'Break a Leg'

Here we feature James Clarke’s final year self initiated project from 2018.

The Brief

Identifying the distinctive chevron from the apex of the Theatre rooftop

Copywriting plays on the little element of the Theatre.

‘Little things make a big difference’ becomes the point of focus for the copywriting and how it’s applied.

Please click on image to play the film.

Application 1 - Poster

Application 2 - Poster

Application 3 - Poster

Chevron icons

In theatre application

Calendar of events

Magazine Advertisement

A good example to any year 1 student of how working within the constraints of a limited amount of appropriate assets - good copywriting, a strong graphic element and distinctive colour pallet can create a coherent brand look and feel.

Toppling a Dictator – Creative Conscience Award Winner – 2014

The set up

Here we feature Thomas Mcinally, Roberto Bagnoli, Ryan Tinsley’s entry for the Creative Conscience Student Awards 2014.

“This project is a social experiment to test people’s levels of conformation. Focusing on the figure of Kim Jong-Un, the trio created his portrait out of dominos in an art gallery and filmed people’s responses for two days. The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness for the oppression and lack of human rights for the mass population of North Korea”.

Please click image above to play the film.

Tom & Ryan get to grips with the set up

This project was the first in a long line of success over recent years for Preston Graphics students in the Creative Conscience Awards. The whole project came about with one simple word connection based around the word toppling, ‘domino toppling’ and ‘to topple a dictator’. This connection sparked the whole project off and provided the core concept onto which the students could then build around and upon to create a great final year project.

Fever Tree – YCN Winner – 2016

Here we feature Kristian Shepherd’s winning entry for the Round Creative Network Awards 2016.

Packaging Designs

Neck Label -1

Neck Label Details - 2

Coster & Glass Design Concepts

Adshel Design

A nice clear appropriate connection of protection applied and rolled out across several touch points.

D&AD Times Brief – 2019

Here we feature Brandon Thomas’s D&AD winning entry from 2019.

Please click the image above to play the film.

1 - Recommended for you

2 - Filtered for you

3. Personalised for you

Great example of clear concise thinking, nailing the problem and then using copywriting to highlight and force the point home.

Dear Mr Hollingsworth...

Here we feature a special article that delves the depths of our archive here in Preston to reveal some of the earliest correspondence between the Preston Graphic Design course and the design industry at large.

Dating from the late 1960’s & early 1970’s, the letters featured were written in the main by two Lecturer’s, George Hollingsworth and Duncan Glenn, to various companies seeking possible student placements.

They provide a fascinating insight and record of a nascent placement programme that was nationally ground breaking and is still alive and well and running to this day.

Letter 1: duncan glen

Letter 2: jock kinneir

Letter 3: peter march

Letter 4: andrew noble

Letter 4

Letter 5

Letter 6

Letter 7

Letter 8

Letter 9

Letter 10

Letter 11

Letter 12

Letter 13

Letter 14

Letter 15

Letter 16

Letter 18

Letter 19

Letter 20

A selection of the letters above have also been included in the recent ‘Words of Wisdom’ publication, which has a series of case studies from 50 alumni over the past 5 decades, with their advice to future students and a selection of their professional work .

Preface

Letters printed at the rear of the book.

Outer packaging

Front cover & spine

Cover & inside front cover

The Alternative Olympics

Here we feature one of the most comprehensive branding projects produced in recent years by Jonathan Mount in 2019 as part of his final year submission. The brief was an industry set project by Forepoint Preston.

Students were asked to brand the Alternative Olympics, the UK’s premier sporting celebration for the obscure and traditional heritage events found in the UK. Events included Nettle Eating, Shin Kicking, Worm Charming, Conker fighting, Bog Snorkeling and Black Pudding Hurling. The aim was to create a new vision for the Alternative Games using iconography, type and a strong visual identity. To modernise a long established event with a fresh new look for the 21st century.

