I am a sponge

Hello, hello, hello.............

2012-01-27T13:49:00.006Z

The police nick Steve!!!!!!!!!Level 4 Illustration student, Steve Garrington- Miller has recently found out he has won a regional design competition! Staffordshire Constabulary wanted to promote a drive aware initiative in the region and will be holding a drive aware day on Feb 22nd. To highlight this Steve was asked to submit a logo, stationery and web banner. Well done Steve, who wins goodies

Binding their own business.............

2011-12-02T16:03:00.009Z

Staffordshire Graphic Design & Illustration students got a treat when Mark Cockram, Specialist Bookbinder, came in to deliver a talk and hands-on workshop. A master of his trade, Mark guided students through the book binding process with amazing results!!We will definitely 'book' him again!!

Surface Space Exhibition for Danielle......

2011-11-23T08:48:00.001Z

Level 4 Illustration student, Danielle Somerfield, is exhibiting in Burslem at Surface Spaces - in her words..."My pieces were done by screen printing images i made onto magazine advertisements from vogue. Its basically just about how fashion affects women's perception of beauty and the screen printed images are the representation of the models in real life, not air brushed but ill looking,

just nice things

2011-11-18T15:45:00.015Z

..some nice stuff from various blogs.........starting with some interesting cv's..........

Blackpool Rocks!

2011-11-17T14:18:00.002Z

Comedy Carpet by Why Not AssociatesAt first sight, the Comedy Carpet looks as if the text is painted. In fact, each of the 160,000 letters is made of 30mm solid granite cast into high-quality concrete panels. Given the unusualness of the project, its complexity and scale, no one company was able to produce the work in its entirety so Gordon had the challenge of producing the work in-house.With

London 2011

2011-11-03T15:59:00.023Z

Following several weeks of very busy project work the new Staffordshire University intake, accompanied by seasoned third year students, headed to London in search of inspiration, culture, entertainment and KFC's.....Whilst first year Graphic Design and Illustration students headed to the Design Museum and Tate Modern, Cartoon & Comic Arts first years were drawn towards Madame Tussauds where they

The skin your in..........

2011-09-07T09:26:00.008+01:00

Well, summer has closed and gone for lunch - a new semester dawns for students at Staffordshire Uni. With a bucketfull of awards and degrees to celebrate, we wish every success to our 2011 graduates on their journey into the working world - and welcome our new students in a couple of weeks.'Cartoon & Comic Arts' joins our portfolio of awards this year and promises to deliver some exciting work

time for T

2011-09-07T09:13:00.005+01:00

Typographic tea-towels from Primark in Manchester - not so grim up north!

New Blood, sweat and tears!

2011-06-23T14:28:00.009+01:00

After seven days of hard labour, 17 silk-screens, two reams of chip shop paper, half a ton of black ink, buckets of blood sweat and tears and some very sore arms, we give you ‘TEN’.‘TEN’ is a hand made publication, showcasing ten pieces of work from this year’s BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration students at Staffordshire University in Stoke on Trent. The project was specially commissioned,

P-p-p-pipped at the p-p-p-post at Penguin

2011-06-23T10:57:00.006+01:00

Congratulations to Gary Devreede who was only one of twelve shortlisted students from an entry of almost 2,000 submissions to the Penguin Design Awards. A £1,000 cash prize and a six week work placement at Penguin was up for grabs. P-p-p-ipped at the p-p-p-post by a worthy opponent, Gary's work was both innovative and original - and won him a great deal of praise from the judges at Penguin.

D&AD New Blood

2011-06-23T10:42:00.016+01:00

New Blood is only a few days away and Staffordshire Graphic Design & Illustration students are getting prepared for an intense few days of networking, presenting and experiencing one of the highlights of the year.The Truman Brewery once again hosts the event, from Thursday 30th June - Monday 4th July, so if you are in the area, pop-in and see us on our stand.Meanwhile, there are a few forgotten

Ben books himself a merit!

2011-06-23T10:39:00.001+01:00

Ben Anslow receives a Merit for his ‘Flatlands’ work!!ISTD (International Society of Typographic Designers) "These awards are held as an appraisal of current standards in typographic design and are judged by some of today’s leading graphic, interactive and typographic design specialists. Entries from anywhere in the world are invited, from designers who have used typography as an integral

he's my type..........!!

