Junior designer - Mint Digital, London / New York

Designer

Mint is a creative digital studio. We collaborate with companies big and small to design and build digital products. We also invent our own businesses and run them within Mint. We delivered over a million magnets with StickyGram, launched Foldable.Me in six months and we’re getting ready to ship Projecteo.

We are now looking for two designers – one senior and one junior – to join the team. Please see http://mintdigital.com/about/jobs for our full listings.

Our designers love the web and believe in making it beautiful for all to use. A love for typography and colour should come as standard, along with an understanding and interest in what makes users click, tap, swipe and scroll. We want our users to not only be amazed by how our products look, but how easy they are to use.

The work will involve a mix of interaction & visual design across client work and our proprietary products. You will often find you spend more time discussing and sketching with the team than sitting in front of your computer. We work closely with each other to improve our work and make it the best it can be. Whilst you need to be comfortable challenging the opinions of your colleagues, you can’t be precious about your own – we are always striving to improve and learn from everything we do. We believe this makes Mint one of the best companies out there to grow as a designer.

We’re a small team doing big things. You will have every chance to work closely with others across all areas of Mint to help make a difference and shape our output. Creative work always involves collaboration and how we gel together as a team is a key consideration. It’s important that you fit in – we’re a big family here and that’s the way we want it to stay. You’ll get involved in our regular meetups, conferences, hot-pot outings and table football/tennis tournaments. We hope to work with the right person for years to come.

Junior Designer

* 1-3 years experience in designing digital products
* A good understanding of typography and layout
* A strong sense of visual style

We’ve put together a simple form to help the application process. Just fill it out at http://bit.ly/mintdesign and we’ll get started.

We’ll close applications 18 March. We look forward to talking to you.

Uncanny: Surrealism and the Graphic image by Rick Poyner

Rick Poyner’s talk on Uncanny: Surrealism and the Graphic image gave an enjoyable view of the connections between Surrealism and graphic image making.

“I came to this topic as a long time admirer of Surrrealism and felt there was something to say to designers” Poyner said.

In the talk he showcased work from within the history of graphics that very powerfully drew on Surrealism and possessed what he described as a ‘psychological charge’. 

Poyner sites his interest in surrealism as stemming from the 1970’s book Surrealism: Permanent Revelation by Roger Cardinal and Robert Stuart Short, which he described as being written in the spirit of revolutionary fervour. Showing more recent examples of the surrealist influence on graphic design and image making, he discussed the 2005 Max Ernst exhibition in New York and the current Dali exhibit in Paris.

In 2009 Poyner was invited to curate an exhibition for the Moravian Gallery in Brno, in the Czech Republic. The exhibition, “Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design was to commemorate the International Biennial of Graphic Design in 2010. 

The Polymorphous Image: sculpture by Jan Švankmajer (foreground)

The Surreal Body: Laboratoires CCCP and Stefan Sagmeister (main wall)

Cabinets of Wonder
Exhibition images from http://observersroom.designobserver.com/rickpoynor/uncanny.html

“The Czech Republic is a good place to explore this connection because surrealism’s influence in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s was second only to its impact in France, the movement’s birthplace. To this day, there is a formal Czech and Slovak surrealist group of artists and theorists, who organize meetings, exhibitions, and publications.”

http://observersroom.designobserver.com/rickpoynor/uncanny.html

Learn more about Rickpoyners fascination with Surrealism at:

http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/on-my-shelf-surrealism-permanent-revelation/22328/
http://www.printmag.com/Article/The-Complex-Bonds-Between-Design-and-Surrealism#axzz143V6dr5t

Internship - Blackbridge, Shoreditch

Design Intern – Web and print creative

Blackbridge Communications is one of the fastest growing communications agencies in the UK. Based in the heart of Shoreditch our office bustles with over thirty full-timers. From the big challenges in brand and corporate comms to the latest pioneering developments in social media, we pride ourselves on tackling projects with fine minds and lots of fresh thinking.

We are looking for enthusiastic and creative graduates to come and work with us in our studio for 2-4 weeks, with the potential to earn a permanent role within the creative team. You’ll bring some new thinking to the table, along with a desire to learn and develop your potential within an agency environment.

You will be working across digital and print media on a variety of live design projects for some big brands. Any experience/interest in social media, app design, video or photography would also be useful.

Your travel costs and expenses will be covered and we’ll buy you all the beer/wine/spirits you can drink on a Friday (after work).

Please apply to walt@blackbridge.co.uk with your CV and a PDF showing 3 recent examples of work, or a link to your online portfolio.

Internship - Evolve Agency, London Bridge

Design Internship (one month)
We are an exciting and creative brand & advertising agency based near London Bridge in vibrant Bermondsey Street. Our experience spans across all kinds of specialist areas from brand identity, communications strategy, print design, advertising and web design.

We are after a Design Intern for a one month period with the view to giving a great and successful intern a full-time Junior Designer role. We offer expenses paid and the chance to be involved with live projects.

We need someone that is full of ideas, is inquisitive and can articulate ideas verbally and visually. Strong design skills are a prerequisite, whilst previous agency experience is not. We are looking for some one with a good working knowledge of the usual Creative suite applications. You will be working directly alongside the designers of our team, gaining experience in a busy and exciting studio working on a variety of live projects.

If this sounds like you, please send samples of your work and a CV to greg@evolveagency.com

Omkar Khadamkar - student exchange, news from Mumbai

Omkar Khadamkar, student exchange from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Mumbai, has been in touch to share some news. Since successfully completing his  graphic communication studies within the School of Art and Design, Omkar has been busy using his new editorial and app design skills to great effect. Omkar who is studying a 4 year design course, has just been offered a placement  as a graphic designer with one of India's leading retail companies, Future Group. During his placement Omkar will be working on projects including visual identity and graphic design for fashion.

