gpi class of
2009 - 2012
Designed by Andrew Nangpi and the help of the GPI class.
?
er, What is Graphic Product Innovation
First off, what is ‘Graphic Product Innovation’? You’ve got to know the course your studying and know what your in for. Every time I mention this to someone who asks what I study at university, they pause. So in essence I just say:
‘Hey I study Graphic Design’ OR ‘I do Graphic Design with a bit of Product Design’ Even us students can’t even give a proper definition for our course and no one joining the course had a clue what the course is about. And I’m not going to lie, I had no clue myself what the course was either and didn’t really feel a hundred percent in doing this course. I’m pretty sure many of us didn’t apply for (BA)GPI in the first place or as our first choice which sounds quite sad. It’s such a long story, they recommended us this course which is why no one knew what it was about. We all accepted this recommendation as it is quite hard to get into design at the London College of Communication and none of us felt the need to hold back or apply for another course and waste any more time in studying. Anyway here is the course description of what me and few other students were actually in for:
The title of the course may be confusing; after all it contains two words, which conjure up very different and possibly separate activities. ‘Graphic’ implies graphic design with connotations of print or digital based communication while the term ‘product’ conjures up images of artifact design. ‘Innovation’ is defined in the Cox Review of Creativity in Business as "the successful exploitation of new ideas" and "the process that carries them through to new products, new services" this course will give you the tools necessary to become an innovator that understands the changes that have taken place within the design industry. This interdisciplinary course allows students to focus on ideas and design principles that can be applied across and outside of traditional design disciplines. The aim is to understand how design thinking can be used to analyze existing situations, communicate with a user and solve problems. Source: www.bagpi.co.uk Course Director: Sylvia Grimaldi
Tu
Meet the
utor
Sylvia Grimaldi
Yeap! Sylvia has been the one sending her classes many of the junk mail and has been our tutor for the entire ride. She has been our mentor, and have been orgnaising our briefs for the first and second years and also been marking our work which she can sometimes be hard to please! When she does give us quite negative feedback; we all get frustrated at the time because of the time and efforts we put in in our projects, and still she says ‘No’. As a designer it’s not cool if you produce so much work for your client and they reject your idea. That’s exactly how we felt at the time of our tutorials. HOWEVER (big however), I know that each and every one of us on the course have looked back on a few tutorials and think to ourselves "I’m so glad she actually thought that way about my idea" because we all probably look back at the concepts we produced to her at the time, and we didn’t realize the value of having a fresh pair of eyes on our project. Sylvia did give honest
constructive criticisms no matter how harsh they were and a designer studying on this course, it was good training for us to be prepared for the harsh comments we will get in the real world! A bit of background information, Sylvia did a Masters in Industrial Design at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design! I remember her telling me that she did Furnature Design at University but I couldn’t get any information on that from her. She did the course in 2005 which was nearly seven years ago from today! Until today, Sylvia has only tutored three generations of the GPI students all due to the unfortunate termination of the course. She would have one more generation to help them succeed in getting their degree and thats that for GPI. But what is special about our tutor is that she as a nose peircing! Thats right. We will always remember our tutor and will never forgot the way she has mentored us through our uni days.
Code:
C246__ You didn’t think I would give away the rest of the code did you? Only us GPI students will know! Mwahahahahahahahaha
I remember the countless embarassing times when there would be people in the class and if we are entering the class room from the outside, we’d casually open the door thinking Sylvia left it unlocked but end up smashing our body into the door looking like a plum! and the countless times that people inside had to open the door for us because of turning two very distant handles! Ah I’m missing Uni already. Take a read through the next through pages and lets introduce what GPI 2012 is really all about. Essentially the students are what makes GPI, it will be tattooed all over our CVs and after reading this publication we have made GPI history.
Chiara Ambrosoli Strengths in design:
Graphic Design, Illustration & Photography
Do not leave printing to the last day and you should always save your work in...
3,002 A
t first, I really wasn’t sure whether this course would’ve been the right thing for me, as we’ve discussed in class many times. I didn’t really know what to expect from the name "Graphic and Product Innovation." However, I ended up really liking the course. First year was very good and we learnt a lot. We were busy doing many projects touching on all sorts of design fields. Some projects I really enjoyed, others less, but they all taught me something which is what I was hoping to gain from this course.
Throughout my Uni years I have always been a well-organized student
Third year has been very stressful. Even if I wasn’t entirely satisfied or pleased with my outcomes I always knew how to manage time correctly in order to stay on top of things. This year has been so stressful that I can officially say I am not as ‘up to date’ as I should be! It has made me realize that third year actually put me to the test to see how well I can manage under so much pressure of work and if my skill in organization can still be maintained through out. Even though this didn’t happen I still feel as though this was an enjoyable ride and learning curve as a designer. I definitely think we should’ve had more lessons throughout the year and should’ve had more studio time imposed on us that would’ve helped us a lot and made our work probably ten times better. I think 3rd year for me has been different from 2nd year
different places! mainly because of the pressure I put on myself of thinking, continuously, that this was (and is) my final year. I had to focus and not get anything wrong and try and produce the best possible work to the best of my ability! As a designer, I have learnt the developing processes of design and how design works: how to brainstorm successfully, engage in relevant research etc. I’ve also learnt that never to stop at the first idea (it is never the best one nor it may be the last one). I have undergone projects where I already visualize the final outcome but when it comes down to it and the final solution its nothing like what I vizualised! More importantly some crucial typographic and photographic skills are an essential way of making your work looking that more icing on the cake.
It helps when presentation comes and because you want people to understand your work weather it is bad or good. I think I’ve definitely learnt a lot from my first year in GPI. I’d say at I’m least a 6 or 7 out of 10. If I had to give advice to anyone being a designer or becoming a designer, it would be to Learn as many different skills as possible - from Graphics, to Products, to Illustration, Photography and so on.
I Think that to be a successful designer you need to be a fairly complete one too!
What is the most funniest Moment in GPI? When David Hedberg asked me if I wanted to go with him to the 3D workshop block and Silvia randomly bursted out laughing saying that that was the worst pick up line she had ever heard!
That made me laugh! I regret doing the Arduino Project! I should have just gone on holiday! NEVER AGAIN
Fabienne Ayton Strengths in design:
Illustration, Vector Sketching & Product Design What will you do after the moment you hand in your projects for final year?
Shout out:
“I’m finshed!”
T
o be honest I did not know what to expect for this course and when I went into first year, I just thought to myself this is not going to be easy at all. As the year progressed I got to know my classmates and instantly started to gel with a few people and worked in groups during group projects. Working in groups helped me to get to know one another. Although I didn’t really like the projects in the first year. I thought they didn’t really bring out the strengths and expectations from each project. I did something new and learn something new along the way.
There are no Rules! Third year is stressful in terms of workload but it’s down to how you
work as an individual. You either work better under pressure or you are more organized with the time you have to complete projects in. My social life has been sacrificed, social networking has been on a low and even seeing my friends. The most important thing I learnt is to always stay on top of your work otherwise you will feel the pressure and the workload. I find that final year is a more independent year, it is more ‘do it your self’ instead of group projects which I find that I work best in sharing ideas and communicating all the time. I do find it is more of a test to see if you have what it takes to produce work of your very own at a high standard! Overall I think I am on a different level now to where I was when I was in first year in terms of designing, thinking deeper into a
project, idea generating, researching etc.
Working that little harder taking it that step further. I would say I’ve improved from first year to final year. First year I was around 2/10 and final year I’d still believe that I’m around 3/10 as I still believe that I have a lot to learn and much more things to experience ahead of me.
There is more to design than you think so try to take things to another level and push yourself. The most awkward moments is not knowing what to say in a presentaiton!
Available in the apple App. Store. Free download! Get the app!
Funniest moment at Uni was when me, Freddie & Andrew found out about the ‘auto voice’ app on the iPhone in class! We couldn’t stop laughing at how hilarious they sounded!
What kind of things inspires you when you design?
After uni, I hope to continue to run and expand my film business and am dedicated to work full blast on it. My film business is already doing very well and I can say that I am already in my dream job.
Jasper Baruah Strengths in design:
Don’t become one, the market is too competitive and it is a dying market.
J
asper is an interesting student as he is particularly involved with the outside world in his business and outside work. Jasper currently runs his own video production company starting off at www.hosteladvisor.com. Jasper’s strengths actually lie in the video production field as he has great interest in recording, editing and motion graphics as well as taking interest in graphic design.