2011-06-21T19:50:00.002+01:00

Richard with Mr Brody.....

ready for my close-up......

2011-06-21T19:47:00.001+01:00

a ground breaking graphic designer, award winning, life changing and creatively brilliant......and with mark garner is neville brody!

If you can't beat 'em..........!!!!......

2011-06-21T17:58:00.007+01:00

..........Join 'em!!you can go here to view the rest.................1. enjoying the party: http://bit.ly/lT5rcP,2. celebrating: http://bit.ly/jEVNsv

A creatively charged 'a-fair'!

2011-06-21T16:03:00.014+01:00

D&AD held their Awards night at the Royal Armoury in London on June 16th. A unique first in that student and professional awards were combined during the evening - which was a lavish and creatively charged affair. Richard Kingham, Level 6 Graphic Design student from Staffordshire was nominated to win the Open Graphic brief. Unfortunately he was pipped to the post but thoroughly enjoyed the

SHOWING OFF!!!!

2011-06-16T11:21:00.025+01:00

Staffordshire University Degree Show kicked off on Friday 10th June----with a record number of attendees and a great night of 'celebration' and 'congratulation' to all involved. The show runs until 18th June-we look forward to seeing you there!

Staffordshire University-First place for winners!!

2011-06-16T11:10:00.003+01:00

A lot has happened since May for our Graphic Design and Illustration students.....so, by way of a summary of achievements (so far!).....MPA Roses Student Creativity AwardsGemma Brownhill/Category Winner + Over all GOLD WinnerCalum Rudd/ShortlistedMelanie Milne & Laura Malpass (Second Yr)/shortlistedD&AD Creative AwardsBen Brand/In-bookRichard Kingham/Nominated (Awards ceremony 16th June!!)Shine

CV=ipad

2011-05-20T13:08:00.004+01:00

The winner of a Creative CV competition, the first run by Staffordshire University’s Careers Centre, has been announced. John Ellis, a 3rd year Graphic Design student, is delighted that his bold CV poster designed to ‘introduce a small name with big ideas’ caught the eye of the judges andlanded him the prize of an iPad. Mark Kent, Head of

It's a win,.win situation!!!

2011-05-19T08:55:00.006+01:00

There's no stopping third year Graphic Design students in the field of competition! This just in-------Gary Devreede has been shortlisted for the Penguin Book Cover Award, Charlotte Lench has been shortlisted for the RSA Royal Mail Stamp Design competition and if that wasn't enough, Ben Anslow received a Merit in the istd International Typographic Awards! An all round amazing achievement by the

SHOW

2011-05-18T09:43:00.003+01:00

Watch THIS space.

2011-05-18T09:31:00.018+01:00

Preparation is now underway for what will be one of the biggest and best Graphic Design and Illustration final year shows. June 10th is the opening night, then the show will run throughout the week until Saturday 18th June.

GOLD! for Gemma....

2011-05-18T08:48:00.003+01:00

Following Gemma Brownhill's category win in March at the Roses Awards (see march 25 post)---she went onto win the coveted GOLD Award for best student work over-all!!!! Well done Gemma. (Pictured here with Rich Kingham-wh0 has been nominated for a D&AD award)

Sharpen your pencils.

2011-04-15T14:37:00.027+01:00

For the second year running, D&AD permitted lecturers to observe the judging process of their most prestigious awards. Over 5 days, both student and professional work was put through its paces at Olympia in London, in over 20 categories ranging from graphic design, product, advertising, art direction, illustration, web, packaging, branding, direct mail to radio and tv....... Packaging Design was

Roses grow on you......!!

2011-03-25T10:04:00.020Z

Gemma Brownhill with the coveted award!Proof, if proof were needed!...........Laura Malpass' and Melanie Milne's entry.......Richard Kingham with congratulatory smile.....Gemma and Callum...worthy winners...(and runner - upers)Callum's entry....The Roses wouldnt be the Roses without Raghu in attendance........Lauren, Richard, Ben, Kevin and Bel from Level 2 experience the awards evening......."

Looking for Erik..........

