10 for 2010

An inspiring source book showcasing Britain’s top emerging talents from a wide range of creative disciplines. Details on each artist include a biography plus Q & A sessions where we ask about their inspirations, aspirations and future projects.
This year’s selection includes: ceramist Annabel Johnson, fine artist Jonathan Ridge, contemporary craft designer Cherry Hurren, fashion designer Kiran Gobin, textile designer Párniczky, photographer Michael Brosnan, illustrator Lindsay Grime, audio/video artist Christopher King, sculptor Belgin Bozsahin and jewellery designer Momoko Tamura.


Available to purchase HERE for £19.95

Feasts Of India

Written by: Mridu Thanki
Illustrated by: Sandra de Matos
Design/layout/typsetting/additional editing: Calum Ross

Paperback

Jaggnath Publishing

Castorella

This story is a bit of a personal joke between a very close friend and I. We have a strange obsession with Beavers for some reason, and to be honest I don't even remember where any of this began. Anyway, this story was written for him when he was ill earlier in the year and I thought I would typeset it, come up with a cover and get it printed and bound for part of his christmas presents. It's a novelty gift, but I had fun putting it together. Here are some shots of it:

No.1 Magazine Photography Assistant

My time spent assisting at No.1 Magazine alongside photographer Victoria Sharpus-Jones and stylist Cara Kennedy gave me insight into how professional fashion photo shoots are art directed, managed and organised. From signing off the items of clothing borrowed from Kurt Geiger to learning how to build a rail to assisting with lights and the rest of the equipment, this was a highly educational experience, but also really really fun! Too bad Victoria handed in her notice when I first joined their team (I swear it was nothing to do with me!). I am credited in both issues of No.1 magazine as photographic assistant.

Faber and Faber Print on Demand

Taking inspiration from the behind the scenes aspect of the Faber Film Print On Demand series, I designed a double book cover. The first, which is made from acetate, is inspired by both the celluloid which movies were originally recorded on and the silver screen. The second cover, which is partially hidden by the acetate cover, represents the work which goes on behind the scenes while making a film.

During this project I learned a lot about book binding as I had to make the books completely from scratch, without any template other than the dimensions required. I experimented with many other materials, sourcing ones which were translucent yet easy to print onto. 

Scotland On Sunday

My work placement at the Scotland On Sunday was a true learning experience.
Not only was I gaining new skills in using Quark and Photoshop, but was able to see, first hand, how the creative team at a mass media publication operates- they work HARD.
I was pleased with the outcome of my time spent there as I had several of my spreads published in the At Home magazine as well as in the Review (got my name credited as well, which is a bonus as many people dont even get so much as a thanks on their placements). A lot of my photoshopped images were used as well for the editorial content throughout the main newspaper and the supplementary magazine.
Although I found the workload almost too much to bear at times, I feel that now that I have a lot more experience in the software and am more confident in my design abilities that if I were to go back, I would be able to handle some of the pressures a lot better than I did.

Peffer Paint co

One of those 'bread and butter' jobs, doing adverts for the Yellow Pages. 

Peffer Paints wanted to update their current adverts, which had been pretty much the same for a few years.

For this project I mainly used Illustrator to create Vector graphics (which I found pretty hard as I have had no prior experience) as well as Photoshop to create outlines of the products, create shadows, reflections etc.

This job taught me a lot, and served as a lesson in how important it is to use the PHONE, as there were a few problems after the final designs were never received by the client (e-mail went a bit haywire) which was not brought to my attention until the day before the final deadline for Yellow Pages submissions...

I submitted two approved designs, however I am not entirely sure which one was chosen in the end as the new Yellow Pages hasn't come out yet

Sunday Times Style

An example of my skills in art direction, conceptual thinking, networking and organising photo shoots.

The campaign works on two levels:

1: The printed ad, featuring the origami pigeons 'escaping' from Style magazine

2: Interactive campaign where the intended target audience 'catch' the pigeons

The concept for the origami pigeons came from my experimentation with the magazine itself, where I tried to manipulate the paper and turn Style into a stylish object. This idea developed from trying to create garments and accessories through cutting and ripping and using collage to using folding techniques which ultimately lead to me using origami.

The pigeon motif if a bit of a tongue in cheek representation of the target audience and Style reader...pigeons being 'urban birds' which is exactly what the readers of Style are, urban, fashionable and discerning women (birds).

The birds act as messengers, bringing the latest style news direct to the target audience who in return complete the customer detail form on the inside of the birds wing and return to their newsagents to receive free copies of The Sunday Times to their door.