I am already in my dream job Jasper is involved with business management and in marketing seems to be going very successfully. Interestingly enough, Jasper’s
Commericial Design & Information Design
Consider 3D and motion as this is in demand
interest in design came about from his father Amulya Baruah, who is also a graphic designer, product designer and a businessman all in one for many famous and well known brands such as ‘Lauren Ashley’. He has a huge successful reputation as a designer and is well respected and taking a turn in his direction for inspiration cannot be missed by Jasper as his son. In terms of the course and studying it for nearly three years full time, Jasper has come to ‘realization’ that design isn’t for him which goes to show that taking the course you are studying doesn’t always end up in what your career becomes. Although this wasn’t a waste of three years. Jasper can still take away the structure and the formality of design, the understanding of graphic design principle and disciplines in which
he can always apply this with his business or for future situations that he may come across.
AMULYA BARUAH TAUGHT ME THE COMMERCIAL ASPECT OF DESIGN. Going into first year of the course, I expected the course to be more commercial and teach you how to deal with the real world. Although the projects during first year were viable and interesting. Third year was different. I loved the pressure. It made it more fun
and the future.
and challenging. It was a shock at first and it took me a few months to realize how far behind I was and how much was needed to be done. I feel that I learnt a lot more since joining first year. However I learn a lot of life skills and running a business outside of Uni as oppose to learning anything in Uni.
Everyday, I realized being a designer was not for me
Chiara Ambrossoli
‘The Waitress by Jack Zipes
Chiara’s brief is based on a Jack Zipes tale called ‘The waitress’ which initially is book. The brief was to change the book and redesign it by adding magazine qualities and stirring away form the notion of a traditional book. The difference between a book and a magazine is that a book has one single story and a magazine has multiple stories and articles with images and big typefaces. That being said, magazines are very experimental with images, typography and layouts in general. Chiara has designed her book and merged it with magazine qualities by adding illustration and being very innovative with the layouts positioning, playing around with font sizes and text and also laying out the text in different spaces. At the same time the idea is to still retain the formality of a book whilst having the magazine qualities. "The Waitress doesn’t appear to be the standard, stereotypical magazine. Instead, it is an adapted version and merge between a book and a magazine, literally taking into consideration the double page spread, the signature typographic style through a hand-rendered approach and inverting the concept of ‘pregnant white space’ into black, negative space, lightened by the white of the text. I also decided to theme it, by linking the location of the story to the concept of the book. This is why the story is illustrated as if it were written on a whipped out blackboard, hanging from a wall of the café where the waitress works. The story is totally handrendered and written with chalk on the blackboard background. I used different typefaces to represent the various characters, and associated them to specific fonts that would reflect their personality."
‘Tales to change the world’ Project
Fabienne Ayton
‘3 IN 1’ The design factory brief is choose an every product that humans use and challenge and innovate, adding it to the quality of everyday life. Through his own creative design practice explore and experiment with this design in an open and questioning way. The brief is about stepping back and rethinking, adopting an approach of creative enquiry and play Fabienne has chosen a multisocket plug and have redesigned it by making it very much more productive than just a product where you can add more than one plug. He has added a timer and a small LED screen powered when plugged in. The LED screen is very functional as you can set the timer, set an alarm and even set a time where the power can automatically be cut off. For sustainable reasons this is very ideal for the people who charge their phones over night or set their TV on sleep etc. This encourages sustainability and helps save wasted energy and costs.
Design Factory Brief.
David Bushay Strengths in design:
Typography, Branding & Identity
Tasty! est.
I found the Taxonomy of Sweets project so pointless to be hon
I just ate the sweets instead of doing the projects that’s why I probably thought it was useless.
I
was nervous at first, as I wasn’t sure what to expect nor knew what the course was fully about. I had no expectations. The projects were fun and allowed room for creativity without restraint, which I enjoyed. They weren’t really serious, and I think the projects were about gelling with the classmates. It was more about fun projects and settling in the course. I didn’t think it was hard, I thought it was great because we had fun workshops and learnt new skills like the visual grammar exercises, which I will never forget!
Third year is CRAZY. Exclamation mark! This year was a lot more serious and
hard working in comparison to the first year. I think I was most worried about what projects I wanted to do and couldn’t decided what path to take my projects in because I enjoy Product Design and Branding and Advertising etc, it was hard to decide what outcome I wanted and what I hope for in each project. I wanted to perform the best as I could and show off what kind of talent I have in design. However, the best thing about third year is that I got to work on my projects one at a time in comparison to first and second year where you had to juggle 4/5 projects in one term which can be hectic! Also because we bonded so well in third year we all helped each other for feedback, which is very essential for any project. As a designer I’ve learnt that research & idea generation aid a
good final outcome! I’ve definitely learnt how to work collaboratively with other people as we did do some interesting collaborative projects in the second year, which helped my communication skills and interaction with new people. I realized that I would need to be a very good team player if I am going to survive in the real world. It helps social skills and meeting and greeting new people and adapting new ways of working.
this was quite new to me. As a person, being able to present and articulate your work to others has been an upside for me. I know how to present my work better because usually in your mind you know what your talking about and know what your project is about but when it comes to presenting and sharing
it in front of the class, it becomes different from how you thought it would be! And I know I’m not the only one that it happens to! The highlight of the course is nearly everything, from learning techniques and just general design stuff learning how tackle design problems and solving the way I want to (also it being feasible). The fact that this course has made me realize my special skills in design is probably another important highlight of the course! My final advice for anyone becoming designer would be to explore all disciplines of design, but also know your specialty. Never be afraid to try!
’ that Sausage
Bushay Rockin
factory swag!
I can never forget being told during first year by Jamie Hobson that my spreads were...
“delicious”
I never look at other designers work to look for inspiration, my inspiration comes from the unexpected, such as everything, and nothing, sometimes just by walking on the street, looking at nature, going to art exhibitions or even dreams.
Bela Ferreira Strengths in design:
Packaging & Conceptual Thinking
Think outside the box
and be yourself all the time. I will regret not being able to attend more at uni and also spending more time with my course colleagues!
M
y first year was in Portugal at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto, being in Communication Design and it was a really diverse and intense course with modules in fine arts, such art history, drawing and art and design theory. A good structure for a future designer, unfortunately, though being the best University to study arts and design in Portugal, there was no money to invest on equipment. On my 1st year studying in Portugal, I spent long hours on the street drawing buildings, shadows and on the studio drawing naked guys.; now I can see that it was useful, but at the time I just hated it!
I then moved to study in London
I got accepted on the 2nd year in the London Metropolitan University and studied ‘Graphic Design’. I felt as though the London Metropolitan didn’t live up to my expectations so I applied for 5 more courses around the University of Arts London hoping that the course I’ll get will be more towards my interests in Graphic Design and Product Design. After going to all of the interviews from the 5 courses I applied for, I found out that ‘Graphic Product Innovation’ is the closest one as I wanted to work initially in packing design, plus the graphic and product aspect of design. Starting on the 2nd year, GPI allowed me to develop my interest on sustainability and biomaterials and explore other design interventions, such as guerrilla gardening, building up my strengths in conceptual thinking and also political and
ethical concerns. My experience on the third year was far from what I’ve planed and dreamt it to be.
It is meant to prepare you for the real life. I feel as though this course is much more suitable and satisfying for me as it related to my previous work experience. Plus a course concerned about Social and Responsible design, values that are really important for the future of design. What are you plans after graduation? Research and work as a sustainable packaging designer, after maybe a masters on Bio materials.
Lauren Harewood Layouts, Drawing & Illustration
Strengths in design:
think u yo as id up st as e bl ta e th to s ea id l al g in Br ! es on er tt be f of k ar sp ay m s ea id e m So e. they ar What would be your Dream Job?
My dream job would be being RYAN GOSLINGS PA/Girlfriend!
F
irst year I was confused. I had no idea what I wanted to do, where I was going and most importantly why I was on this course.
Great start right? I didn’t really know what to expect from the class. The description of the course was really brief and a bit bewildering. I’m not going to lie I was a tad disappointed with the course/ Uni at the start, I wanted more from it especially in the skills department. I didn’t really feel that I was learning what I needed to know. Late into first year I was given an opportunity to switch into GMD. I didn’t take it and now as I reflect on this in third year I’m very glad I stuck with GPI. Third year sucks! Not only from
the pressures of the work load but also the impending doom of finishing university and needing to find a job. However I have enjoyed third year. I had a chance to pick all my own briefs and finally had time to show off what I could do.
