October News - Fairs this weekend

If you are looking for an interesting Sunday outing there are 2 fascinating fairs this weekend in Birmingham.

Sat 1 October, 12-5 at the Custard Factory in Digbeth
VINTAGE FAIR
for more information see http://www.thevintagefair.com

Sunday 2 Oct, 1-5pm at St Columba's in Moseley
MOSELEY RECORD & BOOK FAIR
for more information see http://www.moseleyrecordbookfair.com

Wednesday 5th October sees the launch of SOCIAL CINEMA, a new weekly community-run film night at the Custard Factory Digbeth http://custardlaunch.eventbrite.com/

Momentum - London

Junior Digital Designer

Momentum is currently looking for a Junior Digital Designer to join our expanding team. The role requires someone to work on digital projects and bring concepts to life with their design and animation skills. The idea candidate will report to the Senior Digital Designer and will work across departments to produce high quality responses.

They will demonstrate a full understanding of each client’s brand values, guidelines and briefs and will work across a range of projects including online advertising, campaign based tools, viral, mobile and website. The ideal candidate should have an interest in the current trends within design and technology and share their findings with the company to move it forward as a digital specialist.

Experience and Credentials:

- Design experience working on digital campaigns
- Understanding of digital advertising and experience of campaigns
- Strong Adobe Creative Suite and After Effects skills
- Strong flash and animations skills

Please submit your CV and sample PDF (no bigger than 5MB) or online portfolio to greg.healy@momentumww.com

Salary dependant on experience.

Life Drawing Workshops

There is a range of new life drawing workshops on offer at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
The first is on the 8 October 11.00am - 4.00pm and is 'Costumed life drawing'. The model, Professional actor and costumer Peter Hurst will be dressed in 'Restoration' costume. The session will be lead by Janice Rider.

The second workshop is 5 November, again 11.00am - 4.00pm. The session will be led by Anne Brierley and participants will be working from a nude model, using dry or wet media with a mixture of traditional and more experimental approaches to drawing

The third workshop on 3 December, is a repeat of the second life drawing session.

All workshops are suitable for beginners and those with more experience and each will combine a number of short and longer poses throughout the day.

Basic materials will provided, including easels, A1 and A2 drawing boards, paper and basic drawing materials.

For more details of each workshop visit:www.bmag.org.uk
Tickets cost £20.00 per session and are available from the box office on 0121 303 1966, or visit gas Hall reception.

For more information please contact Louise Taylor on:

louise.a.taylor@birmingham.gov.uk

Exhibition opportunity for students and Alumni

Evolution Arts is a dynamic new arts project based in Netherton Arts Centre and they would like to invite visual communication students and alumni to participate in an exciting four month exhibition that will run from October 2011 to January 2012. The show will evolve over time, changing every two weeks.

The four month period will be split into two week stages, at the end of each time period, the exhibition will be shuffled, some works changed and added to keeping the show vibrant and fresh for the viewers. This gives artists and designers a fantastic opportunity to showcase a series of pieces over the life of exhibition, or to take part for just one stage, meaning the project is flexible around individual exhibitor requirements.

"Structuring the show in this way means that an artist or designer taking part could have a 'Focus Show', in which their work would be a main attraction, allowing each artist to gain experience in having a major show." says Charlotte, exhibition curator for Evolution Arts. 

For more information contact Charlotte on evolvingartsexhibition@yahoo.co.uk  

The dates of the show are as follows:
Period One: Monday 17th October – Saturday 29th October.
Period Two: Monday 31st October – Saturday 5th November.
Period Three: Monday 7th November – Saturday 19th November.
Period Four: Monday 21st November – Saturday 3rd December.
Period Five: Monday 5th December – Saturday 17th December.
Period Six: Monday 2nd January – Saturday 14th January.
Period Seven: Monday 16th January – Saturday 28th January.

There is a £15.00 charge for a single period exhibit, or £80.00 to exhibit for the entire length of this project. To book your space email:
evolvingartsexhibition@yahoo.co.uk

From Graduate to Great

For a long time this blog has been praising the achievements of visual Communication graduates and students. To view the ever expanding range of posts that showcase the news of our alumni, visit: http://visualcommunicationwolverhampton.blogspot.com/search/label/graduate%20success

Continuing this theme, the University has recently launched a new selection films under the heading of 'From Graduate to Great'. These short movies, on the University Youtube channel focus on the inspiring stories of a few University alumni. The introduction to 'From Graduate to Grate' is shown above. to see the full range of films visit:

http://www.youtube.com/user/uniwolverhampton#p/c/0/PGxDiAWiAtk

Internship - Satzuma

Creative Design Internship.

