NAFA visit - September 2018
/
This September, the UCLan graphic design staff welcomed 34 students from Nanyang Acadamy of Fine Arts in Singapore to the Preston campus. A five day itinerary included: sharing graduate work from Preston, a talk from the Reverend Jackson Whitehead aka Andy Bainbridge, a one-day instagram typography project, studio visits to design agencies in Manchester, and finally a cultural walking tour of Preston and its history led by Steve Bennett.
Andy told the story of Typographic Specimens from its beginnings and inspiration, its progression and development of the Reverend’s narrative; and how he finally came to realising the project in print and having his book in the British Library. His talk was of particular interest to some students, who took the time to document Andy’s fizzog. As a side note it was so enjoyable to watch so many students draw freely and regularly.
Andy in human form…
Andy in sketch form…
Instagram typographic project
When viewed in its native form, instagram provides a grid of the three columns in infinite rows. It’s a pre-made grid which can be taken advantage of from a number of standpoints. Much like a scrabble board it provides the opportunity to spell out words.
Being from a completely different background (culturally, geographically, aesthetically), we briefed the NAFA students to head out into Preston and photograph any typography they find which interested them for being different. Having collected a variety of imagery from the city, the simple aim of the brief was to use that typography to create a sentence or response to their travels using the instagram grid.
When back in the studio, the student groups compiled their photos, printed them out and began working out potential layouts.
It was a quick, fun project. Have a look at the outcomes on our TDOD instagram account.
With trips to The Chase, LOVE and True North we had a fantastic day in Manchester. (And also special thanks to those agencies for offering us their time.) The week cumlinated in a rain-soaked tour of Preston, and thankfully a pint in the Black Horse.
Thanks to Miss Peh and all the students from NAFA, we hope you had a fantastic week; and thank you for the sweet treats!