2011-03-11T14:55:00.025Z

Berlin played host to Staffordshire University this week, when students from Graphic Design and Illustration (first, second & third year) enjoyed the culture, history, art and hospitality that only Berlin can offer!After a great walking tour of the city (in beautiful sunshine!) and getting to grips with the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall, University, Reichstag, Jewish Memorial and Checkpoint

Student Grant

2011-03-11T13:39:00.005Z

Grant Mitchell (ex-staffs student and visiting Lecturer) will be part of AWOL Studio's open evening. Worth a look to all you creative bods.......Friday 4 March 2011TAKE A PEEK – AWOL STUDIOS OPEN EVENING THURSDAY 24 MARCH 2011As proud residents at Awol Studio’s in Hope Mill, Transmission Creative have been asked to promote the latest showcase of Manchester’s finest creative talent.The voyeuristic

A flutter with a shutter.......

2011-03-03T16:15:00.014Z

Second year graphic design & illustration students ventured to Wolverhampton---in the freezing cold - to capture the excitement of a race meeting (night racing) as part of their photography:art direction module.After stocking up on curry and chips and placing bets, the photography could begin. Luckily, the photography turned out a lot better than the horse tips.

Catch-up

2011-02-01T12:03:00.018Z

Some stuff that should have been up in 2010......in no particular order...(shots from London Trip, Winter 2010). Level 3 students visit the daddy of all agencies-Pentagram, Type/Design exhibition-Lou Dorfsman, Just My Type book launch exhibition, LOUD FLASH exhibition @ Haunch of Venison, V&A visit............Then there were 9..........the Graphics Massive! pay big respect to Pentagram...........

Shiny and very happy

2011-02-01T11:30:00.001Z

2010 was a ‘shining’ success for Graphic Design. Jessica Sidaway (Pictured, 2nd left) won the Shine Awards, a design competition by global branding company, Coley Porter Bell.Award Manager Barbara Ridley said, “What makes this win particularly satisfying for staff is that this is the second year running a Graphic Design student from Staffordshire University has won the competition.”Like hundreds

Heavy Metal..........

2010-10-22T09:41:00.014+01:00

The newest addition to the Graphic Design & Illustration department........a van load of metal type! Kindly donated by Dorothy Gredley, the type arrived to the delight of everyone and will be put to use asap.

Pottering about in Stoke..........

2010-10-20T12:10:00.009+01:00

Level 1 and Level 2 Illustration students received a tour of the Emma Bridgewater factory in Stoke, in order to record and respond to the environment in a creative, visual manner. The location is one of six in total the students are visiting as part of their Visual Storytelling Module.

Design Intervention.....

2010-10-13T12:36:00.005+01:00

Level 1 and Level 2 Illustration students made a pilgrimage to Stoke Minster this week , where they had a 'lock-in' for a whole afternoon to record the 'sense of place'. Hopefully some divine results will come out of it!! Amen.

SPACE...the designer frontier........

2010-10-13T12:29:00.005+01:00

Graphic Design & illustration students have a brand new space!!!!--and its quite big.....complete with tutorial rooms, computer suite and plenty of room to be creative!!!!! Watch this space for some exciting interior designing!!! Pics show level 1 students very busy at work........

STAFFordshire success

2010-09-08T12:52:00.005+01:00

The BA (Hons) Graphic Design team were awarded the customer service team award for their exceptional commitment to students and the significant developments and achievements within the team over the last 12 months. Congratulations to Mark Garner, John Hudson, Bobbie Jones, Barbara Ridley, Sarah Rushton, Vicki Shields and Jim Williams.

Staffordshire 'books' itself another award at D&AD New Blood!

2010-07-05T17:25:00.010+01:00

Unlike the England team recently.........Staffordshire University Graphic Design, Illustration and ABM students provided another successful exhibition at the D&AD New Blood exhibition, London - full of passion, creativity and skill !!!This year D&AD provided a change of venue and a slightly different format for the exhibition. The venue at the Truman Brewery was excellent...and is in the centre

On Show

2010-06-15T14:47:00.020+01:00

Graphic Design and Illustration students are currently exhibiting their final year work at Staffordshire University from now until Saturday 19th June..........a fantastic collection of creativity, inventive solutions and amazing projects is a testament to the students' hard work and focus. Check the university website for opening times.

Be amazed.........

