London College of Communication blog

‘Flow’ an interactive installation by former FdA Graphic & Spatial Communication student Carlo Viscione, has caught the attention of design blog Collabcubed.

Designed for Heathrow’s Terminal 5, the installation is made up of 4,000 pixels measuring 10 sq cm each with a discarded boarding pass ticket stub protruding from the centre of each square (see above). The interactive wall reacts to the movement of passers-by creating a flowing motion by moving the ticket stubs in a synchronized movement across the wall.

Created at LCC as a response to the brief “make every journey better”, the project is inspired by the movement and sounds from the old-style departure boards. “We wanted to create an installation that surprised the newly arrived travellers and make a positive first reaction to London,” says Carlo.

The project was made in collaboration with Amy Harris, who designed a physical interface for collecting the discarded ticket stubs from the boarding passes and involves other points of intervention throughout the airport, all referencing to ‘Flow’.

Carlo, now on LCC’s BA Interior Design course has just completed ‘Vessels‘, an interactive light installation that’s part of a major development plan for Kings Cross Central due to be completed in 2012. Watch this space!

See more of Carlo’s work at www.carloviscione.com

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.

LCC’s last show of the summer, ‘Round About‘, drew in a large crowd of  industry experts, parents, students, past students and design enthusiasts (young and old) for its show preview on Thursday 30 June 2011.

Guests queued to see work from final year students across nine courses at LCC, (BA) Graphic & Media Design, (FdA & BA) Design for Graphic Communication, (BA) Graphic Product Innovation, (FdA) Graphic & Spatial Communication, (BA, FdA & ABC Dip) Animation, (ABC Dip) 3D Modelling & Animation, (BA & FdA) Media Practice, (BA & FdA) Digital Media Design and (BA & FdA) Games Design.

Split into six pathways the Graphic & Media Design course (whose work is also available to view online) drew in a large crowd.

In the Upper Street students from the Illustration pathway presented a diverse mix of final pieces.

Work by Kirsten Abildgaard (BA Graphic & Media Design – Illustration pathway)

On show were projects in various forms from print to digital, with some pieces consisting of hand-made projects such as a quilt by Kirsten Abildgaard, which could be seen hanging from the ceiling of the Upper Street and a colourful deck chair by Lucy Barrett.

Work by Lucy Barrett (BA Graphic & Media Design – Illustration pathway)

The students from the Design for Print pathway have their work displayed in the Atrium Gallery. Their work looks at the importance of print within the Graphic Design industry and how it is used to convey a message to the audience.

Elsewhere the work by students from the Design for Advertising pathway received very positive feedback. “Very inspiring work” were among the messages left on the comments wall in the show space.  As well as the brilliant design work on show an underlying deeper message was often present. This was to fit with  the courses aim to establish a deeper understanding of strategies and audiences, covering a range of media platforms, considering environmental, political, social and cultural agendas and challenging the ethics of traditional advertising.

Showcasing in room D112, 38 students on the Typo/Graphics pathway address issues and form theoretical view points around a number of topics including, ‘design as pollution’ and creating a commercial re-branding of London 2012.

Work by BA Graphic & Media Design – Typo/Graphics pathway students

The work on display, the result of eight project briefs, was bright and eye-catching. Narae Lee’s ‘Dynamic London’, a response to the London 2012 brief, considers the skyline/architecture in London as a key element of the new identity. The colourful and abstract figures shown below give a positive impression that London is playful, exciting and dynamic.

'Dynamic London' by Narae Lee (BA Graphic & Media Design – Typo/Graphics pathway)

But alongside the bright and colourful displays there was a project that was slightly different from those surrounding it, ‘The Mirror Test’, a machine which claims to read brain waves. This self-initiated project by Rongkai He (pictured below) is made up of moving mirrors that react to data produced by the participant’s brain waves.

The work described here is just a snapshot of what’s on display; you can see the full range of work produced by the Typo/Graphics students on their website www.typois.co.uk designed by Rich Cousins and Pedro Moreira.

'The Mirror Test' by Rongkai He (BA Graphic & Media Design - Typo/Graphics pathway)

Design for Interaction & Moving Image was down in the Atrium and presented guests with a range of work using various forms of media and materials.

While spread across the two rooms, D105, D116, the Information Design pathway students engaged their guests with their projects. Lots of guests studied the work on display in these areas in depth and took some extra time during the evening to stop and browse the pieces in detail.

Information Design student, Harol Ha Ni Ng produced a series of eye-catching horoscope books that were displayed nicely and caught many guests eyes in the Reading Room.

Work by Harol Ha Ni Ng (BA Graphic & Media Design – Information Design pathway)

Away from the work of the Graphic & Media Design students and despite the heat in The Gallery, the work displayed by the students from the Design for Graphic Communication course generated a huge amount of interest. The room was full of guests discussing the work and taking the time to study each piece.

