Inspiration and a fresh perspective for the next Part 3 project was provided last week from Gerard Saint, founder and creative director of Big Active.

Big Active, who are responsible for the visual image of hundreds of artists since it was founded in the early 90s, (notably Keane, Beck, Goldfrapp, Basement Jaxx) work on the philosophy that the best work is appropriate to the ‘spirit’ of the artist or band. Ideas and input to the final brief comes from ‘all sorts of people’ — from the band or artist themselves to their management and the record label. Each project, Gerard told us, is really different; some artists have a very clear idea of how they want themselves and their sound to be ‘packaged’, others prefer less involvement and take their lead from the creative thinking and image making of the designers, illustrators and photographers that form part of the Big Active network.

Gerard spoke about the changing landscape of music design. In a world where CDs and downloads are essentially delivering the same information, and, furthermore, consumers can ‘cherry-pick’ tracks without hearing the whole album, designers need to rethink the physical product in a way that gives it a reason to exist outside the digital content it carries (make it collectable! make it interactive!)

He is optimistic: ‘It’s just the medium of delivery that is changing. CDs, vinyl, digital formats can sit side by side, each making the most of its own particular strength. Music design is becoming a much broader discipline; that can only be a good thing for designers in the future.’

Questions from students went into extra time and students were invited to visit the Big Active studio in London.

On 4 July 2012, the Centre for Ephemera Studies is holding a study day that will focus on the ways in which black people from the African and Caribbean diaspora have been represented in printed ephemera over the last two hundred years.

Beginning with images printed before the abolition of slavery, ephemera have provided various opportunities for advertisers and others to depict black people unfavourably for their own ends, including packaging, advertising, trade cards, sheet music, postcards and greetings cards.

With contributions by twelve speakers – including historians of black culture, curators, ephemerists, and those concerned with community relations and racial equality – the study day will discuss the graphic and verbal stereotyping that resulted from these practices. An exhibition of ‘black ephemera’ will illustrate some of the most common, and troubling, forms of stereotyping, and will provide a backdrop for discussions.

This one-day symposium (starting at 10.30am, until early evening on Wednesday 4 July) will cost £50 to attend, including lunch.

If you would like to attend, please email Diane Bilbey (d.j.bilbey@reading.ac.uk). Further details and booking form are here: Black ephemera study day.