Rationale – The County Games is one of the UK’s longest established sporting events dating back to the middle ages. It’s first revival during the 1850s brought five of Britain’s counties together in a celebration of the unusual and obscure.

Many of the sporting disciplines are no longer considered “mainstream” but at the heart of every modern sport is a traditional event pre-dating it. This bringing together of county teams to the centre of Britain was at the core of the games with events being held at the Forest of Bowland up until its decline at the turn of the 20th century. 

It was rumoured that Pierre de Frédy, the Baron de Coubertin himself witnessed the games during the late 1800s and inspired him to establish what we now know as the modern olympics. The modern county games now includes eight teams with competitors vying for victory across eight events. 

The games are no longer exclusively held in Bowland with competing counties now hosting each games on an alternate basis but for 2020, the games return to the heart of Britain, to the ancient royal hunting grounds of Bowland and the ancient home of the games, Dunsop Bridge.

The Brand Mark

Using the basic shield shape and arranging in a circle with the workmark underneath completes our logomark. Much like the interlocking rings of Olympic tradition, the county shields arranged facing toward each other really brings a sense of community and oneness for the games.

The two primary wordmarks using both standard and inline Gill variants

The basic Heraldic shape at the core of the logo, developed & simplified

The colour palette is taken from the respective county flags of each competing team

Complimentary type families

The Rationale for the Games

The team colours slide show

The arena signage for the different events

The competitors Tabards

Event participants can wear squad tabards in the appropriate colour of their team be it a 2 or 3 colour pattern. From left to right, the teams are the Rossendale Hurlers, Egremont Grimacers and Gawthorpe Haulers.

Wayfinding

The Medals

Event participants compete to win the coveted shield medals. The event for which the medal is awarded appears on the obverse of each below the shield circle. In the examples here, the events are coal carrying, bog snorkelling and shin kicking for 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Mockups showing obverse and reverse with ribbon colours for winning team

Advertisements

A campaign to get people intersted in attending. Each poster shows a competitor at rest and composed. The passion for the events they compete in is shown through the copy and tattoo.

In context

App 1

App 2

A tour de force in every sense. A great example of how a project can be carried through with great copy writing, imagination and belief. As a student of Graphic Communication this project should be considered a touchstone…the closer you analyse the symbolism the better it gets…and it doesn’t get much better that this project. Enjoy!

A Pillar of the Community

Here we feature Natalie Utting-Ealand’s Harris Museum icon designs from 2018. Based on The Harris Museum’s 6 main Doric Columns, Natalie created a set of graphic icons that symbolised the cultural focus of the Museums offering to the Preston community – History, Art & Craft, Research, Recreation, Inspiration & Stories.

The Harris Museum frontage

Icons in Black & White – History, Art & Craft, Research, Recreation, Inspiration & Stories

Colour Coded – History, Art & Craft, Research, Recreation, Inspiration & Stories

Typography added

A really nice example of a set of well appropriated symbols, well designed, and well crafted icons. A great example for any future student tasked with creating their own icon designs.

Hellmann's D&AD 2018 – Rejuice

Here we feature Tom Buckley’s entry for the Hellmann’s D&AD brief back in 2018. The brief asked for the creation of a Hellmann’s branded device, publication or service that addresses the issue of food wastage.

Please click on image above to play film

Brand Assets

Word mark

Packaging 1

Packaging 2

Packaging 3

Overview

In store 1

In store 2

In Store 3

A well thought through concept with a distinct look and feel, from colour to copy and through to tone of voice.

Tickling the Ivories

Here we feature current 2nd year placement student, Dom Dzik’s brand identity for a Piano Tuner.

Word mark

Bespoke piano key typeface

Stationery set

Please click image above to play the film

A very competent, sophisticated and professional solution for a second year student. Dom even went as far as creating the brand guidelines, which you can see here.

The answer my friend...

…is blowing in the wind.

Here we feature a one-off poster from the archive, it was designed for a symposium hosted by The National Geographic Society on the world’s winds.

Kamikaze - The Japanese ‘Divine Wind’