It has shown me where my skills lie and what I’m good at. I would of liked a bit more time in Uni as I got stuck so many times and really needed a good push or a fresh set of eyes from time to time. Luckily, I had made good friends on the course so I could get feedback on my work when I needed it. Its crazy the way the system works, I mean your first two years don’t count for anything but not only that but the
HOT! bar is higher in the third year? So you don’t really know where you stand. I found it difficult to stay focused but also I didn’t know if my projects were great, good or plain right awful. The other two years we were in two to three days a week, third year I spent most of it at home working alone. I did miss the class discussions we had as I found the feedback from them really beneficial. Looking back at the practical aspect like imagery, typography and layouts I just cringe, I was still learning how to use CS4 and you can tell, it’s all over the place. However the ideas are still there and when I look at back, I say my 3D type project (1st year) I still think, DAAYMMM that was a good idea!
From studying this course, I learnt how to use the Adobe CS! haha, I knew nothing before I started this course and found how an essential skill it is to use today. Another important learning curve for me is mistakes will only make you wiser and learning from them makes you a better designer. I shouldn’t doubt myself so much and shouldn’t hold back. There are many people out there that are better at things than you, but keep working at it and you’ll find your niche, your groove and hopefully find your path. Finally, I’d say to anyone doing design to don’t hold back. Do as much work (intern etc.) as you can throughout uni as it will really assist at the end of your course.
N O R T L E HOLAS F
NIC
...Creates gorgeous Personal Annual Reports that break down a year’s worth of personal data into graphs, maps, and statistics. He inspired me on my 4th project in my final year!
David Bushay
The ‘Cug’
A mug is a less formal style of a drink container and is not usually used in formal place settings. But why is the mug a less formal style of a drink container? Why the need of handles? These are the sort of questions I sought to challenge and interrogate. The ‘Cug’ is the new refreshed idea of the conventional mug. This design questions the purpose of the conventional mug, investigating ways to achieve better results in a simpler, aesthetic and more practical way. The Cug is a coffee or tea container designed to keep your liquid hot and your fingers cool. The insulated porcelain cugs have double wall installation, where the inner wall insulates and prevents the head penetrating the outer wall, which ensures that the beverage is kept hot but the hands kept cool. This eliminates the need for a handle
and creates more cupboard space. Included to the Cug are empty chamber indents located on the outer wall that aims to prevent burns and isolate the hot liquid. The ergonomic indents on the surface suggests to the user of its affordance and where to handle the object as a trace of memory of soft surface. Acommpanied with the Cug is it’s sauser. The saucer plays an important role in the experience of the Cug as it not only is used to support the Cug, but to protect surfaces from possible damage, catch overflow, splashes and drips from the Cug - a place which provides a convenient place for a damp spoon it can also be transformed into a lid to keep the heat inside and serves as a locking system to stack and store them on top of each other which creates more cupboard space.
The Design Factory Brief.
Bela Ferreira
‘Pop up’ Installation Project.
Sustainable ‘Pop Up’ Installation Bela’s sustainable installation was influenced by a small area called ‘Columbia road’ in London.famous for its flower selling market and traditional shops located in the East end of London. The brief was to pick a negative space around the university and create a sustainable installation influenced in any way by the Columbia road. Bela has created an ‘outdoor’ indoor toilet and her aim was to bring the nature feeling from the road which came from the flowers being sold and surrounded as you walk through Columbia road. Its actually very busy and crowded market. The sustainable side of her concept is the material she used which is the grass which cost pennys to make and is very ecofriendly to the environment. "I remember in the second year of GPI, carrying 7 rolls of natural turf to the 4th floor, ‘turfing’ a toilet, inviting people to sit on a toilet and ask them to do some origami was a very memorable time at uni for me"
Lauren Harewood
Tales To Change the World Brief.
‘The Watiress’, Issues 1, 2 & 3.
This is another ‘Tales to change the world’ Brief to change Jack Zipes tale of ‘The Waitress’ which initially is a story book and to innovative convert and experiment it with magazine qualities whilst still retaining the formality of the book. She designed three issues of the Jack Zipes book just as you would imagine to find different issues every month in a magazine. She creatively experimented with the size of the typefaces, explored the negative spaced on the page and also added very simple but yet effective illustrations. These layouts do appear very beautiful as you don’t bore from reading bodies of text. Some of these page are samples not in order but just to give a preview of what she had designed in which you can imagine how many pages she had designed!
David Hedberg
T
here were many things I liked about the first year. The course seemed ambitious and exposed us to many new areas away from graphic design. The course enabled me to learn how to research deeply and differently into projects and create successful and essential research methods and how to twist ideas and generate ideas that are not the usual and outside the box. The class was very young and many even seemed unsure if they wanted to be there.
It was a bit of a shock for me. I think some aspect in the first year were real eye openers for me, such
Drive and true belief in a better tomorrow.
Alan Fletcher
Ross Lovegrove
Strengths in design:
as affordances, making objects communicate. Taking one year out to go to Milan was great. I learnt to draw typefaces there as well! For third year, we only meet a few hours a week and I spend most of my time at home trying to be creative and thinking of my future. To compensate for the little hours a week, I see 2-3 exhibitions a week to get inspired and look at some commercial designs. The things I want to learn I’m finding on the Internet rather than being taught at Uni which most of us didn’t expect. The course is more or less gone and it’s a lot of ‘independency’ and ‘selftaught’. Projects in the third year are bigger and more personal and from that, I love to keep developing and taking things the next step further as there is always room for improvement.
These two particular designers inspire me when I design. Alan Fletcher for his playful ideas and a passion for discovery. Ross Lovegrove for his wild and wack designs.
Initially I came into this course wanting to learn how to create very good posters and layouts but after doing this course, I left the idea of that and instead do real design that can make a difference for people here.
I’ve tried a lot of things on this course. Interaction and Moving image has a lot of equipment and made me realise that there is alot more oppurtinites than just designing pretty posters. The briefs here have been interesting and have opened my eyes in design big time being introduced to projects such as affordancies, making objects communicate etc. If I had to give advice to anyone becomming a designer, I’d say that
the thing that is going to drive you is own passion and belief. If you start changing that you risk loosing strength. I’d recommend working/ traveling a few years before starting. Are there any particular exhibitions/ museums that you’ve been to and stood out to you? Every first Thursday of the month you can go to the small galleries in Shoreditch, talk to artists and drink free beer! That’s engaging and encouraging as well. If not more. I think it’s important to just see anything and as much as possible.
I prefer working with people’s expectations rather than creating something ‘pretty’.
I want to interact and interaction can be reached in many ways and forms.
Kat Henderson Idea Generation & Product Design
Strengths in design: What will you do after the moment you hand in your projects for final year?
Get very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very
D RUNK!
L
ooking back I wish I had utilized the Uni’s screen printing, letterpress and other facilities even if it wasn’t necessarily relevant to the project I was doing. I felt very apprehensive on the first day we had meeting everyone on the course and I felt like I didn’t make any new friends or talk to anyone until the next day. I liked the projects as they were a good mixture of things to learn and they were quick one week projects so it was good to learn to come up with solutions quickly.
First year was a funny time. Third year has been much more hard work than I thought, even though
I was fully aware that it would be harder and feels as though its only about 2 months long! As the time flashes by and we are nearly in the last months and feel as though there is still so much to do. In terms of goals I wanted to do my best at all times and I would hopefully get the best result that my work deserved and on final grades day I would know that whatever the grade is, I would know that I tried my up most best even if it meant I nearly died in the process of the final month. I have sacrificed not being caught up with working at my part time job as much and having to say ‘no’ to overtime, balancing my social life with my friends and family and doing work is a tough thing to do especially when your under so much pressure. As a designer, I learnt that
I really like product design and found that thats where my interest lie in design but I am also able to use graphic design skills to make my work look better and be more presentable. The course has taught me to be well aware of the end user and who is going to use your product you have designed. When everything’s done and handed in for the final time and I can have some fun with what I have learnt and take some very good friendships with me. What I’ll miss from Uni is the class and the great mixture of people, minds and creative juices. The only thing I regret over the three years of the course is all the late nights and all nighters for hand ins for 1st and 2nd year, it really wasn’t that necessary.
I should have relaxed a bit more in first year and spent more nights clubbing! If there was any advice I would give to someone becoming a designer it would be to work your socks off and beware of everything around you in the world for inspiration but also have fun and do things for you. Get your name and work out there, and try to open as many doors for yourself as you can!
