Visiting Professional - Hannah Waldron

Waldron's graphic and narrative-led image-making has been applied across a range of media from print to textiles, at both a personal and architectural scale. I have found weaving to be a natural process to complement my grid-based image-making and recently completed an MFA in Textiles at Konstfack, Sweden. In 2014 I was awarded the HAY talent award.

Although Waldron's seminar was predominantly aimed at illustrators and fashion students, I was intrigued by Waldron's illustrative textiles which were reminiscent of Grayson Perry's narrative tapestries. Broadening my knowledge on creative processes and gaining advice from professionals in different areas of design can be transferred into my developing practice.

• Takes inspiration from cities and journeys she's been on - research/colour theory

• Unsure whether the course was right for her, Waldron studied illustration in Brighton where she aimed to gain as many skills as she could during her time at university. During this time, she approached retailers such as shops and galleries with books, zines and prints in order to make some money and increase exposure. Waldron highlighted the importance of putting your work into the real world because you get really beneficial feedback.

• Illustrative - Dedicating a page to patterns - Waldron used her repeat patterns in publications to provide the audience with a breathing space, making it easier for them to digest the information and keep them visually stimulated.

Moved to Berlin:

• Provided Waldron with creative freedom which encouraged an exploration of abstract shapes and techniques such as drawing sounds to help stimulate concepts.
• After visiting the Bauhaus, Waldron became inspired by the weavings - Realised that the vertical and horizontal grid like structure to her drawing would transfer well into weaving.
• Tried a simple loom and slowly began to explore the possibilities of the process - Started in black and white, introducing stripes, linear marks and block shapes
• Waldron then started to design FOR the purpose of WEAVING

Process:

• Breaking parts of the composition into separate shapes
• One shape informs the next
• Drawing and painting to explore environment and colour
• Developed her practice by weaving different coloured threads to produce secondary colours - colour theory
• Gouache paintings to map out composition - Encouraged her to move away from digital
• Waldron likes the square format as the composition can be read from any angle.

Developed into clothing - Textiles has been used to create relationship between design and audience
Textiles are versatile - Hard to damage, timeless, we wear them because it is an appropriate medium

Interdisciplinary methods - Connecting different fields as a way of seeing the qualities and characteristics of a material.

Working for big clients such as The New York Times was great for exposure but the short time scale provided made it stressful. Waldron had to produce a realistic response in consideration of time.

Summary

I have been really inspired by Waldron's creative journey because she is always developing and moving her practice forward due to her exploration of materials and processes. This has encouraged me to experiment with new mediums so that I can be innovative and original. Simply taking inspiration from cities and journeys that she has been on has been a really

Waldron mentioned that the gridded structure of her compositions transferred well into the weaving technique. As my knowledge and experience using grids to compose layouts is improving, there is potential to produce weavings using typographical compositions instead of just shape and colour. Communicating through fabric reflects Waldron's principle that textiles has been used to 'create a relationship between the design and an audience'. What better way to communicate than through typography and textiles.

Contact

In order to gain more advice and inspiration, I emailed Waldron after the presentation after finding her email address on her website. During the presentation, Waldron quoted literature that influenced her creative practice, however I was unable to note the quote and source down. Having a better understanding of Waldron's practice gave me more confidence to contact her and I could be more objective by leading the discussion.

Hello Hannah, 

I am a second year Graphic Design student from Leeds College of Art.

I came to your talk at the University before Christmas and I was really inspired by how your exploration of techniques and processes helped to develop and move your practice forward. Your work has inspired me to explore the possibilities and limitations of analogue techniques and processes, however I am struggling to appropriate these solutions into a definitive outcome.

You mentioned a quote from Juhai Pallasmaa during the presentation, however I didn’t manage to note it all down. Would it be possible if you could send me the quote from your presentation?

Thanks a lot for your time! Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

James Green

Reply:

Hello James,

Thanks for getting in touch, I am glad to hear that my talk sparked some thoughts about your practise. It took me a long time working with weaving and textiles before I saw it develop into a definitive outcome, so my advice to you would be to just play with the processes and materials that you find interesting and exciting, and over time it will develop into something unique to you in its own right. Also I would advise you to talk to as many of your tutors, friends and peers as possible about your current work, perhaps they will see/suggest a new process to you that you hadn't thought of? It was through a friend suggesting weaving to me that actually got me to pick up a loom, she gave me a quick lesson and got me actually making things. Before that I had been really thinking about weaving through seeing the textiles at the Bauhaus in Berlin but it my friend talking/teaching me that actually got me into it, so conversations can be really fruitful.