6 – 8 week internship starting ASAP LONDON

We are recruiting for an in-house Graphic/Packaging Design internship for a 6 – 8 week period. You will gain a wealth of experience from a creative and dynamic environment. You will be working with a small but energetic team, being immersed in the creative process from start to finish. Responsibilities will include designing and amending packaging, stationary design, product photography and image treatment, print material and other ad hoc jobs.

Requirements :
Passion for packaging, print design and creativity
Articulate
Software skills in Photoshop and Illustrator
Brand awareness
Design qualification (FDA, HND, BA hons,)
**Portfolio**
Great team player

No commercial experience is required. 6 – 8 weeks. (expenses covered and other benefits like free outings with company )

Please only apply if you have the relevant skills for the position (Photoshop and Illustrator)
Please send you CV and portfolio to:

email@satzuma.com

The Barber Institute Birmingham

There are some wonderful exhibitions running at the Barber Institute Birmingham, including:
Sacred and Profane - Treasures of Ancient Egypt

The Myers Eton College Collection of Egyptian Antiquities is not only one of the most stunning assemblages of ancient Egyptian decorative art worldwide, but also a window into the distant world of travellers in 19th-century Egypt and the Middle East. Educated at Eton College and Sandhurst, Major William Joseph Myers (1858–1899) started collecting in Egypt in the 1880s. The country was a magnet for painters, novelists, archaeologists, collectors and adventurers, and it was in Cairo that Verdi’s Egyptian-themed Aida opened in 1871. Spectacular archaeological discoveries were regularly made, and throwing mummy-unwrapping parties was fashionable in Europe and America. On Myers’s untimely death in 1899, Eton College became the beneficiary of his collection, diaries and library. Sacred and Profane celebrates this extraordinary bequest and launches the University of Birmingham’s partnership with Eton College and Johns Hopkins University, USA. Statuettes of mortals and gods, mummy masks, jewellery, pottery and papyri are displayed next to the Barber Institute’s own Egyptian collection of coins from Roman and Byzantine Alexandria. The exhibition is a collaboration with the University of Birmingham’s College of Arts and Law, and a 3D gallery with highlights of the Myers collection is being created by its Visual and Spatial Technology Centre (VISTA).

The Barber is free  visit - for more information visit:

http://www.barber.org.uk/

Junior Designer - Omobono, Cambridge

Junior Designer

We’re looking for another member of our creative team. Someone who’s strong on communication concepts as well as design, being able to art-direct and craft their ideas into stylish and memorable finished pieces.

We can promise variety – apps, sites, video, animation, print, brand development, ad campaigns, marketing strategy – we never know what we’ll be turning our hand to next. So we need someone who can think through clients’ problems and create compelling integrated communication concepts.

You’ll be fluent in the CS Design suite and if you have an understanding of web technologies, Flash and/or After Effects skills, even better.
You’ll have a design degree and/or up to two years experience of working in a deadline-driven agency environment. You’ll also be a team player capable of developing as well as creating ideas.

We’re offering the chance to work on some of the world’s biggest brands as part of a friendly team – one that’s committed to producing great work and sharing the rewards. And you get to work in one of the most beautiful and cosmopolitan cities in the UK.

To apply for this job, send your CV, work samples and salary expectations to chris@omobono.co.uk.

Placement - Edge and Barrett

Intern / Placement

We are currently looking for a energetic, creative graphic designer with a keen eye for detail and strong in ideas for a placement / internship to start from October with a possible full time position offered on completion.

We are a small but busy studio based in Spitalfields, east London, working with a variety of clients – covering all aspects of design from branding, editorial, print and web – so Adobe skills essential and experience with web design, HTML and CSS would be a bonus. You will have the opportunity to be involved in every stage of the design process, from concepts to production, working on our in house magazine and making the odd cup of tea here and there.

Please apply via –

info@edgeandbarrett.com

with a PDF portfolio (5mb or under) or a link to your work.

Laurence King Publishing - 35% discount offer

Laurence King specialist art and design publishers are generously offering students 35% discount off purchases when using the promotional code BTSA11 at www.laurenceking.com

You can choose from all of their student titles, including 'Symbol by Angus Hyland and Steven Bateman', 'How to Create a Portfolio & Get Hired: A Guide for Graphic Designers & Illustrators by Fig Taylor' and '100 Ideas that Changed Fashion by Harriet Worsley'.

visit www.laurenceking.com to view their full range.

Graduate Success - Alexander Edwards

Graphics graduate Alexander Edwards has been following this blog from 'Linkedin'. Alexander is now head of design at Concept Sign & Display Ltd / Concept Digital Ltd Birmingham.

Concept Digital is a company that specialises in digital communication solutions for a diverse range of client sectors.

