting point for my 

creative journey at the start of the graphic design degree. 

Focusing on typography and giving it a creative twist, 

getting our creative thoughts flowing by combining 

the everyday, mundane elements of typography and 

combining it with creativity. 

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My main aim of this project was to find different way of visually communicating across my chosen typography, a simple 

example is my experimentation edit featuring the word ‘change’, with having each letter a different size communicating the 

change in size between each character. Created in a pattern that relates back to the change found in evolution. 

Applying the meaning of the word to the to its physical design was a design practise I experimented with a lot during this 

project, featuring in some of my later edits towards my final pieces including my ‘Tilt’ example where I applied the meaning 

of the actual word to the physicality of the visual outcome, so buy tilting the page, all the letters fall out of place. 

For my final design of the ‘Drop’ word features design elements where instead of putting the meaning of the word into the 

physical design of the poster, I thought of what the word might otherwise imply to which I could include in the making of 

my outcome, including pencil sharpenings. 

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PROJECT

Typographical Collection 

Research, collate, document and evidence 

a typographic archive that will provide 

the basis of a personal resource for 

future projects. The collection includes 

an extensive collection of typographic 

forms, presented as a book. Designed to 

introduce us to the subject of Typography 

and to help develop a basic appreciation 

of letter-forms and type-styles. Encouraged 

to develop an understanding of the 

typographic basics including an appreciation 

of the diversity and application of typographic 

forms and progress critical judgement 

in relation to the function of typography 

and numerial figures in differing styles. 

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Typography is everywhere, not just print in books and magazines. So I went out looking for typographic 

forms both on and off the page, including signage, packaging and calligraphic forms. Studying the 

communication of type and how its visual form affects the communication of the words. Ending up with 

a collection that we brought together in a book, which becomes a reference resource. 

The typographical collection project continued with photographing numerical designs around Norwich, 

using InDesign to design the layout of my typographical collection booklet, but first I needed a theme to 

go along with my numerical imagery. The theme I decided upon was the title of my booklet, ‘Numerical 

Significances’ where I went around and asked the various shop and home owners / occupants and 

public opinions on and about the history behind the numerical designs around Norwich, finding out in 

short the story behind they’re designs. 

With a complete selection of diverse numerical imagery and views and comments on the designs from 

the numerals owners and the general public, I was able to compile a collection of amazing numerical 

imagery and the significances they have to their owners and why they chosen the designs they are 

currently using to either represent their business or live with in everyday life. 

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PROJECT

Image & Type Booklet 

Following our trip to Great Yarmouth, after 

capturing images, this assignment allowed us 

to contextualise our own imagery within the 

format of an 8 page booklet. Developing our 

skills as graphic designers to pair images with 

appropriate text and typography, effectively 

conveying our own chosen narratives. 

Understanding the strength of type and image 

together, how the written word and the visual 

are combined to generate a narrative, tell a 

story, make a point. Gaining an understanding 

of editorial design, its formats, grids, rhythm, 

dynamic, layout, balance, composition, space, 

colour and typographic choices. Considering 

paper stock, weight, size, binding and finishing. 

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Produce an 8 page booklet that has a considered written and visual narrative as a response 

to, and development of, the images collected and created from the trip to Great Yarmouth. 

The text can be quotes, poetry, song lyrics or your own voice. You must carefully document 

and evidence the various stages of visual development that supports our final outcome. 

After hearing so many different views and opinions on Great Yarmouth, I decided to focus 

my booklets narrative on peoples perceptions of Great Yarmouth itself. Dividing the narrative 

up into 2 sections, appearing on opposite pages to each other, focusing on POSITIVE and 

NEGATIVE thoughts about Great Yarmouth, interviewing real people to gain information for 

the narrative of my booklet. 

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Dividing my narrative of the Great 

Yarmouth booklet into 2 separate 

parts of positive and negative 

fitted well with the subject of 

Great Yarmouth, because there 

was already a positive in the 

name ‘Great’ Yarmouth. So I 

entitled my booklet ‘Welcome to 

shitty Yarmouth...It’s great!’ To 

get across the context of multiple 

reviews inside my booklet in a 

humorous style. 

The context on the inside contains 

the positive narrative reviews on 

the left hand side and the negative 

on the right hand side, contrasting 

against each other again in a 

humorous style to match the front 

cover and keep the theme going 

throughout the booklet. 

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Throughout the trip to Great 

Yarmouth I focused on the elements 

of colour and typography, 

capturing a range of as many 

different fonts as I could to get a 

large diversity, along with as many 

different colours as I could, after 

noticing all of the brightly painted 

shops and arcades along the sea 

front which when seen from the 

beach made up a visual of a bright 

rainbow. 

Focusing mainly on the arcades 

along the sea front, including: 

The Mint, The Flamingo & The 

Silver Slipper. Exploring the actual 

arcades and asking peoples views 

to fill my positive and negative 

narrative theme. 

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As I started looking for suitable arcades to photograph for the content of my booklet, 

the very first arcade we saw was Great Yarmouth’s most famous and one of its more 

decorated arcades. Its retro feeling typography found in its metal finished letters 

completed with light-bulbs looks very attractive especially when the sun was caught on 

the reflective steel plates. ‘The Mint’ arcades bright pink metallic background was perfect 

for the back drop of my introductory page, using the negative space within my imagery 

to position text effectively, with the large ‘M’ covering the whole of the right hand page 

of my booklet. 

I was Looking for different coloured arcades to take up the 8 pages of my booklet, to 

create a feel of diversity and excitement upon opening my booklet, as well as accurately 

representing all the different bold and beautiful colours found in great Yarmouth. 

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The arcades in Yarmouth are made up of many different colours, but ‘The 

Flamingo’ arcade was made up of multiple different colours from the same 

hue, mainly pinks, purples and whites. 

Again ‘The Flamingos’ typographical sign was finished off with multiple lightbulbs, 

but what really caught the eye was how the wires running down the 

coloured background acted as dividers between the different colours, which 

fit perfectly on to my double page spread, using a different colour for each 

page, yet still leaving plenty of negative space in which to place my narrative 

text and lines. 

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Great Yarmouth was very colourful during the day. But to capture the full effect of Great 

Yarmouth’s visuals is at night. During the evening Great Yarmouth’s arcades along the 

sea front slowly one by one switched on their sign lighting, flooding the historic sea front 

in a rainbow of different colours. 

One of the most dramatic when seen upon night fall was again ‘The Mint’ arcade. 

Salmon pink during the day, a rainbow by night. Lights consisting of: blue, pink, purple, 

red, orange, yellow and green would flow through the hundred different light bulbs, 

transferring the different colours from bulb to bulb, creating a motion of colour. 

The bright salmon pinking lighting in the background still holds the identity of ‘The Mint’. 

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The ‘Silver Slipper’ is one of Great Yarmouth’s largest arcades along the sea 

front, which probably explains why it was completed in a such a straight 

forward yet satisfying way. Its bold royal blue colouring covers the whole 

of the building, with the silver from its large classic sign featuring large serif 

lettering visually representing the silver within the arcades name of the ‘Silver 

Slipper’. 

In this arcade I gained many differing opinions from the general public that I 

was able to correlate into positive and negative paragraphs for my content. 

For extra detail on the arcades I struggled to get different views of, I visited 

Googled reviews and trip advisor. 

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WORKSHOP

POSITIVE & NEGATIVE 

The positive and negative workshop was an 

experimental task using our photography skills 

to capture the positive & negative aspects that 

we see in our everyday life. These could be 

anything from: feelings, moods, light, colours, 

shapes, forms, size, texture or material. For 

this my chosen field was light, using black & 

white teams with minimal colour inclusion to 

help highlight the presence of light (positive / 

white) and shade (negative / black) that fallen 

on objects, areas and other aspects within 

Norwich’s city centre. Using a secondary 

technique of colour selection to highlight the 

positive aspects within the city that are often 

drowned out by other colours and architecture. 

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The positive and negative workshop was a photography based workshop, where we were 

encouraged to use our artist eye to see the things other people would over look. With this 

information and the title of positive and negative, I set out capturing imagery containing strong 

aspects of positive and negative spacing within objects and landscapes around Norwich. 

Converting my images into grey-scale as a visual aid to strengthen the positive and negative 

spacings and colourings within my edits. Focusing mainly on architectural structures and 

natural elements such as the sky and water as well as light and shadow. 

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The grey-scale imagery adds to the visualisation 

of brightness and contrast, with the bright and 

lighter areas representing the positive, along side 

the darker more contrasting areas representing the 

negative elements. 

The challenging aspect was finding potential 

images which had the characteristics of positive 

and negative spacings and colours with all the other 

elements surround them such as colours and different 

shapes of the surrounding scenery. 

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The positive and negative workshop taught me the importance of lighting within photography, 

how it affects the moods and feelings visually communicated through images as well as when 

applied to grey scale images can add different tints and tones, from white through to grey 

and black colourings. 

The lighting as seen on this example can make certain aspects stand out much more than if 

they were just seen as they came in colour, with the darkened image of house tops adjusted 

in such a way that it visually appears more like a silhouette than a photograph on top of the 

bright positive background. 

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untibusam, que nobisquia dolorem voluptas magnis digendia dis voluptas eost ut pellacest, 

que optas experio beriti dolorempe et as perrum quae. Nam, namenes eaquaes doluptatur, 

solorehenti nus exerspernate pori dolorepera doloreprae labore laborernam fugia volorere 

verisquia qui te nobis esequi consequi odit velendit, sit, quam do 

lupic imagnis eossedisto opti blacimin nim facidunt ipsum quatibustrum consedisto eum, sit 

aut dolupta tusant volupiet optasim inctur aceste velenisinci doluptaspe laudam atiassintius 

autest, sum velenda porem illes cullanda nim sunt etNam atur? Quia nonsedit atessi de latiur, 

ulparci aut etum ratin et ellit ut optatem eaquodis exernate dolor 

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WORKSHOP

MODULAR TYPE 

The modular type workshop ha use using our 

morning to look at typography in a different 

way, inspired by the works of: Wim Crouwel, 

Jurriaan Schrofer and Hamish Muir. To make 

an abstract typeface that is legible without 

effort to read and understand visually. Using 

abstract formates and shapes to create different 

letter forms as well as liner dimensions from 

previous examples of typographical artists and 

designers to inspire our own creations. Pushing 

the boundaries of legibility within our designs, 

but not so much that our designs are not 

understandable on a visual level, but designed 

in such a way that our human imitative would 

to recognise the letters for what they are. 