2010-06-02T16:07:00.003+01:00

Staffordshire University at D&AD New Blood

2010-06-02T15:30:00.004+01:00

Come and join us at New Blood in London.....there will be a warm welcome and some great work to see from our students on Graphic Design, Illustration and Advertising. Jai Ying Gnoh has been nominated for the Advertising & Direct Mail category, and achieved an In-book award for book cover design D&AD New Blood Exhibition 2010. The Old Truman Brewery. 24-28th June 2010.

Student Grant

2010-05-11T09:36:00.004+01:00

A quick note to say thankyou from all the staff and students at Staffordshire University to Grant Mitchell who is taking a bit of leave from teaching duties to concentrate on Transmission Creative. Hopefully this will be temporary........thanks for all his help, inspiration and dedication. mark.g.

All the world's a stage.....

2010-05-11T09:13:00.013+01:00

Level 1 Graphic Design and Illustration students at Staffordshire University finished their first year on a high with a brief that required promotional material (poster+ creative mailer) for a stage production. Below are just some of the highlights.........Antony & Cleopatra - Andrew TomlinsHair - Sarah BucknallLa Boheme - Tom OldhamSix Degrees of Separation - Richard HajkowiczThe Snow Queen -

The Thrill of the Chase

2010-04-23T13:00:00.017+01:00

Students on Level 3 Graphic Design & Illustration at Staffordshire University took part in a brief set by external partners The Chase. Written by Lionel Hatch, Creative Director and co-founder and Harry Heptonstall, 2007 graduate of Staffs, the briefs were written to stimulate the mind and inform the designer; sharing a common need for a carefully considered balance between concept and

Press Update

2010-04-23T10:29:00.003+01:00

This month's Grafik features Staffordshire University's very own Andy Cooke, featuring a four page spread in the 'Talent' section. Also in the same issue is Harry Heptonstall (2007 Graduate) writing on the virtues of the Open University Logo.

Roaring success.....

2010-04-23T10:26:00.002+01:00

Design Week have followed hot on the coat tails of Creative Review in featuring The Grey Matter Store on their website....check it out here:- http://www.designweek.co.uk/home/blog/blog-archive/roaring-trade/3012635.article

It's the THOUGHT that counts.....

2010-04-23T09:35:00.009+01:00

For the first time this year, D&AD permitted lecturers to observe the judging process of their most prestigious awards. Over 3 days, both student and professional work was put through its paces at Olympia in London, in over 20 categories ranging from graphic design, product, advertising, art direction, illustration, web, packaging, branding, direct mail to radio and tv.Each category was judged by

The Magnificent Seven!

2010-03-25T23:47:00.022Z

Congratulations to all the students who entered the MPA Roses this year!Again, Staffordshire University were successful in gaining 7 runner-up positions in 6 of the categories.The students who received recognition were Gemma Brownhill+Sophie Williams, Gary Devreede+Dale Longshaw, Stefan Salt+Lucy Smedley (who enetered 2 projects and managed to get BOTH shortlisted!), Kirsty Edwards (shortlisted

Roses Awards 2010

2010-03-24T15:34:00.003Z

Good luck to all those students who worked hard on their projects..........mg

Fairytale of New York.......

2010-03-24T14:41:00.005Z

30 students from Staffordshire University have just returned from an amazing trip to New York. Amongst the highlights was a design conference featuring Milton Glaser, Chipp Kid, Paula Scher, and Bob Gill - highly entertaining and informative! The sun shone, burgers were eaten and there was even time for a bit of sightseeing & shopping.............Staffordshire style.

I remember when all of this was fields...........

2010-03-24T14:37:00.003Z

The evolution of photoshop packaging....and the mouse. Slightly interesting.

Can u dig it?....yes we kern!!!

2010-03-11T11:00:00.007Z

Jim Williams, Senior Lecturer in Graphic Design at Staffordshire University , has produced an excellent resource for students outlining the fundamentals of typography. (It is now available to purchase for all you type bods!!) Interest is growing over Jim's publication as far away as Apple Inc. in the US and considerable interest in Europe also. The importance of good typography is still as

Whats the big idea??

2010-03-03T17:00:00.002Z

Level 3 Graphics & Illustration Students from Staffordshire University are showing their BIG ideas...on a small scale from 8th March-24th March in the Flaxman Exhibition Space. Free entry!!Remember - no idea is too big, or too small..... just great!