See more of the Alexanders work for Concept at:

http://www.conceptsigns.co.uk/digital/

Explaining the system – fees 2012

It’s hard to escape the media comment on the 2012 changes to university fees for English students. The detail can be difficult to understand and quite frankly off putting. This post has been written to help demystify these costs as they relate to the courses within the Visual Communications division of the University of Wolverhampton and to help you make sense of the detail. 

If you’re a full-time student from the UK or EU and are interested in studying on your first higher education course, you can get a government loan to cover tuition costs. You don’t pay up front before you study, the student loan company will cover these costs and you will only start to pay back your loan once you’ve graduated, and are earning over £21,000 a year. Repayments for the current student loan system 'kick-in' when graduates are earning £15,000 per year. The repayments of the new scheme are deducted through the tax system when you earn £21,000 - meaning that as a new graduates you will actually pay back £540 less each year than students students under the old scheme. 

The new student loan system embraces for the first time, eligible, part-time students who are studying for their first degree or other designated HE course.

The university has put together a helpful web page that provides information on ‘study now pay later’:

http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=26685  

Maintenance grants are still available for anyone with a family income under £40,000. Take a look at the informative guide to other financial support on the University website:

http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=26687  

Reduce costs with Student Scholarships and the Continuing Achievement award 
At the time of writing this post, the University will be awarding 420 National Student Scholarships for 2012 entrants. Scholarships are worth a minimum £3000 in your first year of study. A £1000 tuition fee waiver + £1000 cash + Reduced Accommodation Fees (worth up to £1500) or a further £1000 fee waiver.

What’s more, you don’t need to apply, as the University will contact eligible applicants to confirm that they wish to be considered for a Scholarship. If you are accepted for the scholarship, you can also apply for the Universities ‘Continuing Achievement Reward’ in your second and third years

You will be considered for a National Student Scholarship if the Student Loans Company can confirm by July 2012 that you have a residual income of £25,000 or less. You will also be considered if you have firmly accepted a conditional or unconditional offer of a place at the University of Wolverhampton by July 2012, or if you have achieved a minimum 280 UCAS Tariff points or equivalent

So what is a ‘Continuing Achievement Award’? All new students at the University of Wolverhampton (UK+EU) paying a tuition cost of £8500 will be eligible to have their tuition fee reduced as a reward for continuing achievement and progression through each year of study. 

Each year if you are successful in your studies, work hard, submit all of your assessments, pass and progress, the University will credit your tuition fee by £1000 for that year when you re-enrol, thus reducing costs by £3000 over the three years of a first degree. 

You don’t need to apply for the award, if you meet the eligibility criteria each year the University will automatically reduce your tuition fee by notifying the Student Loans Company. 

Undoubtedly the new system is complicated. We have found an informative explanation from Martin Lewis, of Money Saving Expert.com, who heads up ‘The Independent Student Finance Taskforce’ working with Universities, Colleges and the NUS.

Visit the University website for more details:
http://www.wlv.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=26574 

Look below the jump to read Martin’s article ‘Balancing the Books’ from the Sunday Times University Guide 2012 published September 11 2011

MA Exhibition

Many Congratulations and Good Luck to all Masters Visual Communication students who have successfully graduated and those who may be exhibiting at The Public, West Bromwich this weekend.

The exhibition will be open from 24th September - 9th October at the Public

The MA degree show is the culmination of the excellent work undertaken by Masters students for the University of Wolverhampton over the last year or two and shows the diversity of creative thinking, skills and professional approach to practice that they have achieved in that time.

Both full-time and part-time students have come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to contribute to the debates and extend their individual practices, with a good proportion of international students to offer enriched cultural understandings of art and design. This is therefore, a particularly lively show from the three courses of Fine Art, Art & Design and Design for Advertising, with multi-disciplinary work ranging from painting, sculpture, print, illustration and photography to audio-visual pieces, animation, ceramic, glass work, textiles and installation.

If you are interested in exploring the opportunity to study for a Masters in Art & Design or Design for Advertising, please contact Lester.Meachem@wlv.ac.uk

Architecture Walks - Wolverhampton

Second year Visual Communication students are working on a trilogy of projects with a themed connection. To help with their initial research, staff and students have undertaken 'architecture walks' of the city. Part of the group, pictured here with Senior Lecturer Marc Austin, are shown outside the beautiful Wolverhampton Central Library, which is a Grade II* listed building, opened in 1902 and designed by Henry T Hare, an architect with Beaux Arts training. 

Students enjoyed a tour which began with a guided visit to Wolverhampton City Archives, now housed in the historic The Molineux Hotel, also a Grade II* listed building dating from 1720. The building now superbly renovated, complete with period interiors and elegant garden, sits next to the School of Art and Design and is open to visitors Tuesday to Friday 10.00am - 5.00pm.Late night opening till 7.00pm on Wednesday and Saturday 10.00am-1.00pm. 

