Category: students and graduates

Wednesday seminar: Rob McKaughan

Rob McKaughan is one of those people who can be trusted to come up with an interesting angle on things. Coming to the MATD from software engineering, he researched pattern languages (a methodology created by Christopher Alexander for architecture, which has spread to software and interaction design, amongst other fields) and their application to typeface design. Here’s a good explanation of pattern languages, from Rob’s introduction to his dissertation:

Each pattern in a pattern language is a rule of thumb abstracted from existing proven designs. More specifically, a pattern is a description of a problem and its solution in a particular context. These patterns are not recipes; they balance concrete physical descriptions while abstracting the pattern’s concepts for use in other designs. The patterns focus on the characteristics of the product, and not the process used by the designer.

Rob outlined the generation of pattern languages, and gave an illustration of how patterns can be used for typeface design (for his dissertation Rob focused on newspaper typefaces, with interesting observations on small size / low resolution text typefaces in general).

The lively discussion (including my immodest observation that some design courses follow a very similar approach to teaching, bar the nomenclature) touched on exciting topics, not least the relationship of pattern languages to innovation in design – much on the forefront of MA students at the beginning of their year…

Overlayed letters from newspaper typefaces
Overlayed letters from newspaper typefaces

A career in design: advice from industry experts

‘What to do with a degree in design studies?’ was the question posed by The Guardian’s Career Blog today. Among the industry panellists answering the question were Will Nice of Goosebumps Brand Consultancy, Simon Manchipp of SomeOne, Robin Levien, and Rob Ball and Greg Quinton of The Partners. On the education side, Paul Luna was joined by Stephen Westland from Leeds, Nicola Francis from Nottingham Trent, Helen McCarron from Lincoln, Andy Edwards from Leeds Metropolitan, and Jamie Dobson from Surrey. Rhiannon James gave the D&AD point of view.

Topics covered included getting the best from an internship, getting a job in a different field from your degree, and the benefits of taking an MA. The panellists also gave advice on networking, portfolio building, presenting yourself to potential employers, how to overcome nerves in stressful situations, and how to cope with the current state of the job market.