Speakers

Harry Pearce/Pentagram

Studio Dumbar

Spin

After last year’s sold out party, we’re happy to announce, we’re once again teaming up with our friends at 12th Isle, to take the celebrations to Stereo and spread great music across both floors of the venue. During their summer travels, 12th Isle were invited to play at a small DIY festival in Dorset and happened upon the first ever live performance by a group called 3Peace.

Fusing live Cuban percussion and sax with sophisticated drum machine grooves the trio took the roof off the place and left everyone thoroughly impressed. Overhearing a member of the crowd describing them as ‘Marc Moulin’s Placebo crossed with Drexciya’ (a description sure to raise more than a few eye-brows of those in the know), the idea of inviting the group to perform in Glasgow naturally began to form. With 12th Isle and friends DJing throughout the night, alongside a live performance from up-and-coming band 3Peace across both floors of Stereo, this is on-track to be an unforgettable night.

About Supermundane

Rob Lowe, also known as Supermundane, is an artist, graphic designer, typographer, illustrator and writer with over 20 years experience in the creative industry. His signature mesmeric drawings have been published and exhibited worldwide. In 2012 he debut a new direction of pure line and colour, exploring depth, movement and optical effects.

He has been responsible for designing some of the most groundbreaking independent magazines of the last decade including the alternative children’s magazine Anorak and the award-winning food quarterly Fire & Knives.

His practice is defined by a distinctive use of colour, line and simplicity which can be seen through all his different disciplines from typeface design to his personal works.

He lives and works in London.

Workshop Information

Surely the non-commercial printed poster is an outdated format in the age of digital overload and social media? But it has become apparent that we all live in bubbles, communicating to only those who already agree with us. The poster in public common space (which is dominated by commercial imagery) is a way of talking outside of this world. But what would you want to say?

In this workshop, we will look at posters from designers such as Grapus, Sister Corita Kent, Paul Peter Piech and Saul Bass. Through experimentation, conversation and process we will make posters with statements that can be political, joyful, humorous, controversial or anything in-between. Experimenting with technique, typography and words to collectively come to a closer understanding of the role of the non-commercial poster in the modern world.

About GTF & Ard

Graphic Thought Facility is a London-based design consultancy with an international reputation for appropriate, effective and original solutions. Recent commissions include store environments for M&S, exhibition design for the Science Museum, books for the Gagosian Gallery, wayfinding for Vitra, and campaigns for Kvadrat and the Frieze Art Fair.

GTF have always enjoyed working across creative disciplines, especially loving the dialogue and opportunities such collaborations open up. Combining this enquiring approach with a bold and personal aesthetic has presented GTF the opportunity to work with wonderful private clients and public institutions around the world. They continue to work across all manner of contexts and mediums to create what hopefully remains an original, inspiring and considered body of work, amassed over the past three decades.

Guillaume Chuard is a young Swiss designer who after having previously worked with Johnathan Hares and GTF, returned to study at the RCA and now has his own new and noted practice ‘Ard’. Ard have recently redesigned the Tate’s magazine, Tate etc and whilst at the RCA Guillaume set up and ran design workshops for outside participants as part of his study there.

Workshop Information

We will look at how locating graphics within an environment gives the opportunity to not only address the direct communication requirements of the content but to add to or even to a greater extent help create, the overall atmosphere and experience of the space for the visitor.

About Studio Dumbar

Studio Dumbar attracts talented individuals from around the world. Over the years, this has lead to an endless run of remarkable personalities and projects. We have our homebase in the Netherlands (Rotterdam) and a liaison-office in South-Korea (Seoul). On average, we have 5 different nationalities and cultures in the team. Our portfolio is equally diverse, encompassing work for a variety of clients both large and small – from business and government to cultural and non-profit.

The studio is led by Liza Enebeis (Creative Director) and Tom Dorresteijn (CEO and Strategy).

Studio Dumbar’s colourful history began in 1977 when Gert Dumbar founded the company in The Hague. Since September 2016 Studio Dumbar has joined Dept an international network of leading digital agencies.