The next stop was the elegant foyer of the Wolverhampton Magistrates court housed in the old Wolverhampton Town Hall. This grand design, opened in 1871, was built in the French Renaissance style with a sandstone facade and rusticated plinth. 

One high spot of the tour was the Beatties House of Fraser Heritage Room. Students enjoyed exploring a century of retail history at the Wolverhampton flagship store - seeing archive documents, advertisements and print ephemera dating back to when the store first opened as well as original objects including the Beatties Rocking Horse and the first ever Beatties carrier bag.

Top Shop Success - Natalie Elson

The work of Illustration student Natalie Elson, has recently been featured in the 'Top Shop' staff magazine. Natalie's imagery, seen across the UK by company personal, has been adopted and used on display and information boards behinds the scenes, for Top shop staff and company visitors to enjoy.

Oriel Davies Open 2012

CALL FOR ENTRIES

Oriel Davies Open 2012 
1st Prize £1500 + solo show at Oriel Davies. 1st Student Prize
£750 + solo show at Oriel Davies.
Deadline for entries: Monday 5 December 2011

We are seeking submissions from artists working in any medium.
This includes performance, time-based, sound, digital,
installation, painting, sculpture, print, photography and the
moving image. There is no geographical restriction and entry is
open to artists and students nationally and internationally.

Selectors: Ben Borthwick, Artistic Director, Artes Mundi, Ann
Jones, Curator, Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, Sally
Tallant, Head of Programmes, Serpentine Gallery, Emma Posey,
Curator, Oriel Davies Gallery

For further information and to download Entry Forms click here
[http://www.orieldavies.org/en/open2012]

If you would like an entry form sent to you, please ring the desk
on 01686 625041.
http://www.orieldavies.org/sites/default/files/orieldaviesopen2012.pdf

Graduate Success - Neil Dicken

Neil Dicken, graphics graduate and designer for Marketing at the Mill Limited has been in touch. Neil would like to share the results of his designs that help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Ironbridge Gorge's World Heritage Site.

MATM created these unusual images in August and September 2011 by carefully selecting photographs taken many years ago in the Ironbridge Gorge, then holding them up at the same location and taking a fresh picture.

By matching the old with the new – the new photograph has the effect of inserting historical scenes directly into modern life. The ‘windows into history’ project is being displayed during celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of Ironbridge Gorge becoming a World Heritage Site.

“The images create a real visual and mental double-take. The beauty of the approach is its simplicity, though the trick is to select the historical photograph that creates the most vivid match in the modern scene. The photographs are up to 150 years old, so allow the viewer to visualise what some of the Ironbridge Gorge looked like – hopefully they have provided a glimpse into the past.” said Neil

Find out more at:
http://thejuice.matm.co.uk/2011/09/21/creating-windows-into-shropshires-history/ http://matm.co.uk/

Graduate Success - Richard Braham

Graphics alumni, Richard Braham has been in touch. Richard is now running his own fashion brand and specialises in screen print design using water based inks on organic cotton.
The t-shirt designs featured here are just 2 of Richards range. Richard is busy, designing, printing and setting up a retail outlet in the South West. His store is called Mocha Dick's surf shack, a name inspired by the notorious, white sperm whale of the Pacific Ocean who was the inspiration behind Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick.
Richards online store will be soon be open at www.mochadicks.co.uk

TWOFOLD Magazine - Competition

TWOFOLD Magazine is made up from a selection of talented individuals and studios from around the globe. If you think you have the skills to feature in one of our magazines then check out our submission guidelines below and send us your work!

For the selection process we are happy to accept a link to your website/blog/online portfolio, alternatively you can send us a selection of up to 5 low res JPGs that you feel best reflect you and your work. Please make sure you send your work to the right email address.

Illustration submissions: illustration@twofoldmagazine.com 

Lettering & typography submissions: typography@twofoldmagazine.com 

Each artist who submits work will be added to our submission lists and may feature in a future issue.

Selected artists will get to create 1 artwork to be featured in the magazine (Details will be sent to chosen artists). We are particularly interested in unpublished work or work created specially for TWOFOLD. All work will need to be able to fit to our size requirements.

All artists who are selected to feature in the magazine will also receive their own profile page in our artists section, the details of this will be sent to chosen artist. They will also receive a copy of the issue they feature in and some TWOFOLD goodies!
________________________________________________________

Submission deadlines

Issue 1: 30th Sept 2011

Issue 2: 30th Oct 2011

Due to the overwhelming amount of submissions we receive it's not always possible to send individual replies to everyone. We'll be in contact if you're chosen to feature in the magazine.

http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/jump.php?contest=twofold-magazine-call-for-creatives

Graduate Placement

Paid Placement, Golley Retail—Leeds

We’re running a competition to snap up a graduate Graphic Designer for a 12 month paid placement.