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The Modular workshop challenged both our understanding of typographic 

anatomy and our levels of creativity. Creating our own typefaces and letter 

edits by thinking laterally to push the levels of legibility in our creations. 

Trying to envisage as many possible outcomes as possible, looking at past 

typographical artists and designs for inspiration as well as our surrounds 

and the typography based books and magazine in the library. 

As a result we ended up with a large amount of abstract outcomes that 

formed a collection of letters from both digital and hand rendered sources. 

Encouraged to take our favourites and most promising through and 

outsource them digitally. 

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Inspired by the work of typographical designers: Ken Garland, Jurriaan Schrofer and Wim Crouwel, I ended 

up creating a collection of different typographical forms that I put together to create an abstract version of 

a experimental alphabet. 

Idea generation for this particular workshop was very challenging, through hand rendered experimentation 

I fond that for every 10 experiments I would create 1 or 2 that were functional ideas that could follow a 

pattern to create a ‘modular’ inspired typeface. Which is why I enjoyed going free hand and designing 

individual letters with their own different styles that stood out so much from each other yet all shared the same 

principle of experimentation and none looked alike but all looked as if they belonged together. 

Scanning my hand rendered designs into a computer was a safe way of re-creating similar if not identical 

digital versions of my initial designs, using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create each individual letter, 

before grouping them together to from my custom ‘modular’ alphabet. 

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WORKSHOP

ANATOMY OF TYPE 

In the same way that the human body anatomy 

is made up of lots of different elements / 

parts, typography letters have the same 

characteristics, with different elements adding 

up to create different letters in different styles, 

such as the ‘serif’ usage. Looking in more detail 

at the typography can help us grow as graphic 

designers, understanding basic principles of 

type & how different typographical styles fit 

certain designs and why some also stand out 

like a very sore thumb. Understanding these 

principles can help us make artistic judgments 

of the choice of typography we include in 

our designs. Finding a style of typography 

to match all the other design elements. 

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The anatomy of type really got us learning about the finer detail within typography that we had not come across before. 

All the different elements that come together not only to make different letters, but also what defines fonts and what makes 

them different to other fonts. 

Learning about the anatomy of typography means that we would understand more about the basic principles of type and 

therefore know how to use different fonts in different circumstances. Learning about type this early on was very helpful 

as we still had the bulk of our brief to come, so now we would have a better preparation for our upcoming project in 

how to include typography into our designs with purpose and thought. 

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The typographical letter is actually made up of many different elements which people don’t usually realise, learning about 

these elements was both interesting and rewarding as we learnt how to apply different styled letters and fonts to different 

styled outcomes. 

Physically drawing out the different letters and the elements that make them up made me realise the complexity behind 

typography and how all the different elements have to work together to make a suitable font. Not only a test for the memory 

but also a test for all of our calligraphy skills. 

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WORKSHOP

FINDING THE SENSE 

The finding the sense workshop was all about 

incorporating the meaning of words and 

phrases and putting them into the physical 

designs them selves. Firstly by looking at 

expressive typographical examples and 

seeing how they manage to incorporate 

the meaning of the word and place it so 

effectively into the design of the words. For 

example getting the word ‘Killed’ and lying 

the ‘i’ down on its side so it looks like the ‘i’ 

has been killed (as it visually represents a 

person). Taking inspiration from these worded 

examples and applying the same element to a 

whole phrase which we got given at random 

by our tutors to try and represent visually. 

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Finding the sense was a quick and instinctive workshop, instinctive in the sense that we had to use our 

own design instincts as we each got given a different phrase and were tasked to design them using only 

typography and colour to visually communicate across the sense of the phrase we have been given. 

‘Everything is designed. Few things are designed well.’ 

Not only a true statement but it was a very interesting one to work with. But using techniques such as colour 

theory, typographical hierarchy and layout to help express the meaning of the my assigned phrase and help 

the viewer find the sense of the quotation. It’s all about using our design initiative to design a visual with very 

little to no material to work from. Assigning different fonts to certain words helps to express different mood, 

feelings and adds an emphasise to the text. 

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WORKSHOP

VISUAL NARRATIVE 

Sequential, thematic, Diagrammatic, colour, 

telling a story with a beginning, middle and 

an end. Finding the extraordinary within the 

ordinary in order to tell a story about our visit 

to Great Yarmouth. Using our own imagery 

take during our trip to Great Yarmouth, 

selecting which photographs to use to tell a 

story visually, creative a visual narrative. 

Looking at current photographers working, 

including that for famous British photographer 

Martin Parr, and his photographer work 

around Britain and its people, too identify 

how just one simple image when taken 

can convey a whole message and even a 

story, becoming in itself a visual narrative. 

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Sequential, Thematic, Diagrammatic, Colour and Telling a story are some of the examples of themes that we 

could use to help us collate the imagery we gathered from Great Yarmouth to tell a narrative through visuals, 

to help us find the extraordinary in the ordinary. 

My visual narrative focused in on the aspects of colour and sequential imagery. As the images progress from 

left to right, through the sequence of visuals the colours change from grey scale to increasing levels of colour 

to coincide with the moment of changing imagery, visually communicating the element of a story. 

The narrative tells the story of my trip from the centre of Great Yarmouth, where you find much of its colourless 

and bleak housing, through the old Victorian architecture filled streets, as they branch backward to describe 

our entry onto Great Yarmouth’s sea front. With all the imagery positioned as if they are disappearing into 

the centre of the image as a whole. 

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WORKSHOP

BUILDING AN IMAGE 

Inspired by all of the typography seen from our 

trip to Great Yarmouth, we were to in groups, 

decide upon an image we all liked of a letter 

or phrase which we would attempted to recreate 

from the photograph, and turn it into a 

3D designed product. Using any materials we 

want and what ever mediums to create a 3D 

structure of some typographical element within 

Great Yarmouth, or some form of personality 

trade that we want to represent about our 

trip to Great Yarmouth, Using appropriate 

mediums to represent the message we are 

trying to convey about our thoughts upon our 

visit to Great Yarmouth from sharing views, 

experiences and photos within Yarmouth. 

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Building an image was our workshop within the 8 page booklet project inspired by Great Yarmouth. Testing our design 

incentive and craft skills as we were set the task of working in groups of up to 4 to build a 3D visual inspired by the 

typography we saw around and in Great Yarmouth. 

Our 3D outcome was inspired by ‘The Mint’ arcade found on the sea front of Great Yarmouth. We used reflective card 

to mirror that of ‘The Mint’s’ metal plated typography which makes up the bulk of its sign, complete with white fairy lights 

poking through the surface of our ‘M’. The design was completed with pink tickets from ‘The Mint’ arcade itself, positioned 

around the outside of the ‘M’ to give it an emphasised 3D feel as well as to communicate across the pink colouring found 

within the ‘Mint’ arcades colouring behind the typography on its signage. When we switch the fairy lights on it looks just 

like ‘The Mint’ arcade at night. This project was a real team building exercise, working with people I didn’t know very well, 

learning to share out roles and responsibilities to get the job done within a time limit. 

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BA1a 

From the projects in BA1a I feel that I have gained an in-depth 

knowledge of design theory and how it can impact upon the eye. 

The typographic signals project allowed me to realise how 1 font 

can make or break a visual representation of how to communicate 

moods or feelings across to the wider public. Creating my own 

typefaces during the modular typeface workshop has allowed 

me to think outside of the box and push myself out of my comfort 

zone but thinking laterally, with the principles of typography 

having taught me how type has changed through the ages, with 

the Tuesday contextual lectures providing me with an in depth 

knowledge of type through the ages allowing me to apply it to 

the correct situations, along with the compositional elements that 

I can now apply to type and imagery from the compositional 

workshops where we used different materials and textures to 

pass across different visual messages. These individual tasks 

have challenged my design thinking but also allowed me to 

develop my own pieces over time and allowed me to test my time 

management skills and documenting processes along the way. 

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EVALUATION 

The Yarmouth booklet was the biggest challenge and opportunity 

I have faced, where I had to pose as the photographer, designer, 

writer and director. The ‘building an image’ workshop was a fun task 

where as a team we were test with expressing flat 2D imagery into a 

3D spectacle with string visual references to Yarmouth. Meanwhile 

I found the set briefs with limited room for movement such as the 

‘1 word poster’ and ‘8 page booklet’ tasks the most challenging 

as the rules have been set out and it is almost like being set a reallife 

task that I have to follow like a designer working for a client. 

From these tasks, I feel like I have shown a strong sense of maturity 

in my documentation and back up work including research as 

well as expressed constant visually pleasing composition along 

with typography that relates to the moods I am wanting to pass 

across. My aims for the second unit are to improve are in the 

quality of my work and increasing alternative outcomes along 

with primary sketching as well as learning all of the adobe 

programmes such as InDesign and Illustrator and to apply them 

and other adobe programs to my work in an effective format. 

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Welcome to...

BA1 

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PROJECT

VISUAL IDENTITY 

Create a visual identity for a club or society (as 

listed) without using a just a logo. The outcome 

will be produced as a set of stationery, and 

utilise the creative opportunities the stationery 

elements present. Assignment to introduce us to 

stationery design and the idea of visual identity. 

Designed to continue to develop of knowledge 

and understanding of visual communication 

and the relationship between word, image and 

format. Encouraging to expand our conceptual 

and realisation skills. Consider the elements 

of the materials that we are working with 

and explore format, colour, texture and the 

visual language associated with your subject 

to create an all encompassing visual identity. 

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The visual identity project was probably my favourite project within this unit as it allowed us to be creative 

yet have guidelines to follow as if we were following a real industry brief for a real client, so the brief 

both pushed us to be creative and think laterally yet still challenge us to think within parameters. 