The quote is as follows

'You cannot make what you want to make, but what the material permits you to make..We must not try to make materials speak our language, we must go on with them to the point where other will understand their language' –

Brancusi (The Thinking Hand by Juhani Pallasmaa)

I would really recommend that book as an introduction process and material driven ways of working.

I hope that helps and thanks again for getting in touch.

Hannah

Getting a reply in such a short amount of time shows how keen Waldron is to talk about her practice which I am really grateful for. Her appreciation for getting in touch gives me confidence to contact more professionals because the advice I received has encouraged me to keep exploring hands on processes.

Reply Summary:

• Took her a long time working with textiles and weaving before it developed into a definitive outcome.
• Advice: Play with the processes and materials that I find interesting and exciting and 'over time it will develop into something unique to me'.
• Talk to as many tutors as I can
• Highlighted the importance of talking to friends and peers - Waldron's friend was the person who encouraged and taught her how to weave so it was a big influence
• Complete Brancusi quote - Inspired me because I like to discover the permits and limitations of processes in order to adapt them to inform the production of a solution.
• Publication recommendation - 'The Thinking Hand by Juhani Pallasmaa':

Waldron's recommendation provides a wider view of the role of embodiment in human existential reactions, experiences and expressions as well as the processes of making and thinking.

Presentation Experience - Billy Elliot

Progressing into second year has made me more aware of the importance of speech and language skills because I am exposing myself to more professionals from the design world and other occupations. In order to build my confidence with presenting my concepts/outcomes in front of a panel of people, I aim to present a short synopsis of a film. During this process I hope to articulate the outline of the plot clearly and in an engaging way as I have previously struggled articulating my concepts and ideas to people in crits which doesn't result in formative feedback.

Billy Elliot 

Chose Billy Elliot because it has been one of my favourite films since a young age. Set in County Durham, the film is about an 11 year old boy called Billy during his journey from an uninspired boxer to professional ballerina in the Royal Ballet. The film is set during the violent strikes against Thatcher's closure of the mines, where Billy's father and brother both work. 

The biggest influence for choosing this film was the music, which helps to illustrate the anarchy and rebellion against the government. Artists such as The Clash and The Jam made a big influence on my music taste growing up which originated from this film. 

Released in 2000

Presentation Slides

In order to keep the audience visually stimulated and engaged with the presentation, I kept it predominantly image based, drawing the audiences attention away from me and onto the screen. By using a lot of white space around the image focuses the eye on the image, providing a focal point. This solution allowed me to use poor quality that I sourced online without pixelating them. 

Introduced Billy:

Introduce Billy's Dad: 

Juxtaposing an image of Billy's dad with Billy and his dance teacher illustrates the themes and concerns from the film:

I aim to add a personal touch to the presentation by talking about how much the music influenced me at an early age and also how it helps to illustrate the emotion:

Used an iconic image from an iconic scene for the final slide to summarise:

Feedback

• People liked the minimal layout of the slides as they're 'fresh and clean'
• I was praised for referencing my personal opinions to do with the film such as the fact it had a big influence on me at a young age as well as focusing on the music angle.
• It was said that the justified right type was a nice break from the images
• Simon pointed out that the white space creates a 'flash' when the slide changes which grabs the audiences attention.

In terms of articulating the story, if the images related more to what I was talking about it would have informed a better understanding of the film. I was impressed by other peoples presentation techniques as the use of GIFS and full bleed images were really engaging and focused the attention on the board rather than the presenter. Using a lot of slides also achieves this as the audience is constantly stimulated. 

Steven Heller - The Specious Thesis

Steven Heller - The Specious Thesis
Design Observer
http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=39481

Throughout the article, Heller discusses how students articulate themselves through email. Students predominantly use emails to communicate with him other creatives, however Heller has highlighted some key concerns and solutions that will encourage a constructive discussion.

Subject Line

Subject lines such as 'Dissertation Interview' or 'Research Inquiry' are dull and uninspiring. Try to draw attention to your email without being boring or inappropriate. 

Email

Address the designer personally at the start of the email - Don't be rude

Don't mention the fact that your tutor has asked you to interview a professional for a project as this doesn't demonstrate professional independence or a genuine interest. 

Make sure the questions are appropriate in order to engage and develop my personal practice. 

'Most questions in these routine email interviews are general, uninspiring, and painful to answer. Here’s a common one: “What is the current state of graphic design as a field?” It’s not that it is invalid, but that it could require a book-length answer. Answering it could make a dissertation in itself.'
- My questions should be more specific and refer to a previous project or interview because this will show that I have done my research and have developed a genuine interest. This will also fulfil the designers ego as they will be keen to talk about previous work and hopefully generate a conversation.