The Brief:
What was the last thing you bought? Cappuccino or Cup-a-soup?
Pukka Pie or Porsche? Whatever it was, create a marketing campaign for it. Your campaign can use any media at any scale, just show us your
creativity and imagination. Print or press campaign, in-store point of sale (or pos for short), outdoor media, a TV ad – or all of the above!

We’re looking for an extremely creative graduate bursting with enthusiasm and more ideas than we can shake a stick at! And with graduate jobs being rarer than hen’s teeth, you’ll never get a better opportunity to show us here at Golley Retail what you’re made of.

Remember, you’ve got to be in it to win it, so get your cogs turning
and blow us away with your best ideas. Good Luck!

Send your entries to
dean.harding@golleyslater.co.uk

Deadline — 21st October 2011
If we like what we see, you’ll be invited in for a chat and a cuppa.
And maybe a ride in our Great Glass Elevator.*

*Height restrictions apply.

Freelance design opportunity

Freelancer creatives, designers & artworkers

Uniform - Liverpool
We’re looking for freelance creatives, designers and artworkers to add to our roster. We’ve got lots of great projects coming up with some amazing brands and need extra resource. If you’re interested please send your CV & portfolio to jobs@uniform.net

Graduate Success: Grant Meek

An update from Grant Meek

"In 2005 I graduated from the University of Wolverhampton graphic Communication course. I decided to take the freelance route and mainly worked on promotional material for Bars and Restaurants. During that time I also volunteered as a lecturers assistant at the university until end of 2005. 

I then moved on small design consultancy in Shrewsbury called Stylus as their web designer. During my term at Stylus I got to work on projects for Aldi, Alcoa and BMW.

By 2008 I was lead designer for software house Crystal, based in Bromsgrove. While I was there I got to spruce up and modernise the user interface for their financial applications. Crystals clients included Legal & General, Halifax and Nationwide.

In 2009 2 friends and I left our day jobs to form our own company; through time it has merged with another company, had a name change and grown from 4 to 10 people.

Today, I'm creative partner at Myria which is a software solutions provider and development agency. We build online and offline applications for Desktop, Web and Mobile. Our clients include, OCIMF, BP Shipping, South Staffs Water PLC, Homeserve, NHS Warwick and NHS Coventry 

We have also developed a number of our own software products. Our current one being GP Fusion, which is a website solution targeted at GP surgeries.

Our team encompasses developers, database administrators, business analysts, project managers, quality assurance and a creative department. We draw from extensive experience across a number of markets including Healthcare, Finance, Shipping, Information Technology and Utilities.

My role covers all things design related, such as our company identity and the design of the UI and user experience of our applications.

In my spare time I enjoy experimenting by combining programming, mathematics and design to create random generative artwork. 

My time on the Graphic Communication course was life changing, it reinforced my design and communication skills. The support and encouragement I had from lecturers on the course was phenomenal; without the advice and patience of the people on my course; I would not be where I am today."

48 sheet talk - for students and alumni

Readers may remember our post about 48 sheet artist commission opportunity, from a few weeks ago.
http://visualcommunicationwolverhampton.blogspot.com/2011/08/48-sheet-artist-commission-opportunity.html

Claire Farrell, founder of EC Arts, is coming in to talk to level 3 Graphic Communication on Thursday 6th October at 10.00am in Mk 301 about their current international project, 48 sheet, for any students who may wish to take this on as a negotiated brief, Claire has managed to extend this billboards project outside of Birmingham so some will be sited now in Wolverhampton. This talk will be open to any interested students or alumni of the Visual Communication division seats will be distributed on a first come first served basis.

EC Arts, having successfully transformed public spaces through artistic interventions since 2006, presents 48Sheet, a National and International project that will transform the city of Birmingham and beyond, throughout April 2012 into a unique urban gallery by utilising up to 100 advertising billboards across the city for visual art.

For the inaugural 48Sheet project, EC Arts have identified various key partners committed to this project including Jonathan Watkins, Director of the Ikon Gallery and Dr Jiang Jiehong, Director of Centre for Chinese Visual Arts, Birmingham Institute of Art & Design (BCU) who have identified international artists, Xu Zhen (Shaghai MadeIn Collective) and Raqs Media Collective (India) to co curate 60 billboards exhibiting new work created for this project.

EC Arts are now looking for established or emerging artists who can also develop the remaining 40 billboards to expand upon the existing National and International concepts within the overarching theme for the project of 'Cultural Curiosity'.  The 48Sheet project challenges the repetitive rhythm of a traditional advertising campaign by creating a network of unique and distinctive responses to the overarching project theme that will raise levels of consciousness and arouse cultural curiosity.

