London College of Communication blog

Olly Gibbs a graduate from the BA in Illustration and Visual Media at the London College of Communication (LCC) has been commissioned to create the visual identity for a new exhibition, Our Londinium 2012, opening at the Museum of London on 22 June 2012.

Illustration by Olly Gibbs

The exhibition which will launch in time for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games explores the parallels between Roman London and the today’s modern capital. It is the largest update to the Museum’s Roman gallery since it opened in 1994.

Illustration by Olly Gibbs

Gibbs was appointed by exhibition curators, the Museum of London’s youth panel, Junction, to create a series of four illustrations of modern and Roman objects in his ‘doodle’ style.   Gibbs says, “This is a great development of my work and has the iconic look of my trademark illustrations.”

Illustration by Olly Gibbs

Graduating from LCC in 2011, Gibbs’ illustrations exhibited at the College’s Summer Show have been featured in Creative Review and his work has been recognised in Computer Arts Magazine for “…its diversity and complimentary balance of illustration and graphic design”.

Illustration by Olly Gibbs

Our Londinium 2012 is free and runs from 22 June until 2014.  See further details on the Museum of London website.

See more of Gibbs’ work on his website www.ollygibbs.com

Tim Marrs showing examples of work. Pictures taken by Paul Bowman, Course Director.

Final year BA Graphic and Media Design: Design for Illustration students escaped from London for the day to visit six illustration professionals based in Hastings. The day was set up by Illustration tutor, Stuart Varley, to give the students an understanding of professional practice and to see how illustrators are starting up communities of professional practice outside London.  

Students and professionals together. Pictures taken by Paul Bowman, Course Director.

The students broke off into small groups which took turns with each professional illustrator to get the most out of their valuable experience. The professional illustrators showed their work and talked about everything from commissioning, pricing of work and dealing with clients through to final production of work.

Peter Quinnell showing examples of work. Pictures taken by Paul Bowman, Course Director.

The six professional illustrators are:

Chis Watson, who’s AOI award winning illustration work has been commissioned around the world for fashion labels, record labels, magazines and books.

Tim Marrs produces a frenzied mix of drawings, photography, screen printing and photoshop techniques and has a mix of influences from American pop culture, pulp fiction novels, pop art to polish film posters.

Gary Neil has fifteen years experience of creating concept driven, bold, vibrant, illustrations for use in editorial, advertising and design.

Scott Garrett has worked for clients nationally and Internationally, including Vodafone, Nestle, VW, GQ and The Guardian.

Peter Quinnell has been working with collage and 3D assemblage for 25 years.

Martin O’Neill is a UK based graphic artist and illustrator who creates unique hand-made collages for a diverse range of International clients.

Susan Yan Mach, studying Graphic and Media Design in her third year at LCC, illustrated on today’s ’26 Stories of Christmas’ advent story called, ‘Fairylight Starscape’, by Sara Sheridan.

Susan is one of nine LCC students working with the writers group, ’26′ on this festive project, she says:

“My experience working on this project has been extremely free reign and open. The writers were keen to see what the illustrators would create without giving restrictions or sharing too much of their insight to their stories.”

Read ‘Fairylight Starscape’ in full on the 26 Stories of Christmas website and find out more about LCC’s involvement in the project here on our blog.

This year’s four summer shows have been and gone but if you head over to our YouTube channel you can watch videos from each of the shows and relive all the action.

All films were made by BA (Hons) Film and Television students Joseph Eckworth, William Powers and Andrea Fischer.

If you missed out on our last summer show, ‘Round About’, feel like you were there by taking a look at some of our images from the private view on Flickr.

If you did attend, check out the images to relive the experience and if you manage to spot you or your work don’t forget to tag yourself in any of the pictures taken by our photographers, second year BA Photography student Vicki King and recent graduates Christian Anderson and Ana Escobar.

London College of Communication’s (LCC) Summer Shows 2011: Round About will be opening tonight for a private view and then to the public for one week from Friday 1 July.

The show, which is the final one to take place this summer, will be made up of work in design, animation and film produced by 500 LCC students graduating from various courses throughout the College.

Courses displaying at this year’s show will include one of the College’s biggest courses BA (Hons) Graphic & Media Design which is split into six pathways. Each pathway will be displaying students work in various areas around the college.

• Illustration – Upper Street Gallery
• Interactive Moving Image – Well Gallery
• Design for Information – D105, D116
• Design for Advertising – D109
• Design for Typo – D111,D112. Work by students on this pathway can also be found on their exhibition website.
• Print – Atrium Gallery

Stepping outside of LCC, the containers at the front of the College will be home to work by students on the BA Graphic Product Innovation course. Their work will be displayed  in a unique outdoor event which aims to promote both the work and the students of the course to potential employers. The course, which is a new addition to LCC, will also have  major projects by students from its first graduating year displayed in the Lower Street Gallery alongside work by FdA Graphic and Spatial Communication students.

Back inside more great work can be found with the BA/FdA Media Practice course being displayed inside the Podium Lecture Theatre.

Tucked away on the ground floor, the work by FdA/BA Design for Graphic Communication students can be found by following an innovative design (pictured above) by second year FdA student Nic Carter . He  uses a technique called anamorphic projection to draw guests down a long corridor to The Gallery where the exhibition can be found. The technique of anamorphic projection is used to project 2D images into a 3D space. The students have created their own exhibition website.

Print work by students on the ABC Dip 3D Modelling Animation and BA, FdA & ABC Dip Animation courses will be displayed in the Refectory and their animation videos will be screened in the Main Lecture Theatre.

Further away from the hustle and bustle, the 3^rd Floor Galleries and Foundation Studios will be home to work by BA/FDA Games Design and BA/FDA Digital Media Design students. As well as the work that can be found throughout the show the BA Digital Media Design students have also set up a website dedicated to their designs.

We will be tweeting live tonight from the private view. Follow us on Twitter @lcclondon and #lccra

Final year BA Graphic and Media Design – Design for Illustration students are showing some (pretty accomplished) works in progress right now in LCC’s Well Gallery. Amidst a frenzy of looming dissertation deadlines and other (requisite) final year anxieties, they present to the world Personal Best.

Walking through the gallery, what’s most striking is the fact that much of the show is not centred on drawing. There are of course beautiful, literal, illustrations: Hanna Yoo’s sinuous patterns are meticulous and organic simultaneously, and Kirsten Abildgaard’s study on Narwhal Tusks uses a combination of text and painterly marks that is both eye-catching and engaging.

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Are you a struggling artist? In dire need of inspiration, money or motivation? Look no further than LCC alumnus Jimmy Merris’ 10 top tips for 2011, drafted all the way from the Downturn Entaprize Careerz Centa in his Peckham studio.

Jimmy lives and works at Studio Downturn, an all-encompassing art space that mocks economic misery (its cyber home sits conspicuously at economicdownturn.org.uk) and boasts a publishing press, a photography studio, a ‘sprayshop’ and career centre.

“I bought the website www.economicdownturn.org.uk in 2009 and set up Studio Downturn soon after because I wanted to put something on the website (it was all white and there was a sense of urgency). The Downturn Press came first, then the Careerz Centa and photography studio and then the sprayshop. All these facilities are now being developed simultaneously.” (more…)