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Students get a taste of typeface in career talk

22/02/2017

Inspirational designer and type champion, Sarah Hyndman, visited the University of Wolverhampton recently to speak to Visual Communications degree students about careers in graphic design.

Sarah runs a successful business, Type Tasting, which explores the psychology of typography – one of the fundamental building blocks of design.  She has worked with the BBC and Heston Blumenthal as well as delivering workshops, talks and events and has written two books.  Her work focuses on the power typography has on our lives and senses.

Sarah said:  “Type is woven into the rituals of our everyday lives.  Everything we do is wrapped up with typefaces and I fell in love quickly with the expressive nature of it.  As potentially emerging graphic designers, students should be aware that their choice of type when they are creating can effect powerful emotional reactions that can affect how a consumer makes a choice when they are buying products.”

Billy-Dean Lawrence, 32 from Birmingham, studying Visual Communications, said:  “We were really looking forward to meeting Sarah, having read her book and watching her TedX talk.

“The talk was extremely helpful and very informative.  My ambition is to be a graphic designer and it’s really important that we grasp knowledge of fonts – but I hadn’t thought about all the emotion which could be attached to it and how it could affect a brand.  The career tips that Sarah shared were also really useful.”

The career focused talk, which took place during the University’s high profile Career Development Week, covered a range of tips for students on how to succeed.  Sarah said: “It’s so important to network and meet people, show off your work, tell people that you’re good.  Be excited about what you do, love what you create and remember that people – including clients – will remember how they felt about you as well as your work.  Use a sketchbook for ideas, always exceed a brief and keep up to date with what’s going on around you.” 

Jessica Glaser, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication at the University of Wolverhampton’s School of Art, said:  “Getting insights into how to be successful in a career is crucial for students and we were delighted that Sarah was able to visit us and share her journey.  The workshop was followed by a very lively and engaging question and answer session on the subject matter which has provided much food for thought for students as they start to develop ideas about their own career paths.”

Sarah gave away two signed copies of her new book, Why Fonts Matter, to students who asked the best questions.

ENDS

For more information please contact the Media Relations Office on 01902 32 2736 or 01902 518647.

Date Issued: 23rd February 2017

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