Staffordshire Graphic Design and Illustration students visited Barcelona for OFFF, a 3 day festival of visual creativity. They got to experience a variety of industry talks and workshops “garnering insights that can be applied to their academic studies,” (Sam Owen, Course Leader for Graphic Design). Sam added that there was “thought provoking discussion on AI and its fast-paced effect on the design world, the importance of ideation, adaptation and finding your own voice.”
For first year Graphic Design students Hayley and Ellie, the creative atmosphere was a highlight.
“The fact that I was around creative people the same as me. I’m not really mingling with a lot of people that are involved in that, other than at Uni. So it was nice being around people who are more established, a bit older, and seeing their thought process being creating an advert or a poster. It was like going to a theme park for graphic design, it was so fun.” Hayley, 19.
With Ellie adding “We got to socialise with the other groups as well. Before, we didn’t know some of the others over there in Illustration and now we speak loads, so it was great socialising, we made more friends.” Hayley hadn’t been to Barcelona before but has started to incorporate the unique architecture into her portfolio. “It was very inspiring, made my mind more open. We’re doing work around museums at the moment, so I’ve been able to take that and put it into my work.”
Final year student Will Bagnall also found the experience valuable, bringing presentation skills into his own practice. “You see new ideas, and the inspiration was seeing how people present their work. We’ve had mock interviews today and as you’re going through your portfolio, that idea of presenting stuff starts to come out.”
Mixing with students from different years of study has also been integral to the experience “it’s opened up sort of channels of communication. It opens up a network, and at Level 6, networking is one of your main goals.”
Summing up the experience, Sam Owen stated “We had the chance to hear from 78 speakers linked to visual art and digital culture including David Carson, James Victore, Marta Cerda, Gemma O’Brien, Brian Collins. Trips like these are hugely educational but importantly are fun. Our students are making memories with their friends that will stay with them for many years to come.”