IP Unit: Artefact, Formative Submission & Feedback

Posted on 21st July 2023 by Peter Chadwick

After careful consideration and exploration of themes that include long-standing interests around the connection of design education to the possibilities and employability globally within the design industry, along with practitioners and studios working beyond Europe and North America. 

I have decided to develop a proposal for a website. The website will be a platform and a framework for highlighting the work and design practices in often underrepresented areas of the world including South and Central America, Africa, Carribean, Southeast Asia, and India. 

Increasingly the UAL (University of the Arts London) cohort consists of students from around the world who do not always want to or cannot stay in London after they have completed their studies here at UAL. In support of my teaching around employability, this website would be used as resource within workshops with students as they reflect upon and consider their own creative network and next steps beyond their studies at UAL. I regularly encourage students to make work when and where possible in relation to their own interests including cultures, countries, and locations. This resource would increase the visibility of opportunities around the world and show students that working in London and Europe are not the only options available. 

This resource would not only be a directory of design agencies and practitioners, it would also be a showcase of work and more importantly the people / teams who are making the work, a creative network, and a space to celebrate and share magnificent work from often overlooked areas of the design world. 

Next Steps: To utilise the resources and reading materials provided within this unit to help me structure and academically underpin this proposal. To clearly define this proposal and create a framework in which anyone can add to this directory anywhere around the world to avoid a singular curatorial lens. This is a proposal I believe in.

Resources

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Nina O’Reilly — Peer Feedback (28 June): A few comments from me, first, have you spoken with UAL’s alumni team about the idea? As a disclaimer I embarrassingly know nothing of what they do, but I imagine they would have good feedback for you on the idea. Similarly, have you spoken with students about the idea and how it might work for them? Last comment is the format of the website, perhaps to make it a living breathing and community run resource a wiki could be a good option? This would allow alumni to input directly and keep the directory up to date.

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Shani-Louise Osei — Tutor Feedback: This student presented a design directory website. This is an interesting proposition because the website intends to be a platform and a framework for highlighting the work and design practices in often underrepresented areas of the world including South and Central America, Africa, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and India, that also considers the needs of UALs multicultural student body.

However you may wish to consider how you can connect with existing platforms that are already highlighting the work of underrepresented groups such as GUAP, Burnt Roti, Aether and formerly gal-dem. 

Additionally, you may choose to research global contemporaries of these platforms to understand the difference in tone and intention from a range of locations and communities.

Finally please find some further questions as provocations to support your evolution on this unit, with what we hope to be supporting resources:

About Peter Chadwick

Peter Chadwick is an Art Director, Graphic Designer, author and educator. Since graduating from Chelsea School of Art in 1991 with a first class honours degree in graphic design, he has gained over 28 years experience working as an art director and graphic design practitioner. Chadwick has worked with major recording artists including Primal Scream, Beth Orton, Groove Armada, Girls Aloud, Nitin Sawhney, The Rolling Stones. Other clients have included Universal Music, Phaidon, Harvey Nichols, Sony Music, The Washington Post, Barbican and Peabody Housing. Since 2005 he has been involved with academic teaching across all year groups on the BA Graphic Design Communication course at Chelsea College of Arts where he is currently a senior lecturer. He has previously taught at London College of Fashion, London College of Communication and Camberwell College of Arts and was a second year leader at Chelsea College of Arts from 2015 - 2020. His teaching practice encompasses all areas of his design practices and utilises my industry experience. I am particularly interested in themes such as exploring and developing personal practices, importance of rudimentary graphic design skills, art direction, connecting with industry, mentoring, supporting graduates, internships, collaborative and live projects and the culture of the design studio. Chadwick has also curated and organised the BA Graphic Design Communication professional talk series since 2015. He has invited practitioners, studios and writers such as Michael Bierut, Alice Rawsthorn, Stefan Sagmeister, Shona Heath, A Practice for Everyday Life, Anthony Burrill, OKRM, Nelly Ben Hayoun, Patrick Thomas, Astrid Stavro, DIA, Yuri Suzuki and Build to speak and share insights with the students. He regularly speaks about his work at universities and arts organisations. Past talks have been given at the V&A, RIBA, Design Museum, Hay Literary Festival, Brighton University, S1 Art Space Sheffield, Falmouth University, Grafik Letterform Live, IDN Festival Singapore. He has also been interviewed on BBC Radio London and BBC World Service. His work has been published in over 40 books and has been featured in The Guardian, New York Times, Dezeen, Creative Review, It’s Nice That, Design Week, Wired, Blueprint, The Washington Post, El Pais, Icon, Cool Hunting, Monocle, The Observer, The Guardian and been exhibited in the UK, Europe and Asia. Chadwick’s self generated­­­­ project ‘This Brutal House’ was launched on Twitter in 2014 as a platform to share my passion, interests, photography and work about Brutalism, all things concrete and modern. His Twitter and Instagram feeds have amassed over 90,000 followers since being launched in support of this ongoing project. His first book ‘This Brutal World’ was published by Phaidon in 2016 and was voted one of the best architecture books in 2016 by Rowan Moore, architecture critic of The Guardian. Chadwick’s latest book ‘The Town of Tomorrow’ documenting 50 years of Thamesmead, which he conceived, edited and organised funding for was published by Here Press in January 20­­­19.
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