Miho Aishima: Branding design

This week, we were joined by Miho Aishima, Design Director at Design Bridge and Partners, for an inspiring Baseline Shift session. Miho shared her expertise in branding and the creative process behind building visual identities, offering a deep dive into a few case studies.

 

Design Bridge and Partners

Miho has been at Design Bridge and Partners for around six years (previously working at Superunion before their merger) specialising in branding. The team is made up of 90 designers, split across three teams, and while this can appear overwhelming at first, Miho made it clear that there is a lot of inspiration to be found by working around and connecting with other designers.

Not being restricted by a set house style, Design Bridge and Partners works with a range of clients, ranging from packaging for a Mondelez client, to a communications campaign for Heineken, and even to NASA.

Design Bridge and Partners locations
Design Bridge and Partners locations

 

Study and early career 

After Miho had completed a degree in economics (despite this not being her passion), she sought a creative path and soon found herself graduating from Central Saint Martins with a BA (Honours) in Graphic Design. This was a time that allowed for a lot of creative exploration, before she began immediately looking for a job. Within a year of getting her first job after graduation, Miho was made redundant, which lead her to freelancing, landing a place at design studio, Johnson Banks.

Work completed at Johnson Banks and others
Work completed at Johnson Banks and others

 

Design outside of the studio

Miho’s immersion in the creative world does not end at the studio; she has also engaged in talks, judging for D&AD, and various events that go beyond the studio. One of these events is ‘Rye Here Rye Now’, a monthly networking group for creatives in Peckham that Miho and her friend Kat Garner created. This was an excellent lesson for the students – that design thinking can be applied outside of the studio, all that is needed is a problem area and you can propose a solution.

Rye Here Rye Now meet up
Rye Here Rye Now meet up

 

Case study 1 – Evri

When Hermes had their sight on an ambitious business expansion, they approached Design Bridge and Partners for a rebrand with the aim of better reflecting and connecting with the consumers. It was quickly discovered that the beauty of Hermes was the diversity of their customer base and the coming together of different communities that this encouraged. This is where the name Evri derived from, and the idea to have over 194,481 variations of the logo, perfectly representing the idea behind this concept; ‘Every parcel, every person, everywhere’. It was valuable for students to see that branding can be dynamic and multifaceted, rather than confined to a single, static logo; especially when a more flexible approach better captures the essence of the brand.

Evri rebrand
Evri rebrand

 

Case study 2 – Precise

Miho moved on to speak about her and her team’s work with ‘Precise’, a specialist lending company, who were identified as the ‘plain and simple’ in a sea of over-complicated and unclear companies within that sector. It was important for the students to see how the brief was analysed with a fine-tooth comb, much like we are encouraged to do here on the Typography & Graphic Communication course. Extraordinarily, it was one highlighted word in the brief that went on to shape the entire vision of the brand – vanilla. This single word embodied the key feature of simplicity that gives Precise their individual identity.

Miho then showed the students some of the alternate routes that were explored for the Precise branding before the client selected one design concept. It was important to see how vastly different each route was from one another, displaying the breadth of solutions that designers can generate based on a single brief.

Precise branding
Precise branding

 

Case study 3 – Shelter

Finally, Miho spoke about a rebranding project that was centered in activism, protest, and advocacy for Shelter, a charity dedicated to tackling homelessness and unsafe housing. With the designer responsible for developing the original (beloved) branding for Shelter, being Miho’s previous boss, there was a lot of pressure to deliver on this project, and deliver they did. The branding that was shown was built on one simple shape, echoing the shape of a roof. As well as representing a roof or a shelter, the symbol can function as an arrow, a replacement for letterforms, and in various other contexts. The sheer versatility that was shown within this project was inspiring and perfectly illustrates the difference between designing a logo and designing a visual identity.

Shelter rebrand
Shelter rebrand

 

Our key takeaways!

