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Founded and run by Steve Price, Plan-B Studio is a design consultancy specialising in design and art direction spanning an array of media for the fashion, music, PR, film, corporate, NGO and mobile communications sectors as well as design strategy and planning. We caught up with Steve this month to uncover a little more about his career and recent projects.
Notes on Design: Can you give us a brief insight into who you are and what you do? How did your career start?
Steve: Even though (after twelve years) I think they understand what it is I do I am very lucky that I have a very supportive family first and foremost. I also have to credit the beginning of my career to my art teacher. I was fifteen when she pulled me in to her store room to give me a bollocking. Told me that if I actually applied myself I could make something of this. I often think about her and that moment, it was pivotal in my life.
Ever since that day I have applied myself 100%. How my career has gone since then is like everyone elses – like a roller coaster with highs and lows. Working for yourself is incredibly stressful, tiring, stressful (did I already say that?) but more importantly rewarding and it offers me the flexibility I need in my life.
Notes on Design: How and why did you choose a career in graphic design?
Steve: I chose graphic design whilst on my foundation course at Maidstone Art School. I barely knew what it was, but it seemed the most logical path for me. I was (still am) crap at practical building or spatial design; interiors, products, etc.
I found I really jelled with the approach of graphic design, and the commercial element made sense to me; I could see the value of good design. Read the rest of this entry »
David McCandless turns complex data sets (like worldwide military spending, media buzz, Facebook status updates) into beautiful, simple diagrams that tease out unseen patterns and connections. Good design, he suggests, is the best way to navigate information glut — and it may just change the way we see the world.
After spending 7 years living, studying and working in Tokyo, Japan, Graphic Designer Trevor Embury set up his design company aftermodern.lab in Toronto, Canada in 2009. He has been working in design for 10 years both as a creative director and lecturer. His enthusiasm and knowledge for design, architecture and photography comes from his extensive world travels and cultural exchanges. He has exhibited his work in Canada, Japan and the U.S.A. He is a graduate from the University of Calgary, a member of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada and an Alumni of Sessions College for Professional Design. We are really pleased to announce Trevor is joining the Notes on Design writing team this month, so we thought we would uncover a little more about his journey to introduce you to him!
Notes on Design: Hi Trevor, and welcome to NoD! Can you tell us a little about yourself, what you do and how your career in design began?
Trevor: Put simply, I’m a Canadian graphic designer based out of Toronto. I grew up in Southern Alberta in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, went to the University of Calgary to study Environmental Science and oddly found photography. I later went on to do a Fine Arts minor in photography. I think it was my academic understanding of the physical world that drew me closer to try to capture the beauty of the natural landscape on film. Subsequently, I studied Art & Design at Sessions College for Professional Design. After graduating. I moved to Tokyo, Japan and found work in both fields (science and design).
Notes on Design: Can you tell us about working in Japan?
Trevor: Japan was amazing. I lived in Tokyo for 7 years and truly did as much as I could. I had studied some Japanese photographers notably, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Daido Moriyama, Kenro Izu and Nobuyoshi Araki. I wanted to experience Japanese culture, language, life and mostly the landscape. I was very fortunate to be able to work there in an environment where I was required to use both of my academic disciplines. I worked on projects with The International Standards Organization, Mitsubishi, Dai Nippon Printing and Keio University. Read the rest of this entry »
When it came to deciding what he wanted to be when he grew up, Clinton Stringer had two choices in mind: Contemporary Dancer or Graphic Designer. The dice were cast and he was accepted to study dance at P.A.R.T.S. (Belgium) under the director Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker – also the choreographer of the internationally-acclaimed company Rosas. After school, Clinton worked as a dancer for Rosas for 9 years and then decided to find out what the other path had in store for him. He has spent the last three years studying Graphic Design at Kunsthogeschool Sint-Lukas Brussel, in Belgium and is about to start a 3 month internship with De Designpolitie in Amsterdam. His work is strongly concept-based with a passion for the handmade. We caught up with Clinton this week to find out more about his academic experiences.
Notes on Design: Can you tell us a little about yourself, and your academic and professional journey to date?
Clinton: After a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in English Literature, Theatre Studies and Journalism) in South Africa, I was a little lost as to which direction I wanted to take. I had enjoyed both my contemporary dance classes in Theatre Studies and the layout course as part of my Journalism course, but neither qualified me to start as a professional. A few months later I was given an amazing opportunity: a scholarship to study in Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s newly established contemporary dance school in Brussels – P.A.R.T.S. I packed everything into an enormous suitcase and left for my big career… as a dancer! Ten years later, after joining Rosas, de Keermaeker’s company, and performing all over the world, my creative needs longed for new challenges and other outlets. I quit the company to begin my second big career… as a graphic designer!
When deciding where to study, I looked to Britain and Belgium. In Britain I would be able to speak my mother-tongue and get a good education. In Belgium, I would have to study in Dutch (my second language is Afrikaans – the baby sister of Dutch), but I could earn money using my dance contacts and still get a good education. The clincher was that the Belgian education was exactly 10% of the cost of its British counterpart – €500 as opposed to €5000 per year. A no-brainer. Read the rest of this entry »
Join Andrew Shalat (Contributor to MacWeek, Inside Mac Radio, MacCentral, and MacWorld) and Gordon Drummond (Chief Learning Officer, Sessions College for Professional Design) in a Live discussion on the merits of teaching design online.
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Graphic, Web, Multimedia Design and Game Art are increasingly available to be learned online, both with and without instructors. One school has been doing it the longest: Sessions College for Professional Design.
Sessions College was the first fully-online school of design having opened its doors in 1999. The depth of curriculum has grown as it continues to challenge the limits of teaching in what is still a relatively new medium.