Design....where it matters!

2010-03-03T16:48:00.004Z

Grey Matter StoreThis site has been set up by a lovely group of graphic design and illustration students from Staffordshire University in order for them to generate some greatly needed funds for their final year degree show. All students in the group were invited to create something for the project. So, have a look, and purchase with pride!!http://www.greymatterstore.com/

When in Rome.........

2009-11-20T16:29:00.004Z

The subject of the photo practices slavery and human sacrifice, regards women as subordinates, punishes severely those who brake the law of the community, pierces their own tongue, genitals and extremities to nourish the gods with blood................and the other is an exhibition of the Aztecs at the British Museum!!!!!!!!! Mr.Hudson wanders into, what he thinks, is the biggest pub in London

Feelin' blue.........

2009-11-20T14:11:00.006Z

Ian Jeffries' (Level 3 Graphic Design at staffs) Design Futures solution looks at the language of 'blueprints'......in a rather unique way.........

The writing's on the wall

2009-11-20T14:03:00.002Z

Level 3 Design Futures crit wall........students commenting on each others presentations makes for interesting reading..........

A Mother of a trip!!!

2009-11-20T12:33:00.010Z

Level 3 students relax over coffee after visiting their Mother.......The main studio at MotherMother reception...even the rain was creative............Level 1 students prepare to embark on olde London Town...........head accessories were order of the day!Level 1 and Level 3 Graphic Design & Illustration students from Staffs headed towards the big smoke recently in order to soak up the culture,

The truth... A lecture to Year 3

2009-10-09T08:24:00.002+01:00

I've been asked to give a lecture to Year 3 about making the jump from education to industry from 2 - 5pm, Friday 16 October 2009 in Room S010, Mellor Building.I'll cover a range of issues that affect Year 3, and will answer as many questions you have about things like...• Getting your portfolio together• How to get your foot in the door• How does the current economic climate affect your chances

Week 2 - Hit the North: 2nd year trip to Manchester

2009-10-06T20:24:00.007+01:00

Our second week on this 'Sense of place' project was spent in my home city, Manchester. After a cold start, for once the sun shone in the rainy city, making it a great day to mooch about, take some pictures, soak up the inspiration and wash it down with a brew.After meeting in Piccadilly Gardens, we headed towards Magma, the fine Oldham Street design bookshop. Plenty of inspiration in there. Then

Pantone and typography on the iPhone

2009-10-01T14:24:00.004+01:00

After my initial fear of my iPhone, I've actually grown quite attached to the little thing.I was browsing the 'App store' the other day and wondered if there was anything on there for designers, when I stumbled upon my dream app, a Pantone book in my phone called 'My Pantone', genius! Problem is it's £5.99 and I'm skint. But if you're looking to blow your grant on something why not give it a

Week 1 - The second years pull the short straw

2009-10-01T13:42:00.004+01:00

Yes, that's right, those poor souls that are Year 2 have been cursed with having yours truly for 2 consecutive modules. Never mind, at least I have more of a chance to get inside your heads.It was good to see you all and some new faces, especially our friends from Cork, birthplace of one of United's greatest players, Roy Keane.Anyway. Our first lecture introduced the 'Sense of Place' brief, and

Happy New Year

2009-10-01T13:38:00.003+01:00

Well, academic year anyway. I've been pretty hopeless at writing posts for this blog so far (cheers to Mark for keeping the fires burning), but I am going to make amends this year.My plan is to do a weekly post after each session in addition to any other stuff I see fit to share with you. So, here goes...

Caught up north........

2009-09-30T20:25:00.002+01:00

spot the lecturer...................http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uCYNHtU2Aw

Fur your inFURmation...........

2009-07-18T11:52:00.012+01:00

Gemma Brownhill, who will be moving into her 2nd year on the Graphic Design Degree course at Staffordshire University, has been awarded a Special Commendation in the UK & Ireland round of the 2009 Design Against Fur competition. Her work will be displayed on both the Respect for Animals website (www.respectforanimals.org) and on the Design Against Fur website (www.inFURmation.com) from August.In

2009-07-18T11:52:00.000+01:00

Graduation 09

2009-07-13T20:02:00.004+01:00

A fond farewell was given to the class of 2009 at Trentham Gardens in Stoke on Trent on Friday 10th July, good luck to all!! pictured is Andy Poole, doing his best to keep his thumbs cool in the heat of the day.