One of the most challenging aspects of the visual identity brief was that we had to make multiple items 

that all had to be creative and thought up laterally, but also link and look as if they belong together and 

that you could tell that they came from the same society, in my case the ‘Live Music Society’. These items 

are: Envelope, A4 letter, business cards and compliment slips. 

My A4 letter design was inspired by sheet music, and how whole music book unfold to reveal huge 

long compositions of music. The unfolding element is a unique feature of the live music society’s letter 

design, the unfolding element means that the latter stretches from an A4 sized piece of paper to one that 

you can hold at a full arms length. My letter design contains a large variety of different live music acts 

preforming across the United Kingdom and Europe, including: Ed Sheeran, The 1975, The Foo Fighters, 

Bastille, Noel Gallagher, Shawn Mendez and the Arctic Monkeys. With information about the acts and 

the dates, locations and prices of their live upcoming performances. 

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Folding my societies letter in this way creates triangular sections which were perfect for placing images 

and organising my text, including: up coming tour dates, interesting facts and information about the live 

music acts as well as up-to-date news about tours, concert, gigs and album releases. Designed with a 

monochromatic theme with white, grey and blue present throughout, visually communicating across a 

calming and relaxing emotion that people useful feel when they start listening to music. 

My envelope designs for the live music society have the unique feature of fold-able flaps, that unfold 

outwards to reveal a poster sized image of the current band featured in the monthly letter design, that the 

users can collect over the cause of the year and put up on display on their walls. The envelopes unfold, 

featuring elements such as signatures, facts and upcoming tour dates near the readers within the UK & 

Ireland. The idea of including posters in my envelope design was taken from tour posters that music fans 

usually buy when attending one oft heir favourites bands gigs or concerts, just like the t-shirts they also 

sell, which contains the dates of the bands tours as well as their locations. 

The element of these envelopes having a secondary purpose apart from just carrying letters, means that 

unlike other letters my letters won’t get thrown away like all the other letters, but kept and put up on 

display as live music posters, visually communicating across the personality of the ‘Live Music Society’. 

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To include more of my societies personality to my designs I decided to go down a more lateral route 

for my business card designs and engrave my societies name and website onto real guitar picks. Not 

only relating to my societies personality of live music, but also encouraging people to play live music 

themselves, through the medium of my guitar pick business cards. My business cards and light, portable 

and durable, unlike all the other paper based business cards, mine would last a lot longer and not be 

warn down by peoples fingers over time or damaged by other elements such as the rain. 

Following the same aspect of my envelope designs, my business cards are design for a secondary 

purpose which involves constant use which means that they wouldn’t end up getting thrown away or 

discarded. Instead kept for the use of performing live music itself, and sharing out a live music events 

to help spread the knowledge of the ‘Live Music Society’, as the information on my business cards are 

designed to pass across information visually so people don’t even need to be given one to known the 

related information, but just seeing someone with one can visually pass across all the information they 

need as well as the personality of the ‘Live Music Society’. 

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The designs for my compliment slips were designed around the layout of concert tickets, featuring the musical act of which the 

magazine is doing a special on, that would also appear on the front page of the folded letter design as well as on the envelope. 

Completing my compliment slips in this way is a fun and interactive way of leaving the mark of the ‘Live Music Society’ on the 

readers experience and is a far more attractive method in which to present a compliment slip than the usual boring white paper 

based slips found and delivered by most other businesses and publications. Not only is it eye catching but also memorable and 

would stick in the mind of the reader due to its unique design. 

The inspiration for these designs came from concert tickets them selves which all contain the scannable bar code for entry, which 

is also a recurring feature on compliment slips in form of QR codes and bar codes in case customers wish to return anything. The 

purpose of the bar code on my compliment slips is to be scanned by a mobile device, which would take the user straight to the 

‘Live Music Societies’ website home page. 

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PROJECT

PACKAGING 

Design a pack as a response to one of the 

words (listed below). Considering physical 

form, metaphor, function and think laterally. 

Assigned to introduce us to packaging design 

and the experience of working in 3 dimensions. 

The project required us to be creative and 

responsive in the use of materials, structure 

and form of packaging, whilst considering 

relevance of appropriate application of 

graphic language used to support intended 

communication. Considering the form, size, 

material, and interaction to the detail (volume, 

weight, price, bar code.) These attributes 

are all opportunities to communicate the 

qualities and properties of our chosen subject. 

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The packaging brief challenged us to design a package or three-dimensional object that responds to 

one of the following: cure, object, collaboration, curiosity, contagion, the media, religion, issue, a skill, 

humour, dreams, emotion, movement, danger, journey or conflict. Normal packaging for a drink or 

product would have been much easier, but once again the lateral thinking aspect was key to get a strong 

outcome for this project as we had to package emotions and non physical elements. 

Drawing for personal experience was the best way to find ideas for these topics, as the idea generation 

stage was the most difficult I had come across within the duration of the course. So I experimented with 

the idea of combining 2 of the suggested categories which were ‘cure’ & ‘humour’. Drawing my own 

experience I can safely say that coffee has been a go to cure for me over the past few months. So mind 

mapping around coffee brought me to the idea people taking coffee like a medication for a cure, after 

all coffee is considered a drug in the same way alcohol is, and people refer to coffee in the terms of, ‘I 

need some coffee’. As coffee is mainly consumed in the morning to warn off tiredness and falling back 

to sleep, people basically use coffee as a source of medication to keep them going. 

From this my idea developed into he realms of medication, applying view of coffee as a necessity to 

keep going into the physical form of medication. This idea generation eventually led me to the idea 

of packaging coffee in the form of inhalers. People who use inhalers have to literally use them to keep 

going, in the same dramatic way that people now a-days say they need coffee to keep them going. 

The packaging aspect also seemed to fit well as people take shots of coffee which can be stored in the 

inhalers and exerted as puffs. 

Overall my packaging of coffee in the medical form of inhalers is a visual metaphor of how people need 

and crave coffee so much no a days it is almost considered a necessity like medicine. My inhalers were 

later on ordered from Superdurg (thanks to a faked online prescription) and spray painted the matching 

colours of the 2 largest coffee houses in the United Kingdom (Costa & Starbucks). With personally 

designed labels on each of the inhalers after they were painted and also unequally designed medical 

labels that were placed on the medication captuals to describe the different types of coffee people use 

in the forms of medication, as well as its strength which is also directly related to medicine. 

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PROJECT

ADVERTISING 

Working in groups of 2 or 3, promote 

one of the six areas as listed. This project 

introduced us to some of the fundamental 

skills relating to the advertising practice and 

the exploration of the varied communication 

platforms available. Encouraged to consider 

how to design and communicate effectively 

to a specific target audience. Introduced to 

advertising design and the experience of 

working in groups. Exploring the roles of art 

director, designer and copywriter. Gaining 

first hand experience of the need for all roles 

to work collaboratively in the development 

of creative ideas and artistic concepts within 

our design thinking and final outcomes. 

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The advertising project was a very big project for me, not only because it focuses in on the area of graphic 

design that I would want to work in when I’m older, but also because it was a group project. In groups of 

up to 3, we had to pick a topic area with a meaningful message that we would communicate across to the 

our target audiences by creating multiple advertising solutions. 

After develop a message, which our campaign would communicate to its identified audience. A campaign is 

defined as developing one idea through multiple outcomes or directions. Considering media, environments, 

and ambient and social contexts. Considering further more how the message evolves in response to its use 

over the campaign. Thinking outside of the box in terms of how we communicate our campaigns message 

was key to the projects success. 

We were told before we started that we should aim to have as much fun within this topic as we could, 

having such an open project was all about enjoyment and experimentation within the development of 

the outcomes and working process. Our group topic area evolved over time into safe sex, and avoiding 

accidental pregnancies but using contraceptives. So our groups message was ‘Always Come Prepared’ 

(have safe sex by using contraception) using Durex as our message carrier, and a constant visual aid and 

visual theme throughout our designs. 

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Now we had decided on the message we wanted to communicate and across to our target audience, we 

had to decide on our mediums, considering: form, texture, structure and size. We completed a number of 

posters to form a series to carry across our messages to the general public on the street (mainly shoppers) 

but then we decided why stop there and really pushed the boundaries on what we could advertise on to 

communicate our message effectively, looking for symbolic similarities between our topic and the mediums 

we could potentially design on. 

As a group we constructively fed off each other with ideas and suggestion till we arrived at the main source 

of advertisement for our campaign which was the London underground. With trains (long tubes) going 

through tunnels (holes) we considered it the perfect metaphor for sex and could take good advantage of 

the humorous aspect of this advertising space. We completed a number of underground billboard designs 

featuring witty typographical puns to visually communicate our messages across in the form of humour to 

appeal to our target market, the youthful population (aged 16 - 21). In addition to our billboard designs 

positioned opposite the underground platforms, we also created a series of portrait poster designs to be 

seen in sequence as commuters travel through the underground, engaged to look at them all as they work 

together to communicate a humorous bit of typography along with a fact. 

Humour makes things easier to remember, using this technique would allow our campaigns slogan and facts 

to stay stuck in our target markets memories. 

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The recurring theme throughout our campaign was humour, so we were very keen on expanding our advertisement 

mediums, so we could reach out to as many people as we could with our campaigns message, as well as to 

challenge our imaginative skills and creative skill sets. 

The lorry advertising was a element of advertising where we applied the text to the medium to create a humorous 

effect for the viewers, so in this case we wrote our content on the side and back of the lorry as if we were talking 

to the drivers that surrounded the lorry on the road. Asking a rhetorical question in the advertising tag line makes it 

easier for the viewer to remember, and people always remember the happy or funny aspects of things and never 

the sad or depressing, so we aimed to be has humorous and pleasing as possible. 

The lorry advertising was an example of pushing our campaign to the limits, going past the normal bus shelter 

advertising that everyone would do. Our next aim was to advertise on medium that related to our topic, so thinking 

where people usually had sex and caused accidental pregnancies with he aim of design on or around those 

areas. As a result we ended up designing on to a shower curtain, visually creating the effect of two people in one 

shower cubicle, both creating a humorous image as well as putting people off actually doing it in these type of 

places (but if not at least encouraging them to do it with protection next time). 