Artists and Visual Communicators will be invited to explore the concept by utilising billboards as their medium within this urban context. The sheer scale of the project and individual statements will provide an exciting opportunity to redefine the reach of art by giving it the footprint and visual impact usually reserved for the consumer market.
Sites identified so far:
Soho Road

Highgate

Eastside

Westside

Dudley Road

Walsall

Wolverhampton

Eastside

Gun Quarter

Jewellery Quarter


www.48sheet.com 
http://www.ec-arts.com/

HAVE YOUR DESIGN SOLD WORLDWIDE - COMPETITION

DESIGN A T-SHIRT CHANGE A LIFE

Visit the website at www.mylabel.co.uk/myappeal

Online fashion retailer MyLabel.co.uk in collaboration with the Caudwell Children's Charity is launching MyAppeal; a huge design competition to find the best young, design talent in the World. MyLabel.co.uk are reaching out to all design students in higher education whether they are studying fashion design, photography, fine art, graphic design, illustration or even animation.

The competition will launch online at www.mylabel.co.uk/myappeal on Monday the 19th of September where students will be able to find out more about the competition, upload their entry as well as check out the amazing musicians and artists who have already designed their own T Shirt which will be auctioned online after the competition has closed in October. Confirmed artists include Example, Frank Turner, Fenech Soler, Rob Ryan and The Valentines to name but a few!

The entries will be judged by a panel of experts after the closing date on the 14th of October, the winner will be announced online in mid October. The winning design will go straight into production and launch online at the beginning of December, all of the profits will go to the Caudwell Children's Charity.

The lucky winner will get their limited edition design sold Worldwide online at MyLabel.co.uk along with a pile of goodies including clothes, shoes, DVDs, games, gadgets and CDs. Two runner up winners will also get their hands on a pile of goodies.

Visit the website at www.mylabel.co.uk/myappeal

For more information please contact Paula Green paula.green@thehutgroup.com or Clare Potts clare.potts@thehutgroup.com

International Visual Methods Conference

More successful Visual Communication research news, this time from the International Visual Methods Conference, hosted by the Open University in Milton Keynes. The conference, the second of its kind, invited academics and others who work with visual methods to take part in presentations and discussions, as well as a programme of workshops, viewing a variety of exhibitions and films.
The conference covered a broad range of interests including: visual methods & research design, approaches to analyzing visual data, participatory visual methods, researcher-created visual data, visual ethics, arts-based visual research methods, visual culture and visual methods, data visualisation and visual technology (including eye tracking).
Jessica Glaser and Jeff Leak, presented a paper that focussed on the visual language of typography and its use in communicating subtleties in meaning. Examples were sourced from both historical and contemporary contexts and linguistic models were referenced to analyse both visual and verbal language. 

"The conference was a fantastic opportunity to listen to (and see) many fascinating presentations and to meet other researchers from around the world" says Jessica Glaser "The keynote presentations were especially absorbing with talks from Professor Carey Jewitt of London Knowledge Lab, Ludmilla Jordanova, Professor of Modern History at King's College, London and Katerina Cizek, director of Out My Window and the NFB's multi-year HIGHRISE project."

Readers of this blog might consider participating in Highrise - visit the site at the link above for more information.

Creative Co-operatives

Co-operatives West Midlands is the representative body of co-operative enterprise in the region. Their ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others resonate well in today's society as a better way of doing business. As the West Midlands regional arm of Co-operatives UK they are proud to promote all aspects of co-operative enterprise in the area.

Richard Bickle, Secretary, UK Society for Co-operative Studies and Board Member, Co-operatives WM is running a day event at MAC, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham on Wednesday September 28, 

from 12:30 pm - 4:30.

The session, including lunch and is called Creative Co-operatives and focusses on starting a Co-operative in the Creative Industries. This is an ideal event for freelance designers, graduates and even final year students with an interest in this topic.

• Find out about Co-operatives and co-operative ways of working.

• Meet potential collaborators. 

• Talk to people who've been there and done it. 
• Share ideas.
• Discover the Electro-Swing Circus, Britain's newest creative 
co-operative, and meet the founders.
• Learn from experienced co-operators from Wave Design and 
Co-operative Web
• Get expert business development advice from Co-operative Futures.


Here is the generous offer... Richard has kindly agreed to offer Wolverhampton Visual Communication alumni not already in creative employment, free entry to the event. He is also offering current students free entry.
To book your ticket and reserve a place at this innovative event, visit:
http://creativeco-operativesbirmingham.eventbrite.com/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=545826365#!/event.php?eid=141570912604803

This event has been organised by Co-operatives West Midlands with support from:
Co-operative Futures (www.futures.coop),
The Co-operative Enterprise Hub (www.co-operative.coop/enterprisehub)
There is also a larger nationwide initiative taking place to promote co-operative opportunities to freelancers, graduates, advisers and other professionals in the creative industries more information can be found at:
http://www.creatives.uk.coop/

MA Show - School of Art and Design

This years MA show is taking place at The Public in West Bromwich. 