Award Bored???

2009-07-13T19:17:00.006+01:00

We forgive the reader for being slightly 'yawnfull' of hearing , yet again, about the triumphant Staffordshire Uni Students' performance over the past few months in National and International competitions. To be frank, we cant keep up either!!! The latest graphic darlings were Matt Forrester and Mark Johnson (D&AD best student work in London in July), this , together with awards for Animation

Northern Exposure

2009-06-19T19:46:00.012+01:00

Simon Pioli & Jia Ying Gnoh from Staffordshire University mixed with professional designers, fellow design students, rock stars (yes-rock stars), TV presenters and over 250 guests at The Rose Bowl, Leeds...which hosted the award ceremony for the Northern Design Competition.After enjoying roast beef, yorkshire pudding (& gravy of course), the 50 selected students were introduced (out of over 3,ooo

It's Win up North....

2009-06-02T15:32:00.004+01:00

Simon Pioli and Jia Ying Gnoh, both Level 2 Graphics Students, are finalists in the prestigious Northern Design Competition - which hosts its Award Dinner later this month. In each of the six main categories, there will be £1,000 cash prize for each category winner. There will be four runners-up per category who will each recieive £100. The overall Competition winner will receive £2,000. Other

Fruit of our labour

2009-06-02T08:09:00.003+01:00

A reminder that the Staffordshire University 3rd year BA Hons Graphic Design show opens on Friday 5th June.If you're looking to cherry pick the best in design talent then I implore you to widen your net and give the students at Staffordshire your full attention.For more information visit http://www.staffs.ac.uk/faculties/art_and_design/showcase/art_and_design_show/index.jsp

Friendly advice from a design legend

2009-06-02T07:53:00.002+01:00

No, not Alan Fletcher, Peter Saville or Milton Glaser... this philosophical gem comes from none other than Bruce Lee.In my own little way I think this is great advice for any student trying to get their foot in the door at a design studio. It also remains true throughout your career as you have to adopt this philosophy with every brief you undertake. See what you think anyway.

Thats gotta hurt like HELvetica.............

2009-05-26T11:36:00.004+01:00

MY TYPE OF TATT.Well, someone beat me to it and got inked with the immortal typeface...........the beauty is that when you put on weight, it becomes helvetica extended and slimmer - more condensed. Ah the beauty of it....living type. Some people on this guys blog daren't comment on the kerning....so I won't.......

Can you tell what it is yet?

2009-05-22T14:06:00.017+01:00

Level 3 Graphics & Illustration Students at Staffs, begin to put their final show together. By time of going to press, this is now up and pretty much ready for June 5th Preview Evening.The Show runs from Fri 5th June - [6-8pm] to Sat 13th June. So, if you're after some fab new talent....there's a glutony of it in Graphics......everything from print, branding, ad campaigns, paper sculpture,

Harry caught in the Chase

2009-05-21T22:47:00.004+01:00

A small sherry shall be raised to Staffordshire graduate (2008) Harry Heptonstall who has been snapped up by those lovely people at The Chase.Ironically enough, I worked on a project for Harry's father, Duncan, whilst I worked at The Chase in my formative years. Spooky!Best of British to Harry and I'll try and get him to add his thoughts and early experiences to 'The Sponge' in the near

Websites a go-go

2009-05-21T22:11:00.005+01:00

Several students have been busy creating their own websites and very good they are too.First up is Second Year Andy Cooke. An industrious fellow to say the least. Here's a pic I robbed from his site demonstrating the noble art of screen printing. You can see more of Andy's work at www.andy-cooke.comNext is Linsey Black's site, which you can see in glorious technicolor by inputting the following

It's been a long time

2009-05-21T21:58:00.003+01:00

A thousand apologies for not updating the blog, I've been up to my eyes with little things like running a design studio!It's been mad busy recently what with going into partnership, moving into a cool new design studio, taking more work on, United getting to Rome and ehm... Pearly Pops our 17 month old baby! Apart from that its been pretty quiet recently.Anyway, enough of my lame excuses, I'd

2009-05-01T13:48:00.011+01:00

Level 1 set the stage...After 24 gruelling weeks of blood, sweat, tears & tantrums....Level 1 Graphics/Illustration & Publication Design students at Staffs Uni finished their year on a high with the completion of a 12 week Visual Communication Module, based on theatre & stage production promotion. The graphics studio was filled with everything from giant dusters, miners' lamps, communist banners

Students Rose to the challenge..........