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PROJECT

I WISH I HAD 

With a response relating to the past year whilst 

being a Year 1 Graphics Student at NUA. Our 

outcome can be in any medium, but are asked 

to carefully consider our medium choice and 

format to be outcomes appropriate to our 

design rationale and enhance our desired 

communication methods here. Giving future 

advice to forthcoming graphic students at 

NUA about something we wish we had done. 

This project is designed to enable us to develop 

an appreciation of communication design in its 

broadest sense. Responding to the research and 

analysis of personal data, being encouraged 

to develop our experimental approaches 

to the visual representation of this material. 

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The ‘I wish I had’ project was the only one week project we had been set during our second unit, which was actually 

much more complex than it sounds. After being used to so many 2 and 3 week long projects we now had to get all our 

research, experimentation, mind mapping, making, re designing and photography done in one week, with no mid unit 

crits to get our ideas and processes assessed. 

This project was completely open and was based on what we would tell future first years what we wish we had during 

our first year at university that we didn’t think of before we left, or something we wish we did or have while we were 

here. And as usual...dwelling on my own experiences I yet again ended up at coffee. 

I never drank coffee before coming to university, so now I’m here I really wished I had an unlimited supply, which I 

visually communicated by re-designing the Sainsburys isle labels, reducing the price of the coffee to £0, making it free, 

and communicating the fact that ‘I wish I had endless free coffee’. 

This was a really fun little project that got not only me but everyone thinking on their toes, like a real business brief as 

we had a tight deadline we had to meet and think of productive idea quickly and constantly. 

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PROJECT

INFOGRAPHIC 

For this assignment we were required to 

completely explore the processes concerning 

the research, analysis and organisation 

of data. Our challenge to find a creative 

way to gather and present information to 

a targeted audience in a clear, concise 

and appropriate manner. With suggestion 

listed. A successful info graphic makes 

complex data more readily understood, or 

more powerfully communicated, through 

the use of graphic content. Information 

gathering will be achieved through a range 

appropriate research techniques, and the 

visual outcome will be developed through 

the use of a variety of graphic languages. 

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The Infographic project was by far and away the most difficult project I have had to do to date. Even before the design 

element began, the choosing of my topic area was unsteady, scattered between multiple different ideas including 

mainly smoking and deforestation, I had no idea what topic area to progress with as I did not feel passionate about 

either of them. So after an extensive level of research I switched my chosen to topic to the statistics of LGBTQ community 

around the world. Not only did I find the actual topic interesting but I feel very passionate about it as some of my close 

friends are within the community, so highlighting the minority of the LGBTQ community around the world, as many 

people don’t actually know the true levels, and some of those that do know are too scared to count them selves as part 

of the community. 

This was the turning point of this topic for me, I thought of being able to turn it into an actual campaign really got me 

going and gave me lots of different idea of how I could not only present an infographic but also create them. 

While doing research I discovered the rainbow to be the main symbol for the LGBTQ community, and after some 

experimentation with the classic rainbow shape and the rainbow as is presented in the pride flag, I came across the 

realisation that the multi-coloured lines of the rainbow are actually curved straight lines, like those found within bar charts. 

This made the infographic design not only resemble a rainbow but also make it relocatable to existing graphs (bar 

graphs) and was also a expressive way of displaying my gained information. 

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Within my infographic edits I assigned each of the groups within the LGBTQ community a colour to visually represent 

them in the infographic - 

RED - Lesbian 

ORANGE - Gay 

YELLOW - Bisexual 

GREEN - Transgender 

BLUE - Queer & Questioning 

PURPLE - Pride Level (percentage of world acceptance) 

Assigning each of the group within the LGBTQ community was not only implied to make reading the visuals easier and 

more visually pleasant, but it was also designed to give each of the groups a strong sense of belonging, by applying 

their own groups colour to a medium that they can feel proud to wear (such as badges) and be apart of and therefore 

not feel alone or isolated, especially in areas of prejudice within the world, being able to ‘Say It With Pride’ and with 

confidence as well as help support those within the LGBTQ community. 

Here the infographic went one stage further, applying each of the colours assigned to the LGBTQ groups to badges 

makes a stand out visual of people wearing the badges and physically becoming part of the infographic themselves. 

By using colour as a infographic key. The colours themselves can be measures of the infographic data, with the badges 

containing the relevant colour and statistic that refers to each of the groups within the LGBTQ community individually. 

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Applying my different infographic outcomes to mediums such as badges and banners really made this project come to life for me, making 

it feel as if my infographic was part of a real campaign, which proves that if you design for a topic that you’re passionate about that it 

comes out with a more positive outcome. 

The slogan that appears alongside many of my edits relates directly back to the infographic themselves, not only relating back to the topic 

area but also visually implying that the percentages shown within the infographic designs should be proud and ‘Say It With Pride’. As this 

idea of mine was to apply my infographics to a global campaign, I felt drawn to develop it further on to more visual levels by including 

more mediums alongside the badge designs. 

Overall I was very pleased with my three infographic outcomes, I believe they all presented the theme of my topic as well as the information 

clearly (some better than others) but all communicating across the high level of pride and the personality of my topic area. Using shapes, 

colour, layout and dynamics to help present information in different yet effective ways, with my curved rainbow infographic being my own 

personal favourite design. 

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Designed to express the real levels of LGBTQ people around the world who 

are to scared to unable to express it themselves, allowing them to say with 

pride who they are. As well as revealing the shockingly low pride level that 

the world has towards the LGBTQ community at only 47.7% (roughly) who 

support and accept them. 

To complete my campaign, I finalised a number of mockups of t-shirt designs 

being worn by a number of celebrities, featuring my badge designs and my 

different infographics based designs, including some with and some without 

statistical data, to get a sense of the designs to get the information out there as 

well as visually observing designs to get the more physical message across. 

This is a way for everyone, no matter what community they consider themselves 

into, to feel proud and like a part of something big and global that they can 

relate to and therefore not feel alone or isolated. Bringing: life, fun and colour 

into everyones lives not just their own. 

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PROJECT

EVENT MAGAZINE 

Design and create a 12 page magazine in 

response to an event that we have initiated 

or attended, the content comprising of our 

own original images and copy. Designed to 

enable us to further develop an appreciation 

of magazine design in its broadest sense. The 

project encouraged experimental approaches 

to typographic design, use of image and 

layout, whilst developing appropriate 

computer software skills and introducing us 

to techniques of folding and formats. You 

should also show consideration of paper 

stocks to select one that best suits your 

magazine in a comprehensive and exhaustive 

way, designed under the title of ‘Event’. 

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I find design for publishing very difficult and struggle to visualise imagery and text along with different 

layouts that both compliment each other as well as suit the style of magazine I aiming to create, along 

with the content it has inside. 

However the 12 page booklet briefing entitled ‘Event Magazine’ was a project which required all of 

our own imagery, so right from the very start we could start to plan our magazine and how it would look 

from the images we take. And can organise everything else accordingly. 

I was originally going to make an event magazine on the new ‘St. Ives’ exhibition at the Southampton 

City Art Gallery, but after a recent trip to the Tate Modern to visit the new ‘Picasso 1932’ exhibition, 

I was so blown away with the standard of artwork, and curation of the event that I felt completed to 

do a magazine on this art event, and that it would be wrong if I didn’t. ‘Picasso 1932 - Love, Fame & 

Tragedy’ was an eye opening event that I actually went to three times as different times to gain a variety 

of images and detailed information for the content of my event magazine as well as filling it with my 

own thoughts and opinions. 

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My previous design for publishing outcome was limited to that of an 8 page booklet about my trip to 

Great Yarmouth, but with this brief being so open I wanted to push my self to try and design a high end 

formatted magazine. 

Making it look clean and simplistic was key. Using a 12 by 12 grid I was able to layout my imagery 

and text in such a way that there was always formatted negative space around them, forming white 

spaced margins, creating a modern and clean finish. As my images were all of a symmetrical nature 

and origin, I adapted the format of my text in the same way, making it symmetrical to the imagery so 

the two elements were able to compliment with each other. As I was sourcing my own photography for 

this booklet I was able to try and capture symmetrical imagery for this layout a head of starting to design 

the actual magazine. 

I was very pleased with the outcome and feel that I have met the brief well and met my own design 

criteria I wanted to meet. The element of this design that particularly stands out to me are my double 

page spreads containing some of Picasso’s work that I managed to capture and position across two 

pages, making the artwork feel more interactive to the reader. 

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WORKSHOP

ABOVE & BELOW 

This workshop devised us to broaden our 

perspective, encourage visual curiosity, and 

sharpen perceptions. Deliberately looking 

above and below our normal eye line. Search 

for what we’ve never noticed before, relish 

the odd or unexpected, record images, 

make connections, explore narratives. 

Select a theme and endeavour to capture 

images that explore it, from above, from 

below, or finding an alternative angle. 

Understanding and practicing looking past 

the obvious and the everyday, finding 

solutions that are not – literally – in front of 

your nose. Developing the art of looking. 

Look harder, see more, find something new. 

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This workshop challenged our creative perceptions, as we were tasked with going out and 

gaining our own imagery of elements which are often overlooked or unseen or appreciated 

by the normal person, finding different angles of seeing things, whether it be above or below 

something completely different all together, finding a way to see past the obvious and the 

everyday. Developing the aspect of imaginative looking and seeing with an artists eye, 

looking harder, seeing more and discovering new things. 

Relishing the odd, unexpected and weird and photograph them in all their glory. We see 

colour in everyday life and are so used to it we don’t appreciate what colour means anymore 

and we certainly don’t appreciate the circumstances in which it is used or applied. Daily 

clearly selected or chosen colours fade into the noisy background of other colours, shapes, 

objects and forms. 

By using grey-scale and leaking the colour through that I want to show is a way of appreciating 

the colours that make up our life, whether it be our trip to work, walking through the part 

browsing through different shops. 

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Putting some of my images together in a collection 

really provides us with an aspect of how much 

colour is out there that we often miss through 

looking above, blow or just through it. Stripping 

away unnecessary colour and aspects of the 

images allows us to see what we usually don’t see. 