The exhibition celebrating the achievements of Masters students from the School of Art and Design runs from September 24 to October 9.

More information about exhibits at The Public is available at
http://www.thepublic.com/exhibitions/all

Exhibition includes:

Animation, Ceramics, Glass, Graphic Communication, Illustration, Interactive Media, Interior Design, Product Design, Photography, Textile Design, Video and Film Production, Design for Advertising, Fine Art and the work of PhD students. 

Download your free invitation to the private view on September 24, https://lists.wlv.ac.uk/t/38880/370191/1503/0/?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy53bHYuYWMudWsvcGRmL3NhZC1tYS1zaG93LWludml0ZS0yMDExLnBkZg%3d%3d&x=0e6c79ac 
or contact Bhavna Parmar on 01902 322058 for more details

Edwardian fleapit cinema - Travelling cinema & art event

Kirkland's New Empire Bioscope is an annual travelling cinema and art event that opens on 23rd September for a further eight evenings of entertainment during September and October. 
This exciting event is a tribute to the Kirkland family of Bilston, and their favourite cinema in that town, the Alhambra. Some of you may have had the pleasure of being at previous cinema nights, in a shop cellar or at the canal boat extravaganza last year.  This year's is equally inspiring, taking places at Bullet Studios within a 5min walk of Wolverhampton City centre.

Doors open at 7pm with screenings starting at 7.30pm. Each evening will have a main feature preceded by film shorts including selected artist's films. Further details of the film nights can be found at www.kirklandsnewempirebioscope.weebly.com 

To accompany the screenings will be artist interventions to include a private peepshow, a photographic tour of lost cinemas of Wolverhampton, glimpses of a graphic novel, a tribute to the Scala cinema, Wolverhampton and a playful homage to classic film lines. A souvenir kiosk and a Phantasmagoria will also be there to entertain within the bioscope.

Booking in advance recommended. Price includes cinema entrance and refreshments.

There are only 20 seats in the cinema, so advanced booking is highly recommended.  Please call 07530658482 to book your tickets.

West Midland Galleries-The New Art Gallery Walsall. Art Library and Archive

Bob and Roberta Smith's Epstein Archive Gallery
1 September 2011 - 30 June 2012

After a 2-year residency with The New Art Gallery Walsall, the Archive Gallery on Floor 1 has been transformed by contemporary artists Bob and Roberta Smith. Working in collaboration with Archive Curator Neil Lebeter, they have rifled through the letters, photographs and documents held in the basement of the gallery, creating new works and short films in response to what was found.

Displaying contemporary art and archives side by side, Bob and Roberta Smith’s Epstein Archive Gallery will showcase this 2-year journey into Love, Sorrow and Obsession.

Sit down, relax and take in the history of an extraordinary family – all seen through the unique eyes of Bob and Roberta Smith.


http://www.thenewartgallerywalsall.org.uk/

Take a look at this exciting free exhibit. It's just one of a fantastic array of shows taking place this autumn within West Midlands Art Galleries - All within easy reach of the School of Art and Design. More posts coming in forthcoming weeks.

Welcome freshers

Freshers week begins today and we are pleased to be welcoming a new cohort of students to the Visual Communications division. Students this year are coming from all over the UK and in fact the world, giving the divisions 3 popular courses a truly international flavour.

During this first week a range of social and welcoming activities will be taking place, together with University briefings and subject specific inductions. 

One of the highlights of the week will undoubtedly be the Visual Communications trip to Liverpool on Wednesday. Staff and students will be visiting Crosby Beach, now the permanent home of ‘Another Place’, the sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist, Antony Gormley. 

Students will then go on to explore the Albert Dock having the chance to visit Tate Liverpool http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/

The International Slavery Museum http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ism/ the award-winning Beatles Story and the Merseyside Maritime Museum among other locations. 

Staff and existing students would like to extend a warm welcome to all new 'Freshers' beginning their studies in the Visual Communication division this week.

Junior Designer

Junior Designer

Thirdperson are an established, award winning design agency.

We’re looking for a Graduate/junior designer to work in a small, highly creative team to work across a diverse and interesting mix of clients. You will need to be an ideas-led creative individual with great ideas and a collaborative approach.

Having recently moved from Clerkenwell to a farm in Hertfordshire we offer a relaxed and focused environment perfect for you to make the role your own.

Please send CV and a few examples of your best work in pdf format to jobs@thirdperson.co.uk.
Visit thirdperson.co.uk to see how we work and who we work with.