Mostly everyday life and everyday objects, the way people interact with each other and the objects that surround them inspires me when I design. I always try to look at these kind of things in relation to product design to see if anything can be improved or anything interesting that happens in terms of interaction with objects or people.
First day, I stepped into the wrong classroom and thought it was my group I had to make a quick exit!
Alex Kemp Strengths in design:
Research, Idea Generation, Illustration & Photography The best inspiration is from seeing things that have not been invented or tried before or are just plain bizarre! I’m not interested in fine art or history of art, that bores me (to death). I like new contemporary design.
I
found the first years work misleading and confusing. It wasn’t what I expected and to be honest I didn’t enjoy it. Typography and visual language were the only things I enjoyed I think? I was very nervous when I started, as the course wasn’t my first choice. I had been offered a place at Camberwell to take the course I wanted, but I preferred LCC so took this course instead. The course structure, work and teaching style weren’t what I had expected. However, I found what I had learned in years 1 and 2 helped me to prepare and plan better for the final year. I made an effort to get more ahead with the projects so I didn’t have as many last minute panics. I promised myself to take advantage of what was on offer for my last year to learn as much as possible,
experiment with new things and attend lots of new workshops while I have the opportunity. I discovered my strongest areas and stuck to them in my projects. I wanted my self-initiated projects to relate to me personally and be relevant to me. A lot of people had warned me that the final year would be more intense and hard work.
puts on more pressure but I seem to be better equipped to deal with that than I was in years 1 and 2. The work is different as it is not so much set by the tutors and is not group work. I prefer working on my own.
doing a project takes time and I seem to have patience. better control of my work flow.
There was certainly a lot of work to cover and I learned the importance of working to deadlines and being better organized. Knowing that the degree depends on the final year
I’ve learnt not to give up even when a project is either hard to seem impossible to do and never let it go there is always a solution. I’ve learnt to keep working on it till’ you’re satisfied with the outcome but also to work with clients: they are not our enemies but they play an essential role in the projects we do. In terms
of being a better designer, I have developed my skill in working in different groups and learning new principles and practices in design such as rules, hierarchy, types, language and adapting/coming up with new ideas, etc. These are the all the things that I follow to try to come up with the best soltuion as I can. Looking back at my work, I think it has improved quite dramatically as I have learnt new techniques and skills. My style has changed and I plan better. There’s always room for change and improvement so maybe I would give myself a 6/7 out of 10. If I had to give advice to anyone becomming a designer or doing design, it would be to try not to overload yourself, keep track of your progress & don’t be afriad to experiment new things and learn new things. OH and to never give up!
David Hedberg
Track Changing Music Lamp Project
Track Changing Music Lamp Concept. David here has definitely created something different, unusual and certainly innovative. David’s design takes a very neglected object such as a lampshade and give it an unsuspected function. Its similar to the design factory brief. The idea behind this is that while your sitting under a (lamp as shown in the image) on a couch or something and you can’t be bothered to get up and change the track or don’t have the remote near you, ‘twist the lamp shade’ and the track changes! This is all programmed and wired by a small but yet very complex ‘Arduino’ that he definitely found interesting in our first year projects. This concept is very simple and straight forward and it is effortless rotating a lampshade. David said "I want to interact and interaction can be reached in many ways and forms" and this concept certainly focuses on human reaction, emotion in interaction.
Kat Henderson
Mobile Medicine Project
‘Mobile Medicine’
Kat has designed an innovative way of carrying your prescription pills or tablets instead of carrying boxes upon boxes in your bag, which can be a pain when you forget them and leave them at home. The brief was to design a medical device or product for carrying medicine whose portability promotes compliance and enhances the life of the patient. Kat has clearly thought of what kind of things that are essential in terms of mobile products to us humans not just patients and what she came up with is the idea that the medicine takes the shape, size and form of a normal credit or debit card. Because of this, it is able to fit into the card slots of your purse or wallet hence not forgetting your medicine every time you leave your house! At least you’ll know it’s in your wallet. The medicine still has the qualities of tablets in a box with the name of the days in print and the name of the patient. thus reducing the materials for the production company producing the packing.
Alex Kemp
Sustainable Posters
Sustainable Posters
Alex has designed these very striking posters to promote a campaign of an awareness of saving water. Very simple and straightforward, these posters give clear messages and very striking illustration to inform if not forcefully implement them with the message to urgently save every last drop of water as every little drop can add up. Alex also designed a poster about ‘change’, which got published in the ‘One word briefs’ book of entries of 2012. More or less Alex’s posters aim to promote sustainability and raise the awareness of saving our planet, which is always a neglected action that us humans forget act upon.
Roland Koves Strengths in design:
3D Visualisations, Branding, Layouts & Concepts
Plan.
BE
Patient. Organised.
Things take time.
J
oining first year was new and interesting, overarching and extending over many design fields. We engaged in a number of projects of which nature come from a variety of design fields. I felt good about joining something exciting and to be part of something new and fresh. However, I thought it was going to be taken more seriously from college since it was their course and also expected more participation and practical help from specialist technicians and hands on experience with building objects. I felt bewildered as I didn’t have a clue what the course was about or where I could place ourselves in the design world, but as we got into it, it became ever so clearer that it is a mindset and attitude that needed getting used to. I didn’t
have expectations as such as I knew we were going to deal with a wide variety of mediums from 2D to 3D and open source electronics and programming, but I thought that teaching them would be more intense throughout the three years and that less time would be spent on my own.
This unfortunately wasn’t the case. Third year, I expected a little bit more organization in terms of timetable activities and frequent tutorials. Portfolio view, and more help with how to position ourselves in the industry. I felt that we were left with our own thoughts for too long without professional discussion.
I tend to be very cold blooded and not stress about things. Mainly because I know I work hard and get things done. I’m particularly good at managing my own time even though I have to linger between my daytime job (baking) and Uni work. I’ve set out with the intention of learning new things and processes I had not yet engaged with such as rapid prototyping, digital sculpting etc. Just be a bit more playful than I usually am. There is nothing I wouldn’t sacrifice :) Someone once said to me that there should be nothing you couldn’t leave behind in a jiffy when things get hot around you. Obviously, that only applies when you’re single cold-blooded
lizard as I am and priorities change with age and wisdom. In terms of rating my self, I cannot be the judge of that. I have project(s) from the first year that can easily beat most of my third year projects. I would say that I think I’ve matured more and I’ve improved my research skills substantially, which are very important when you’re brainstorming for ideas. If had to give advice to someone becoming a designer, it would be to be playful and hard working and have at least one very strong (outstanding) design skill whether it is idea generation or vizualisation. See more of Roland getting jiggy with a creme egg on pg. 90
Anything I see or hear can inspire me. We live in a visceral world surrounded by things that trigger all our senses. I love the natural world as it always seems to find solutions to problems. What would be your dream dob?
Jeff Lau Strengths in design:
Web Design, Graphic Design & Illustration
Find something you
love.
Stick to it.
It’s super important to be spending the majority of your day working on something you love. That’s what life is all about!
I
felt anxious as it wasn’t my first choice and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to explore the things I wanted to explore (at the time that was illustration and digital painting). I thought the projects were based on things that I wasn’t interested in; to me they were really boring. However I think I’d enjoy them more now as I’ve become much more open to other mediums and methods especially for gathering inspiration. For third year, I haven’t been all that stressed out. I’ve been freelancing since the beginning of second term of second year, so I’ve had to deal with high pressure stuff. Plus I’ve realized it’s not about the grade you get at the end of the year, it’s about what work you have to show and I think I’ve gathered a body of work, especially with what I’ve
done in third year that I don’t need to be too worried about the end result (but of course I want a good grade!).
I set small goals of learning new things every week I motivated myself by telling myself everything I do is a learning experience and even if I’m not enjoying it now, it’s either helping me learn a new skill or it’s helping me decide that I don’t want to do this kind of thing in the future. I think that’s especially true with illustration, I’ve loved it for years, but I think I’m more of a consumer of illustration and narration, rather than a creator that may all change in the future, but I’m making good money
from web design and I don’t think illustration can compete either. Third year is no different to the other years, apart from a bit more self-direction. In comparison from first year to third year it’s been a massive difference! I’ve actually got some design skills now, not just drawing skills! The course has taught me that you can’t rely on anyone to spoonfeed you. The course was never about teaching you technical skills; it gives you an environment where you can relay feedback off the tutor and your fellow students. It’s the atmosphere you get from working in groups with other students and talking in groups whilst critiquing work that is important to embrace. Learning how to communicate your ideas and developing your current ones with input from others and
outside of that you must hone your technical skills. In terms of being a better person I’ve definitely become a much more rounded person. I’ve learnt everything is about hard work and no one is inherently talented.