  • Design thinking can be applied outside of the studio, all that is needed is a problem area and you can propose a solution.
  • Branding can be dynamic and multifaceted, rather than confined to a single, static logo; built on one single idea, it can have flex and still maintain the essence of the brand.
  • Consider how your design will be used in real life. It’s not just about how it looks on paper or a screen; consider how your design will come to life on merchandise, in stores, or on social media to ensure it’s versatile and impactful.
  • While AI tools and technology are becoming essential in the design process, human creativity and strategic thinking remain crucial.
  • Not every idea will be selected, but every piece of feedback is an opportunity to improve. Learn to take constructive criticism and use it to refine your work.

 

 

– Written by Tommy Molnar

– Photography by Oscar Dudley

Chris Margerison: Graphic Design journey

This week, we were joined by Chris Margerison, a senior graphic designer at PlayStation Studios Creative, who shared his inspiring journey from student to professional, offering valuable advice on how to navigate the creative industry.

Who are PlayStation Creative?

Chris explained that PlayStation Creative is the internal creative agency for the entire PlayStation brand. The team operates across the whole company, supporting game development and marketing with creative solutions. The studio is global, integrating many different aspects, from branding and UI to motion graphics and illustration.

Who are PlayStation Creative
Who are PlayStation Creative?

University and graduation

Chris always had a passion for illustration, initially aspiring to become an illustrator. However, while studying graphic design at university, he realised he could combine his love of illustration with branding and graphic work. His final year project, “World and Alternative” a brand and campaign around animation, allowed him to merge these interests.

At his graduate show, he approached someone viewing his work who later became his future manager at PlayStation. Although he didn’t land the job immediately (lacking UI experience at the time), this connection would later prove crucial.

Chris's 'World and Alternative' final year project
Chris’s ‘World and Alternative’ final year project

 

Freelance

After university, Chris experienced several highs and lows. Freelance attempts, working in low-paying event graphics jobs, and experiencing a UX/UI role that lacked creativity and motivation, all contributed to a difficult year. However, he acknowledges this period (particularly being made redundant) as a “blessing in disguise” that pushed him toward better opportunities.

Following redundancy, in a search to reignite his passion for character design, Chris attended a trip to the Pictoplasma festival in Germany, which achieved just that. On returning home, he created a personal project around a music video app, specifically tailored to catch the eye of PlayStation’s creative team.

Making the most out of the PlayStation connection he made at his graduate degree show, he reached out with an email showcasing this work. This led to him securing a meeting that resulted in a 4-week placement, which grew into a full-time career. Chris emphasised that his attitude, rather than the polish of his work, helped open this door.

Pictoplasma festival in Germany
Pictoplasma festival in Germany

 

PlayStation – Junior Designer

Starting as a junior designer at PlayStation, Chris’s early work included creating in-game icons (such as for Killzone on PS4) and producing posters for game launches and social media marketing. As his experience grew, he  leaned more into branding projects.

Notably, he worked on the Champions League app for PS4 and was later promoted to middleweight designer, where he handled broader branding responsibilities, including logo designs and collaborations across different sectors.

Icons for 'Killzone'
Icons for ‘Killzone’

 

Back to freelance – Different agencies

Seeking to broaden his skills outside gaming, Chris took on freelance roles at various organisations:

  • Penguin Books – Helped design their Pride campaign, developing animated branding assets.
  • Manchester International Arts Festival – Worked on traditional and digital graphic design projects, incorporating illustration.
  • BBC – Produced motion graphics for BBC Sport and CBBC content, expanding his animation skills.

Chris highlighted that moving across different industries helped him evolve as a graphic designer, emphasising that “specific interests guide the work you do.”

Pride campaign for 'Penguin Books'
Pride campaign for ‘Penguin Books’

 

Building a brand

Returning to PlayStation as a senior designer, Chris now focuses heavily on branding.

One key project was developing the brand identity for Rise of the Ronin, a 19th-century Japan-set action game by Team Ninja. Chris and his colleagues were tasked with creating a global brand identity that appealed to Western audiences while respecting the game’s cultural roots.

The project involved designing logos, brand guidelines, assets for launch trailers, and digital toolkits, ensuring consistency and flexibility across global markets.

Chris emphasised that building a brand is so much more than creating a logo, it’s about crafting a consistent visual identity that communicates the emotional and narrative experience of the game.

