2011 ISTD Student Assesment Scheme - Part 2!

Following on from my post yesterday about the ISTD Student Assesment scheme, I thought it might be of interest to readers if they could see one of the set briefs and an example of the way a finished piece looked...

You can read all the briefs on the ISTD website http://www.istd.org.uk/education

Brief No 5: FLATLAND
With this brief we take a different approach. Rather than offer a theme that requires you to generate the content, we are directing you towards existing content – the Victorian (1884) novella Flatland by the English schoolmaster, Edwin A. Abbott. You will find a mass of references and the full text freely available online.

The Brief
Your task is to produce a proposal for a new edition of Flatland that doesn’t necessarily engage with the conventions of ‘the book’ as we understand them, although it may have text matter, pages and a cover – or not. It could be a pamphlet, a chapbook, a poster, a landscape, a happening, a dream, an installation, a text, a sound piece, an animation, a moment.

Interpret the text typographically – you can be as ambitious as you wish to be, but you must deal with the full contents of at least one chapter and show how the rest of the text would develop.
There are no restrictions, no conventions, no rules, no given formats. Static work, moving image, physical, virtual, ephemeral are all up to you, as is the navigation of the piece, its viewer/reader/user engagement, its scale, simplicity, complexity, composition. What can it become? There is a quote in the film Amadeus that says if you have four people talking at once, then that’s an argument . . .
if you have four people singing at once, then that’s Opera. Make an opera, not an argument !

Target Market
Define your market, and how you will target it, in your Strategy.

Requirements
• Research and Development
• Strategy
• Specifications/Grid(s)
• Dummy/Prototype(s)
• Presentation
==========================================

Tom Nurse is a 3rd Year student on the BA Graphic Design course at the University of Portsmouth and his tutor is Mike Harkins. Below are pictured Tom's interpretation of the above brief for which he was awarded a Pass at the awards.

Flatland - folded to finished size.

Flatland - partially unfolded

Flatland - fully unfolded

Flatland - detail

I know it's difficult to look at four pictures of any piece of work and make a judgement from it, especially as I can't reproduce the supporting presentation. I just want to comment that as well as being fully scrutinised from a typographical point of view, what really impresses me is that entrants must support the piece of work with a full type layout specification and when there is print involved, a written print specification as well. This is the sort of discipline which many courses do not seem to insist on and which is where many students are let down by not being taught some of the skills essential for the workplace. Well done to the ISTD and I hope they continue this scheme ad infinitum.

So congratulations to Tom on his Pass and if anyone is interested in seeing more of his work (or get him in to have a look at his portfolio...!) you can see more on: www.tomnurse.co.uk

[PS just in case you were wondering, this isn't a shameless plug for a member of my family, we're not related! He did however blag some Redeem 100% Recycled 80gsm from us for his presentation, so that also shows some initiative!]
www.istd.org.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 22.06.2011

ISTD Student Awards

On Friday evening I was invited to the ISTD Student awards ceremony, held at the Design Museum in London. Erik Spiekermann (past president of the ISTD) presented the certificates to the successful students and tutors.

A wet June evening on the embankment

Although it was an extremely wet summer evening, as with all ISTD events it was a very warm and friendly event with drinks and food provided. The surroundings of the museum are impressive and entry to the Wim Crouwel exhibition was also included!

Erik Spiekermann presenting the awards

This awards ceremony is the culmination of the Student Assesment Scheme which is now in it's 36th year. This is both a tribute to the organisation and more importantly the people that run the scheme. The awards were introduced by Professor John McMillan who is the education officer and handed over to Erik, who talked and joked about being a German without a sense of humour in a very humourous way! He emphasised to the students his mantra of learn, learn, learn which is surely what makes this 60 something man such a dynamic individual.

ISTD Education Team

The speakers also emphasised that this is not a competition, it is an assesment scheme and that only a third of entrants are successful in gaining an award. It is a high bar but one that the education team are keen to maintain.

There are three levels of awards: Pass, Merit and Commendation. Universities and colleges from all over the country were well represented with the most number of awards going to Bristol.

I met Philippa Wood from Uni of Lincoln and Mike Harkins and Maaike Van Neck from Uni of Portsmouth who were all there with their students. Thanks in particular to Tom Nurse (Uni of Portsmouth) who took the above pics.

Crouwelclock app

Before the awards I went round the Wim Crouwel exhibition...

Wim Crouwel is a living legend of Dutch Modernism and this exhibition could not have been more appropriate at the time of these awards. There was a fantastic body of work on display from 1960's onwards and all displayed in a digestible and well layed out format. When you see all the work together it's easy to see what an undeniable influence on designers and design this one person has been and continues to be. (Pictures are courtesy of Michael Johnson's 'Thought for the Week' blog as I saw and took notice of the NO PHOTOGRAPHY signs, so I didn't take any myself!)

Intersesting to note that although the posters on display use colour, not one of them was a "four (process) colour" printed poster - that makes you think, doesn't it? Exhibition ends on 3rd July.

Thanks to the ISTD board for inviting me and congratulations to all the students who were awarded certificates.

www.istd.org.uk
www.designmuseum.org
http://www.johnsonbanks.co.uk/thoughtfortheweek/index.php?thoughtid=650
www.tomnurse.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 21.06.2011