4 Designers Conference
4 Designers was a conference for students of Graphic Design. The event took place at the Odeon West End Leicester Square in the heart of London, and was spread over two consecutive mornings with different speakers each day. Unfortunately this wasn’t really relevant for Illustration students but there was one speaker that made the trip worthwhile. I really enjoyed seeing his work because it’s a modern mix of illustration and digital art. His style is also quite graffiti-ish which I like as being a fan of the work of Banksy and some of his illustrations are also similar to tattoo designs which also appeal to me. I would definitely use his work as inspiration in my illustration and tattoo work.
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Kerry Roper studied graphic design and advertising at Buckinghamshire college. He is now an established graphic designer and illustrator. His work combines traditional illustration, photography and typography. He has exhibited at the Native Weapon exhibition 2004 and at the a.k.a. Gallery in Rome 2005. Kerry’s work is known across the globe and has led him to design sleeves for various record labels such as Hed Kandi, Peacefrog and Quiet City Recordings. He also illustrated a Snickers advertising campaign in the states for BBDO. His work has appeared in many books and magazines including ‘It’s a Matter of Illustration’ by Victionary, ‘Thousand Type Treatments’ by Rockport, ‘Typographics’ by Rotovision and a major feature in the Japanese design magazine ‘+81’.
Creative Futures Conference
As part of the Creative Futures Module on my degree course Glyndwr University hosted a week of lectures and talks from guest speakers and individuals who have worked or are currently working in the design industry; fine artists, multi media professionals, children’s illustrators and graphic designers.
The week started with an introduction from Dr Stuart Cunningham, head of the Creative Industries departments as a whole within the university. We also had a brief talk from Sarah Mair Gates who is the Wales Manager for Creative and Cultural Skills. This is the sector skills council for performing arts, visual arts, craft, design, cultural heritage, music and literature. Sarah described her aim to increase the amount of creative industries in Wales and to promote those existing to a wider audience.
The most relevant talk to myself, and the one I moved enjoyed was ‘how to be a children’s book illustrator’ by Kirsteen Harris-Jones. Kirsteen showed examples of her work, roughs she has done, work that she has produced and her books that she has had published. It was great to ask questions to someone in the field that I’m aiming to join. I managed to gain a good understanding to time involved in producing roughs and final designs, what agencies are like to work for and how to deal with the financial side of being freelance. I was impressed with the work that Kirsteen has produced and all the different styles of drawing she used, and mainly that she has managed to be so successful without being recognised for one particular style.
Emma J Bebbington 