visualintellectual

Carolyne Hill. Graphic designer/branding specialist

What’s your background?

I’ve always seen myself as an ‘Original Londoner’ born and bred, but equally proud of both my British and Jamaican heritage. My father is English and my mother is Jamaican. My grandmother on my father’s side was very creative and was always painting; this was a big inspiration from an early age. I would say ‘when I grow up I’m going to be an artist!’

How did you get started in your field of expertise?

I have worked for a range of design consultancies in London for various clients over the last 15 years. I studied retail interior design and business management at the London College of Printing. Having graduated and finding it hard to get a job in interior design, I managed to get a graphic design job from Design Week listings. From then on I was a graphic designer doing something I’d always loved and been passionate about.

What challenges did you face in getting into the industry and achieving your ambitions?

I still think the biggest challenge for me was just getting that first job. Upon graduating you come into the industry with all these hopes and dreams and then you can’t even get an interview! I worked at The Conran Shop weekends and was an office intern doing filing work during the week. It took more than a year until I got my first design internship at Elemental Studio in Loughbrough Junction, which then led to me getting my first actual full-time paid design job at Astound, working for clients such as Tesco, B&Q and 3M. Once ‘in’ I’ve worked hard at achieving my goals at every stage and those first contacts I made working at Astound have stayed with me throughout my career and have helped in finding the right kind of work with the right people. 

Who or what are your greatest inspirations?

At school I was fascinated by the Pop Art era. I was a big Andy Warhol fan as a teenager and when studying GCSEs I discovered Bridget Riley, who as well as sharing my birthday, was a great inspiration as a fellow south Londoner from Norwood where I was at school doing my best at creating my own ‘Pop Art masterpieces’ for my coursework! I was impressed with her artwork and career as a strong female artist – I loved her bright colours, geometric forms and stripes. My parents were also a big influence as they always instilled in me that I could achieve anything and supported me along the way in my decisions to study and work in design. Today I find my biggest inspirations come from those around me such as my friends and my peers. I enjoy seeing people being successful with whatever they are doing and this spurs me on to find the next challenge.

What is your best piece of work or the project you are most proud of?

At the moment I’m most proud of the Lola’s Casino identity work for The Hippodrome Casino at Harrison:Fraser, where I am associate director. Last year I took a typography course at Central Saint Martins, and to see a direct link from new learnings to a finished logo up in Leicester Square makes me very proud. I like to think that I’m proud of whatever I work on and I hope my ‘best piece’ is still to come.

What would be your dream project?

My dream project right now would be to design and build a pop-up restaurant – mainly because I’m a foodie and really enjoy going to these ‘blink and you miss it’ installations! In 2009, I was made redundant and decided to set up my own company, sharing a design studio with Arthur Irving and his company Skylark, which was an exciting and fun experience, hard work but very rewarding. Financial pressures and great job offers have led to me moving on from my own company, but I like to think that in the future I might work for myself again! I also have the dream to be ‘more of an artist’ – still working on that one!

Who in your field do you believe deserves credit and recognition?

There are so many people who could deserve some recognition. But in my daily design job, the printers and shopfitters who produce amazing results, often with the shortest turnaround times and last-minute changes, to bring our work to life – they are amazing and deserve credit.

What’s your best piece of advice for those wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Love what you do, work hard and don’t give up! Alongside anything I’ve ever worked at, I’ve always had a side gig. Whether it be designing flyers for friends’ club nights, creating events or taking pictures, these things add to your personal portfolio and whether starting up or working in the corporate design world you need this output to keep your creative spark alive.

What’s next for you?

As associate director at Harrison:Fraser I’ve got big challenges everyday and enjoy being part of a team in which is fast paced. Personally I’m enjoying learning how to use my new camera and building upon the personal design work I’m doing with Kaleidoscope Cinema and Street Style.

For more information visit www.harrisonfraser.com.

Network:

EUROPE:

RE-IMAGINE: Black Women in Britain. The BCA’s inaugural exhibition delves into the remarkable history of Black women in this country and spotlights some of their inspirational lives and contributions to British society since the Roman era. Listen to a tapestry of voices and reimagine the historical accounts of an 18th-century freedom fighter, social and political activists, talented musicians, writers and a woman serving in the Royal Navy. Until 30 November 2014. FREE admission. For more info visit www.bcaheritage.org.uk

THE LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 2014. First staged in 2003, the London Design Festival is one of the world’s most important annual design events. The Festival programme is made up of over 300 events and exhibitions staged by hundreds of partner organisations across the design spectrum and from around the world. Design Week is proud to be a part of this event and on Saturday 13 September at 10.30-11.30am at the V&A Lecture Theatre will be hosting a special talk, ‘4 Corners: Design from the African diaspora’. Here, Design Week columnist, Jon Daniel will introduce the thinking behind the column and select work from the USA, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. For more information visit londondesignfestival.com.

THE US:

HERE AND ELSEWHERE. A major exhibition of contemporary art from and about the Arab World, New York’s New Museum’s exhibition brings together more than 45 artists from over 15 countries, many of whom live and work internationally. Exhibition runs until 28 September at the New Museum, 235 Bowery, New York, NY 10002, USA. For more info visitwww.newmuseum.org/exhibitions/view/here-and-elsewhere

FUNKY TURNS 40: Black Character Revolution Animation Art from classic cartoons of the ’70s. This special exhibition commemorates the 40th anniversaries of 1970s Saturday Morning cartoons that featured positive Black characters for the first time in television history. The exhibition includes original production pieces and drawings used to produce these cartoons. Also included are images from the animated opening to Soul Train and two of the few Black cast/Black-focused animated features that have been produced since the 1970s: BeBe’s Kids (1992) and Our Friend Martin (1999). Now on the second leg of a national tour showing until 20 October 2014 at DuSable Museum of African American History. For more info visit the DuSable Museum website for details.

AFRICA:

TriContinental Human Rights Film Festival 2014. Every year since its inception in 2002, the TriContinental Human Rights Film Festival has screened powerful films from South Africa and across the globe, exploring some of the most urgent local and global issues of our time.With a passion to support the fight for human rights and democracy through media, the TCFF offers stories from the bleeding edge of current social and political waves – stories that are not only relevant to our time, but skillfully told through beautiful cinema.TCFF is the only festival primarily dedicated to issues of Social, Political and Human Rights on the African continent. Taking place in Johannesburg, Capetown and Pretoria, 13-29 September 2014. For more information and submission details visit www.3continentsfestival.co.za

THE CARIBBEAN:

INTERNATIONAL REGGAE POSTER CONTEST 2014 Call for Entries is now open until until November,1st, 2014. The best posters will be selected by a jury of design professionals and will be published in a catalogue/book and exhibited around the world. The objective is to continue to build awareness for Reggae music and to celebrate the global achievements of Reggae and its impact on the world. The term Reggae encompasses all the popular Jamaican musical genres; Ska, Rocksteady, Roots Reggae, Dub, Dancehall and the unique Jamaican Soundsystem. They are looking for your talent and vision and we are very excited to see what designers can come up with in their original poster designs that will capture the energy and vibe of Reggae Music. The contest is open to all graphic designers and artists internationally. Artists/Designers are allowed to submit any number of original poster Entries. Posters should not have been published in internet, social
medias etc. For more information visit www.reggaepostercontest.com 

If you have any forthcoming events that you would like to be considered for inclusion in this column, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at info at jon-daniel dot com.