Workshop Information

At Studio Dumbar we create visual languages that last through time no matter the medium.

Our role as design communicators is to give shape to the future. It is our goal to make our visual languages stand out from the daily overload of information. With every project we encounter a different audience and they require a different approach.

During our 2 day workshop we would like to test an extreme situation.

What happens when you are confronted with Aliens – how do you decipher their language? How do you communicate with them – what is the most effective form – symbols, patterns or moving images? How do you create a language for someone who is not familiar with your references?
An alien landing is imminent.

About Spin

Spin is a London-based design studio. Over the past twenty year’s we’ve established an international reputation for delivering clear, elegant design solutions across multiple platforms.

Workshop Information

Spin is primarily known for creating contemporary, flexible identity systems. This workshop will reveal the secrets behind our unique approach, on day one Claudia Klat (Spin’s design director) and Jonathan Neilson (designer at Spin) will show some examples of our work and explain the thinking behind it.

You will be learning about the process in a practical way by creating an identity for yourself. On day one you will be encouraged to conduct research on yourself, the outcome of this will be a poster. You will be working individually in small groups where the outcome will be presented and discussed with each other.

On day two, using your research poster as a foundation you will begin designing your own identity. At the end of the workshop, we hope you will have a suite of materials that your identity is applied to.

About Wolff Olins

Wolff Olins is a global creative consultancy founded in 1965 by Wally Olins and Michael Wolff in Camden Town, London. We are creative partners to the world’s most ambitious leaders in designing radically better businesses, working globally from three hubs (London, New York and San Francisco) and made up of 150 people that are ambitious for our clients and optimistic for the world. We work across categories including technology, media, retail, industry, culture, and non-profit organisations. We have worked with some of the world’s most recognisable brands including Google, Skype, Orange, EE, The Met, Tate Modern, Macmillan Cancer, Oxfam, Virgin and The London 2012 Olympics. Wolff Olins is part of Diversified Agency Services; a division of Omnicom Group Inc. Recognized by Fast Company as “one of today’s boldest branding and innovation firms.”

Workshop Information

Wolff Olins has been creating global brands for over 50 years. It’s our belief that brands are not just a name, logo or slogan but an idea a company or a product stands for in people’s minds – made real by what that company or product does and expressed through a unique expression and experience.

Using our tools and frameworks we will work together to create a branded experience in just two days. You will be working collaboratively within teams to quickly bring your ideas and designs into reality – reviewing and testing as we go.

The final outcome will be to build a brand that will be brought to life through a signature experience before pitching your ideas back to the room.

About Radim Peško & Tomáš Celizna

RP Digital Type Foundry is a small scale type foundry established in 2009 by Radim Peško. The foundry is focused on the development of fonts that are both formally and conceptually distinctive.

Radim Peško is a designer based in London. His work focuses on typography, type and editorial design as well as occasional exhibition or publishing projects. He is visiting lecturer at ÉCAL Lausanne, among others.

Tomáš Celizna is a designer based in Amsterdam. His practise is centered around design and development of publishing platforms for cultural and educational institutions and organisations. He has taught graphic design at Gerrit Rietveld Academie, and co-curated three editions of Brno Biennial.

Workshop Information

Surface. Synthesis. Multiplicity. Identity.

This workshop aims to investigate how graphical identity of a site can be developed methodically. Participants will establish typo-graphical forms representing a place in Glasgow by reducing their observations into two extremes — abstract detail and a letter-shape. Both shapes will pass through several steps and techniques over the course of two days, so that their characteristics do influence each other. The outcomes will become a foundation of prospective visual identity of a chosen site.

About MTV

Meet the people who are at the forefront of MTV’s digital evolution: The MTV Always On team.

MTV is everywhere it’s audience is. This ever-expanding team of creative minds work together to produce timely, shareable content across a wide range of platforms including Snapchat Discover, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, MTV apps and more.

