MANCHESTER
The Manchester Metropolitan University degree show offered a wide range of specialism; ranging from embroidery to illustration, the show covered all aspects of design. The show took place across several campuses of the university; the show is aimed at displaying the work of graduates and was a lot more corporate than what I first imagined.
Upon walking through the sculpture, painting and fine arts sections, initially some of the pieces of work left me thinking “I could do that”, but at a glance it is difficult to take into account the process, development and concept behind the piece although I am still arrogant towards this. I could replicate the final outcome but getting to it originally would be something I would struggle to do without the experience of a university level degree.
Given the list of displays, the illustration section was initially the most exciting for me. Having only seen illustrations of ‘professional’ designers, I found it enjoyable to see the standard of work that I will hopefully be achieving once I have left university. The work was beyond impressing and more than aesthetically pleasing.
Lasting impressions were made by the physical outcomes. High quality prints, books and leaflets are what I remember the most. A series of six illustrated book covers by Jack Moss were impressing along with a pair of hand-illustrated shoes by someone who’s name I can’t recall. Overall the MMU show seemed more personal than the events at SHU and college. The amount of interactive and user based work was far higher if not unique to MMU.
Illustration with Animation is the course that runs at MMU, looking at the examples of work and sketchbooks that have been produced I’m more so inclined to look at this university as a serious option for my education.
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| Lighting the Sky |
Illustrator Emily Welhams’ work as a whole was interesting, what at first looks like the storyboard of an animation is actually a story that she is trying to tell through a series of images. This gives her work a comic book feel with her drawings and editorials arranged in panels.
“I have focused on developing my use of the wordless narrative; I have experimented with aspects of timing, page layout and the use of digital media.”
Emily Welham
SHEFFIELD
While the Sheffield Hallam degree show felt alot more smooth in comparison to the Manchester show, the level of professionalism was also noticeably higher. From the display boards to the overall flow of the room. Sheffields display had a composition, there was a flow to the event and allowed you to move around in your own time.
The show focused more on final outcomes and portfolios and overall it was shy of working sketchbooks. Digital work was shown on tablets and laptops and it felt much more technical than the MMU show which felt more traditional. The difference between the shows is down to the difference in subject. Sheffield offered furniture, product and interior design, where it lacked in the embroidery, textiles and embroidery of MMU. Although this isn’t a disadvantage as the content was more design, where Manchester felt more art.
Distinct to the Sheffield show was the amount of branding/identity. Designers had displays of mock-up food labels for Tesco, Waitrose and Heinz. Tied in with the product design course the final outcomes were satisfying to see – designers work actually printed and put into use in a real example.
Sheffield based graphic designer Ben Powells portfolio work caught my eye at the Sheffield exhibition. His family-tree like final piece titled “I am who I am because of everyone” was interesting to look at and had a unique concept. Based around the idea of rings from a tree being age, each ring in the map is a year of Powell’s life. Colours are keyed with emotions and lines are connections and relationships. As a whole it’s easy to spend a while getting to know Powell through this inspiring diagram of his life. A small flick book by Sean Gee was quite amusing, the short animation showed a tiny character pulling out a sign saying “Hire me”, a unique outcome of his work. This brought my attention to Gee and I looked further into his work.
CHESTERFIELD
The degree show at Chesterfield was surprisingly more mature than what I first imagined. Impressed by the work, the level of professionalism amongst the final outcomes was higher than what I fist imagined. I really enjoyed the exhibition overall and was amazed by mostly all of the work, it was also enjoyable to see the work of people who are on the same course as me.
With the exhibit being at the same time as college taster days, the aim of the show was purely to sample peoples work, rather than sell it. The focus of the MMU and SHU shows seemed much more business related with every artist having business cards and flyers with contact information on.
The architecture work caught my eye as it is something I find aesthetically pleasing, miniature models of buildings and digitally presented worksheets are something I am familiar with. Although this work is not directly related to me and my progression, it was nice to look at. A lack of illustration and graphic design work was noticeable, with the shows emphasis being on what appeared to be art, fine art and fashion. However this did not hinder the exhibition as there was plenty of
One particular student’s work that caught my eye was Sarah Cox. Her work was entirely traditional and proved to me that using mixed media techniques such as collage and sewing can produce some quite interesting and pleasant images. Her use of ink amongst her work provokes me to want to replicate these techniques myself and has inspired me to try out more mixed media methods.
Cox’ sketchbook was impressive and the way she organised her work allowed it to just be a series of images and experiments. Artist research was tucked away in envelopes; keeping her sketchbook as a whole tidy whilst being messy at the same time.
Ben Powell – Graphic/Product Design
Emily Welham – Illustrator
Jack Moss – Illustrator