Make sure the questions are appropriate in order to engage and develop my personal practice.

Heller also states:

'Email interviews are somewhat lazy ways of obtaining content. They often obviate the necessity for follow-up questions inspired by curiosity (or a need to double-check a quote).'

Personally I don't tend to rely on emails because I often find they're unreliable which is why I'd prefer to speak to a professional on the phone or in person. The static nature of email doesn't create a flowing discussion which I find I rely on a lot in order to stimulate a deeper, more critical discussion which will increase my understanding of the topic.

From reading Heller's article it is clear that professionals are tired of getting generic emails from design students/graduates, therefor I intend to create questions that stimulate the professional. To achieve this I need to make sure the questions are relevant to the designers practice as well as my interests. Choosing questions that the professional hasn't answered before in interviews and talks  will stop them from having to repeat themselves which will increase the chance of a reply. 

OUGD502 - Creative Report

500 word Creative Report as a digital ISSUU publication posted and clearly labelled to my PPP blog

In order to engage the professional I intend to structure my questions based on the title of module: PPP.

Personal
Questions to break the ice and initiate a conversation. This will make me and the subject feel more confident.

Can you describe your practice in 3 words?
This question quickly puts the ball in your court, and would provide me with the power to guide the interview in a way that suits my objective.

What motivates you?
To ease the professional into the interview and break the ice, I intend to ask short questions in order to get immediate responses. I can take these sources of inspiration to inspire my work in the future.

Professional
Questions based on their experiences and opinions of working in the design community

Do you prefer to work independently or collaboratively?

If you could choose any client to work for who would it be? And why?
Encourages the professional to think about the future.

Practice
Questions based on the techniques and processes used

Do you like to approach briefs from a hands on or digital approach?

Analogue or digital processes?

Progressive Practice:

During the first year I identified a range of inspirational designers and studios that I used as inspiration which ultimately broadened my knowledge on the creative industry. Progressing from first year in to second year, I refined the list of designers based on my evolving practice.

Potential Professionals:

Eike Koenig 

Became immediately inspired by Koenig's work due to his simple typographic print solutions which introduced high impact typographic solutions. Since then I have been following him on Instagram and Facebook.

Always been drawn to his work for imperfections throughout his typographic compositions. The surface texture created by the prints is refreshing in the digital age and inspired me to explore more expressive typographic solutions. 

Dropped out of his studies to work for a record label and set up HORT - Berlin

Hort create unique visual systems for clients that stand apart from the traditional language of graphic design. Hort’s careful balance of professionalism and play has been a strong source of inspiration
His studio is referred to as a 'playground' for visual communication. 

Art direction, branding, creative consultancy, editorial design, graphic design, illustration, lectures and workshops. 

Examples from archive:

Evidence of experimental 'ugly' design due to the inconsistent typesetting and styles, however the aesthetic is a combination of both modernism and postmodernism which are ultimately objective and justifiable.

The freedom of creativity that Studio Hort provides is the type of environment I would like to experience in the industry. Having the encouragement to explore new medium and techniques using a hands on approach is complimentary of my design process because I struggle to produce engaging compositions when designing purely on screen.

Koenig's success is inspirational to me because even though he was frustrated by his lack of specialist knowledge, he used his creative enthusiasm to collaborate and encourage creative exploration. He currently runs his own studio, as well as doing educational visits and workshops. 

Interview on vimeo:

https://vimeo.com/7709246

Key points:

• Didn't have a specialist skill in design which was really frustrating - This is reminiscent of where I am now as I am still unsure on where I want to go in the world of graphic design and I haven't built up a specialism, instead I like to explore a range of techniques and processes. - To overcome this Koenig opened himself up to talk to other specialist creatives and collaborate - Not afraid to share ideas
• Doesn't like things to be perfect - Reflects the imperfections of modern life through his work
• Manual processes encourage this creative flow - People interact more when working away from the computer. 
• Experimentation = Develops new styles
• Computer is a tool - Use it when you HAVE to use it
• Likes to work in a team 

Eike Koenig submits artwork for Another Fine Mess

Koenig encourages his studio to work experimentally to add a unique touch - Not just one person's outcome. 

Identified that he uses traditional printing processes to communicate - Why do you print your outcomes rather than digitally reproduce them?

Is it the unique texture? Manual process is more likely to generate mistakes?

Do you think technology is influencing peoples approaches to briefs? Limiting?