"My interviewers really appreciated the projects I completed in my exchange program and my editorial design skills really helped me to create a good impression with my recruiters."

Zoe Hern - graduate success

I completed my graphic communication degree at the university of Wolverhampton 2010. After attending numerous interviews, I was offered work placement with a company that was impressed with my CV, personality and of course my portfolio. I jumped at the chance to work in the sector I loved and to gain valuable work experience, I began a 4 month placement that lead to the offer of full time employment.

In this job, I have spent a lot of time designing smartphone apps and also working on print based projects. One of my favourite projects to date has been designing the app for Dudley Zoo. It’s my local zoo and it has meant that this project is very close to my heart. I couldn't be happier specially seeing my designs going live in the app store.

Zoe Hern

Employability Sessions for Level 6 students

Employability sessions run jointly by the School of Art and Design and Careers and Employment Centre are taking place this term.

The next event is on the 14th February. This will cover interview techniques and presentation, and also provide more detailed information on how you can use the Level 6 Employability in the Creative Industries module to gain the University Employability Award.

Sessions run from: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm each Thursday in the SAD lecture theatre, MK045.

14th February: Interview techniques and presentation

21st February : CV

28th February : Alumni and coming back to use our facilities after graduation

7th March : Post-Graduate study

14th March : Opportunities for Employment and Self-Employment; Science Park & University Employment schemes (SPEED, SPARK, etc)

21st March : The DLHE survey, Career Planning, and the difference between Graduate and Non-Graduate employment

11th April : Tax, self-employment and business banking - delivered by HMRC

18th April : Converting Employability in the Creative Industries module to the University Employability Award

Students can subscribe to the Wolf topic for up-to-date information and resources relating to the first session: 

http://wolf-nt.wlv.ac.uk/sad/72407/

Sky Arts Stings competition

Sky Arts and Sky Creative are hosting a student competition to find fresh, new design talent. 
The brief is to create a Sky Arts channel sting. This is a 20 second piece of film that plays on the channel in ad breaks to remind the viewer which channel they are on. It is also an opportunity for Sky Arts to communicate what they stand for.

This is a live brief; the winner of the competition will have their work broadcast on Sky Arts.

Who is eligible?
This competition is open to UK students and recent graduates. To be eligible to enter you must be currently enrolled in a UK college or university course or you may have recently graduated no earlier than January 1, 2011.

The Award
The winner will receive a £500 cash prize and their work will air on the Sky Arts HD Channels with an on-air credit. They will also receive one month's paid work experience with Sky Creative.

For more information click here

Sky Arts are coming to the University tomorrow February 7th to introduce their sting competition. This will take place in the lecture theatre (MK045) at 1pm. All students are welcome.

The Biennial of Poster Bolivia, BICeBé

The Biennial of Poster Bolivia, BICeBé will take place from November 18th to 24th. This event co-organized by Diseñadores Gráficos Bolivia (Bolivian Designers), is considered the most important design event in South America and Bolivia and is open to designers form all over the world.

BICeBé will include a main exhibition of the selected posters from this contest.

We would like to share with you the BICeBé 2013 International Poster Call that will be generate, a top class main exhibition.

There are 4 categories of participation:

• Posters on cultural topics and activities
• Posters on political and social issues
• Posters of advertising, commercial events, products or services
• Unpublished posters on the topic: GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

Technique and format are free, except for posters submitted in the forth category, which must be 70 x 100 centimeters (vertical).

There is no entry fee.

Eligibility

Contestants may be design students, graphic designers, plastic artists, photographers and graphic producers in general. Entrants can be any age and nationality, submitted posters designs  must have been executed between April 2011 to April 2013.

Prize

For the first three categories:
First, Second and Third Place. Medal and Diploma.

For the forth category: First Place: USD 3.500. Second and Third Place: Medal and Diploma.

For more information click here
The deadline for this competition is April 30 2013

Freelance Digital Developer/Designers- Realise Creative, Hoxton, London

Freelance Digital Developer/Designers
We are Realise. A creatively led, multidisciplinary agency in Hoxton.
We work internationally with some of the most influential brands and ambitious individuals across campaigns, branding, strategy, environments, events and everything in between.

2013 is looking busy – we are currently:
- Helping to launch the world’s greatest energy drink in a special new market…
- Creating a brand experience that rethinks 17 acres of West London where EMI invented pop music…
- Rebranding, in record time, the most exciting team in F1…
- Collaborating with visual artists to build a unique campaign for the architecture event of the summer…
- Developing a new brand vision for a global sporting governing body…
- Creating and marketing, from scratch, London’s coolest student living brand…
- Bringing a touch of scandinavian chic to shed building for an exhibition in Hayes…
- Launching a new style brand in Denmark…

What we’re looking for:
- Front-end website developer/designer
- Ability to build and work with a minimum of one popular back-end cms eg. WordPress
- Thorough knowledge of current web standards, responsive design and mobile-accessibility a must
- Confident in working with HTML 5 and XHTML, CSS 2 and 3 and JavaScript
- Creative focus and exciting ideas
- Passion and patience for getting details right
- Won’t get left behind in a fast-paced environment
- Loves what they do and has a great time doing it

If you think you might be what we’re looking for then please tell us what you’ve been up to, send your CV and a few examples of your best work as a pdf (strictly no more than 5mb) to jobs@realisecreative.com

Strictly no agencies. Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.