May it be the latest music releases, film star interviews, celebrity gossip, fashion trends or viral memes – if it’s part of the zeitgeist, it’s part of the conversation being generated by MTV. Creating content for MTV’s ONO sites both in the UK and internationally(excl-US), Always On works tirelessly to make sure its audience are getting what they want at the touch of a button.

Workshop Information

In the workshop, we will make first class multi platform content through visual storytelling and be given an invaluable overview of how art direction, picture editing, editorial design and animation fits into a digital content environment for one of the world’s leading entertainment brands.

About Harry

Harry Pearce is a Pentagram partner, eternal optimist, human rights activist, graphic designer, accidentalist and photographer.

He has worked around the world devising identities, installations, posters, packaging, books and talks for clients as diverse as the Royal Academy of Arts, Phaidon Press, Pink Floyd Records, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lloyd’s of London, Shakespeare’s Globe, PEN International, Science Museum and the UN.

Since 1993 he has been an active member of the advisory board for WITNESS, a human rights charity founded by Peter Gabriel. He has been an integral part of WITNESS’ development, helping it move, change and mature from the handicams of the 90s to the iPhones of today.

Harry is a committed member of Alliance Graphique Internationale and has spoken at design conferences across the globe including Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, USA, India, Holland and Costa Rica.

About Ciaran

Ciaran Glöbel is a self-taught signwriter and commercial artist specialising in hand-rendered typography, working primarily with enamel and acrylic. Since opening his workshop in Glasgow city centre in 2013 he was worked for a variety of independent and corporate clients including DF Concerts, Jameson Whiskey, Network Rail, Academy Music Group, Irn Bru, BBC Scotland and many more.

Workshop Information

The tradition of signpainting is a long and venerable one, but the dawn of the digital age saw these once ubiquitous compositions all but disappear from our environment. Replaced by cheap and easily produced plastic substitutes.

As times and tastes have changed, the techniques and outcomes of hand painted lettering have re-ignited in our cultural lexicon and countless individuals from around the globe have favoured the brush over the keyboard and began to re-explore the more tactile aspects of typography.

Our 1-day workshop aims to introduce participants to the basic techniques of rendering a piece of lettering by hand, approaching brushwork and understanding of materials.

Tradition and technology don’t have to be mutually exclusive, so while there is a strong foundation of manual skill and draughtsmanship, the use of familiar design packages can revolutionise the way in which hand rendered lettering can be achieved and so we will explore a more contemporary approach to an antiquated craft.

About CodeBase

CODEBASE is the largest technology incubator in the UK and one of the fastest growing in Europe.

Based in Argyle House, a quarter of a million square foot building in the heart of Edinburgh, CodeBase is entirely built on private equity and our mission is to build and grow the next great tech companies.

Join us and become part of Europe’s fastest growing tech community.

Workshop Information

An introduction to web design and digital development. This workshop will equip you with the skills to build a simple website.

About Jane

Jane Stockdale is a documentary photographer from a small town in Scotland who loves to collaborate on a wide mix of projects with pals and clients including Nike, Rapha, Red Bull, Renault Trucks, Arcade Fire and Shelter. Project’s she’s worked on include documenting the Dutch Football Team for Nike, the World Cup in Brazil, Arcade Fire on tour in Europe, and the Kosovo Olympic Team competing in their first ever Olympics at Rio 2016. Jane loves to experiment, collaborate and take photos from the heart of the action that are true, rich and real.

Workshop Information

This practical and hands-on 1-day workshop will involve working in teams to experiment and collaborate on a documentary project to create a zine by the end of the day. Bring along your cameras.

About Tangent

Tangent is a brand identity and graphic design studio founded and run by designers.

We’re big enough to deliver complex projects with scale and reach, yet have a commitment to design and detail that can only be fully realised in an independent, creatively focused studio.

Workshop Information

In today’s world brand identities need to be flexible. In an ever competitive marketplace, brands are applied across increasingly diverse channels, such as websites, social media, printed material, advertising, merchandise, interiors and the environment. To be appealing and effective, every application requires original ideas, thoughtful application and attention to detail.

