Creative Manchester

Student designers wanted!

Creative Times is looking for articulate and ambitious student designers to take part in a series of five design features, devised and coordinated by Manchester-based graphic designer Dan Shannon, to be published on the site in the first half of 2012.

For each feature, Creative Times will be asking three student designers to work independently on the same logo design brief. Students will be given two weeks to complete the brief and their finished design will be featured on the site, along with an accompanying article about each designer and the logo they have designed.

The context
Graphic designers are fascinated by how others might approach a brief differently to themselves, particularly when they are still learning their skills as a student designer. Is another designer’s process better? What’s their interpretation of the same problem? What are they doing differently? It’s a level playing field but the results are always different.

In this series of five features, 15 design students will do just that, giving Creative Times readers (and themselves) an insight into how different designers interpret and solve the same design brief.

What’s the point?
By having the designers work to the same brief, we hope to compare their work in a direct and useful way. Readers can compare outcomes and see how the designers tackled the same problem, while the designers gain important exposure and a chance to show their design credentials to future employers/clients.

How will it work?
Once selected, participants will receive the brief via e-mail and will have two weeks to complete their design. The brief itself will be fun and out of the ordinary as we want the work to be as intriguing as possible. You will also be sent a brief questionnaire, in which you’ll be asked to explain the thinking behind your design.

The finished design and any supporting material will be submitted by email as jpeg files. The three designs will be published on Creative Times along with a supporting article about each designer and their design.

Who can enter and how can you get involved?
You need to be a full or part-time student on a graphic design course in the UK.

Students interested, or course leaders who would like to nominate students for inclusion, should email Creative Times at: editor@creativetimes.co.uk.

Each applicant should include a short CV and three examples of their design work.

Deadline for expressions of interest is Friday 3rd February, 2012.

The first brief will be sent out to the first three student designers two weeks later.