2009-04-01T14:53:00.016+01:00

MPA Roses Student Creativity Awards 2009The Urbis, Manchester, recently hosted the 2009 Roses Awards in which Staffordshire University swept the board!In total, 3 students were selected as winners [Chris Welch, Tom Edwards & Tom Vardy] with a further 11 students shortlisted for awards.'Credit Crunchers', 'Piss-Up', 'Language' & 'Bahookie' were 4 of 8 briefs that Staffordshire dominated in, with

Murphy's law.......

2009-03-03T12:15:00.002Z

Jason Murphy, a Level 2 Graphics student at Staffordshire University was among the top 10 winners of a brief set by Hugo Boss to create a poster linking music with the world wide brand.There is a new brief set every month and winners get their work published. Links to briefs/work etc can be found at: www.hugocreate.com. Jason's work among the other winners : www.hugocreate.com/en/winnersR4.php.

Kings of Leon T-shirt design competition

2009-03-03T10:51:00.005Z

I was sent this link by a friend which is basically to design a logo/T-shirt for popular beat combo The Kings of Leon. I hear they are flying high in the hit parade.Obviously you have too much work to do, but seemingly they offer a cash prize and the winner is selected by the Followill family themselves.Here's the link if anyone fancies it anyway. Submissions are due in by 22nd March.P.S. I will

Design Futures mapped out

2009-03-03T10:31:00.004Z

I was asked to do a talk for the 3rd years recently as part of their 'Design Futures' module. Consequently I put down as much info, advice and discussion points as I could think of based around the challenges design graduates face when leaving education and entering the big bad world of design.I think there's a lot on there for students to consider and hopefully it might provide some food for

What's that squiggly bit?

2009-02-25T15:13:00.006Z

Emma, currently on the first year graphics course at Staffordshire brought a recent print ad for the British Heart Foundation to our attention asking, "what's that squiggly bit?"Well Emma, that 'squiggly bit' is the slightly less technical term for a ligature. So what's a ligature I hear you cry? Well, basically they are specially designed pairs and trios of characters which are linked together

Brown is the new black

2009-02-18T10:23:00.010Z

Graduate from Staffordshire University, Lyndsey Brown is a confident and enthusiastic graphic designer looking for an opportunity. She enjoys working as part of a team. With a passion for combining a range of disciplines which includes photography and typography, producing concept driven design pieces. She has strong ability to produce excellent design ideas through a range of print processes.To

Graduate for sale

2009-02-05T18:38:00.004Z

In these times or recession, design companies need great graduates. So here's one and her name is Selina.A graphic designer with a blend of qualities and ethical values, who has a special appetite for challenging briefs as well as being a little type geek! I suffer from bouts of passion for design and would like my work to make an impact in the design world or beyond. I'm available for placements

Listen up cloth ears

2009-02-05T18:09:00.005Z

Right then you 'orrible lot. What you need is a dose of good ole' Yorkshire common sense and I know just the man to administer this. His name is Craig Oldham. A Barnsley boy, Craig graduated with a first in Graphics from Falmouth and is now working at The Chase in Manchester.He put together his thoughts on 12 things he learnt in his first 12 months in industry. I strongly suggest you visit his

Nice one our 'arry

2009-02-04T10:25:00.004Z

Here's just one example of Staffordshire Graduate Harry Heptonstall's typographic muscle.See Graduates looking for placements/employment for more information.

Hello Spongers

2009-02-03T18:20:00.006Z

Well, that's not a very nice welcome is it? I'll try again. Hello Sponge lovers, I cordially invite you to take a butchers at my very lame attempt at being Britain's (well Manchester's... well Urmston's most insightful observer on Graphic Design education!Let me introduce myself. I am Grant Mitchell, and before you say it, yes I do get some stick for that, particularly when dealing with banks,