Graduate Success - Anil Amrit

Graphics graduate from 1997, Anil Amrit has been following Visual Communication staff on Linkedin. Anil is a freelance designer and creative director from Shropshire. Now with over 15 years professional experience working with national and international clients, he has an impressive CV that includes both 2 and 3D graphics as well as design for screen.
"I graduated in 1997" says Anil "An excellent course which helped me to learn more than just how to answer a brief. I was taught by designers from the real world, I Spent most of my 2nd year on work experience for 2 top studios in Birmingham - Fluid & Boxer Creative where I gained further valuable inside knowledge and experience working with all levels of personnel and clients.
This also helped boost my final portfolio with real live projects which helped me gain employment at a well respected studio in Birmingham within a week of finishing my course."

To see more of Anils designs visit:
http://www.anilamrit.co.uk/

INSIGHT OUT: Interiors & Lifestyles Update

Readers will remember a post from June concerning INSIGHT OUT: Interiors & Lifestyles offering mentoring and coaching to help your idea fulfill business ideas.

http://visualcommunicationwolverhampton.blogspot.com/2011/06/insight-out-interiors-lifestyles.html 

The deadline has been extended to September 15th and the schme is open to adults of all ages. Applicants must not be already trading the business they want to start. Interiors and lifestyle based products and services only are supported. Availability for a 5 day workshop programme 3rd - 7th October 2011 is essential.

For an application form contact Wendy Jones
email: wendy@ilfutures.co.uk Phone: 0121 331 7925

For enquiries about the programme contact NTI team
Email: alexa.torlo@bcu.ac.uk phone: 0121 202 4800

Born Communication - CanTeen position, Arts and Health Development Role

Mark Yorke, Wolverhampton graphic graduate, who runs Born Communication has an interesting project on offer:

The background

Born Communication have been working with Creative Health CIC (responsible for developing and managing praXis arts and health network) and NHS Dudley to develop Dudley Kick Ash. The Kick Ash programme of work encourages young people to be free from tobacco and to participate in activities in smoke free environments. Young people living in the Dudley Borough have the opportunity to submit ideas for a project and apply for a small grant, which they use to support an activity that takes place in a smoke free environment. A steering group of young people awards the grants. Another group of young people are been supported by Born Communication to develop their skills to document

and profile the work.

More information about Dudley Kick Ash can be found at http://www.dudleykickash.com/

NHS Dudley are committed to developing inclusive and empowering methods of

engagement to support young people to become more able to take responsibility for their own health and well being and that of their friends and families. With limited resources it has become even more important to target specific groups of young people and actively encourage them to be involved in activities. These may be young people of a certain age, live in a specific community or face specific health and well being issues. In addition to this Dudley NHS are also keen to support young people to become health champions and encourage their friends to make positive changes in their behaviour.

To this end the partnership with Creative Health CIC and Born Communication has been extended to develop the Canteen Programme.

2. The Canteen model

The project aims to build on and extend the involvement by young people in Kick Ash by supporting a youth led public health movement. Canteen will provide young people with an opportunity to air their views and concerns, raise issues, participate in activities and play an active role in health campaigns.

Canteen will be led by a group of young people, supported by:

• arts and media specialists

• youth workers with specialist knowledge of health and wellbeing issues including safe practice to use existing social networking tools to involve, inform and engageother young people in health and wellbeing activities. Canteen will become a young person led virtual health reference group for the PCT and their partners.

The initial Canteen campaign will focus on promoting smoke free environments and will:

• Raise the awareness of the dangers of tobacco and exposure to second-hand

smoke amongst other young people

• Promote smokefree environments for all

• Challenge current media stereotypes presenting smoking as a ‘cool’ characteristic.

Engaging young people in Canteen

Phase one of the programme will be to establish a group of young people from different backgrounds who will act as the founding members of Canteen. They will work with specialists to design and promote Canteen ensuring the project reflects the needs and aspirations of young people living in Dudley. At this stage we anticipate that young people involved in the Kick Ash programme may be interested in being founder members.

Launching the model

Canteen will be launched in 20 schools across Dudley. At the moment each schools host a Quit Smoking presentation. The content of the presentation will be reviewed and updated to inspire young people to be involved in health and wellbeing debates it will also include an invite to young people to join the Canteen network. A target of involving a minimum of 1000 young people within the Dudley Borough has been set. This will be done using facebook as a key marketing tool. The lead group will then work with their support team to develop the debate, when new information is ready for distribution messages can be sent direct to young people. Links can also be made to existing projects and websites.

Targeting specific groups of people

In addition to the general promotion specific groups of young people (depending on the targets of the partners) will need to be actively involved in the programme. These groups of young people will be the ones Dudley NHS find most challenging to involve in their work.

To achieve this an arts and heath worker will develop and run the Canteen outreach programme. The programme would run in partnership with specialist organisations. As part of this programme young people will be supported to apply for a Kick Ash grant to run their own activities.

Job details to be found after the jump