The college also manages to appeal to an amazing faculty of instructors, many of whom have published best selling book in their respective fields of design and have taught at other more traditional and renowned brink and mortar colleges.
One such instructor is Andrew Shalat, and on Tuesday, August 10th Scott Chappell of NoD will ask both Andrew Shalat and Sessions College Chief Learning Office Gordon Drummond to demystify the process of learning design online.
The details of this live online conversation are available here. Reserve your spot for the tour and you might also win one of Andrews books which include
Born in the rural town of Frome in the West Country of England, Charlotte Knibbs is a freelance graphic designer. Upon graduating with a First Class Honours degree from Portsmouth University, Charlotte started to work with Aardman Animations designing the product and packaging range to accompany the release of Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death. Charlotte is now undertaking a Masters in Graphic Design at London College of Communication. Notes on Design spoke to Charlotte this week to find out about her academic journey.
Notes on Design: Can you tell us a little about your academic and professional journey to date?
Charlotte: I studied a BTEC in Graphic Design but found the west country far too sleepy and craved something different… but at the time, I wasn’t sure what. I moved south to Portsmouth Uni to do my BA in Communication Design. Bachelors degrees are certainly different for everyone, but for me I found the new found freedom quite addictive, and quite honestly I slacked off playing World of Warcraft until the sun came up. Eventually, by the end of first year something clicked and the real possibility of being kicked out of uni scared me into pulling my socks up, and subsequently I graduated with a First Class in 2007.
I was lucky enough to start freelancing during my second year at University, and got my first major job with the brilliant Aardman Animations upon graduating. I’ve been freelancing for Aardman for 2 and a half years this month and it’s a perfect job for me, as a freelancer. On top of my freelance work I’m also studying my Masters at London College of Communication (LCC), which I’m due to finish towards to the end of the year. Read the rest of this entry »
Graphic Design graduate Gareth Dunt has studied art and design for most of his academic life. Three years ago he moved to Wales to study an honours degree in Graphic Communication at the Cardiff School of Art and Design. Gareth is also the founder of design blog Black Maths and since graduating this summer has moved to London to work for design consultancy Elmwood. As part of our Graduate Season, Notes on Design spoke to Gareth this month to uncover more about his academic experience and plans for his future career.
Notes on Design: When did you first realise you wanted to be a part of the creative industry?
Gareth: I think it was when I realised that you can make an equally respectable career from art and design, as you can with anything else they teach you at school. Until this point I was under the misguided impression that art and design was something you do in your spare time, a release from the day job if you will. How wrong I was.
Notes on Design: What is it about design that motivates and excites you?
Gareth: It’s how good design can make people feel. How they interact with it, and how it interacts with them. It’s relationships I’m fascinated with. Whether it be a book, chair, brand identity or installation we can’t help but be affected by the messages it gives out. Read the rest of this entry »
Greening the Beige (GtB) is an eco-minded arts collective and not-for-profit community network based in Beijing. The organisation acts as a public platform to promote environmental awareness through the arts, frequently collaborating with other organisations and artists dedicated to sustainable development. After signing up to the 10:10 campaign, GtB is now focusing on their annual event – 10/10/10 – which will take place later on in the year. We sat down with founder, Carissa Welton, to unearth more.
Where are you originally from, and what brought you to Beijing?
Carissa: I was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, one of the top 10 greenest places to live in the USA. I then moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1999, and received a BA from San Francisco State University in 2003. Whilst I was there, I focused my thesis on the contemporary cultural representation of Xi’an through the Tang Dynasty and studied Chinese for 2 semesters. Eventually, in the summer of 2002, I found myself in China taking a boat tour up the Yangtze River to see the Three Gorges Dam.
Can you give us a brief insight into Greening the Beige (GtB) and what you do?
Carissa: I founded Greening the Beige in 2007. The focus is to promote environmental awareness through art, cultural, and communal activities – in other words, an eco-minded artist collective. I run the show as the director, and the platform operates 100% on volunteerism. Read the rest of this entry »
That time of year is upon us again, as thousands of creatives leave the confines and relative comfort of academia and head towards industry. For those of us who have already been through this process, we are reminded that the transition from graduate to professional is not always an easy one.
Recent UK figures, published by The Guardian warn graduates that for every application they make there could be up to 70 other graduate applicants.
At a time when competition is fiercer than ever, knowing how to react and what to do next can often be the difference between “Sorry we haven’t got any positions available…” or “Would you like to come in for an interview?”
For those of us who have already been through the process this is a chance to see how four years of study has turned design students into creative individuals. We know this is a major transition in the life of a designer and for some it’ll be a pretty scary time, so we’ve decided to give a little bit back and try and impart some wisdom and insight for those beginning their journey this summer.
To coincide with the industries newest recruits, Notes On Design will be running a special series over the next four weeks dedicated to graduates. We will be featuring some of the most promising design graduates, finding out what happened to last years graduates and talking to design professionals to find out how to kick start your career in the creative sector.
Are you a design graduate of 2010?
We are looking to feature some of the best design graduates of 2010 from around the world. If you would like to be considered for a feature or interview, please email kate@notesondesign.net with the following information:
1. Full name, University name and full course name
2. A short biography (150 words max)
3. A maximum of 4 projects (3 images + a brief description / project)
4. All relevant links to personal websites or blogs
At his Stanford University commencement speech in 2005, Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple and Pixar, tells a heart-warming tale of some of pivotal moments in his life. Told in three stories – the first about connecting the dots, second on love and loss and the third on death itself, Steve urges us to pursue our dreams and see the opportunities in life’s setbacks.
“I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