Developing the brand identity for 'Rise of the Ronin'
Developing the brand identity for ‘Rise of the Ronin’

 

Some recent opportunities

In his current role, Chris continues to embrace a wide range of creative opportunities. He had recently been working on licensed merchandise which has been sold around the world through retailers such as H&M. He was even able to experiment with photography, aiding in the promotion of this merchandise.

Chris left students with the advice: Stay curious, don’t box yourself in, and create your own opportunities.

Licensed merchandise
Licensed merchandise

 

Our key takeaways!

  • You can experiment with different interests and develop a range of skills through personal projects.
  • Your attitude can be just as important as your portfolio.
  • “Keep an open mind, and create opportunities for yourself”.
  • Freelancing can expose you to many different areas of design, and allow you to explore these more freely.
  • Don’t value yourself based only on the work you’re currently outputting but instead value yourself on your future potential.

 

 

– Written by Amirah Yasin

– Photography by Oscar Dudley

Niteesh Yadav: AR/VR Typography

This week we were joined by Niteesh Yadav, a pioneer in AR/VR typography who gave us an insight into typography and technology coming together to build on research and shape the future.

 

Niteesh’s journey

After deciding that the initial University course Niteesh was studying at the time was not for him, he left to follow his design dream. He began working on projects independently, teaching himself from YouTube and expanding his knowledge through real-life experiences. He later returned to his studies, completing a Bachelor of Design at a Design Institute in Delhi, while working with studios and startups on design projects alongside his academic work. This journey that led Niteesh to complete his postgraduate studies at Reading, after which his dissertation on AR typography was picked up by Meta.

Baseline Shift audience enjoying the talk from Niteesh Yadav
Baseline Shift audience enjoying the talk from Niteesh Yadav

Choosing a focus 

During his time at Reading, Niteesh decided that he wanted to explore how typography and technology intertwine, specifically in relation to augmented reality (AR) headsets. This proved difficult due to a lack of resources available at the time, and due to the topic of AR/VR typography being one that had not been explored in much depth. This was part of what of the appeal, as his personality is one that enjoys discovering new things, and seeing the influence that fresh research has on the world around us. This exploratory zeal resonated with many students, as we received several feedback responses that this topic was something they had “never even considered before” and that they found “incredibly eye-opening”.

Choosing to focus on AR typography for Niteesh's MA research
Choosing to focus on AR typography for Niteesh’s MA research

Necessary considerations 

AR and VR often get confused with one another, and Niteesh made it clear that each come with their own challenges. Niteesh compared designing for VR to designing a book, as in both cases the designer has agency over exactly what is shown to the user – the content, the layout, but most importantly the material/surface that the design appears on. This makes it somewhat easy for a graphic designer to transition into VR design, however Niteesh makes it clear that designing for AR is very different and introduces new challenges. Instead of immersing the user in a virtual world like VR does, AR designers aim to augment elements within the surrounding environment that the user is already situated in. Niteesh emphasised the importance of considering how the technology effects the user in this environment, highlighting that “it is not just about being a typeface designer, but also an experience designer”.

Considering the differences between AR and VR
Considering the differences between AR and VR

A typographic shift

Niteesh highlighted several aggravating factors that force AR/VR designers to consider the design of the typefaces used. The background in an AR scenario is ever-changing and very rarely empty. Not only is this important for objects and movement that occur within the user’s field of view, but also the lighting conditions that can be affected by factors such as seasonal changes and geographic location. The consideration of lighting led Niteesh to discuss something that was a key takeaway for students, which was the reasoning behind most AR displays using white for type. Niteesh explained that this was because the highest intensity of contrast you can achieve is through whites. He helpfully compared it to something we are familiar with – if you want to achieve black on an LED screen, the LEDs are all switched off, however, if you were to directly apply this to AR displays it would leave a transparent area rather than black.