Our 1-day workshop will focus on brand identity systems, and how creative thinking can overcome and embrace the real-world challenges of colour, shape, size, format and medium. 

You will get insight from Tangent’s experience creating identity systems for global events, universities, drinks brands, cities and other commercial and cultural clients. Working and collaborating in groups, you will be tasked with applying a brand across a range of material in the most exciting, engaging, unique and unexpected ways. You will be encouraged to think differently and push boundaries.

About Grafik

Grafik.net is a home for the world’s most inspiring graphic design. Building on our 20-year heritage in print as Grafik magazine, we tap into the brilliant designers, curators, critics and image-makers who shape visual culture. Operating from our London office, we report on the latest projects by both upcoming and established design talent, explore graphic design history, represent the ideas of design practitioners, and provide a forum for thinking and writing about graphic design.

The Grafik workshop will be led by co-founder Angharad Lewis.

Angharad Lewis is a writer, editor and lecturer based in London. She is co-editor of Grafik.net and has worked on the editorial team of Grafik in print and online for over fourteen years. She has authored several books including So You Want to Publish A Magazine (2016) and has contributed to publications around the world, writing on design and culture. Angharad is a Lecturer in Visual Communication at The Cass School of Art, Architecture & Design, where she runs a studio based on publishing as design practice.

Workshop Information

Got an idea for a magazine you’d like to start? Curious about the world of DIY book and magazine-making? Want to learn how to take an idea from drawing board to bookshop self? In this workshop, you will get a taste of the backroom world where publishing ideas are turned into reality, receive advice and hear stories and tips from successful publishers, and have a go at a fun, practical making session… 

—Get an overview of the DIY publishing scene.
—Discover the top ten fundamentals of DIY publishing, from funding to tips for a great cover, to distribution.
—Learn how to refine and pitch your publication idea
—Put together a flat plan for your publication
—Take part in a fun, live group publishing project

About DR.ME

DR.ME are a creative studio specialising in art direction, image-making, graphic design, workshops, video & publishing with clients varying from Sony to Ninja Tune, Budweiser to Cloudwater Brew Co, Bloomberg Businessweek to Thames & Hudson and Manchester International Festival to Soup Kitchen.The studio exhibits often and has curated exhibitions in New York, Manchester and London. In 2016 the studio published it’s first book ‘Cut That Out’ celebrating the most innovative uses of collage today, from 50 leading contemporary graphic designers across 15 different countries—including Hort, Hvass&Hannibal, Stefan Sagmeister, Braulio Amado and many others. 

Workshop Information

The workshop will focus on process, experimentation and idea generation. No computers allowed. We will give each person a Scottish word and ask each person to make 75 small sketches, from that you choose ten and make 10 A3 pieces using whatever medium you like from ink/paint/collage, from the 10 A3 you choose 5 to adapt and develop into 5 A2 Pieces, then you will develop 2 into 2 A1 Pieces and finally work huge on 1 large A0!

The workshop will show the importance of sketches from the start, not being to precious about your work, making snap decisions about what is good or bad about something, working on a variety of scales and seeing an idea from a simple rough sketch become a huge piece and seeing how it has changed/not changed during the process……. you can use paint, ink, charcoal, collage, type. We will then incorporate a happy accident element at the end by making a huge collaborative happy accident zine with the A1 pieces.

About HSC

Hungry Sandwich Club is a Leeds based team of creative pals specialising in illustration, motion graphics and animation.

Known for their fun, character lead work, they have worked for a range of brands and independents including MasterCard, BBC, Google and the Hepworth Gallery. 

Workshop Information

At Hungry Sandwich we obsess over characters, their style, design and personality. We care about each and every keyframe, and we want you to to fall in love with motion too! Join us for a day of animated fun as you journey from animation zero to character hero. 

During the workshop you’ll learn the basic motion techniques needed to create characters from even the most simple shapes.

