Throughout my time at university I have attended a number of lectures and visited many design studios. Each visit has given me an insight into different areas of the industry and has helped my knowledge and interest in design grow. Whether these visits were internally arranged by tutors or external and arranged personally each one has been equally rewarding. There are a few lectures that have stood out to me this year one being a talk by Mike Rigby, graphic designer, and another by Container Plus, an illustration company.
Before I chose my path as a graphic design student I was interested in illustration, it is something that has always been an option for me if my design choice hadn’t worked out, so when Container Plus explained that they were an illustration based company I was really intrigued and eager to hear what they had to say. It was Luise Vormittag, one of the founders of the company, who came in to speak to us. She spoke about a number of projects that the company had worked on and some personal projects that she had done.
Collaboration has been an important part of Container Plus from the very start as it was when two friends Luise and Nicola worked along side each other on a project at university; they worked so well with each other that on leaving uni they carried this on and became a partnership. Luise spoke about how working with people from other pathways of design was essential in getting the best out of a project. This point was something that stayed with me as I feel it is something that all design companies do however it is not necessarily practiced by design students.
One of Luise and Nicolas first projects together was for Selfridges where they also worked alongside make-up artists and fashion designers. Another project that they worked on together later on in their careers was for a Volkswagen car launch. The pair were given the task to design 4 rooms of a hotel, in order to do this they had to collaborate with many different people including builders, furniture designers and fabric designers.
Luise gave us a few pointers about how to make collaboration a success one being ‘test people before committing to a long-term collaboration’ this reminded me of something that I had read by Milton Glaser, designer of the I Love NY logo, the article was about what he had learned through out his design career and one point that he made was that you have to like the people that you work with. He mentioned how the relationship you have with the people you are either working with or for is essential for the strength of your projects. Affection, trust and having a common ground is the only way good work can be achieved.
Mike Rigby, a designer that came in to speak to us about graphic design and what to expect when we graduate also spoke to us about getting on with the people you work with. He studied at Preston for 4 years on a graphic design course, after graduating he worked for numerous companies including Imagination, Chase, Pentagram, Mark Studio, True North and Landor and Moon Design both in Sydney so he had plenty to tell us about his time in the design industry.
Although Mike presented some of his work to us he spoke more of his experiences and how they benefited his design career. One thing that he mentioned was how he went travelling. He showed us photos and explained how it is important to have these chances. He also told us about how he acquired design jobs while travelling in Australia. This part of his lecture was extremely different to Container plus as Luise spoke mostly of her work. Throughout Mikes talk he mentioned how designers ‘love to socialise’ and made a point of telling us about how having an interesting life outside of work was paramount to a good life within work. He also said that design wasn’t just a job, it was a lifestyle choice. Mike mentioned how well connected the design industry was and how everyone knew each other so it was essential that you get on with your co-workers.
Another thing that he spoke about was placements and how they help you make the jump from education to industry. This was extremely helpful as he spoke about how you get a feel for the type of company you would like to work at, as mentioned early it is essential to get on with the people you work with. Hopefully the company you enjoy working with reciprocate and offer you a job at the end of your placement. Mike spoke about how placements allow you to work on real projects with real deadlines. He also told us that it was important to work on self-initiated projects as did Luise from Container Plus. They spoke about how ideas you may have for these personal projects could generate new ideas for paid jobs. They also mentioned how although it is good to do self initiated projects and fun jobs it is also essential to do the less interesting well-paid jobs.
Below are some images by Mike Rigby and Luise. Container Plus's are installations and the interior design for a West London book store. These designs are a great example of what I loved about the work done at Container. The designs are unusual and the company seems to have a certain type of style that I feel would help them be recognised by clients. Mike Rigbys designs are completely different to that of Container Plus. As you can see Containers projects are more illustration based. Personally I prefer these designs but I think this is because it is something I cannot do myself. Although Mikes designs are great ideas Containers seem to have a certain charm about them. They have an extremely unique way of working, while talking to us about how they go about producing there work they mentioned a project where they sat and hand drew the imagery on shop walls and around different parts of room.
Overall I enjoyed both of these lectures and feel that they were both extremely helpful. Although the work show and the style in which they were presented was totally different similar point about the design industry were made.
No comments:
Post a Comment