It’s the variety of different colour out there, how 

some work alone, and some are one of many in a 

group, all applied with a purpose, to stand apart 

from others and express their own personality. 

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As well colour seen in the streets on buildings, objects and vehicles, I wanted to highlight 

(quite literally) the colour we so regularly overlook in our everyday lives that are related to us 

directly. People use colour as a way of self expression, helping them to express their moods, 

feelings and even beliefs. Yet some people where colours for more serious reasons. 

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High visibility is designed to be the most attention attracting colour, used constantly within 

places of construction, yet it is iconic that this workman is wearing this bright colour after 

working on one of Norwich building sites, helping to provide homes and structure for our 

city, people just cruise past him on the street without a moments notice, people look past 

what people do and achieve in their lives all the time

With a direct aim to being seen by the public it is amazing how a person stood in the middle 

of the street where one of the brightest colours there is so often overlooked and ignored. 

People make a personal act of avoidance when it comes to this aspect of life, yet when we 

strip away the background colouring we are able to clearly see what others are meant to 

see. Appreciating the coloured used to try and grab peoples attentions in the streets among 

the hustle and bustle of people, other colours, shapes and forms. The view of this image 

of someone purposefully wearing such a bright noticeable but receiving no notice form 

everyone in the image sums up how we over look not only colour in our daily lives but also 

so many other things that matter. 

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WORKSHOP

INSIDE OUT 

The inside out workshop involved exactly what 

it sounds like it would involve. We were to find 

3 items (that we wouldn’t mind smashing up) 

and quite literally, turn them inside out. In a 

similar way to the ‘Above & Below’ workshop 

where we were encouraged to look beyond 

what we can simply glance at with the naked 

eye, we were encouraged to explore design 

that is more than just skin deep. Getting our 

hands dirty buy breaking open the anatomy of 

our chosen objects to see the side of design that 

we were not meant to see and how it compares 

to the very outside of the designed item, 

comparing the outside where meetings take 

place about its design compared to its insides. 

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A workshop designed to relieve stress is how I would describe the inside out workshop. 

Encouraged to bring in a number of different objects with the direct purpose of breaking it 

up to quite literally turn it inside out. 

Looking past the purposefully designed exterior to see how things are designed on the inside 

is a fun and eye opening way to seeing things in different ways, making you realise how 

much things are glossed over to look attractive nowadays. Looking into the side of Wii 

remotes made me realise how much technology was used to make this simplistic appear 

remote control work, as well as the amazing amount of vibrate colour was underneath the 

bland and minimalistic exterior design. Rather attractive actually, design is more than just 

skin deep. 

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WORKSHOP

ADVERTISING 

Insight is truthful and useful information that can 

unlock great creative work. Message, media 

and motivation were the key aspects within the 

advertising workshop we were set during our 

advertising project, where by working again 

in groups of 2 to gain experience in what it 

would be like to be set work within a graphic 

design advertising practise, dealing with the 

aspects of team work and shared inspired 

ideas and thoughts with other creative minds. 

This workshop was all about quick and blue 

skied thinking, getting down every little 

idea that came to mind in large formatted 

mind maps before sketching out finalised 

mock ups of pre picked clients and topics. 

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The advertising workshop was a morning long workshop, where the main aim was to work 

productively in pairs to communicate and work effectively to create a large number of ideas 

in a short space of time. 

Working effectively was key, told to bring in think black market pens with the aim of producing 

large mind-maps containing all ideas we could generate, with the expressed ambition that 

one idea would link to another that we could feed off each other for more ideas and constant 

inspiration to create more and more possible outcomes before finally deciding on finalised 

ideas which would draw up in our pairs in the studio. 

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The companies, products and target markets we were interested to advertise for were ready 

picked for us, so we had to pick from a group of options presented to us on pieces of paper. 

Not being able to decide our own advertising elements made this task very difficult as it 

required quick and blue skied thinking. 

This challenging aspect gave us an insight as to what advertising would be like in the 

industry, the feeling of having to meet deadlines as well as work effectively in a team to 

produce ideas on topics that just in the industry would come at us thick and fast, with no 

knowledge of what would be coming at us next to design and promote through the process 

of advertising. 

This was a really rewarding workshop, as I realised the importance of gaining insight from 

other creative people that you could be working with, and this all but cemented my desire to 

move into advertising when I graduate. 

From our initial hand rendered designs we created in the studio, later on we went away 

and mocked our favourite ones up digitally, adding imagery, colour and digital typography 

before placing them onto real poster formats. 

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WORKSHOP

COLLECTIONS 

The collections workshop consisted of the 

aim of organising, curating and displaying 

our collections of objects, document through 

photography or illustration. Aiming to achieve 

3 different collections in three different 

ways. Focusing on attributes such as colour 

materials, size, shape, function & preference 

in order to help display our chosen collections 

of different items. With the goal of requiring 

up to 30 things, 10 of those things should 

be found, 10 things should be purchased 

and 10 things that we own. With an idea of 

how to put them together into a collection to 

photograph at a later stage of the workshop 

in order to compare out different collections. 

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The collections workshop allowed us to create large groups of collections, this challenged us 

to find the similarities between many different objects and group them together accordingly, 

looking at aspects such as: colour, size, shape, form, fitting and texture. 

My experimentations brought me again into the realm of colour, and producing rainbows of 

colours streaming from a collection of skittles that surrounded a plate and when hot water is 

applied, a beautiful collection of colour runs from the skittles outwards and into the centre of 

the plate, collecting in the centre. My secondary colour collection features any and all things 

black I had around my university room. 

Another aspect I wanted to include in the collection category came from the above and 

below workshop, finding a collection that is constantly over looked by the general public and 

never appreciated in the form of the British money. When collected and applied together 

comes to form the Britannia shield. 

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WORKSHOP

MY TOP 10 

My top 10 was a workshop where we had 

to bring in, illustrate or design something 

within our lives that is a top 10 feature for 

us. Whether it be: films, songs, foods, actors, 

books or shirts, we must find an abstract and 

experimental way to express a list of our top 

10 items. The top 10 workshop was the most 

self endorsed workshop we have had yet, with 

the brief being so open we could do anything 

in any style that takes our fancy. It was an 

example of a workshop where we could test 

our compositional skills, layout techniques and 

even our photography aspects if we wanted to 

photograph our top 10 items for our portfolio 

containing our top 10 of anything we love. 

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My top 10 was a self expressive brief where the open task was to design, illustrate or bring 

in our top 10 things within a category that was meaningful to us. 

As a constant source of inspiration and guidance I have a large collection of graphic design 

based books next to computer (some better than others) which got me thinking as to which 

would actually make my top 10. 

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So with this idea I decided to re-read through my design books and sort out my top 10 which 

I would then take into the studios to gain people thoughts and insights into my choices before 

photographing them in their top 10 order, ranging out from the centre.

This was a really pleasant open workshop where we got to find out lots of interesting facts 

about people from the work they produced, such as peoples favourite films, favourite song, 

books, names and sports. 

I enjoyed using my layout skills to present my top 10 books with my favourite at the centre 

and the rest fanning out from there. Also present a very colour and fun collection of all sorts 

of different books and editorial examples there are on graphic design in its broadest sense. 

If I were to do anything differently within this workshop I would have taken my photography 

further by photographing the books open at my top 10 favourite pages 

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ADDITIONAL 

PROJECT 

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NEW CITY PERSPECTIVES 

Investigate and document an element of our 

city, seeing it from a different or unexplored 

perspective. Norwich has been a continuing 

source of inspiration for generations of artists, 

designers and filmmakers. These practitioners 

are irresistibly drawn to the life, mystery, 

excitement and even danger that a City 

inherently possesses. Push and exploit the 

potential of imagery to communicate an idea 

or theme. Encouraged to capture, review, 

develop and manipulate imagery in a range of 

ways, leading to the appropriate presentation 

of outcomes. Using territories such as: 

language, underbelly, diversity, geometric 

forms and Ephemeral as a starting points. 

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The new cities perspectives project was an optional project that challenged to visualise the 

city we are in, in new, exciting and different ways. Naturally being completely stumped for 

ideas I went for a walk around Norwich. 

During my walk I kept noticing all of the NUA buildings around the city, and remembered 

how it used to be the old Norwich Art school and how big off an effect it had on Norwich. 

Thinking only those lines brought me back to a memory that Martin Schooley implanted in 

my brain about how ‘Norwich University of the Arts was a large influence on Norwich as a 

city’. Which got me thinking. 

Norwich’s main central university is NUA, and it exists because Norwich itself is a creative 

hub, full of beautiful scenery, new ideas and now constant fresh young creative minds and 

energy. I wanted to find a way of visually expressing Norwich’s larger than life influence in 

art & design that related back to the university itself. So what better way to visually express 

Norwich’s creative hub vibe, than draw it on my self. So I selected my own imagery I took 

while on my work which had the most potential, and got imagining. 

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Because creativity is such a giant aspect of Norwich thanks to its university (Norwich 

University of the Arts), I decided to draw my own illustrated giants in the landscape of 

Norwich in the images I had taken earlier, the illustrated giant symbolising the giant creative 

aspect / element found within Norwich. 

I took images of a number of different well known Norwich landmarks and locations such 

as the cathedral emerging over the tops of the colourful housing along the river. And drew 

a giant as seen here steeping over the houses and into the centre of Norwich (the cathedral 

symbolising the centre of Norwich), completed with a witty bit of typography in the shape 

of a catchphrase, ‘Step into creativity’. Using this formatting as a way to advertise Norwich 

University of the Arts was just a bonus, as creativity is Norwich’s and NUA’s biggest selling 

point to the public. 

I really like how the hand rendered and digitally altered illustrations contrast against the 

realistic photographed background, to create an abstract, eye catching an fun little design 

which is on of a series which are all based on the same principle. 

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I wanted to created a series of design that covered lots of different areas of the city (Norwich) 

to emphasis the fact that the giant element of creativity is everywhere and can be found 

anywhere within the city. This meant thinking laterally to produce a series of different 

scenarios of which giants could be doing in and around Norwich from their point of view. 

