Six LCC BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design students have been awarded the prestigious Print Futures Award by The Printing Charity.
Words by Ian Gustav Ahlberg
Damion Robinson, Eric Hesselbo, Henry Seeley, Loi Xuan Ly, Pietro Sandri and Shalyn Wilkins were awarded grants of up to £1,500 at a special event at the House of Lords.
The Print Futures Awards were launched in 2003 to help people aged 16-30 fund costs to develop their skills and practice in printing, publishing, packaging or graphic arts.
Created to inspire a new generation of printers and supported by charities such as the Book Trade Charity, the Journalists’ Charity and The Printing Charity, six of the 2016 awards were given to the BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design students from LCC.
The diversity of thought and practice within the BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design course is reflected in how the winners will be using their award grants:
Damion Robinson
Damion is keen on setting up his own design studio and is using the grant to take up courses in coding; he plans on using code to create virtual platforms that construct hierarchy and clarity in design.
Pietro Sandri
Pietro will use his grant to buy software and a printer to create photo-realistic reproductions of image. The grant will help him in his quest to push the boundaries of printing techniques. During his time at LCC, he has been using halftone software to create images for screen printing and different colour separations to create master films and print with different screen printing inks.
Henry Seeley
Henry has been experimenting with more traditional forms of print, like letterpress and bookbinding, making use of the facilities the college offers. This has been to help with his second year project where he will be setting up a print workshop in a school to introduce students to print. His award will be benefiting a new generation of print creators.
Shalyn Wilkins
Shalyn is using the grant to take her back to the roots of print craft; she’s illustrating a small book, Life is Like a Bus. It will be screen-printed and hand bound with interactive elements that cannot be reproduced digitally.
Loi Xuan Ly
Loi Xuan will use his grant to fund materials for his photographic series that he plans to bind in to a book. He plans on working with large-scale production techniques like litho printing.
Eric Hesslebo
After co-founding a creative fashion company, Eric will be using his grant to create a bi-monthly publication that looks into the intersection of culture, fashion and lifestyle and shines a spotlight on talent across the globe.
The 2017 Awards will open in January. To sign up for next year’s awards, visit www.printfuturesawards.com
Read more about BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design