To kick start the lecture series this year, Phil Carter came in to give a lecture.
He started off by giving some background information about him, coming from an artistic family and how this passion for art from such a young age helped pave the way in his career.
He talked through some of the designs he created for a company he founded in 1984 with an ex-student from Norwich University of the Arts. He created some designs for big companies like Unilever. Phil talked us through the briefs that lead to the final design as well as where the inspiration came from.
Phil set up a studio which worked with organisations with small budgets, ensuring he could make a big impact to small companies like charities. He went on to talk about an important element of design is thinking and sketching for him. Drawing being one of the most fundamental aspects of design as a designer you are able to get ideas down immediately and anywhere you are.
Carter emphasised throughout his lecture how keeping a visual radar on can change how you look at things in the world. Instead of seeing something for what it it, it’s down to your personal interpretation and seeing it for what it could be – often leading to happy accidents. This made me realise, often small thing that usually go unnoticed can change the way you think.
After being given a brief from Cornetto, it had some of the initial sketches which showed immediate, initial ideas which led to the final design. The meaning behind the typeface and font on the packaging was to keep it as triangular as possible, relating to the shape of the cone.
During the lecture, Phil included images in his presentation that kept addressing one of his main points, drawing being a fundamental part of design, doing it anywhere. From using coffee in his sketchbook to attaching a pen to a twig on a tree, I learnt that it’s always good to try out something new – to get out of your comfort zone.
It’s all about perspective and how you can be creative with the brief. Taking things out of context allows you to think outside the box. Often with some of the briefs he was given by companies, ideas snowballed allowing for more opportunities to explore possibilities. From an idea just starting off from packaging – it can be used in other ways like merchandise and company identity, gaining momentum and making it more successful.
Through playing with the composition you are challenging your creativity which unlocks doors for ideas to briefs. Phil Carter talked about how research is important and gives you a different way of looking at the world. Through conducting my own research so far for this UX design course I really related to this piece of advice, and through this a good idea doesn’t go out of fashion.
To conclude his lecture, Phil talked about how looking for insights and seeing things from other peoples perspectives can enhance your own, keeping projects playful. Overall I really enjoyed this lecture because he emphasised going back to basics and how that can impact design.