I’ll miss how laid back Uni is. Its more Laid back than doing A-levels as it’s all up to yourself to do the work and make sure you’re getting the most of it.
I get really good ideas when I lie in bed before I sleep/nap and I also get really good ideas in the shower. I think it’s because you can concentrate on thinking and that’s pretty hard with a computer screen in front of you.
Think outside of the box, leap out of your comfort zone and however much you may struggle, just keep on going. Believe in yourself!
Catherine MacDonagh Innovating New Design Approaches.
Strengths in design:
People inspire my design. lp peoples way of life.
I’ve always wanted to he
H
onestly, I was very nervous joining the course and didn’t know that everyone else was as well. It was a lot of money and was scared that I made the wrong decision because as any student would understand that paying these loans back will be a pain and you don’t want to spend so much money on three years of depression thinking that you could have done another course. I had no expectations of the course really simply because I didn’t know what the course was. I had no clue what innovative design was and what the course entailed and that was a very big decision for me to make.
I found Myself in Third year
It was a change and a big realization from first year finding out my strengths and weaknesses. I started final year thinking I knew what I was going to do in terms of what kind of projects and the plan I had after. Now in April, I haven’t gone by anything I set myself! In terms of strengths, I have found out that my specialties lie in Product Design, as I enjoy designing innovative physicla and tangible products. I’ve particularly taken interest in designing for disables people because that is the market that is very hidden and less concentrated and more importantly coming with solutions to help them with their day-to-day lives are problems that I like to solve. Innovation has grown a lot on me. It lets me think outside boundaries and outside the box rather than being too constraint and within design.
Final year has been stressful but I have learnt so much about myself. People say final year is hard and it is a challenge. It pushes yourself to the max and makes you realize a lot about life. If you balance yourself, quit your job, move back home, not paying bills and not have a social life – you will be fine but balancing working 3 days a week to pay bills and keeping sane by seeing friends and trying to get the best grade makes you grow up.
It has been the biggest learning curve for me Everyone at the end of the day is in a different situation as you and you just have to move forward if you want to
get things done. As a designer, I have learnt that the end-user is a significant part of design to consider. Without the end-user being satisfied with the designs, the designs may be useless or even a waste of time. I’ve learnt to always be confident in your work and always believing in yourself that you can achieve and create some very good designs.
Criticisms are a good thing! They can be quite harsh, they can be very negative but it’s all for the good, and all for developing your project. This course has helped me believe in myself and to follow a dream – whatever it may be.
Roland Koves
Design Factory Project
‘Fruit Bowl’ Concept My ‘fruit bowl’ works by removing the ethylene created in the process of deterioration by photocatalysis (photocatalytic coating). The use of photocatalysts is very effective, cheap, harmless to humans and environmentally sound. The ethylene gas is disintegrated by reacting to the photocatalyst on the surface of the glass and the interior of my ‘fruit bowl’. Thanks to this process and readily available nanotechnology the freshness of fruit could be preserved and extended for a much longer period of time. To this end, my ‘fruit bowl’ is designed to inspire and encourage people, by construction (the biomechanics of an apple), to look after their fruit whilst nurturing a plant. The simple act of watering your plant will give you the impression that you are actually nurturing your own fruit as well. This way you can also monitor your fruit stock and buy new one whenever you are low on their numbers. With rising food prices all around it is time I designed something more of our kitchen utensils in a way that they help us to be more sustainable.
Jeff Lau
GPI Legacy Website
GPI ‘Legacy’ Website I’ve decided to make a legacy website for the course. Since the course is shutting down it seems obvious to me that the course will soon be forgotten and as a student of GPI I want there to be some kind of knowledge that the course still exists atleast in memory. The site will also allow all GPI students to create a profile on the site and upload work to showcase as well as contact details, your own personal site, social networks etc, so it can be used as a hub that employers can be directed to should you wish. I have two goals for this project. Firstly to commemorate the memory of the course, which will educate future employers on what the course was and why it was shutdown. Secondly to showcase the work of all current and alumni of GPI as well as creating a hub that can be used to either inform other people of what they’re up to and more professionally for obtaining work (or even for possibly collaborating with other students in the future)
Catherine MacDonagh
Design Factory Project
Hairbrush for Autism
"So the hairbrush still is 3rd Year favourite project!" It is the design factory brief for the design museum, which was to choose an everyday existing product and turn it into something different in any way. This was a brief from the ‘Design Factory’ to take an existing object and turn it into something more interesting than it is. I chose to innovate a hairbrush. This hairbrush is designed for autistic children with the handle changing colour after it has been used for longer than a minute. The handle also unscrews and another coloured handle can be screwed on, incase the child only uses one certain colour for that day. (e.g. Only eat, wear and touch green things on a Thursday). Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them."
Andrew Nangpi Strengths in design:
Layouts, Typography, Branding & Identity
Futures Project//////////////////////////////////// The brief was to try and visualize and design the future picking any amount of years ahead of us. - That was like trying to guess who the Mayor of London will be in 50 years time!
F
irst year was pretty cool, weird and it was a whole new stepping stone for me. Because like many of the people on the course didn’t know what to expect, I felt a sense of comfort, as I weren’t the only one clueless about the course at the same time have a sense of uncertainty. It was nice to see a mixture of students and talents and the quick projects were a good way of putting my designing skills to the test, see what works for me and discover what my strengths are. We did some weird projects that at one point I started to worry about my future and worry what kind of designer I would be after I graduate (even though Graphic Design is still broad). First year was all about experimenting, trying and learning new things.
For final year, because it’s the year that counts for everything, I didn’t want to leave Uni regretting that I could have done better.
Third year more or less messed up my sleeping pattern! I’d wake up around 12am and do work through the morning and go sleep in the next evening! Only because I knew how much work I had to do, to try and get the grade I want. This was only possible due to the fact that we were only in one to two days a week. I found third year much more engaging and enjoyable as me and a few others from the class would get together and help each other out with projects and share opinions and ideas which
I found very valuable when doing any project. More importantly, I did enjoy it though, stressful, long and emotional. We had to hand in four major projects, doesn’t sound much but those 4 projects have to be the best yet with a design process that is well considered and a final design that works and solves your brief’s problem. From studying this course, I’ve learnt that no matter how good your first idea is it will never be the last and usually that’s how I would go about projects. This course has taught me how to design better and more importantly learn how to bravely tackle briefs whether they are strange and weird down to the ones I like doing, as in the real world as you might be given briefs that you just can’t choose yourself. In terms of my technical skills
in using design software have massively improved in comparison to first year and my organization skills have developed too as this is key in design. Deadlines will be deadlines – they will not move and there is no compromise. If I had to give advice to anyone doing design or becoming a designer, it would be to enjoy what your doing and enjoy designing, don’t just design because you have to but design because you love to!
SELF MOTIVATION & DETERMINATION will get you far.
E S I M O R P M O C O N If it means doing a 24hr then it must be done...
... Listening to some Old School Garage, UK Grime, some slow and smooth Dubstep, anything uptempo, gets me going when im tired and up doing work!
I’ll miss just being in Uni, and being a student. Knowing every summer I have the safety net of returning in October. Student discounts and even telling people that I am a student, studying Graphics. It means I don’t sound like a bum doing nothing with my life.
Jon Pickering Strengths in design:
Poster Advertising & Quick Projects
! Don’t Go on Facebook M
y first year I had just moved to London, it was all very exciting and I was meeting lots of new people. The course wasn’t what I had applied for but I decided I’d forget about that and just enjoy it. I remember I actually missed our first class because of a hangover, which I think got me off to a bad start, which has continued until now. Looking back now, I liked the variety of the projects we did and how small they were.
Having to produce quick projects, like one every 2 weeks brings the best out in me. Third year for me so far has been
a massive fail, I’ve done all my projects last minute. None of them are finished and only have very limited time left. Even though this is the case, I haven’t really stressed that much. Occasionally, I have mild panic attacks when I think about the amount of work I need to do if I want to actually pass, but then I try to forget about it because it makes me sad.