Unique requirements for typography in an AR setting
Unique requirements for typography in an AR setting

Technical challenges

Niteesh brought some examples of technical challenges that come with AR/VR design to our attention. One of these challenges is ‘vibrating type’ – as our heads are constantly moving, the video that the headset is capturing is constantly being re-rendered. This requires a careful consideration of the choice in type-weight and type-size. Another challenge comes with ‘halation’ – when viewing typefaces on these retina displays, the letterforms can appear to glow around the edges. This can affect perception of letterspacing and require designers to consider both the design of typefaces used in this context and the kerning of the type. Niteesh suggests that to overcome these challenges as designers, we must use “a combination of industrial research, type history, and type research”.

Examples of technical challenges such as vibrating text and halation
Examples of technical challenges such as vibrating text and halation

Exploring the past

Niteesh is an advocate for designers researching the past, making a point to say that “we must explore the past, in order to shape the future”. An excellent example of how the past has influenced Niteesh’s research and current work, is the design of typefaces in phone books. Due to the weight of the paper, the ink of the type often bled on the page, distorting the letterform – the letters were subsequently given extra space in their counters (by removing part of the letterform) to allow for this. Inspired by the experiences of past designers, Niteesh used a similar technique to alleviate the issue of halation in AR displays, noting that in this context “we are tracking light, rather than ink”. It is an excellent analogy to emphasise the importance of the academic and historical research that the Typography department at Reading focus on throughout all levels of study.

Typefaces designed for bleeding letterforms phone books
Typefaces designed for bleeding letterforms phone books

We are hugely grateful to Niteesh for giving an insightful talk and closing this semester of Baseline Shift sessions with such a fascinating topic! We look forward to what the next year of Baseline Shift will bring!

 

Our key takeaways!

  • Choose something you are passionate about and try to consider a topic that is not widely discussed for your dissertation!
  • Consider the original purpose of the typeface that you are using and the context that it was designed to be used in.
  • Consider the impact that typeface choice has on the reading experience.
  • When using typography within AR, human movement can lead to rendering issues, so you must consider the type-weight and type-size chosen.
  • Don’t see problems as problems, see them as an opportunity for solution.
  • We must explore the past, in order to shape the future!

 

– Written by Tommy Molnar

– Photography by Oscar Dudley

Nitya Thawani: UX design

This week, for our second Baseline Shift session, we had the privilege of welcoming the award-winning user experience designer, Nitya Thawani who gave her fantastic talk “A UXer’s guide to the galaxy”.

 

A little bit about Nitya

Nitya is an incredibly talented user experience designer at Google, currently working as part of the Google Ads team. Even though she’s only been at the company for three months, her background is nothing short of inspiring. With experience working for big names like Lush and Disney, winning D&AD awards, and collating an outstanding portfolio, it’s clear that Nitya’s been turning heads since graduating in 2023! After hearing her speak, it’s easy to see why so many of us are in awe of what she’s already accomplished, with the team receiving feedback such as “I feel so motivated by how much she’s achieved so soon after graduating”.

 

Importance of work experience

Having completed work experience at Lush, where she gained exposure to a variety of projects such as packaging, social media posts, and posters, Nitya then went on to a 13-month placement at Disney. There, she had the incredible opportunity to redesign the Lion King website! Nitya shared her views on the importance of work experience and why it’s so valuable. Through these experiences, she learned the realities of working a 9–5 job, with Disney also giving her a clearer vision for her career and how the industry works, explaining that UX is only actually half of the work.

13-month placement at Disney

 

Final year university plan

Following her placement year at Disney, Nitya outlined her plan for her final year: to complete one UX project, one motion project, a D&AD project, and one industry project. With the flexibility of open, self-defined modules, Nitya wanted to strengthen her technical skills while considering how this plays a role in her future. In addition to her coursework, she managed to juggle being a course rep, playing tennis, hosting her radio show, plus more, showing us just how possible it is to manage all these activities at once!

 

One UX project

Nitya discussed her first self-defined project, Thali, which tackled the lack of South Asian content for young people in the diaspora. She stressed to us the importance of understanding context and pain points, noting “You can’t solve it all”. Her process involved secondary research and speaking to users to gain insight and ensure that she’s considering user needs throughout. “Don’t design what looks the prettiest, but what solves the problem”. Nitya advised us to look at what’s already out there and make that work for you, such as through creating components or using existing design systems in Figma. Nitya also highlighted the value of detailed wire framing and key screens, showcasing this through her 30-page pitch deck discussing how this can effectively tell an app’s story.

