Recent Student Success

Students from the Design and Visual Arts Degree studying on the illustration pathway have achieved success in international design competions and with commissioned work. Chris Oldland a third year student whose work was last year included in the D&AD (Design and Art Direction) student awards book, has follow up his success by being asked to pitch for and then go on to land a prestigious commission from KPMG.Chris’s designs had caught the judge’s eye in the 2009 D&AD competition when his proposed designs for an installation for the new KPMG flagship offices in London of came in the top four.

One year on Chris was contacted by D&AD and KPMG to see if he would like to pitch designs which had the possibility of being used in the newly completed building. Competition would be keen as students from Chelsea College of Art & Design where also pitching for the job.Chris spent two months this year refining and perfecting his design, which use laser cutting equipment to carve out his designs in translucent acrylic sheets. These would then be fixed to the wall using chromed screws and bars. On the 30th of April Chris pitched his design ideas to to a panel of 5 KMPG executives at their head office. Two days later Chris received the good news that he had been commissioned to produce an installation at the London Offices and would be given a budget of £2000 to execute the design and £2750 as his fee.

In feedback from the presentation the KPMG team said

“We very much like your concept, particularly the elegance of it and how light plays with it and changes the design”

Over the next two months Chris will be working on the full size design and implementing it with a team of technicians from KPMG.Pathway leader for Illustration at Stockport College Ian Murray said 'Chris has worked very hard to land this commission. We were very proud of his success last year in the D&AD competition. Chris’s ability to convert this opportunity into a viable commercial project, particularly against such stiff opposition from some of the countries leading art colleges demonstrates once again that the Design and Visual Arts provision at Stockport is amongst some of the best in the country'

In the same week that Chris Oldand's success was announced, staff from the Design and Visual Arts team were delighted to hear that students Natalie Wood and Chris Howker both students on the illustration pathway had success in the 2010 D&AD competition.Both Natalie and Chris had entered the ‘Don’t Panic’ poster competition via D&AD their submissions respond to the theme ‘Resist’. Natalie’s designs were highly commended and will appear in the 2010 D&AD Students Awards book and Chris’s designs have been nominated for a D&AD student award, which has been likened to the design equivalent of the Oscars.

Fergal Kilroy D&AD Student Awards Manager said

‘I would like to stress how proud all students should feel at being selected for In-Book or receiving a Nomination. This year's juries were very strict. Winning entries were selected on the basis that they demonstrated the student could "cut it" in the real world, making success in 2010 a great achievement for both you and your students.’