What is your immediate response to a brief? - Hands on or digital? When are they appropriate to use?
Subjective or objective approach?
How do you attract your clientele?





Andrew Townsend 

Andrew Townsend is a graphic designer, art director and artist based in the UK.

Book design to image making, expressive typography to branding and design for retail environments. He works with clients in the arts, education, fashion and retail sectors.

Tangible processes such as screen printing

Specific interest in art

Discovered him for his production of The Art Form
Takes a personal look at contemporary artists
Currently only 1 issue, 2nd is on the way

The Art Form - Issue 01

Potential Questions

You clearly have an interest in art, how did this help to form your rational for The Art Form?

How did you decide on the artists to feature? Did they influence the questionnaire?

How did the artists respond to your questionnaire?

When is the second issue going to be released?

How did you think of the questions?
Did you struggle to get the artists to reply to your questionnaire?

Did you have a lot of creative freedom? Were you tempted to be more expressive with page composition?

How did you create such a consistent identity when the content is so diverse and experiential of different techniques and processes?

Do you have any plans for the future of The Art Form? Any changes?

• Art can be unplanned/subjective, what do you think graphic design can learn from contemporary fine art?

Subjective and objective design



Emily Stanley Macaulay - Stanley James Press
How do you get briefs? - Are they self initiated or client based?

Have you ever thought about exploring different materials such as textiles?

What are you working on at the moment?

Ideas for coming up with ideas

How can I get someone to engage with the product?

Product
Range
Distribution

• Don't let the concept be held back by a budget or technical conspiracies, these will only hold you back, especially during the initial concept stage as ideas will be limited in creativity. 

Brainstormed other methods we used in order to come up with ideas. Having the whole class contributing to the activity provided a range of perspectives. 

Most Obvious Answer
Most ambiguous answer
Free association
Key words associated (tangential approach)
Identifying what already exists
Subconscious, recognising everyday potential solutions
Mindmapping
Identifying and working with limitations
Discussions, feedback, interviews, focus groups
Rewrite the brief in own words
Target Audience (Personas) - Only demonstrated this
Product Testing
Talk to people not in the creative field

In order to practice these idea generating methods, we were set the task of making Yahoo the most popular home page in the world. Yahoo is very much overshadowed by search engines such as Google, Safari and Firefox therefor it will be a challenge to develop a unique solution.

Discussion Points

• Google has become such an iconic brand/search engine that people often say 'I'll Google it!' when they're not even using Google.
• If someone wants to find something out - 'Google it'

By looking at the lexis 'Yahoo', and its phonological characteristics, we developed the concept of allowing the user to customise the name of the site/page adding personality and control. 'Ya ...' would also work as a marketing campaign that could spread across social media and billboard signage. 

Rejecting the use of computers helped to create a discussion because people weren't hidden behind their screens. The whole group was engaged in the conversation which was beneficial to our initial concepts.

OUGD502 - Finding Creative Events

Engaging with more creative events will broaden my perspective of design and also provide opportunity to engage with professionals. Sources such as Songkick, Leeds Living and Leeds List provide constantly updated event listings on culture. I used these sources throughout the first year to identify music and film events, however there was a lack of promotion for creative design talks and meetings more specific to my practice. To overcome this, I researched into resources that provide more appropriate and relevant event information.

Heyevent
http://heyevent.uk/leeds/new

Heyevent helps to find concerts, theatres, art exhibitions, sport event, conferences, and other events from major cities in the UK. Specifically focusing on art exhibitions and creative talks gives me a source of local creative events so that I don't miss out on visiting professional talks/workshops as well as exhibitions.

Potential events include:

• Moon Tweeds Of Guiseley: From Yorkshire Mill to Global Brand

'Yorkshire was once home to thousands of woollen and worsted mills, but today there are very few survivors. What does it take to battle the odds in an ageing industry and to come out on top?' - I have gained an interest in textile design for their exploration of materials, textures and techniques. This talk would be beneficial to me because it will demonstrate how a brand can expand and survive in a difficult economic climate

Eye Magazine Website - Events

http://www.eyemagazine.com/events

Eye, the international review of graphic design, is a quarterly printed magazine about graphic design and visual culture. Their website also provides an international events section which is a reliable and easily accessible source of professional talks, focused purely on design. A lot of the international events focus on very successful professionals, giving up their time to share their own experiences in the industry. A lot of the events are based in major design cities such as London and Berlin which makes them expensive and time consuming to get to, however these events will be really beneficial. 

Would be beneficial to learn more about the risograph process
Events, exhibitions and workshops are interactive
Mix with other creatives with the same interests as me