Writing this right now has caused me one of those panic attacks! The workload is a lot if you actually choose to do the work and as the third year actually really matters towards your final mark its quite worrying. Every year, every term and every project I have told myself to
Jon Pickering Do the work as soon as you get it!
do it different, to start straight away and work hard on them but it never happens. I regret leaving every one of my projects to the last minute and scraping a pass in all of them because of it. I think I’ve probably only spent about a week on each project. Also I regret not using the Uni’s equipment more, like screen printing etc. and being a proper hands on student in college all week. However, The most important things I’ve learnt as a designer is probably that doing things last minute is never a good idea, but also that I’m not good on long projects because I end up doing just that. This course has taught me how to think more about where to placing things on a page more now, like typography and pictures during page layouts. I think this is thanks to Jamie’s teachings in
the first year! We did a collaborative project with the surface design students during second year and they encouraged me to work hard on that particular project and think outside the box. I got 90%, my best mark. And I actually had fun doing the work. From that, I think that must be my highlight of the course over the three years!
Probably doing things last minute is never a good idea.
Louise Steyaert Strengths in design:
Creating layouts for Books, Magazines and Posters
Loves Eating out. Hates Goat Cheese. Can’t Live without Ice Cream. Name one thing you’ll miss from uni:
The Canteen. Duh! I know everything about the canteen!
W
hen the course started in first year, I had no idea what to expect from the students in GPI as we all came from different foundation groups and other colleges. Work wise, I expected GPI to have more conceptual 3D design but in 1st year we did a lot of industrial 3D design, learning about the basics, prototyping, arduinos, affordances etc.
All of these projects were really useful. I don’t think 3rd year is as stressful as everyone makes it out to be. But maybe that’s because I’m not working hard enough! I did feel very under pressure for the dissertation, and
still do whenever a deadline looms closer. But this year we only have 4 projects to do and I like that we can concentrate fully on each before starting the next rather than having several projects on the go compared to how first year was like. We were juggling many different projects per term. The only difference with 3rd year is that the pressure is ON concerning the quality of your work. This years work counts more than anything else and we want to show the best of ourselves in our degree show. First year I’d rate myself a 3/10 and for third year I rate myself an 8/10 which I think is a very good improvement. I have improved technically with better knowledge of computer programs, experience with type/layout, accumulation of visual culture etc. (Graphic Designer stuff!)
As a designer, I’ve learnt to really think about the end user rather than just focus on the aesthetical design. One of the most important things I learnt as a designer is to not be late to any tutorial or meetings as it can make you fall back and not look very professional. Presentation is also very important and can enhance your work by 100%. Don’t be afriad to try new things as in design, you can literally make a project out of anything! so dont be afriad.
i know that every exercise, project trip we take is going to teach me something
The main criticism I would give GPI is that I don’t feel we have been pushed to our limits, that is to say we haven’t felt any sort of competition or pressure to demand the best of ourselves.
spiration My main in y life. I is everyda existing like taking situations objects or g them and turnin n project. into a desig
www.stumbleupon.com is a great way to take my mind of work whilst also potentially giving me ideas. I would recommend this to anyone who when designing the feel as thought they have a mental block during the design process or looking for some sort of inspiration.
Freddie Villiers Strengths in design:
Working in a Team & Thinking outside the box.
HATES Poor Kerning First year was Sh...
T
hird year of Graphic Product Innovation I found most enjoyable actually, I have felt the four projects I have undergone have been my best and to the best standard. The dissertation as well, as much as I hated my countless hours in the library was a nice change from the design projects. As long as you time manage well and give yourself deadlines for each project and try as best you can to meet these requirements; it is not all that bad. Talking to fellow students proves very useful when stuck on a brief or a mental block because you get a second opinion or have the project seen in a different perspective as you may be used to seeing the same thing over and over.
They help contribute ideas and also gain significant feedback to keep you on track on your projects. I would certainly not have described myself as a designer in my first year, having no knowledge of PhotoShop, Illustrator, InDesign, type, layouts etc. I can now say I have experience in all these areas and would like to call myself a designer now. This course has taught me to think much more innovatively outside the box and research and analysis is key to develop projects and taking criticism lightly in order to make your work better. This might not be relevant to the course, but I did some freelancing in a design agency during second year and you really do learn a lot from the experience you get outside of university. I mention this because a person called Jack Beckett (founder
of the design agency called ‘Outside Collectives’) has been a great mentor with my design work over the last two years. he might not be anyone popular or famous in design but he inspires me to experiment with various pathways and aesthetics before finalizing.
Having a speciality in a design area can be invaluable to a design agency. Hopefully after undergoing this experience, I plan to work in as many internships as possible in the creative industry to discover where I best fit in.
If I had to give advice to anyone studying design or becomming a designer, because design is so broad there are so many aspects to design try and give everything a go once as you will never know unless you try. What was the most useless highlight of the course? Going bird watching at the Wetlands Centre! What would be your dream job? Being a house keeper for Richard Branson’s House at Virgin Islands! Where do you see yourself in 5 years time? Working in a design/advertising agency hopefully as an art director (long shot), with the chance to travel around the world
Andrew Nangpi
Branding a ‘Car Culture’ Project
‘DUBS’ Identity Design. The ‘DUBS’ car culture is about modifying your car to your own personal style. In essence the culture is an expression about ‘being different’. In the car modifying world many people modify thier cars as a form of expression and style - there are so many modifications, the possibilities are endless. This particular car culture is about being different but in a style that is very tidy but yet striking. There wasn’t an established identity to this car culture but it is widely used and known in many countries in Europe and in America, so I decided to create a recognizable visual identity for the culture’s identity to be more established, recognised and enchanced rather than just a word/trend on the road. Many people in this car culture like to have thier car lowered as close to the ground, put unique wheels that are deeper than the dish in a tumble dryer and have wacky colour co-ordination. so I incorporated this in the logo with very unusual, bright colours in the form of the spring which came from the iconic modification of suspension/coilovers that lower cars to the ground; this should be the main representation of the car scene. The ‘Gauge’ is also used to enhance the logo’s meaning in enthusiasm of cars. In development from the visual identity process, I got some transparant stickers produced for enthusiasts to represent the culture on thier car and designed leaflets for smaller communities who hold these DUB meets in thier local area. Further on I created particular car styles that are within the DUB car culture for people to relate to when modifying their cars. These are portrayed and advertised through posters to make them aware of the other particular styles that are advertised and to help improve with the brand identity. These are also to inspire car enthusiasts in a style they may desire and also help define some of the particular styles in the culture abit more.
Jon Pickering
‘Feel Good Drinks’ Project
‘Feel Good’ Posters
Jon has created a series of posters to advertise the product of drinks from a company called the ‘feel good drinks company’. Jon’s lush posters are very simple affective and more importantly very sympathetic towards nearly everyone. I can imagine myself wearing my best pair of boxers and knowing that no one is going to know about it but me! And that does make me feel good! However, back to his posters, the illustrations are very clear and simple with all the text and content center aligned. This just proves from Jon’s posters that less really is more.
Louise Steyaert
Little White Lies Project
‘Super 8’ Front Cover Louise has undertaken an illustration brief to create a magazine front cover that consists of her top five movies of 2011. The movie she chose is ‘Super 8’. Super 8 takes place back during the summer of 1979, when a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town. Louise chose to use the main character’s face who is ‘Joel Courtney’ who plays ‘Joe’ in the film. Louise used a very bright contrast of warm and cool colors for the light and shade and all done with artistic flare and attention to detail. Not forgetting to place the little white lies Masthead for the finishing touches.
Freddie Villiers
Female Whisky Bottle Project
Female Whisky Botlle
This is Freddie’s Whisky bottle that he designed from Scratch. The brief was to design a Scotch Whisky Bottle aimed at women and stir away from the stereotypical masculinity of whisky. Freddie designed a bottle that shows the slim line bottle and the gold like cap at the top to resemble women like qualities. He carefully considered the identity of the bottle by designing a logo in the shape of a shield and in that shield is a sword to connotate some sort of history about Scotland and to show people where the whisky and the brand derived from. The image on the left is an overhead view of the bottle, focusing on the gold screw top, which complements the type on the neck of the bottle. These touches add to the high standard of the packaging and continue to appeal to the wide female market Loch Ellen is targeting. The lack of packaging on Loch Ellen adds to its mystery but also aesthetically looks incredibly smart and once placed behind a bar along side its competitors its unusual height for a whisky and naked bottle will stand out for its elegance and detailed design to the female market. ‘Loch Ellen’ succeeds in securing that fine balance between ‘lighter’ drinks and too masculine. Deciding on the final shape of the bottle took a lot of market research in the initial ideas stage, as the aesthetics and first impression have the longest lasting impression on the consumer. The frosted glass effect was an additional feature once the bottle shape had been chosen. It was to portray the myth behind the name and the history of ‘Loch Ellen’ and the mystery it holds. The window is the keyhole to the Loch, which enables you to look into the bottle and discover what lies beneath.