A bus going over one of Norwich’s old stone bridges crossing its main river just seemed 

like the perfect place to lie a creative giant who wanted to do some drawing on his way to 

Norwich University of the Arts. The same aspect was applied with the giant stepping into 

the city centre itself, becoming a visual metaphor for the young creative talent coming to 

Norwich to study and literally stepping into its giant creative element. 

Achieving a balance between the digital illustration and the imaged background was difficult 

to achieve, my illustrations were achieved by first sketching them out by hand before scanning 

them into Photoshop and editing them digitally, by adding thicker, bolder outline before 

adding bright colours to fill each giants appearance, with each one dressed differently to 

represent the different type of giant creative influences within Norwich. 

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One of my favourite designs after the ‘Stepping into Creativity’ edit is this, the castle giant. 

Including one of Norwich most famous and recognisable landmarks, as well as creating 

a humorous effect as a giant is seen leaning against it sketching away, symbolising that 

Norwich is a place for creative minds. 

These productions were inspired by the ‘Above & Below’ workshop, where we inspired to 

look above and below what normal people would see in their everyday life, finding the 

extraordinary in the ordinary and finding a way to express it. So where most people would 

just see a square block of a castle, I saw a giant sitting on a grassy bank, leaning effortlessly 

against the back support in the shape of a castle, looking out over Norwich’s city centre. 

I feel like these illustrations are perfect metaphors for the arts university and Norwich as a city, 

I feel that people who hardly know about Norwich or the arts university would know what to 

think about it straight away after seeing these outcomes. Mocked up onto leaflet templates 

to I could gain insight into how my design would look on a commercial medium, presenting 

them all as a collection. 

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In addition to my leaflet mockups I also created both poster and billboard mockups of my 

design to get a further feel of what my design would look like in a commercial use. 

I feel as if I have captured the personality of both the personalities of Norwich and the arts 

university in my designs, communicating across what they stand for. Incorporating a bit of fun 

and blue skied thinking into designs that everyone would enjoy on a visual level as well as 

potentially opening peoples own eyes to thinking in a similarly lateral way. 

I found this project difficult to generate ideas for in the primary stage of the project but I also 

found it a very rewarding experience, giving me the opportunity to create my own illustrations 

and also to go out and develop my own photos in accordance to what sort of element I 

wanted to follow within the project. As well as opening my eyes to the weird and wonderful, 

encouraging me to see things differently and with an artists / designers eye. 

Above all else, a fun and enjoyable project, especially where the developing of ideas came 

from, where I would look at my images and imagine as many creative scenarios as I could. 

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ADDITIONAL 

PROJECTS 

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Medium is the Message 

Devise or select a message you wish to 

communicate and choose a medium that is 

appropriate to that message. This assignment is 

designed to encourage to explore alternative 

methods and media to communicate ideas 

and thoughts effectively. Understanding the 

connection between what you want to say 

and how you are saying it. Appropriate 

medium to the message and the message 

must successfully communicate to its desired 

audience. Documenting the group process and 

present your final outcomes when completed. 

Considering different outcome possibilities, 

including moving image, 3 dimensional, 

interactive, whatever is appropriate for us. 

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The ‘Medium is the message’ brief was a very open brief with many different 

routes we could take, which was a struggle to start and not knowing how 

to direct the project. So I started relating all the different messages I was 

passionate about that I would want to communicate across and then identified 

which mediums would best suit the message like the briefs title suggested in 

its approach. 

Without having to think much I came across the thought of the internet and 

how everything on there is put up by random people all across the world, 

with varying degrees of knowledge resulting in less than accurate information. 

From my time at university I discovered that one of my flat mates doesn’t 

go to a doctors when he gets ill, yet simply looks up the symptoms on the 

internet to try and identify what he has and from there look up a cure in the 

from of medication that he can order online. Which got me thinking about 

internet paranoia. Googling anything medical often brings up the most sever 

or most unlikely serious which do nothing about from worry the reader, such 

as googling the symptoms of a head ache and ending up with believing that 

you yourself are suffering from a brain tumour or something even worse. 

Wasting time online, on the internet, and reading untrue and inaccurate 

illnesses and treatments results in nothing more than a worried mind and 

leaving the user no near to finding a cure. This was my discovered message 

that I chosen to visually comunicate through its own medium. 

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As the only medium the internet can be found on is a digital format I had no 

choice but to think laterally along the lines of digital mediums to communicate 

my message across to the public. However there are many sub mediums 

found within the digital element, mainly those of digital devices which can all 

access and gain connection to the internet, such as: phones, iPods, laptops, 

computers, iPads, tablets and games consoles. 

As the iPad and tablet markets are still rising with more and more people 

buying these useless luxuries everyday, it seemed a great medium in which to 

carry the message, after all they are globally recognised and used by millions 

of people, the only question was how to make it commercial. 

After a recent trip to London, I noticed how the animated posters along the 

escalators were much more engaging and interesting than the printed posters, 

this digital advantage was one I was keen to use within my designs. Taking the 

digital element to the advertising world I decided to use the medium of motion 

advertising boards to help me communicate across my message. Using the 

design of the actual Google homepage as a base for my animated poster, 

with the idea of having a moving mouse that clicks on the search bar and 

types in letter by letter ‘headache’ for example and then watch the worrying 

medical suggestion listed below, before the NHS blue bar comes up along 

the bottom, containing the mediums message of ‘Don’t believe everything you 

read online’. Visually communicating the order of going to see your GP when 

you are feeling unwell for professional and accurate information. 

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BA1b 

BA1b has by far been the most challenge part of the year so far. 

A real step up from BA1a, have been set a number of: Graphic 

design, visually communication and design for publishing briefs, 

along with a large number of perspective workshops to really 

push our creative boundaries. Time management was one of the 

areas from BA1a that I wanted to improve upon arriving at BA1b 

and I believe that I have done so, balancing out all my work 

equally, allowing for plenty of time to work on aspects such as 

workshops and my reflective journal around the set briefs. I also 

feel that I have also increased my knowledge and skill levels with 

a widening Adobe programme suit, in particular InDesign which I 

had never used before coming to university. Learning more about 

the Adobe programmes has had a result on the quality and speed 

of production of my work. This unit has been overall very enjoyable, 

exploring all the areas of graphic design which we might come 

into contact with in the industry, for example the advertising brief 

was a personal favourite of mine, where working in group of up to 

3 had to work as a team to design a number of visual outcomes. 

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EVALUATION 

Another aspect I have also enjoy has been the design for publishing 

briefs including the ‘Event Magazine’ brief, even though I still 

struggle with InDesign and find visualising layout and formats 

difficult I found all these aspects still challenging and I particularly 

enjoy pushing my self at areas I struggle with a produce outcomes 

that I am pleased with. In the same way having brief of different 

lengths (1-3 weeks) has allowed me to experience what meeting 

deadlines would be like in a real life graphic design job in the 

future. Our creative skills have been constantly challenged as well 

as our designers intuition, the ability to think laterally to answer 

briefs in new and exciting ways. Other aspects such as solo and 

team based projects has allowed me to work effectively with 

others as well as on my own and value the input of other creative 

minds on briefs. I feel that the body of work I have produced has 

improved throughout the year and that my portfolio has gained 

strength throughout the process within the first year. I look forward 

to returning in second year to see what new challenges I can set 

my self that I an either conquer or improve upon in the coming year. 

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Welcome to the...

International 

Trip 

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INTERNATIONAL 

TRIP 

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BERLIN 

During my recent holiday in February I visited 

the remarkable city of Berlin in Germany. 

Visiting the Graphic Design birthplace and 

capital of the world, witnessing in first hand 

the ‘Bauhaus Archives’, drawing first hand 

and making notes not only on the graphical 

side of the Bauhaus’s history, but also on the 

architecture side which inspired the graphical 

element of abstraction, seen later on in the 

Bauhaus’s graphic screen prints to advertise 

the graphic design shows that they had on 

display. Focusing on the amazing graphic 

design elements existing within Berlin’s street 

designs and advertising centre, observing the 

varieties in design between Berlin and the UK. 

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With a group of my friends we visited the graphic design birthplace of Berlin in February 

last year. During the trip I learnt all about Berlin’s rich culture and visited many of its historic 

signs, buildings and monuments. 

Stationed in Alexanderplatz, I travelled across the whole of Berlin via their tramways and 

underground trains to all of the places I planned on visiting, searching for inspiration from the 

historically rich art & design hub of Berlin. 

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The Brandenburg Gate is an 18th-century 

neoclassical monument in Berlin’s centre, 

built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick 

William II this was my first locational visit upon 

my arrival to Berlin. Probably Berlin’s most 

famous historic structure and certainly one of 

the most visually striking. 

The Holocaust Memorial was an amazing 

piece of design that wasn’t only a visually 

striking piece of architecture but also an 

amazing experience, walking through the 

maze of different sized and levelled corridors 

really made your perspectives go walk about 

for the time you spent in there. 

Designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, the 

vision behind the creation of the Brandenburg 

Gate was inspired by the Propylaea in Athens’ 

Acropolis. An amazing piece of architecture 

that was just around the corner from the 

Brandenburg Gate was The Memorial to the 

Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the 

Holocaust Memorial. This is a memorial in 

Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, 

designed by architect Peter Eisenman and 

engineer Buro Happold, featuring a visually 

amazing collection of square blocks. 

Visiting this specialised designed location 

made me realise how visually attractive 

symmetry is and how humans perspectives of 

it never really changes. 

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Against all the historic architecture in Berlin’s 

centre, the Reichstag buildings a modern 

adaptation of classic architecture and modern 

day materials. The Reichstag is a historic 

edifice in Berlin along the river, constructed to 

house the Imperial Diet of the German Empire. 

Made up of a 18th-century building as a 

base to the modern advances at the top. 

Built on top of the main building is a glass 

dome. It was designed by architect Norman 

Foster and built to symbolize the reunification 

of Germany. The Dome symbolizes that the 

people are above the government, as was not 

the case during National Socialism and looks 

out over the whole of Berlin for miles. 