Work by Richard Radam (BA Design for Graphic Communication)

There was a good selection of work on display from the quirky to the serious. And with an interactive section consisting of screen-printing and binding, guests were drawn in by chance to take something away from the show. The night also saw two students from the FdA Design for Communication win leading digital agency LBi’s Talent Takeaway prize.

Meanwhile, luring the crowd in with bags of popcorn, students from Animation and the 3D Modelling & Animation courses were showcasing their videos in the Main Lecture Theatre. Their work could also be found up in the Refectory, where sketches and models generated a lot of interest.

Work by Ginevra Boni, James O'Sullivan and Alex Parperis (FdA Animation)

Upstairs the Games Design and Digital Media Design students displayed their work and the atmosphere up there was far more relaxed, with many guests taking the time to sit down and absorb or interact with the work around them.

Displaying downstairs in the Lower Street were students from the Graphic Product Innovation and Graphic & Spatial Communication courses. Lots of interactive pieces were on display and BA Graphic Product Innovation student Joel Longbone used a bike to demonstrate his product.

'Cyke' by Joel Longbone (BA Graphic Product Innovation)

The project named ‘Cyke’ uses a multi-coloured device attached to handlebars of a bike to help facilitate better and safer navigation in London. The colourful arrows flash in order to tell the rider which direction they should go. Joel says that the product will show that, “Existing concepts can be improved and change the way people go about their daily routine or encourage people to do something they don’t usually participate in.”

Students from the Graphic Product Innovation course also held an outdoor event for the occasion in the containers in front of the LCC building. Students dressed up and interacted with guests and games such as coconut shy were available.

Work by some of the students was also available to buy in the Pop Up Shop.

‘Round About’ will be running until Friday 8 July 2011 from 10 am – 7pm.

Photography: Ana Escobar, Christian Anderson & Vicki King (BA Photography)

Words by Dominique Major

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

Congratulations to final year BA Creative Advertising Strategy students, Egle de Vilutyte and Alexander Hernesten (pictured above), who last Thursday picked up a coveted D&AD Yellow Pencil in the ‘Integrated Communications’ category for their campaign, ‘McRoyal’.

Their winning campaign encouraged members of the public to invite Her Majesty The Queen; Elizabeth II to dinner at McDonald’s. Read more about their campaign here.

A big well done also to Carla de Navas, a student on the FdA Graphic & Spatial Communication, who was awarded a commendation in the ‘Environmental Design’ category for her project ‘Come to Life.’

Both projects will be featured in the D&AD book of nominations and promoted extensively to the industry all around the world.

You can see all the photos from the D&AD Awards Night on Flickr.

Ricardo Feijo, a second year student from FdA Graphic and Spatial Communication, worked for Softroom Architects over the summer.

Ricardo has written an account of his experiences and the projects which he had a chance to work on:

Over the summer I had a great opportunity to do a work experience at Softroom Architects, a company that for over 10 years has developed a reputation for design excellence, creative innovation and skilful delivery. Softroom are registered architects with a portfolio of projects that encompass a broad range of sectors and media, including: public works, retail buildings and interiors; bars and restaurants; exhibition and set design.

Over the two week placement, I was working in their studio located in Oxford Street…I was mainly responsible for the company’s graphics; re-designing their brochure, designing a brand identity manual and designing presentation boards. I also helped them with some 3D visualization for another to-be-approved project.

To re-design the brochure I had to look at all the graphic material previously produced by the company. I had to find common qualities between the material to come up with a grid system that would fit with their work and at the same time give it an identity. I also had to deal with printer border limitations. The 50 pages brochure is now ready to be printed at their office and personalized for each client.

I worked closely with the company’s director on a 3D visualization of an outside area structure to be presented to the community board… The visualization process consisted of many steps, firstly I drew the 3D model using Vectorworks, then I was shown how to set up a camera view and also how to render with software… After this I added the final details using Adobe Photoshop.

I also designed the A1 presentation boards for the same project, which were approved and ready to be printed on my last day of placement…It was a great experience to be working with architects and interior designers and to be able to sneak in and see how they operate.

Read more about Ricardo’s future plans and experiences as a student in his profile on the LCC website and also on his own personal website.

Year 1, FdA Graphic and Spatial Communication student Carlo Viscione sent us this image. He explains his project below:

We were asked to design an installation for an imaginary window front of a restaurant/bar in the area of Kings Cross and were given a list of designers/agencies to work for together with two words on which our concept has to be based on. My designer: Thomas Heatherwick. My words: soft, color. Final design: ‘amber’. Inspired by Heatherwick’s work based on discovering rather than crafting shapes, I designed an installation which is a source of light and refers to stalagmites to show the continuous but slow change of Kings Cross, producing very soft light, which will add and enrich the already toned down and intimate dining atmosphere.

http://www.carloviscione.com