"I have been involved in many exciting projects this year, from class based tasks, live client briefs and opportunities to learn new skills through Adobe programs."
Hatthaka Villamar-Trujillo
Advertising Briefs: Vinyl Project
The vinyl record cover gave me an opportunity to get into the photography studio to explore various compositions using peers as models. Images were used as part of the final design which is an interpretation of my life as a creative outlet. This was a fun project using mixed media with strong results.
Advertising Brief: UCEN marketing campaign
The UCEN marketing team gave us a new brief and challenge to help attract potential students to the varied range of courses. My creative solution was to offer an inspiring campaign that gave potential students a vision of seeing their classroom learnings into real life industry scenarios. A mix of digital editing and hand drawn work.
"I have learnt so much this academic year. The variety of projects has been inspirational, as has the tutor support."
Jez Reid
Advertising Brief:
The UCEN marketing team gave us a new brief and challenge to help attract potential students to the varied range of courses. My approach was to explore typographic treatments using keywords that would resonate with the potential target audience.
The process of my work was undertaken using screen printing techniques with further digital manipulation and colour play. I wanted to create something that would stand out from the crowd and get noticed easily, with an emphasis that the potential students would 'create something new for themselves - a new career!
"The course has enable me to explore many areas and principles of Graphic Design and Advertising"
Freya Durkin
Advertising Briefs: UCEN Marketing and Vinyl Cover
The UCEN marketing team gave us a new brief and challenge to help attract potential students to the varied range of courses. My creative solution was through the use of montage / collage work, physical and digitally edited. The main focus of the strapline and call to action was to emphasise 'the journey' we undertake as students. The project was well received by the client.
I have also design a vinyl record cover using mixed media of photography, paint and digital manipulation.
"Whilst I found the last year very challenging in many respects, focusing on my uni project work has been extremely rewarding and inspiring."
Shane Mullin
Self Directed Project: Loneliness Is...
The Loneliness Connects Us project explored youth loneliness through arts-based and creative methods with 42nd Street, a Manchester-based charity that supports young people under stress. We were invited by 42nd Street to offer a creative response to the report.
My animation is a call to action for all youngsters who are suffering in silence, to seek help through organisations such as 42nd Street. I wrote, recorded and animated my own poem. As somebody who has suffered from this exact problem, this project meant a lot to me and was very poignant. Especially since we have all recently been in lockdown, everybody has experienced loneliness in one way or another. I went for a very simple animation style that has the figures being drawn out before your eyes to compliment the verses of the poem.
"This year has been a challenging one, but looking back in hindsight, those challenges combined with having the opportunity to work on a variety of creative briefs (one of which was a live brief) have better prepared me for the future and gave me some much-needed creative industry insight." Patrick Battison-Nicol
Self Directed Project: Champions of Humanity
I created a series of posters that celebrate the many aspects and examples of 'human spirit'
that appeared throughout the lockdown. The main purpose was to showcase and celebrate those individuals that generated an incredibly positive and heartening influence during a
difficult time in our history. Through my research, I chose to focus strictly on UK based personalities, such as Captain Sir Tom Moore, footballer Marcus Rashford and fitness coach Joe Wick who I felt were the perfect candidates for this.
Their selfless contributions during the covid pandemic demonstrated that regardless of whatever we face, as humans (with the inclusion of hope) we are capable of persevering and uplifting one another to get through any situation.
"I have thouroughly enjoyed my final project as it offered me the time and space to explore new styles of creative play. I feel I have challenged myself with new forms of illustration which I have always wanted to delve into it." Katie Kelly
Self Directed Project: YOU! Clothing Brand
YOU! is a unisex clothing brand targeted at
18-25 year-olds. The brand is focused on promoting gender equality through various messages emblazoned across the aparel.
The encouragement is for people to be able to express who they are through what they wear.
The project deliverables included ident design, typographic treatment, exploring new illustration styles, colour ways research, screen printing testing and applying final ideas across physical apparel.
"Studying at UCEN has given me the opportunity to work on live briefs with companies such as Kin+Carta, LTE group and 42nd street charity. I have also undertaken a placement opportunity within the LTE group marketing department.
The continued support of my tutors through lockdown has enabled me
to focus on my studies and grow as a creative practitioner." Soraya Eghbali
The Loneliness Connects Us project explored youth loneliness through arts-based and creative methods with 42nd Street, a Manchester-based charity that supports young people under stress. We were invited by 42nd Street to offer a creative response to the report. I created an animated video to persuade people who suffer from loneliness to get in touch with someone who can help them.
I received great feedback from the client and they have confirmed my work will be used to promote their services across all their social media platforms.
Kin+Carta Live Brief
Creative response to a CO-OP brief to help promote an episode of their "In It Together" podcast.
"The variety of tasks; from Adobe program skills to creative exercises has given me a deeper understanding of Graphic Design principles." Marta Kornaga
Advertising Unit:
The projects shown are from various briefs including industry collaboration and internal modules. We had opportunities to explore print techniques, Adobe program skills, screen printing, book binding, marketing campaigns and branding.
"My Self Directed Project allowed me to develop new software and design skills and also work on a live brief within an area I have a real passion for." Matt Robinson
Self Directed Project:
PopeArt create custom consoles for companies such as Microsoft and 2K. For my final project, I was tasked with learning 3D software, Blender, from the ground up in order to create three custom game art and console designs. In addition, I designed extras such as promotional videos and packaging design concepts.
Apex Legends Valkyrie PlayStation 5 console design:
Achievements: 1st Class BA Honours, placement at Kin + Carta Connect & Freelance with Bearded Fellows Progression to: Employment @ MAC Clinical Research
In joining our course Andrew had his sights set pretty high. He jumped onto
our top BA (hons) with an impressive portfolio (and qualifications to match),
but as a self-supporting mature student, recently settled in Manchester from Belfast,
he desperately needed a job to quickly follow his graduation.
Andrew’s fist unit was Professional Practice, an industry-supported unit,
centred around motion graphics. The unit is designed to be challenging and
demanding conceived through consultation with international digital design
experts Kin + Carta, the project being run my alumni Lisa Dale. Students benefit
from visiting their premises for a briefing, campus visits from Kin + Carta for
lectures and skills sessions. The unit concludes in final pitches at their
board room in competition for placement opportunities.
During these sessions’ students get a chance to make an impression on
Lisa’s team, which Andrew did – thoroughly answering the brief and taking it
further than Kin + Carta had expected… he went on to pick up a month’s
placement with them before the national Lockdown in April 2020. During Lockdown
Andrew secured himself several interviews, collaborated with Bearded Fellow’s
on two freelance projects (with one of his graduating peers) and was afforded
the unusual position of weighing up two job offers, before achieve his goal of
working and living in Manchester as a graphic designer with MAC Clinical Research.
“Honestly I’m gutted I haven’t been on the course since YR 1. The working environment’s been so much more personal, I’ve felt so much more encouragement here to do my best than I ever did on my previous course. You can really tell the difference going from being a number on a screen to a person.”