The dome is made up of predominately glass 

and steel, layout with 1 stair case that spirals 

around the interior of the dome from the 

base, and steadily rising all the way to the 

top, before reclining all the way back down 

to the bottom of the dome, where you can 

also exit the dome and walk on the roof of the 

Reichstag building. 

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Welcome to the...

Lecture 

Series 

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LECTURE 

SERIES 

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Jim Sutherland 

During an early lecture from Jim Sutherland 

of ‘Sutherl& Studio’ in our lecture series, we 

were presented his recent designs for big 

clients including: The Arts Society, Typographic 

Circle Company, Royal Mail, D&AD and his 

unconfirmed designs for Start-Rite. Learning 

about his creative processes and his discoveries 

about life in the design industry after having 

graduated from Norwich him self some years 

ago. Gaining valuable insight into the range 

of different mediums in his portfolio including: 

bags, business cards, Christmas cards, logos, 

stamps and even poster tubes. Sharing his views 

on his views within the industry, working as a 

freelance designer and in a design company. 

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THERE IS ALWAYS A 

SOLUTION. 

” 

Jim Sutherland 

Studio Sutherl& 

Jim Sutherland has worked in design for 26 

years - he worked at The Partners and HGV 

before founding Hat-trick design which 

became the Number one awarded UK 

agency in 2012. Leaving in 2014 to set 

up ‘Studio Sutherl&’, winning D&AD’s most 

awarded design agency. Winning over 150 

professional awards, including: 82 projects 

in D&AD, with twelve nominations and four 

yellow pencils, 38 nominations in the Design 

Week Awards. 

A passionate and innovative thinker that is 

always asking him self ‘what could be in this, 

which could make it more interesting’. Hearing 

about his recent deigns for ‘The Arts Society’, 

‘The Typographic Circle’ and ‘The 2017 

D&AD Annual’ I found very inspirational, 

learning that quality outweighs quantity and 

that one good idea can change everything. 

Putting simplicity at the heart of all his designs, 

looking for the meaning with in products & 

items and finding a way to visually incorporate 

that personal element into his designs. 

Knowing that he graduated from NUA gives 

me great hope for the future, and with his 

upcoming work for ‘Start-Rite’, I can see how 

experimentation and persistence can help 

make a design a thing of beauty. 

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The Typographic Circle 

Logo Design 

www.typocircle.com 

D&AD 

2017 Annual Design 

www.dandad.com 

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LECTURE 

SERIES 

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Anthony Burrill 

On of the most influential design speakers 

we had to talk to us within our lecture series 

was typography specialist Anthony Burrill. 

One of the more influential as well as one of 

the most modest people you will ever meet. 

While other famous industry designers work 

in fancy glass filled sky line studios in London 

and New York, Anthony Burrill works from his 

wooden shed down the bottom of his garden 

on the Isle of Wight. Listening to him talk was 

very inspirational and taught me in a nutshell 

to look beyond the obvious and to think in 

design through its simplistic and meaningful 

terms to find a satisfactory design outcome 

to benefit and fulfil the needs of everyone. 

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“ BE INDEPENDENT AND 

POSITIVE IN THE WAY 

YOU LIVE. 

” 

Anthony Burrill 

A.B. Design 

Known for his persuasive, up-beat style of 

communication (including the now-famous 

‘Work Hard and Be Nice to People’). 

Incorporating bright colours into the typography 

helps communicate the messages in his work 

across in the simplest and most direct way. 

Anthony Burill’s philosophy reads that when 

you make a poster and the typography’s 

very strong and bold, it seems to give them 

an importance. Anthony Burrill taught me 

that computers may be present in the design 

industry and easier to use than ever, as well as 

incredible tools, but they don’t have the soul, 

that human quality that he feels that he can put 

into his work but using physical processes such 

as letter pressing machines. The medium of 

the design outcome depends on the situation, 

because Anthony Burrill focuses mainly on 

typography, his design process leads to the 

making of very traditional posters. 

It’s about using the best things from each 

medium and finding ways to incorporate them 

into your designs. 

If Anthony Burrill taught me anything, it was that 

simplicity is key, especially in typographical 

aspects of design. Positive & negative space 

with colour to help make each item different 

as well as stand out in its own right. However 

the design isn’t just in the layout of the visual 

design but is also in the message the design 

carries across, in Anthony Burrills case his 

positive quotations. 

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‘Ask More Questions’ 

Graphic Poster 

www.tate.org.uk 

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LECTURE 

SERIES 

196

Turner Duckworth 

In March of our academic term Turner 

Duckworth (London) came to speak to us 

including current creative director and head 

speaker Matt Lurcock, a graduate of Norwich 

him self. A design company specialising in 

branding and visual identities with studios in 

London, New York and San Francisco, who 

have worked with major clients including: 

Samsung, Metalica, Burger King, Levi’s, 

Amazon & Coca-Cola. Lecturing the importance 

of design within the world, about how ‘Design 

is the central experience’ as anyone can make 

something look pretty, but a great idea is 

memorable, whether it’s the hidden arrow in 

the Fed Ex logo or the dancing Toblerone bear. 

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“ SIMPLICITY IS THE ULTIMATE 

FORM OF SOPHISTICATION. 

” 

Turner Duckworth 

Turner Duckworth is a design company that 

designs iconic visual identities and packaging 

for consumer brands. Striving to deliver not 

only strategic design, but also high-end project 

management. 

Turner Duckworth came to our lecture theatre 

and gave such an inspirational lecture we 

decided to use their company as our example 

for the contextual research industry report. As a 

company they believe that you can set brands 

apart through design, striping away the 

unnecessary elements makes an ‘unmistakable 

asset’, brands need to be more creative than 

prolific. 

Turner Duckworth often send designers 

away to countries that they are set to design 

packaging or visual identities for to get a feel 

of the target market and the industry they are 

entering. They believe that, ‘to understand a 

project you have to live it’. Working with some 

of the largest brands in the world including: 

Coca-Cola, Samsung & Amazon, they made 

me realise that simplicity alone isn’t enough, 

design should be memorable and show the 

truth as well as what the brand stands for. 

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Levi’s 

Branding 

www.turnerduckworth.com 

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200 

Welcome to the...

Critical 

Ageny 

Reviews 

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CRITICAL AGENCY 

REVIEWS 

Jones Knowles Ritchie 

Jones Knowles Ritchie is a creative business based in London, New York, Singapore and Shanghai. JKR was founded in 1990 by Joe Jones, Andrew 

Knowles and Ian Ritchie, based on the belief that great design helps brands grow. There studios in London are a big, bright and spacious environment 

in which to work. JKR have just been award the most decorated design agency at this years (2018) D&AD awards, including their recent work with 

‘The Gut Stuff’. Offering design and strategy teams working hand in hand working across their studios to ensure clear and relevant market knowledge 

as well as a full raft of services from trends to innovation; and from Visual Brand Identity to brand architecture review. 

Every JKR employee shares one mission: striving for the extraordinary. That’s true of everything they do, from the designs they create and the brands 

they work with, to the people we hire and the professional growth we actively help to build. The result is that they’re a community of light minded 

individuals, all from different backgrounds, specialisms, and interests. They work with some of the best and recognisable brands in the world, like 

M&Ms, Domino’s, PG tips, and Budweiser to name a few. Whatever the size, they identify what makes a brand unique and help them get noticed 

and chosen. Having been lucky to have gained work experience with the company I can confirm that their staff are light hearted, fun and engaging, 

constantly working with big brands to try and find new ways to make the identities, packaging and products as personal to the brand as possible. This 

is achieved through a collaborative analysis of the market including the competitive context, consumer attitudes, trends in relevant fields and a brand’s 

visual heritage, resulting in an informed platform for focused creativity. 

With so many offices across the world, employing over 300 people, JKR is one of the largest creative agencies in the world and is set to only get 

bigger. Its impressive portfolio attaches no end of young creative blood each year. The best brands transcend logic. They are distinctive, persuasive 

and powerful. The best brands have an intrinsic magnetism that attracts and compels. The design team is talented and willing to go the extra mile to 

create the best work. Everyone is always striving to do the best work possibly, and they make strides to improve as they rapidly grow. Above all else 

JKR is a global design heavy weight that is set to get even bigger over the course of the next few years, a forward facing design agency who’s multiskilled 

approach to design makes them an ideal candidate for any brand to consider. 

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CRITICAL AGENCY 

REVIEWS 

Design Bridge 

Design Bridge are an international brand design agency creating compellingly original brand experiences from the exceptional everyday, to the 

exclusive and extraordinary. With well over two decades of living and breathing brand design, they’re really rather good at it too. They’ve grown three 

studios in London, Amsterdam and Singapore – and more recently a budding office in New York. Their studio prides itself on being collaborative but 

also committed to an atmosphere that enjoys individual flair and craftsmanship. There’s a collective responsibility to design in a way that feels intuitive, 

intelligent and born from inspired thinking. They work hard to protect their environment that encourages curiosity and an open-minded imagination. 

Still completing some of their best work for them selves and their many clients, which means many big brands such as Smirnoff and Guinness keep 

coming back for more. As a company they rarely pitch (unless it’s for a brand they’ve had our eye on). International in every sense, their team welcomes 

people from all around the world with dynamic talent and a restless passion for design. Everything Design Bridge does begins and ends with originality, 

craft and storytelling. This approach is fundamental to them – not only to their success, but also their vision for work that excites us and their our clients, 

draws in our peers. With every brand, Design Bridge are looking to create desire and disruption. Wanting to reach out and emotionally connect with 

people. It follows then, that we explore every corner of its world, leaving no stone unturned, so they can uncover, discover (and sometimes, recover) 

everything a given brand can be. 

Not only does Design Bridge win plenty of awards them selves, but they also distribute their own awards, one such award ‘The Dogs Bollocks’ award 

is the student design award to reward budding young designers as well as attract fresh young talent to their business. Combining a healthy dose of 

intuition with intelligence to bring brands to life through great ideas that reach out, engage and emotionally connect with people. Design Bridge might 

be one of the smaller design agencies on the global scale, yet its effect within its work is as strong as anyone’s which is what is highly respectful about 

Design Bridges’ work. They are a company that let their work do the talking. Craft is a passion of theirs, it’s what can make the difference between 

ordinary and extraordinary. 

