Creative Lives

For this week’s Creative Lives podcast, we spoke to photographer Laura Pannack at her home in London. She tells us what a typical day looks like as a freelancer and reflects on her path into photography.

Laura’s work often captures intimate and candid moments, dealing with sensitive social themes, such as self esteem in adolescents, young love or lesser-documented groups of people, like young naturists. Her photographs have been exhibited at The National Portrait Gallery, The Houses of Parliament, Royal Festival Hall and internationally; and have attracted recognition from a long list of highly sought-after awards – including the World Press Photo Awards, The Sony World Photography Awards and The Royal Photographic Society award for notable achievement in a British photographer under 35.

For Laura, shooting is part of a continual process of overcoming challenges and developing, explaining that it won’t always be the most exciting projects that become the most rewarding. On top of ongoing personal work (shot almost entirely on film), commissions can range from editorial jobs for Time magazine, The Guardian and the Wall Street Journal, to commercial shoots for brands like Samsung, Dove, Barnardos and AXA.

Admitting that she still gets nervous before shooting, Laura discusses why bravery and acting on curiosity have been so beneficial to her path, and imparts her advice on staying “a little bit scared” when it comes to new projects.

Lecture in Progress is an online resource that inspires and informs the next generation of creatives by providing practical advice and day-to-day insight into the industry. This podcast series features creatives sharing what they do and how they got to where they are.

This episode of Creative Lives was was presented by Indi Davies and the producer was Ivor Manly. Lecture in Progress is made possible by the support of a number of brand patrons – they include GF Smith, Squarespace and The Paul Smith Foundation. Check out lectureinprogress.com for more details.

Our guest for this week’s podcast is L.A. Ronayne and was recorded on December 4th in London. Working full-time as a creative director at Stink Studios, L.A. splits her spare time across a further two roles – serving as a contributing editor of Riposte magazine and a D&AD trustee.

We caught up to talk about her experiences and ideas for others just starting out - be it the importance of doing your research before approaching new contacts, or why you should never wait for permission, or a job, to start making great work.

Lecture in Progress is an online resource that inspires and informs the next generation of creatives by providing practical advice and day-to-day insight into the industry. This podcast series features creatives sharing what they do and how they got to where they are.

This episode of Creative Lives was was presented by Indi Davies and the producer was Ivor Manly. Lecture in Progress is made possible by the support of a number of brand patrons – they include GF Smith, Squarespace and The Paul Smith Foundation. Check out lectureinprogress.com for more details.

This week our podcast guest is David McKendrick, art director and co-founder of B.A.M. studio, who was recorded live in conversation at G. F Smith’s Show Space.

David founded B.A.M. with business partner and fellow art director Lee Belcher in 2014. Before that, he served as the creative director at British Esquire, where he won multiple awards for the magazine’s relaunch.

After graduating from the Glasgow School of Art in 2000, David began his career at Graphic Thought Facility, before going on to work as a senior designer at North studio, then as art editor of the Bespoke department at Wallpaper* magazine.

Throughout that time he has regularly collaborated with the world’s finest photographers, designers and filmmakers, enabling brands to gain recognition for cutting-edge, bold design.

He tells us about the reality of orchestrating photoshoots as a beginner, thinking on his feet and maintaining confidence in the company of big-name artists.

Lecture in Progress is an online resource that inspires and informs the next generation of creatives by providing practical advice and day-to-day insight into the industry. This podcast series features creatives sharing what they do and how they got to where they are.

This episode of Creative Lives was was presented by Indi Davies and the producer was Ivor Manly. Lecture in Progress is made possible by the support of a number of brand patrons – they include GF Smith, Squarespace and The Paul Smith Foundation. Check out lectureinprogress.com for more details.

For this week’s podcast, we visited artist and illustrator Malika Favre at her home studio in east London, where we talked agents, favourite clients and deadlines that range from four hours to two weeks.

From editorial to advertising, she’s worked for the likes of Vogue, BAFTA, Penguin Books and her favourite client: The New Yorker, for whom she’s just designed her fifth cover. Working to a fluctuating time scale that can range from a couple of hours for a last-minute cover, to two weeks for a pre-planned theme, it’s fair to say that she’s since mastered the art of working at lightning speed.

Originally from Paris, Malika grew up in a creative family, but her career started out on a distinctly different path – studying physics and maths. Soon realising it wasn’t for her, she went on to complete a BA in graphic design before moving to London. Ahead of her new show, ‘Le Crazy’ at the Outline Editions Gallery, we caught up with the Parisian-born, London-based illustrator to find out more about the journey that led her to set up on her own.

Lecture in Progress is an online resource that inspires and informs the next generation of creatives by providing practical advice and day-to-day insight into the industry. This podcast series features creatives sharing what they do and how they got to where they are.

This episode of Creative Lives was was presented by Indi Davies and the producer was Ivor Manly. Lecture in Progress is made possible by the support of a number of brand patrons – they include GF Smith, Squarespace and The Paul Smith Foundation. Check out lectureinprogress.com for more details.

This week’s guest is Dylan Griffith and was recorded on October 31st in London. Dylan is the creative director and co-founder of Smörgåsbord – the studio he set up in 2008 with fellow designer Vicky Beech.