In the morning you’ll ease into key framing your own animations using After Effects, learning the basics and picking up a few tips and tricks along the way. In the afternoon we’ll put your newfound skills to the test and create your own animated scene. Each scene which will be combined with the others in the group to creating a team animation.

There’s nothing better than seeing your characters come to life. Our workshop will let you explore the process of animating from beginning to end, with plenty of Sandwich tips and tricks along the way. 

About Recoat

Recoat are a Scottish arts organisation based in Glasgow specialising in contemporary urban art. They curate art exhibitions and mural projects, undertake commercial design commissions and create community education programmes all over Scotland. They work with brands like Converse and Red Bull, the agencies D8, Freytag Andersen, O Street and Design By Zag and organisations including the BBC, Amnesty International and NVA.

Workshop Information

What do you want to change?

As mural artists, we’re interested in urban spaces and how we use them, the function and value of public art, and critically thinking about our role as designers in the world. You’ll spend the day with us exploring all of that! You’ll also learn urban art techniques and find new ways to communicate visually. We’re going to work out what we want to change and find ways to tell people about it. 

About Anthony

Graphic artist, printmaker and designer Anthony Burrill is known for his persuasive, up-beat style of communication. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York and has been exhibited in galleries around the world including the Barbican Art Gallery, the Walker Art Center and the Design Museum, London.

Words and language are an important part of Burrill’s output and he has developed a distinctive voice that is sought after not only by collectors of his posters and prints but also by clients including Apple, Google, Hermés, the British Council, Ace & Tate and the Design Museum. Burrill is perhaps best known for his typographic, text-based compositions, including the now-famous “Work Hard and Be Nice to People”, which has become a mantra for the design community and beyond.

Burrill was born in Littleborough, Lancashire. After studying Graphic Design at Leeds Polytechnic he completed an MA in Graphic Design at the Royal College of Art, London. He now lives and works on the Isle of Oxney, Kent.

Workshop Information

Participants will be supplied with samples of three wood letter typefaces and sheets of paper trimmed to 20 X 30 inches (Double Crown). These are the simple elements that Anthony uses to create his iconic posters.

During the one day workshop, you will create a new series of posters, simply cutting and sticking the letterforms within the poster format. Time will be spent discussing words and phrases during the development of designs. Participants are invited to reflect on personal statements and family phrases prior to the workshop.

The format of the workshop explores restriction within the design process, working with a limited choice of typefaces and size. Consideration will be given to layout and the positioning of type on the sheet, you will examine how different layouts of the same words on the poster can alter the meaning of the text.

About Touch

Touch is a creative agency based in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Our collective skills cover everything from brand identity, graphic design and copywriting to illustration and digital design, but at the heart of each project lies clear and effective communication. We design with people in mind. We plan, create, develop and deliver impressive work for a diverse range of clients. This didn’t happen overnight either – together, we have been amassing our collective experience for over 15 years. Our considerable skillset means that we are adept at more than just aesthetically pleasing projects: concept, content and design are all equally crucial.

Workshop Information

– Naming

– Sketching

– Identity creation

– Developing a visual language

We will be looking for and encouraging the creation of a coherent identity, with appropriate aesthetics and language.

More information to follow.

About Nobrow

Nobrow Press is a British publishing company and bookshop based in Shoreditch, London, England. The Nobrow workshop will be led by Sam Arthur.

Sam Arthur is a founding partner and Director of Nobrow set up in 2008 as a narrative & graphic art publishing platform. Sam studied Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins and went on to direct commercials, music videos and short films before setting up Nobrow. Sam has seen the company grow from the two original founding partners to 15 employees with two offices, HQ in London and a sales office in New York. They currently publish around 35 books per year under two imprints: Nobrow (for adults) and Flying Eye Books (for children) and both are distributed all over the world. Their books include award-winning titles as well as critically acclaimed publications that define the picture book and art-comic genre.

Sam is also co-founder of the East London Comics & Arts Festival (ELCAF) now in its 6^th year. Sam sits on the board of directors of the Association of Illustrators an independent professional body representing the interests of illustrators all over the world.