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209

210 

Welcome to the...

Industry 

Folder 

211

Design is a young person’s industry, by and large. That’s not to say it favours the young as such, or that younger people are any better 

equipped to complete the tasks required of them; it’s simply an industry that is happy to mine their enthusiasm and energy. Graphic Design is 

not a proper job, being a designer is a lifestyle choice, and there are many different lifestyle choice a person can take within the industry, so 

it is important that people find a professions with in the industry that relates to them that they enjoy. Some of the positions within the industry 

are: graduate, junior designer, middle-weight designer, senior designer, art director, creative director, design director, design strategist, 

web designer, motion graphics designer, editorial designer and branding strategist to name just a few... 

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Web Designer - 

Web designers play a key role in the development of a website, creating the pages, layout, and graphics for web pages. Web designers also design 

and develop the navigation design and structure of a site. A web designer must also make decisions regarding what content is included on a web 

page, where graphics, content, navigation, etc. are placed, and ensure continuity from one web page to the next. The requirements of a web designer 

job involves skill and training in computer graphics, graphic design, and the latest computer and Internet technology. 

Brand Strategist - 

A Brand Strategist often works under the Brand Manager or marketing team to ensure a consistent and effective brand message. They will often need to 

be forward-thinking to anticipate future trends and success of a product or service. A strategist will develop positioning recommendations, guide market 

research analysis and define brand elements and tone. A Brand Strategist will find ways to further enhance the branding of a product or service, as 

well as develop a marketing plan through analysis of current market data and trends. A Brand Strategist will find ways to further enhance the branding 

of a product or service, as well as develop a marketing plan through analysis of current market data and trends. In addition, it would do well to be 

familiar with statistics and research analysis. They will often need to be forward-thinking to anticipate future trends and success of a product or service. 

Motion Graphics Designer - 

The world of the motion graphics designer evolves frame by frame. Whether they’re creating an explainer video or the opening title sequence of a 

movie, motion graphics designers bring movement to otherwise static images, text, illustrations, and more. For instance, to develop an online video, 

they typically will start by creating storyboards that map out each scene based on a script. From there, they put the scenes and images together, adding 

motion and graphical elements to ensure it moves seamlessly from frame to frame. 

Mid-Level Designer - 

This takes almost no explanation and is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. As a mid-level designer, you’re neither at the bottom or the top. You 

have a few years of experience, often anywhere from 3-7, that has earned you a reasonable pay bump and the freedom to actually engage in custom 

design projects from the ground up whether as a team member or solo designer. Advertising agencies, marketing companies, dedicated design firms, 

these are filled with mid-level designers. These are the meat of the industry and tend to be the guys and girls who produce the largest volume of work, 

which is then passed up the line for approval and suggestions. The pay varies widely, the hours can be very long; this is the stereotypical graphic 

design job. 

Senior Designer - 

It’s typically gauged more by experience than duties, with those designers who have 6+ years of experience having a much better chance at landing 

a senior design position. The senior designers are often the voices to listen to, the experienced few whose opinions carry more weight and pay-checks 

slightly higher numbers. The senior designer is often the one who reports to the creative director and goes through status updates on various projects, 

lessons learned on past projects, etc. Direction from the creative director is often filtered through this person to the team. 

Art/Creative Director - 

A typical Creative Director might actually do more managing than actual full on design work. Good Creative Directors know how to maximize the 

potential of their teams. All major work is filtered through them and they have the ultimate say on the direction of the creative, specific artwork used, 

how the tasks are split up and more. They also manage a good deal of the client relations. Meetings, planning, phone calls, emails, lunches, dinners, 

long flights and presentations fill the time of the Art/Creative Director, which some love while others long for the days when they could spend their 

time in front of Photoshop. 

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Welcome to the...

Inspirational 

Books 

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Popular Lies About Graphic Design - Craig Ward 

‘Popular Lies About Graphic Design’, is a great little book I got in my stocking last Christmas. Written by the graphic designer & typographer 

‘Craig Ward’, manager of his own design organisation ‘Words Are Pictures’. This book gives an honest insite into the world of grpahic 

design, with views and opions rarley mention witin the industry itself but given in great detail by Craig Ward. 

216 

In this book he talks about his own expeirences and the struggles he has faced as well as the positives his carrer has had on his life, 

through the duration of his career he talks about the struggles he has faced working both within companies and as a freelance designer. 

A witty and funny book that still provides eye opening information as to how Craig Ward got to where he is now and what tips he learnt 

along the way that he is willing to share with his readers. Giving his own views on design education, as well as graphic design myths and 

legends. Lovingly designed and written both passionately and irreverently, Ward pulls from his ten years of experience to tackle lighter 

subjects such as design fetishists, Helvetica’s neutrality and urgent briefs, alongside discussions on more worthy topics such as the validity 

of design education, the supposed death of print, client relationships and pitch planning. In addition, the book features contributions and 

insights from more than a dozen other established practitioners such as Milton Glaser, Stefan Sagmeister, Christoph Niemann and David 

Carson making it a must for students, recent graduates and seasoned practitioners alike.

Craig Ward suggests in his new book that design is like a religion, its most devout are blindly adhering to a school of thought without 

ever questioning its validity. Craig writes that many of these mantras and maxims tend to be misconceptions, half-truths and (in some cases) 

outright lies. 

Popular Lies About Graphic Design will not make you a better designer (read the chapter “An education in design is pointless”). You won’t 

learn some new software trick that when applied will make you a master of the design universe (read the chapter “Designers are famous”). 

I believe Craig Ward’s new book will do exactly what he intends; it will get you thinking about our industry’s most staid beliefs in fresh 

and exciting ways (read the chapter “Open plan offices = collaboration and better work”). Popular Lies About Graphic Design stomped 

on my toes and made me laugh out loud at 3 a.m. Craig Ward’s new book will not only open your eyes but also your mind, helping 

you see the design industry from a uniquely new perspective. It’s one fun read and gives valuable insite into the real life working world of 

grpahic design and how a man of his talents got to wher ehe is, telling you what most creative directors wouldn’t dare tell anyone, as he 

debunks both myths and lies that at one moment step on your toes and the next makes you burst into a deep guttural laugh in the face of 

our industry’s most tired belief systems. 

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How to - Michael Bierut 

The first monograph, design manual, and manifesto by Michael Bierut, one of the world’s most renowned graphic designers—a career 

retrospective that showcases more than thirty-five of his most noteworthy projects for clients as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Yale 

School of Architecture, the New York Times, Saks Fifth Avenue, and the New York Jets, and reflects eclectic enthusiasm and accessibility 

that has been the hallmark of his career. 

Notebooks have been crucial for retracing thoughts and ideas when making How to, and Bierut calls them his “memory aid or security 

blanket.” As an homage to these meaningful notebooks, a speckled black-and-white pattern wraps round the board cover of How to—a 

subtle reminder of how a great idea often has humble beginnings. ‘How to’ is a really intense book, filled with visuals of all different types 

of work that basicallt has visual example of how to do anything. 

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A career retrospective that showcases more than thirty-five of his most noteworthy projects for clients as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, 

the Yale School of Architecture, the New York Times, Saks Fifth Avenue, and the New York Jets, and reflects eclectic enthusiasm and 

accessibility that has been the hallmark of his career.

How to, Bierut’s first career retrospective, is a landmark work in the field. Featuring more than thirty-five of his projects, it reveals his 

philosophy of graphic design—how to use it to sell things, explain things, make things look better, make people laugh, make people cry, 

and (every once in a while) change the world. Specially chosen to illustrate the breadth and reach of graphic design today, each entry 

demonstrates Bierut’s eclectic approach. 

In his entertaining voice, the artist walks us through each from start to finish, mixing historic images, preliminary drawings (including full-size 

reproductions of the notebooks he has maintained for more than thirty-five years), working models and rejected alternatives, as well as the 

finished work. 

Throughout, he provides insights into the creative process, his working life, his relationship with clients, and the struggles that any design 

professional faces in bringing innovative ideas to the world. Offering insight and inspiration for artists, designers, students, and anyone 

interested in how words, images, and ideas can be put together. A visuall stiking book that helps provoke ideas a soon as you open the 

first page, by oversving some of the worlds most famous and classic design. 

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220 

Welcome to the...

My Design 

Journey 

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Design 

Journey 

222

I feel that since the start of the year my design journey has come a 

long way, I have learnt programmes that I have never used before 

(including InDesign & After Effects) and attempted brief on topic 

I never would have tried before (design for publishings editorial 

briefs) and as a result feel as if I have really pushed my self out of 

my comfort zone. 

As a result I feel that I have continued down my design journey such 

a way that I know the indsutry areas in which I was like to research 

further and consider a career in as a result of a diverse number of 

breifs and workshops that have allowed me to experiment across 

all the different areas of graphics, including: advertising, branding, 

and visual identity design. 

I feel that the strengths I have progressed and gained are also 

with these areas of the industry, I feel that my lateral thinking 

and creativity has increased, thinking through a designers eye 

at briefs with no fixed outcome in mind but instead now witht 

he skills to build upon ideas and generate more. My digital skills 

are also developing quickly, with more knowledge on my existing 

programmes with existing experince makes me very confident 

witht he likes of Photoshop and InDesign, with aims to increase mt 

strengths across the board, focusing on Illustrator and After Effects. 

My ability to not only work as an individual but in a team has 

improved dramatically, having had a number of tasks where I’ve 

been working a group I have improved my communication skills 

and over all team work aspects. 

I have found the feedback sessions from the tutors throughout the 

course of my first year to be the most influcential aspect of the 

course, hearing what posoitive things people have to say really 

gives me confidence in my work and also allowed me to improve 

my feedback skills with constructive critisim. In additon the overall 

element of creating and visuallising high quality work makes me feel 

more confident as a designer. 

Being set such diverse briefs with varying time lines has allowed me 

to test my time managment skills by wokring with different deadlines 

lengths just like I would have to deal with within the inustry. I can’t 

wait to start my second year to start setting my self new challenges 

and try and improve other aspects of my design sills. 

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