Communication Design student Fraser had the opportunity to attend an international creative festival with INTL last year where he attended different Q&A and workshops. He shares his experience, the projects he worked on, and what he learned in this blog.
INTL was fantastic! I can’t wait to put into practice what I learned from the conference and the workshops I attended.
The conference was jam-packed with amazing speakers. It was fantastic to see so many creative projects, which were very inspiring. A takeaway to help improve my work is to think more deeply about how we can use the world around us to influence our design methods.
I attended the Q&A sessions Are We Doomed as Designers? and Nitty Gritty Q&A. These interactive discussions were very informative, providing insights into how the panel thinks the future of Graphic Design will evolve.
Crafting Characters workshop
Over the weekend, I attended Angela Kirkwood‘s workshop “Crafting Characters”. This two-day workshop involved designing a character based on a given prompt—mine was a house.
We started by drawing our character through various emotional states, such as anger, serenity, and tension. After this, we created a stop-motion animation. My animation was based on a chill character who gets excited about scoring a goal. This was my first time working with stop-motion animation, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I may potentially incorporate this technique into a future project.
Branding for Food and Drink
On the Monday, I had the chance to attend “Branding for Food and Drink” with Fed and Watered. The morning began with Orlando Lloyd discussing his studio’s approach to projects. We were then tasked with creating a visual brand for a new bakery or whisky product. The brief required us to define one ownable colour, one typographic style, and one memorable asset.
Additionally, we needed to place our new brand in a suitable mock-up. As the day progressed, the brief became even more interesting, focusing on achieving a style that was both minimalistic and memorable.
This workshop was especially engaging due to the tight timescale, which forced quick yet effective decision-making. I followed my instincts, and I’m proud of the outcome considering the timescale.
Live Project
Lastly, I participated in the Live Project. My group mentor agency was Imaginary Friends. Their insightful guidance transformed my initial concept into an imaginative solution. The brief, set by The Brand Identity was a compelling task: we had to create a humorous solution to something that irritates us.
My chosen annoyance was forgetting people’s names when I bump into them—something I find very frustrating. My solution was a watch with interchangeable characters, each representing a different way to escape an awkward situation by transforming that chosen character. For example, a Portaloo for embarrassing encounters, an Inflatable Tube Man for awkward moments, a Puddle for when you wish the ground could swallow you up, and a Ping Pong Ball for a playful getaway. This brief encouraged me to think differently, and this approach is something I’d like to integrate into my practice moving forward.
Thank you to all who made INTL such a great experience!
Fraser Deacon
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Looking back on our experience studying at Gray’s School of Art
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