Display of app within designed pitch deck

 

D&AD competition

Showcased next was “Bubble”, an app designed to help people with ADHD manage their finances, created as a proposal for Barclays. Building on the skills she developed in her previous projects, she was well prepared to tackle the problem at hand, so much so that she received D&AD’s 2023 pencil award!  When discussing how to present an app, particularly in the context of a design competition, she expressed focus on designing the flow of the app with the phrase “show the flow”.

Nitya’s D&AD award-winning ‘Bubble’ project was a standout

 

Graduating and getting a job

After completing her degree, Nitya shared the importance of networking while also taking time for yourself. Taking advice not to rush into work right away, she attended creative bootcamps following her D&AD win, where she collaborated with Coca-Cola, and joined networking events at Google and other design meet ups in London.

She also took time to travel, and during one trip, she even met Chris Martin! When she shared this, students joked, “Can you get us tickets to his concerts?”, this is nice a reminder that unique encounters don’t always come from traditional 9–5 jobs.

Nitya’s ventures before entering the working world

 

What makes ‘good’, ‘bad’ and ‘evil’ UX?

Nitya shared three standout examples of UX: the ‘good’ (Spotify), the ‘bad’ (Workday), and the ‘evil’ (Ticketmaster). Spotify’s great UX makes tasks effortless to complete by abiding to the laws of good UX design, while Workday frustrates users with inefficient processes like manually filling out job applications – a frustrating and time-consuming experience. Ticketmaster’s “evil UX”, intentionally designed to confuse and hinder users, drew laughs and relatable frustration among students.

Her insights shed light on an important takeaway: UX isn’t always about helping users. Sometimes, it’s deliberately designed to create barriers to serve a business’s hidden agenda.

Example of ‘good’ UX (Spotify)

 

The job hunt

Nitya shared valuable insights on how to approach the dreaded job hunt. She emphasised the importance of knowing your audience when applying for jobs and understanding which format is most appropriate, portfolio, CV, cover letter etc. She also encouraged students not to shy away from showing the messier work, stating that “the why and how is better than the what”, further explaining that UX isn’t about making things look pretty; it’s about solving problems. This was a reassuring point for many students, as it’s common to hesitate in showing work you deem to be ‘messy’.

Nitya’s range of resources for herself when applying to job with different requirements

 

We are incredibly grateful to Nitya for hosting this second talk. We look forward to seeing more of her inspiring work as she continues her journey as a remarkable designer!

 

Our key takeaways!

  • Follow the laws of UX – don’t reinvent the wheel, put the user’s needs above being creative.
  • Connection is currency – people don’t place enough value on meeting people that are complete strangers, you never know where that connection can lead you.
  • Create opportunities for yourself – request projects aside from your main job role to explore more pathways whilst expanding your learning.
  • Speak to your users! – That’s the only way to understand what they need.
  • Refine your job hunt – there are so many job titles out there, focus on the job description. Look at the company’s values, what the company does on day-to-day basis and job role to make informed decisions.

 

 

Useful links

ADPlist – An opportunity for students to receive free mentoring

Cofolios – Great space for finding portfolio inspiration

Laws of UX – UXers bookmark essential!

Google ux design certificate – Online course for designing mobile apps and responsive websites (available on Coursera or free on YouTube without certification)

 

 

– Written by Amirah Yasin

– Photography by Oscar Dudley

Micaela Alcaino: Book cover design

To kick off this year’s Baseline Shift sessions, we welcomed highly acclaimed book cover designer Micaela Alcaino.

 

A little on Micaela

Micaela started her journey at Penguin Random House and HarperCollins UK, before making the big shift in 2019 to freelance work. Alongside balancing up to thirty design projects at once, Micaela still makes time for archery, the gym, and spending time with her family and dog. It is no surprise that we received the comment “I want to be her” from one of our part two students.

