More Good Advice For Product Design Students

An ex student, Alan Air, who started on the NC Product Design course 3 years ago came in to speak to the HND students today. Alan is currently in his 3rd year of the Product Design Innovation degree at Strathclyde University.  During the course of his presentation he went through examples of his work and spoke about the transition from College to University.  Alan has been on an educational trip to Seat in Barcelona and produced a product to prevent littering of chewing gum.  Alan has also worked on a collaborative project designing an app which allows dog owners to monitor the health/fitness of their pet through technology integrated into a collar.  There was a Q+A with the students where Alan highlighted he failed his graded unit at College but in his own words “I cried but it was the kick up the a*** I needed”. Some of Alan’s other quotes included, “Use the time to catch up in gaps of knowledge”, “It’s about your process, research, thinking and how you translate yourself onto paper”.  “Expand and explore in order to learn, develop yourself and be a better designer.”  “It’s about 70% hard work and 30% talent, you can’t sail through on talent alone”

The students gained an insight into the level of commitment needed at Higher Education level and how best to prepare for the transition to University.  Alan finished off by inviting the students to see an exhibition of the 3rd year work in the James Weir building. The exhibition was for the design of a speaker which just so happened to be what the 1st year students were doing for their graded unit.

Product Design Staff

Student’s Jewellery Design Inspired by Dyslexia Fight

East Lothian Courier printed an article on how Laura Porteous, an HND Jewellery Design student, was inspired by a poem written by a student on the HNC Professional Writing Skills course.

The article, by Avril Campbell, quoted Laura “The poem was about anxiety and dyslexia.  Through the jewellery I wanted to show how I dealt with my own dyslexia and how someone would hold on to their anxiety or figure out how to let it go.  My piece is a brooch in the shape of a triangle, with silver parts that can move like a jigsaw.  I thought of an iceberg melting to show how i’ve moved on.  I riveted the pieces instead of soldering them, which meant I used a drill and hammer to secure them into place instead of using heat to melt them, making the brooch look a bit more rustic.  I feel this is one of the best pieces I’ve created so far.

Laura said that she believes the course has given her the experience and skills she needs to follow her dream of making a career within the Jewellery profession.

The brooch was exhibited as part of the College’s Creative City Festival.

 

 

Good Advice!

An ex student Conor Kirkpatrick, who started on the NC Product Design course 4 years ago, came in to speak to the NC and HND students today.  Conor is currently 5 weeks away from completing his Product Design Degree at Northumberland University.  During the course of his presentation he went through examples of his work and spoke about the transition from College to University. Conor has gone on to achieve placements at companies such as Black and Decker and Tangerine.  There was a Q+A with the students where Conor highlighted he failed his graded unit at College, but in his own words ” it was the kick up the a*** I needed”. Some of Conor’s other quotes included, “don’t just google the sh** out of it, email someone who knows about it”, “get deep into the project”, “the more you do it the better you get at it”, “get your work out there, take the criticism to make you better”.

The students gained an insight into the level of commitment needed towards the end of their education as well as the quality of work Conor had produced through hard work.

Product Design Staff

Product Design students design a clock for Andy Murray Design.com

On the 30th March, Andy Murray, a well known Glasgow Designer and former student, came into the college to see team presentations from Product Design students for the design of a clock.
It was a 3 week project and the teams were given £5 and a goodie bag of materials. Using the materials in the bag, £5 and the process of laser cutting they had to design and manufacture a wall hanging clock.

Their design had to be able to be posted through a standard letterbox and fit into the range of products on Andy Murray’s website.

Things the teams had to consider were:
Weight
Clever use of materials
Clever use of process
Price

The winner was a semi flexible and fold-able clock.  Andy was very impressed with the results, awarding certificates to the winning team and an Easter egg. The students got a buzz from the experience of working with an outsider designer and gained an insight of what is expected in industry

Article in Practical Photography on Ross Glasgow, BA Photography Student

 

 

Poster for Maggie’s May designed by Tamta Basishvili, HNC Media and Communication

Sharon Fagan, Hospitality and Events,  met with John Logan and Linda Soutar from Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM) to discuss potential opportunities to work together and help SRM in achieving their goal of raising £1,000,000 over a ten year period. The first project was to run a competition amongst our students to design the poster that will be circulated to promote Maggie’s May and our Creative Industries students were asked to participate.

