Tuesday 24 March 2015

Collaboration

As a designer I understand the importance of collaborating with other practitioners, so I have tried to make the most of contacts I already have with students on other courses. I recently worked with graphic students Zach Rowlandson and Joe Britch on creating slip covers for their new music and arts magazine, 'Rat'. It was great to experience how collaboration can work well as a skill exchange - they gained my stitching skills, whilst I got the chance to work on a new magazine venture and learn more about graphic design in the process.


I was also approached by fashion student Ailsa Reeve to create prints inspired by vintage fabrics for her fashion collection. This collaboration has given me a very different experience because rather than just using my technical skills, Ailsa wanted me to use my creative skills to design something that compliments the other designs, so there has been more discussion and negotiation about ideas.


I struggled to begin with as I generally use more illustrative motifs, so I've found it hard working with more abstract shapes. Working with Ailsa has been great because I have been able to receive feedback on each design and constructive criticism about what to improve, which feels more like how working with a client as a freelance designer would be.