Graphic Design by George Dunkley
This morning we have another North West based creative with bright prospects for the future. George Dunkley has just completed his second year at Salford University, where he is studying Graphic Design.
“Originally I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to university so I took a year out and deferred my application as a back up. I’m so glad I decided to go to Salford because it’s given me so many opportunities and I’ve learned so much. This year in particular has helped me understand how my skills transfer in to a job and how best to approach the industry. I’m hoping to get a work placement to run along side my third year.
I enjoy working with print and web as I think it’s important to have a good mix of both. The web stuff usually comes in my spare time. I came across the blogging platform tumblr during my gap year as a way to document my interests and inspirations. I found it had a real focus on creativity and customisation, which first got me interested in web design. None of the blog themes that were available appealed to me so I coded my own through trial and error. I made some of my themes available to the public, which acted as a hook that led to me working with international clients. It is great to see big names such as thingsorgazinedneatly and M.I.A. using my work. Web design is definitely something I want to continue with. At the moment I’m working with a group of students to create a Type Foundry website to showcase typefaces created by Salford students. I’m also interning as a designer for a new e-commerce site whatIAlwaysWanted.com which sells unique crafted gifts and home furnishings.
As well as working with web I also like getting tactile and creating things offline. My latest project was for Google as part of the YCN student competition. The brief was to create an imaginary packaging range for Google’s family of products. I came up with the concept that each product was part of a whole, represented with a puzzle cube. I kept the packaging simple but engaging, sticking to their strict branding guidelines. I love the problem solving involved in the design process and seeing the end product. My inspiration comes from all over the place but I am a big believer in less is more. Graphic design is about communicating a message and if there’s too much going on then the message gets lost. I like the studio culture we have at university which allows us all to feedback on each others work and collaborate”
You can see more of George’s portfolio on his website at
http://cargocollective.com/georgedunkley/
, his blog and Twitter @georgedunkley.
