Wish You Were Here

Each year, along with submitting their final work for the degree show, Camberwell’s BA Graphic Design students create their own show brand identity.

Usually applied to everything from their web presence and social media to the visitor experience and physical exhibition itself, this year’s circumstances made preparing the brief and different kind of challenge. However, even with no physical show this year, and having to adjust to remote working, the students have risen to the challenge.

We caught up with the team who developed this year’s brand identity, made up of: Justina Ciacyte, Matty Palmer, Chloe Tabarie  and Tiger Yang who told us: “ while the pandemic still keeps us apart from each other, Wish You Were Here  brings us together virtually to discover the works of this year’s graduates.”

Working internationally, while based in Lithuania, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, they talked about the process of creating this year's concept: 'Wish You Were Here'.

How have you adapted your practice for working outside of the studio? 

At first we were quite frustrated, it took a bit of time to adjust, and to also accept that as designers we must adapt to the world around us, and find new ways of living. We managed to work as a team through our weekly video calls and our daily messages. We all had a bit of space for ourselves to work - we were lucky to be in good surroundings during confinement and to have laptops and internet to work with.

Tell us about the concept behind the identity for Wish You Were Here

A month ago, we would’ve been together in our Graphic Design studio on Peckham Road, celebrating the end of our three years of studying at Camberwell College of Arts. Sadly, the pandemic prevented us from coming together physically, therefore we needed to create a space in which we could come together virtually. Referring to previous means of communication, the postcard  was  at the heart of our visual identity.

We wanted to create a space in which the viewers could appreciate each project individually, but also together under the same visual identity.  Tiger Yang came up with the idea of using AR (augmented reality) to bring another dimension to the show: the option allows you to enter a virtual letterbox for a 360 degrees experience of the work. To add physicality, we sent out invitations on postcards across the UK. A digital postcard was also sent to relatives, friends, studios, and designers across the world.

We wanted it to be playful and enjoyable experience, therefore we also created an Instagram filter  composed of a frame and a postage stamp, which was our logo. People can participate by using the filter to show us where they are, what they are up to. The idea was to share their experiences by creating a collection of  Instagram 'postcards'

The team also created a playlist “for our viewers to boogie while celebrating the launch of our show. ” and also ran workshops which coincided with the UAL Graduate Showcase launch, including flag-making and even a dining experience workshop.

Now that you have finished your course, what’s next for you?

We hope to come together once the pandemic dies down, to hold a physical exhibition of our work with some of the people ion our year. It would be a great opportunity to see some of our peers again, to whom we didn’t have the chance to say goodbye.

The team would like add that “ Wish You Were Here was made possible by Max Kohler, who coded our website. It is an exhibition initiated, created and funded by the students of Camberwell Graphic Design. "