"Helvetica is a feature-lenght independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives". This film was a part of the three week lecture series held for all HE Graphic Design students and public.
Vicent Connare recently came in to talk about working professionally in the software industry, and different typeface projects he has undertaken in the series of lectures held for HE Graphic Design students. Connare has been working as a font engineer and type designer for over 20 years now. He was trained as a painter and photographer in New York and holds a Masters degree in Type Design from the University of Reading. In 1993 he joined Microsoft Corperation as a typographic Engineer and worked on custom type projects for Microsoft products. Here he designed and produced two of the most popular typefaces of the 1990's, Comic Sans and Trebuchet. Today, Vincent works for Dalton Maag Ltd, which is a London based Type design agency, which specializes in corporate font solutions, branding and type design. Here he notably designed the lettering for the Ministry of Sound logo and has recently released his latest font design, Magpie OpenType.
Plymouth College of Art has worked hard to develop positive links with employers in the creative sector and the HE Graphic Design graduate department are keen to formalise these relationships for mutual benefits. Founder of the DESIGN HUB, Kamal Gohil a graphic design lecturer, in the first phase of the concept seeks to operate like a design studio with real life projects and briefs at the heart of the activity.
Physical space will be provided for graphic design companies and individuals to work from within the College. By accessing this space the company or an individual will make a commitment to the College to contribute time and resources to support it’s initial members (students). Students will work alongside the company or an individual as a project team to gain real life experiences and support the creative development of projects within Plymouth and the South West. External projects and expertise in line with the DESIGN HUB are carefully selected, so the combination of consultation can provide the highest quality of design solutions. The support from companies or individuals will vary depending on the nature of the project and may include workshops, mentoring, seminars and exhibitions. The underlying purpose of the DESIGN HUB is to provide members with live briefs and an opportunity to work in a design studio setting. The DESIGN HUB is seen as a sustainable development and the first step in the Colleges plans for incubation space. In the second phase of the DESIGN HUB development, there will be an opportunity to progress the design consultancy service with members who can bring a focus on several internal and external projects that will naturally create a focus on design elements relevant to graphic design activities to develop market realities in a multidisciplinary activities. For example, such as College open days, print and online publishing material, holding subject debates, forums, support workshops, portfolio surgeries, talks, organise social and networking events, promote groups of collectives and etc. all through the DESIGN HUB. The possibilities are really open depending on the needs of the Graphic Design curriculum and DESIGN HUB members (staff team/students/creative sector). It can act as a catalyst to many other future activities. For further information please contact: Kamal Gohil Graphic Design Lecturer Plymouth College of Art Plymouth | Devon | PL4 8AT kgohil@plymouthart.ac.uk