To summarize then, the students on the course had no idea what the course was and most of us entered at a level that wouldn’t even class as beginner. More importantly, we all left the course knowing what our specialties in design were, what kind of aspects we enjoy in design and also being much more knowledgeable about the technical aspects to design like learning how to use up to date software and principles of design. Some even found themselves in terms of how to organize better and communicate better with other people. What ever it may be Graphic Product Innovation is not that bad of a course at all.
Year 1. First year was a bit of a funny one, as you may have read from the students, no one on the course didn’t know what the course had in store for us or what it was specifically about. Year one was about getting to know the people in our course, getting used to the projects and working in the style of a designer. We were given projects where some of us thought ‘What does that have to do with graphic design?’ or ‘How does it help me being a graphic designer?’ There were unanswered questions in the beginning and answers weren’t given to us straight away. We had two options: If we didn’t like the course, don’t do it or we just had to get on with what our tutor gave us and take chance; as a student its a pretty big gamble as it is a life changing thing! As a graphic design student, you tend to think that they will still teach you some cool techniques that maybe would help in designing posters, or teach you how to become an Adobe Photoshop master! Not really. Lets be honest, mostly everyone on the course should agree with me here that Jamie Hobson, the man who taught us Graphic Design Principles gave the most interesting classes during first year even though it was like four or five lessons. Most of the time, it was just projects upon projects and juggling around four projects in one term. We would never forget his catchphrase when teaching us principles, "That’s delicious!" or should I say David Bushay would never forget his catch phrase. It’s not food, how can it be delicious? Delicious is cheeseburger and chips, Chinese takeaway or Nandos chicken in Fabienne’s mind! The projects that were given were actually weird but actually quite fun at the same time. Most of us couldn’t figure out what it had to do with graphic design and most projects in first year stirred more towards Product Design but by looking back on it, nearly all of us proabaly learned something new, experienced something new and also took a lesson to learn from them that may be useful for the future projects we may come across. It was a gamble that proved to be very beneificial to many of us designers on the course. Flicking through the next pages will showcase some of the work students from this course produced from the first year.
Jamie Hobson and his Graphic Principle Lessons. Beneficial.
Building Bridges
“
The first couple of presentations we had to do in first year, mainly the first one ever, when we had to find a way of creating a bridge out of straws that would support a ridiculously heavy can of coke! - Chiara
“
Now your probably thinking why on earth I am writing a project about Building bridges? Well let me tell you. Building bridges was the first ever project we did walking through the doors of our first ever GPI lesson. All of us were so determined and so eager to so show a good first impression of how good or creative our thinking were and what kind of solutions people would come up with. The brief was to build a bridge made out of straws, pins and strings and the aim is to balance a regular sized can of coke between two tables that are about arms length of each other. We could use as much straws and as much pins as we can as long as the can would balance from the bridge we designed. I remember Sylvia telling us that the world record for making this bridge with those materials is using roughly around eight or 9 straws to hold the can. You could imagine what our faces would have been like with all the confusion and the world record! I know right? Your probably thinking what kind of project is this? As an aspiring Graphic Designer it certainly didn’t give a very good impression to us students hoping that it would answer many of our unanswered expectations of the course. Building Bridges? Made out of straws? Is this the right course for me? However, this project was
actually an eye opener for innovation and our creative thinking. It was a chance to make us think about what kind of innovative structures and designs we could think of, test as many ideas as we possibly could and more importantly open up our minds in creative thinking which can be applied on any other projects prepared for us in the rest of year. At the time it was mind boggling just as many other projects were in the first year but after seeing the pictures that the students in our class made its actually quite impressive and quite an achievement and it just goes to show that impossible is very nearly nothing in design. Some of us spent all day at Uni fixing this bridge, some of us went home to make it, and some of us well... lets just say they did their research. This isn’t actually bad thing as research is a big chunk of doing projects and as some of the people on the course here say, "a good research aid a good outcome” – David Bushay, so its actually clever of some of the students to do that. Now that’s innovative thinking! When presentation or judgment day should I say came, it was time to show who’s bridge failed and who’s successfully worked. Many of us succeeded and many of us didn’t reach the goal of the brief but we all learnt a valuable lesson to never build a bridge out of straws again for whatever object we want to hold!
"This brings back so many memories", Freddie chillin’ next to his accomplished bridge thinkin’ yea ‘peace of piss’.
Boxing London #EpicFail
NO! not the boxing where you have a ring, two fighters wearing boxing gloves. Call me dumb but thats what I thought when the brief was first mentioned to me. Another one of our first projects: ‘Boxing London’. A quite innovative brief that was definately a challenge. We were put into groups of two or three and we were given a road in London (or roads near university should I say) and the brief was to design a ‘container-like’ design that would represent best the road we were given. Now this could take any shape or form, and it can most definately represent any aspect of the road; the sound to the texture of the walls, even the litter! Anyway The picture above are the ‘containers’ put all together and Jamie Hobson had this idea that it would form the area of roads together.
If you dont remember, let me remind you and if your reading this looking at this iamge clueless, I’m about to explain. Two former students in our class who left after the first year of the course and Im not going to mention names, but this is Sean and Serkan’s ‘Doll House’! As mentioned in the brief, its supposed to represent the road in London, in this case, Sean and Serkan have somehow managed to find a ‘Doll House’ and conveyed this through thier model. This is actually quite funny considering that there was no thought put into it and it looked like it was made that morning with materials from the pound shop in the Elephant and Castle shopping mall. Who knows? this could have represent a doll house that they may have found in their road. This has made it to the GPI history list and this memory will never fade because its in this book! haha. Just a bit of banter, I’m sure if Sean and Serkan looked back on this, they would actually laugh and I dont blame them, this is what GPI done to them and this is what happens!
Affordances I KNOW! Another ‘what has this got to do with product design?’ question or isit just becoming me that just constantly thinks first year projects are weird? Don’tjudge me. This project ‘affordance’ is another mind F**k. In blunt terms, affordance is the recognition or the ‘already know how to use it’ or ‘automatically using something without thought’. For example, the ‘door knob’ is a very good model. How do we know how to hold and turn it to open the door? Why couldnt it be sensor or a button? How do we know how to push a button? Why the hell are doing this? The brief was to pick an object or create an object that has qualities of an affordance in which the design of the product must sort of twist the affordance of an object we choose.
Jon Pickerings ‘Passenger Emergency Alarm’ created a great affordance design. The fact that it uses an opening handle from a baked beans tin and applied it to an emergency alarm. The cross between the two conntations that we usually pull or break a glass for an emergency alarm mixed with wanting to pull open a tin of baked beans (not specifically referring to baked beans) is a very clever idea. Same with Kat Henderson’s Switch pictured below. We mostly flick a switch I think it was the on or off right? But happiest moment for what happens when you add a me right there. Your string? Do you flick the switch or pull brake blew me away! the string? Thats David Hedberg what happens when you start to mix the connotations of different affordances and putting it lead to questions like into one product - We just dont How do I use it? How does know what to do. it work? Its project’s like this that Ideally, this is an innovation that helps us think very innovatively brief. Designing something that rather than just the usual process. people are not used to seeing and Looking back might of been a are not familiar with a design. It does pointless project but sometime in the
DON’T YOU JUST WANT TO PULL IT?
future one of us who may even be in the product design industry will think of this and may produce some kick ass products!
3D Typography
Many of us don’t realise that we always see type in 2D and we are all used to it. Posters, on screen, leaflets, business cards, but how often do we come across 3D typography? Its so weird as we are all used to illustrating the form of letters and just by the art of digital technologies we can just create letters at the touch of a button and even search for millions of typefaces to suit our designers needs. It is very different to make the type physically but it was an exciting and fun brief.
This was another innovative brief as we had to pick any line from a song or from a famous quote and turn it into 3D however you may want to and it should really relate to whatever the quote is. This is Fabienne’s favourite first year project and he created some very interesting typeface and letters out of card giving it the edge of making it blocky and 3D. I actually struggled reading this... If you can guess it read it. If you can’t turn the page upside down to reveal what it says.