Micaela Alcaino presentation personal slide
Micaela speaking about her personal and professional journey

Research

One of the key stages of her design process that Micaela focussed on, was the research stage. Our speaker goes above and beyond to ensure that she has immersed herself in the culture, traditions and artistic style that relates to the content of the book that she is designing for. When Micaela cannot visit a place or get access to tactile objects that relate to the book, she finds much of her inspiration through scouring Pinterest. It is important to note here that, instead of looking at other book covers for ideas, Micaela advocates for “seeking inspiration outside of your design sphere”.

 

Blank canvas

Starting with a blank canvas containing only the key information that will be included on the cover before tackling any of the actual ‘design’ elements, is something that many will have taken away from this talk. It was great to see Micaela posing the same questions here that are often asked on our course – “What is my hierarchy? What fonts work well for the genre? What are the important visual elements in the book?”.

Micaela Alcaino's presentation blank canvas slide
Micaela talking about starting with a blank canvas

Sketches

A lesson that Micaela has learnt herself and has now passed onto us is not to take first round sketches to the point of completion as it will become impossible to stay on track with your time management. The helpful restriction Micaela places on herself is to “treat the first-round sketches like a colouring book”. This way, the placement of colour can still be considered but does not need to be achieved at the early stages of design.

Micaela Alcaino's presentation sketches slide
Micaela speaking on her first round sketches

Revisions

Something that many of us resonated with in the talk is the emphasis on the first draft not being the final piece. We were shown a case study of Micaela’s cover design for ‘Ariadne’ which went through several stages of revision. Each iteration had the smallest of changes, and out of the seven revisions we were shown in the presentation, we were told that this was just a fraction! It’s great to see that iteration in the design process is not something only contained within education but is something that follows us into the real world of design.

Micaela Alcaino's presentation Ariadne slide
Micaela speaking on her revisions of Ariadne

The book as a 3D object

Something to remember when working with any project that involves a three-dimensional product, is to consider each visible face. Micaela highlighted the importance of spine design, describing it as “essential” to a successful cover. Some helpful advice was to consider how the user will interact with the product, for example most novels will end up at one point with their spine facing out on a bookshelf – hence why spine design is so crucial.

Micaela Alcaino's presentation spine slide
Micaela speaking on the importance of designing the spines of books

Real world advice

One of the highlights of the talk was the section on business, contracts, and networking. Micaela made it clear that whichever path of design you choose to follow, you must “READ YOUR CONTRACTS”. We were shown examples of ways in which employers can take advantage of designers if we do not take responsibility and look after our rights both as designers and individuals. Students wrote that “this is the kind of thing that you normally only find out when it’s too late” and “I never even considered that before this talk”. This is the reason that Baseline Shift exists – to allow students a look into what design is like in the real world and to cover topics and subjects that are beyond the scope of the syllabus. We are truly grateful to Micaela for giving this insightful talk and look forward to the next Baseline Shift session!

Micaela Alcaino's presentation contract slide
Micaela’s slide on approaching contracts

Our key takeaways! 

  • To track your favourite typefaces, you can create a spreadsheet categorising what each of your favourites is appropriate for. This also stops you overusing particular fonts.
  • If you work in print design, in Photoshop colour picker you can use cmd + shift+ y to grey out the colours that don’t print in CMYK.
  • Be online and be consistent across all platforms, maximising the use of the platform that is most relevant to your career.
  • Read your contracts and know your rights!
  • Especially important if you are freelance – Track your projects, and your expenses.
  • Apps like Speechify can help to streamline the process by reading out manuscripts / text files in the background while you work.

 

Useful links

Business

Wise – Digital bank that allows for accounts in multiple currencies – helpful for business across different countries.

FreeAgent – Tracks all your invoices and expenses (connects with Wise) – helpful for having multiple projects on at one time.

 

Cultural awareness

Creative review – Great place to learn what’s happening in the creative industry

Its Nice that – Great place to learn what’s happening in the creative industry

The Bookseller – All the latest news in Publishing UK

Creative Market – Great place to find cool new fonts, templates, graphics and more

Society of Young Publishers – Great place to learn from industry professionals and connect

Design Publishing Inclusivity – mentorship programme for under-represented creatives

 

– Written by Tommy Molnar

– Photography by Oscar Dudley