Workshop Information

Learn some of the tricks of the trade from publisher Sam Arthur. Throughout the day Sam will lead participants through a process of making a picture book from scratch by hand. In doing so you will pick up some invaluable insights into the way Nobrow works with artists and illustrators and how they go about creating some of the loveliest visual books around.

About A Day Out

A Day Out is a graphic design and art direction studio. We are Graham and Malcolm, a 28-year-old skateboarder and a retiree of the Stockholm hardcore punk scene respectively.

We get to the crux of problems by asking uncomfortable questions and pursuing appropriate ideas over aesthetics.

www.adayout.co

Workshop Information

We help participants explore great ways of presenting and pitching ideas, an essential skill for any designer.

Power point is the convention but also a false economy. We designers already have skills that enable us to communicate messages visually. In this workshop, we will encourage the use of all the senses and have the participants working with space, sound, movement and interaction in a way that works for them.

We’ll treat presentation as a design problem. Find your optimum presentation style!

Project Information

Work on a creative design-led brief over 2 days with mentorship from some of the top creative practices in Scotland, with the opportunity to present to an internationally renowned panel of judges.

This is an opportunity to create a piece of personal work with industry level creative direction, meet like- minded people, develop your professional practice and enjoy yourself!

The 20 participants who create the strongest responses to the project will be offered work placements with their mentor agency. The top 3 selected by the jury will be featured online, rewarded with a design bundle and awarded GDFS Champions of 2017!

This year’s design brief will be created by Will Hudson, Director of It’s Nice That.

Shortlisted participants will be offered:

Work placements with their mentor agencies
GDFS Best Up and Coming Award
Graphics Bundle

Mentors/Judges

Mentors

Freytag Anderson
Graphical House
Jamhot
Kerr Vernon
Stand
MadeBrave
O Street
Recoat
Tangent
Front Page

Judges

It’s Nice That
Eye Magazine

Day 1 Schedule

9.30am: Registration
10am: Opening presentations from mentors
11am: Project launch
11.15am: Work with mentors on brief
1pm: Lunch
2pm-6pm: Work with mentors on brief

(Music & Drinks throughout)

Day 2 Schedule

10am-1pm: Work with mentors on brief
1pm: Lunch
2pm: Presentations from mentors
4pm: Project deadline
4pm-8pm: Project presentations

(Music & Drinks throughout)

Explore the importance of networking and collaboration with It’s Nice That’s Will Hudson & Mr. Bingo.

As a founder of one of the largest creative networks in the world, Will shares his journey before welcoming an open discussion. It’s Nice That is a media company founded in 2007 which has grown across multiple platforms online, in print and through events, reaching more than one million people each month.

Mr Bingo was a commercial illustrator for 15 years, working regularly for clients such as The New Yorker, The Guardian, TIME, CH4, The Mighty Boosh & The New York Times.
In 2015 he launched a Kickstarter to fund a book about his Hate Mail project. The campaign featured a rap video and a diverse selection of rewards including being trolled, having your washing up done, going on a date in Wetherspoons, being told to fuck off on Christmas Day and getting shitfaced on a train. He decided around this period to never work for clients ever again and focus on being on some sort of artist which he’s done ever since.

Project Information

MAKE A STATEMENT is a series of free workshops, discussions and guided exhibition tours taking place as part of Graphic Design Festival Scotland’s International Poster Exhibition. 

MAKE A STATEMENT provides opportunities to learn more about poster design, develop creative skills, create high-quality posters and encourages you to express your opinions and share your thoughts and ideas in a creative way.

Booking Information

MAKE A STATEMENT will deliver 28 poster design workshops and guided exhibition tours across 14 days (2^nd-21^st November) in The Lighthouse, Glasgow. 

If you are an individual and would like to attend a poster design workshop and guided exhibition tour, you can now book your free ticket here.

If you are part of a community group and you would like to book a private creative tour and workshop, please contact Beth at info@gdfs.uk.