"He who angers you controls you"
Broad Oak Farm This is the Broad Oak Farm project and was a very interesting brief as we got to go to a sausage factory and see how they make sausages! It was very unfortunate for the vegetarians but they didn’t want to go in the first place anyway. ‘Broad Oak Farm’ are a very successful family run business that supply many named food retailers their products which are quality made sausages and other meat products. Our tasks was to try and enhance Broad Oaks identity in any way product or graphic related which would give them ideas in the future on marketing their products. Chiara had designed a mini sausage packet dispenser which is actually quite unique if you only just want the one or the odd number of sausages like three? Because usually they do come in a pack of eight and if your only feeling a small crave for a sausage then this is a great way of picking out a couple to fulfil your hunger in sausages.
The other idea is to produce small advertising A5 posters that would sit on top of local butcher counters. These were designed by Dami, Tom and Andrew (Unfortunately Dami and Tom arent graduating with us in 2012).The posters that were designed were advertising different flavoured sausages for different seasons of the year. The sausages were designed in a way where they would be an iconic character in each season. For example, the sausage wearing a Santa hat to represent Christmas season. The main message was to say that there is a sausage for any occasion. After writing about this I am going to buy some sausages, cook them and eat them! Thats probably how many of us felt whilst doing this project!
Remember When Jasper’s group renamed the company to ‘Broad Oak Bangers’. The person from the comapny did not look intrigued.
Alter-Ego I remember David Hedberg’s Alter ego Design and I’m not going to lie it did blow me away the first time I saw it. The brief was to choose an object and create another ‘ego’ out of it or in more simple terms give it another function. David has randomly chosen something as simple as a pencil however, innovatively giving it another ego by creating it like
a banana. How crazy is that? The fact that the pencil has similar characteristics as the banana, how the led acts like the banana filling and the wooden surrounding the led is the skin of the banana. You can now see where this is going. David made the wood of the pencil very soft and by making it look like it is being ‘peeled’ with the led still remaining
upright. However it may not look entirely like a banana but what is so clever is that we automatically assume that is a banana at first sight due to the colour and the recognizable form of how a banana is peeled. Obviously as you look even close it isn’t really a banana.
Banana? I think not!
The Way We Eat
This is Roland’s impressive concept on the ‘Way We Eat Project’. The brief is to design a solution on how we can improve ways of eating. Roland’s ’Chop’ is an inclusive cooking device and visual language is explored into a specific cooking methods that attempts to reproduce recipes visually and to provide aid for children with learning difficulties such as dyslexia, understanding of words and ideas (actions). His graphic device could provide a visual perspective and solution to a verbal description problem. The pictographic
method used in the device can give visible form to concepts, physical actions and ideas related to cooking. The circular shape of the device is a platform for interpreting narratives and, thus, essential for the user to comprehend the sequences of interlinking events that take place in the cooking process. Although, the program, that is writing with symbols embedded in the device, works well with dyslexic children, however it is not an overall solution to all types of learning disabilities.
The Wetlands Centre ADIVCE: Do not go Birdwatching!
Wetlands Centre is the trip that probably bored most of us to death! Bird watching! I don’t know who found it very interesting on our course but most of us saw one or two birds and gave up. It was cold, miserable and lots of walking and walking around a very big site. The brief for this project was to find a problem about the wetlands centre and to try and improve their structure or something like that. You know
what, I actually forgot what the brief was for this project? I remember more of being at the wetlands centre going up the tower and taking photos of birds and that’s all; I have pretty bad memory. Your probably going to read this and think ‘what the hell?’ but if there is one thing you can take away from this article, is that Bird Watching is so boring and that if someone mentioned it to me and asked me to go, I’d probably gasp,
hold my breath and just say no and walk away. This is Jon’s project from the Wetlands brief and this is a very simple way of relating to the birds from the wetlands. The paper airplanes are thrown to send messages to people to ‘Migrate from the Smog’, a way of helping the wetlands centre keep the site
healthy in terms of the number of birds that use the place as a home. The wetlands centre is a habitat for them and not many people are aware of that.
Year 2
Year 2 Collaborative Projects: Columbia Road Inst
Second year was a very different year and an interesting one too. We encountered two collaboration projects with two different courses. This was a new insight to the course as working with new and different people you don’t know is a good way of developing our skills in communication and working at different paces to suit the group. Now honestly speaking most of us on the course didn’t really like group work, even in our course as there would be one person in the group who is always working faster than others, or one person in the group who will only have things their way and that they should use their concepts rather than it being a team effort or someone who is not performing to the pace the group is. It is hard and it is a must that a designer should have very good
communication skills and team working ethics as in the real world designers do work in teams unless designers go freelance and like to work for themselves. The first collaboration project we did was the Heathrow terminal 5 projects. Quite an enjoyable trip as we got to explore the terminal 5 but sadly couldn’t go through to the Duty free zone. The brief was to create a sustainable design in making the journey of every flight passenger a better experience for them. And we collaborated with (BA) Graphic and Spatial Design. It seemed like that course didn’t even get along with each other? I mean people were always miserable and stressing over each other, many of the students on their course didn’t really get along with our course and it was an awkward and yet not
Collaboration Projects
tallation & Heathrow Terminal 5 a pleasant experience for neither of us. If you want stories, ask Lauren and her group! She probably had the most drama at the time that eventually they decided to part and work separately! Anyway back to the projects, an example of what kind of solutions we came up with is Roland’s group. Roland’s group made the journey even better by creating a wristwatch but acts like an alert to inform the passenger to go and board their plane. This is great for not keeping your eye on the time at the airport and can relax more in
shopping and eating before going on boarding the plane. The second collaborative project was with (BA) Surface Design, which was much, more engaging and a bit more playful than the other. The brief as mentioned on Bela’s page is to create a ‘sustainable pop-up’ installation influenced by the Columbia Road Market. We had to pick negative spaces around the Uni and transform it. On the other page is Freddie’s and Jeff’s impressive sustainable installation that lights up the whole dead space which projects some interesting flower shapes and shines very vibrant colours through the coloured sheets. The advantage about this is that they did use less materials for it to be sustainable and by using a low watt energy saver bulb is definitely an energy saver. For some of us it was collaboration projects from hell and for some made good friends and contacts and bonded well with them. The bottom line is that having team-working skill is very essential no matter what you do and where you work and I’m sure here at GPI, they have definately learnt a lesson from these projects.
L
Get ready to cringe, laugh out loud or be amazed at some of the things that went down in the past three years of the course. I think that’s enough product and graphic design stuff for now. Its time to see what the students of 2012 got up to or some of the things that went down in GPI and what kind of things they have done at their time at Uni. See how our class of 2012 have changed and be entertained with some of the photos documented for the course. I am not going to lie I cringed and laughed and was really amazed when I saw this but hey, these are all memories and memories in this book will never fade!. Enjoy the pictures and hopefully you can get an insight of the bond we have created in our course.
LOL! Louise so excited at the sausage
factory!
LOL! Bushay got cau
ght sleeping in class!
r u o y t a e u o y o d w Ho
Eat it Roland’s way!
Creme Egg?
This was Chiara Catherine and Kat’s ‘The way we eat project’ in year one filming us eating a creme egg!
This is what Uni does to Kat! LOL
What the f...? For those that haven’t seen Alex’s video, Andrew and Roland are Pregnant! YIKES!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltPDf3Nk93Q&feature=youtu.be
Watch the full video here:
Tired?
Class has Ended.
After flicking through or reading this book, many of us in this class have probably drunk their livers out, partied until they dropped, taken a vacation from everything or even moved on. In the end then this book does try to stir away from the notion of a yearbook, and its aim was to commemorate the course due to its termination by the university But after studying it for our careers, it has been a pleasure documenting the fun times and it has been an emotional ride. GPI students or any university students for that matter will never forget thier time at univeristy. Thanks to this book GPI has most of its memories all printed out! We have all made very very close relationships and bonds that hopefully in the future if ever we need a helping hand one of us is there to help. The class is now empty and that’s it for GPI 2012. Hopefully the GPI 2013 can publish another book to commemorate the final generation of the course. Good Luck and Hope the future brings much prosperity and happiness even if they don’t end up wanting to become a designer!
Our course (BA) Graphic Product Innovation is sadly being terminated due to the cut backs that the University of the Arts London are making. Graphic Product Innovation has only been round for nearly three generations of students nearly completing the course. Because of the current situation of GPI, this publication has documented the 2009 – 2012 years of the course to commemorate the course’s existence and for our students to always remember the valuable time they spent working hard, fulfilling briefs, projects and the journey of becoming a Graphic Product Innovator. Inside you will find out more about the students and their experience of the course, the work and briefs that they have undergone and some of the memories that will never be forgotten.
Designed by Andrew Nangpi with the help of the GPI Class. (BA)GPI 2012.