Tamta Basishvili, HNC Media and Communication, has designed this poster for Maggie’s May, a charity event involving walking, running, cycling for 31,000 km during the month of May

22 entries were received by the closing date on the 24th March and these were reviewed by the judging panel on 28th March. Tamta’s poster was chosen and slightly modified to meet SRM and Maggie’s marketing criteria. The poster is now featured on the landing page for the event and will be soon circulated through the college and other platforms chosen by SRM and Maggie’s.

This has been a great opportunity allowing the college to demonstrate their CSR and enhance the learning experience for our students. Furthermore, John Logan from SRM has organised for the winning student and runners up to have an experience day at the Velodrome – names to be confirmed by John Baird.

Fundraiser Event for CAP Degree Show: Work for Sale

4th Year Contemporary Art Practice students are holding a fundraiser for their Degree Show where you will have the opportunity to purchase originals from £10 to £50.

The event will be on Thursday 30th March from 4pm – 8pm in the 7th Floor Exhibition space

HND Media & Communication students at ScotHot 17

HND Media & Communication students were a vital part of City of Glasgow College’s presence at the recent ScotHot 17, Scotland’s biggest food, drink, hospitality and tourism trade show which took place at the SECC.

Four media students, Carly Cairns, Molly Hamilton, Morven Fik and Cailley Wiggins, were interning for The Staff Canteen, an industry-leading networking website for the cooking industry, as they delivered live cooking events that featured leading chefs from across the UK, including the college’s own Masterchef winner Gary MacLean.

While the college’s cookery students were also involved in the event, the media students were tasked with the management of The Staff Canteen’s social media feeds, capturing images and videos and updating the feeds in real-time throughout the two-day event. They also wrote articles for the Staff Canteen site, summing up the events of each day.

Staff Canteen Editor Cara Pilkington was delighted with their performance, saying, “They were all fantastic and a real pleasure to have around. They were really enthusiastic, motivated and very happy to take the initiative which is a quality I love in interns! They were probably the best I’ve had at live events for a long time; a real credit to the college.”

You can read their articles here:

Day 1: https://www.thestaffcanteen.com/News/the-staff-canteen-live-at-scothot-2017-day-1-sponsored-by-westlands

Day 2: https://www.thestaffcanteen.com/News/the-staff-canteen-live-at-scothot-2017-day-2-sponsored-by-westlands

 

‘The Scottish Play’ Review by Tristan Stewart-Robinson

Sean Langdon

IF you’re unwilling to state “the Scottish play” by name, at least you can celebrate the teenage actor from Knightswood who used Shakespeare’s Macbeth for not one but two roles.  Sean Langdon, who studies HND acting and performance at City of Glasgow College, landed the roles of both Duncan and McDuff in a college production of Macbeth. The show ran over three days at the Scottish Youth Theatre as part of the college’s popular Creative City Festival.

Sean, a former pupil of Knightswood Secondary School, embraced the challenges of performing Shakespeare live on stage and believes the City of Glasgow College course has provided him with the experience and skills to follow his dreams of becoming an actor.

The 19-year-old said: “I was double-cast in the show and played Duncan and McDuff two really big characters. It was an interesting experience as the two characters couldn’t be more different – Duncan is a really upbeat, funny character whilst McDuff is very serious and has quite a dark past. I actually performed some Shakespeare a few years ago whilst I was at school but it’s always very challenging.  Our production of Macbeth was very visual which I think makes the play more accessible – even people who have never read or seen Shakespeare before were able to understand what was happening onstage.” Sean, who has wanted to pursue a career as an actor since he was a child, continued: “I’ve really enjoyed my time at City of Glasgow College as I’ve learned so much about both acting and the industry. I’m also really interested in writing and I’d eventually like to write and star in my own plays.”

Creative City 2017, which ran for three weeks until March 17, featured a series of public events and exhibitions which have either been organised by City of Glasgow College students or will showcase their work. This year, the vast programme also included live music, a football tournament, literature performances, drama productions and even a murder mystery evening. Events took place both in the college and at external venues across Glasgow.

Stephen Cafferty, acting and performance lecturer at City of Glasgow College, praised the efforts of Sean and the rest of the cast during rehearsals. He said: “Macbeth is a fantastic play and Sean is a real star, in fact all of the students are very talented. Performing in Shakespeare will be great experience for them to have for when they leave college and move on in their careers”

Creative City and Jewellery Student’s article in the Banffshire Journal

The College’s fame is spreading.  Scott Smith, HND Jewellery student received a mention in his parent’s local newspaper, The Banffshire Journal, for the work he made and exhibited at the Creative City event.  The brooch was designed around Scott’s interpretation of a poem written by one of the College’s HNC Professional Writing students

Article on Scott Smith in The Banffshire Journal