Graphic Design Students attend European Study Tour in London

The conference was held in the heart of London, a place where designers thrive and the perfect setting for such an event. The chance to explore London’s amazing art galleries, studios and museums made the trip a truly exciting learning experience for our young designers.

The trip commenced with a meeting for all students with the Graphic Design Programme Leader, Simon Gray. Covent Garden is a former fruit and vegetable market, and now a popular shopping and social area full of traditional pubs and restaurants. Here, the group discussed the day's agenda as well as their personal graphic design projects.

The next day, Monday morning, the students attended the first conference delivered by Alan Herron, Creative Director at True North, and Dave Brown, Chairman of the UK business and Global Head of Consumer Branding. Alan Herron, the first presenter, spent many years as a Creative Director and set up the successful design consultancy Giant before joining True North as a Creative Director. His projects include, but are not limited to, projects for the National Portrait Gallery, Bristol Museum and People’s History Museum in Manchester. Dave Brown is a client champion for a number of global key accounts, and he has more than 25 years experience of agency brand design and has won several DBA IDEA awards.

Students evaluated these two particular presentations as being the top presentations of the entire conference. They discussed commercial design and how individuals could be introduced to this field and later on become successful designers. After the conference, students visited Duke and Earl, a well-known creative agency, that focuses on story telling for the digital age. The company works with fantastic clients such as BBC, Intel, Microsoft and Ford. Our students were able to meet with the Creative Director at Duke and Earl and shadow him for the rest of the afternoon to become familiar with the company’s vision and daily workflow. The students became familiar with digital, motion graphics and interactive side of graphic design; they also received valuable advice on the importance of keeping up with new technology in today’s graphic design area.

Two students interviewed for this article, Honza Šafařík and Tomáš Melichar, were also impressed by the way the organization recruits its new staff, as well as the general working atmosphere of the company. The company offers internships to talented young designers, who in turn tend to receive excellent job offers upon the conclusion of the internship. Also, the company introduces flexible schedules in light with modern technology media.

The next visit was to the Apple Store, where there was a presentation by Kyle Bean, a Brighton-based artist, designer and art director specializing in hand-made models, sets and props. The students selected for the interview were able to identify with the artist who designed all the work by hand.

The next day, Tuesday morning, the students attended the second series of seminars, delivered by Fernando Gutierez and Frith Kerr. The second day’s conference was more focused on experimental media and photography in design. Namely, Fernando Gutierez’s work caught students’ attention. Fernando owns his own studio; his work includes supplements from Matador (leading literary and photography magazine) and Colors published by Benetton. He is a highly respected judge at creative awards. Frith Kerr’s presentation looked at design from a different angle. Frith owns her own studio, Studio Frith, and works across various media from books, posters, typefaces, signage and websites. She was featured among the “Top Ten Graphic Designers in UK“ in 2002 and in 2007 among the “UK Top Fifty Designers.“

After the conference concluded, students visited the offices of the Times newspaper where they were met by John Hill, the Illustrative Director. They could see all facets of the company from the sales area, to editorial, to publishing and creative side. They also received as a souvenir a copy of the first newspaper issue from 1785.

In their free time students had time to visit London on their own, visiting such sites as the Tate Gallery, an interactive art project and the Film Museum, among others. The students evaluated the trip as a valuable and interesting experience which allowed them to see the international perspective of graphic design from a different angle.