Covering branding, strategy and art direction, the studio’s work for the Welsh government, to deliver a new national branding for Wales, was recently nominated for the Beazley Designs of the Year award. With studios in both Cardiff and Amsterdam, Dylan likens his role to that of an orchestra conductor, motivating and inspiring a core team of creatives. He tells us how his path has unfolded so far – from studying typography to working at MTV in Amsterdam; and tells us what qualities he looks for in young designers.

Lecture in Progress is an online resource that inspires and informs the next generation of creatives by providing practical advice and day-to-day insight into the industry. This podcast series features creatives sharing what they do and how they got to where they are.

This episode of Creative Lives was was presented by Indi Davies, the interviewer was Marianne Hanoun and the producer was Ivor Manly. Lecture in Progress is made possible by the support of a number of brand patrons – they include GF Smith, Squarespace and The Paul Smith Foundation. Check out lectureinprogress.com for more details.

This week we talk to Manchester-based artist and designer Brendan Dawes. Rooted in universal themes, Brendan’s work often takes the form of interactive installations, exploring both digital and analogue worlds – with projects including mini sms printing machines, to a bot that generates tangible creatures from live tweets.

We hear how he left school at 16, going on to work as a photographer at a news agency and at a factory, before eventually joining a Burnley-based web design company in 1996, where he became art director within a year. There, he became art director within a year, but went on to co-found his own digital design studio, Magnetic North, in 2000. Over the next 10 years, he helped grow his team from three people to over twenty, creating digital work for BBC, Diesel, Coca-Cola, Kellogg's, Astra Zeneca, Channel 4, The Tate and Sony

Brendan went his own way as an artist and designer five years ago, and has since collaborated with clients such as Airbnb, Google and Twitter, and even has artwork featured in the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art. He discusses his biggest learnings, and why pushing yourself to share your work with the world – constantly – reaps the greatest rewards.

Lecture in Progress is made possible by the support of a number of brand patrons – they include GF Smith, Squarespace and The Paul Smith Foundation. This episode was recorded on October 6th at Something Good design festival in Bristol. It was presented by Indi Davies and the producer was Ivor Manly. Check out lectureinprogress.com for more details.

During the recent Graphic Design Festival Scotland, we spoke to Freytag Anderson co-founder and director Greig Anderson. He talked us through the working process and ethos at the Glasgow-based design studio, and the journey that led him to start up his own thing.

See the full article here: lectureinprogress.com/journal/greig-anderson

This Lecture in Progress podcast was presented by Will Hudson and the producer was Ivor Manly. Sign up to lectureinprogress.com for further insight into the creative industries. This series is made possible by the support of a number of brand patrons – they include GF Smith, Squarespace and The Paul Smith Foundation.

In this week's podcast, we hear from Gavin Strange. Having joined the team at Bristol-based animation studio Aardman in 2008, Gavin currently works for the interactive arm of the company as a senior designer, covering app and game design. But his work doesn’t end there: by early morning and evening he produces self-initiated projects under the alias Jam Factory, spanning photography, film, illustration, toy and character design. He talks about finding his calling and putting productivity before perfectionism.

See the full article here: lectureinprogress.com/journal/gavin-strange

This Lecture in Progress podcast was presented by Indi Davies and the producer was Ivor Manly. Sign up to lectureinprogress.com for further insight into the creative industries. This series is made possible by the support of a number of brand patrons – they include GF Smith, Squarespace and The Paul Smith Foundation.

For this week's podcast, we caught up with artist and designer Morag Meyerscough at the recent Something Good festival in Bristol.

Regarded as one of the UK’s most prolific designers, Morag’s work is instantly recognisable for its punchy shapes, bright colours and bold patterns. Treading a fine line between art and design, she creates installations and immersive spatial designs that champion community and public interaction – adorning everything from cafes and hospitals to museums and art galleries. After graduating from the Central Saint Martins and the RCA, Morag embarked on full-time work with design studio Lamb & Shirley, followed by a six-month stint at the Milan-based Studio De Lucchi.

Feeling there was something of a glass ceiling for women in the industry, she decided to “compete against the boys” and found her first studio, Myerscough Chipchase in the early ’90s. Together with fellow RCA graduate Jane Chipchase, the duo created work that infiltrated the architectural world. Morag has served as her own boss ever since, moving on to launch the multi-award-winning Studio Myerscough in 1993, and often creates alongside fellow artists and designers, including frequent collaborator Luke Morgan. She discusses how she went from being told she’d never get a job, to stamping out a unique style that has allowed her to explore fine art, product and interior design. Her advice to those starting out? Don’t copy or follow the crowd: “Absorb and take in what you see, let it rest and filter, then produce something original.”

See the full article here: lectureinprogress.com/journal/morag-myerscough

This Lecture in Progress podcast was presented by Indi Davies and the producer was Ivor Manly. Sign up to lectureinprogress.com for further insight into the creative industries. This series is made possible by the support of a number of brand patrons – they include GF Smith, Squarespace and The Paul Smith Foundation.

The latest edition of the Creative Lives podcast features the legendary graphic designer Lance Wyman, and was recorded in September 2017, at the AGI Open conference in Paris.

Describing himself as a product of the ‘Mad Men’ era, Lance grew up fascinated with clever ways to communicate ideas and concepts that really grab you. Hailed for his role in developing the field of environmental graphics, his specialism lies in logo design and creating wayfinding systems for cities, events, institutions and transport.

Many of his logos are instantly recognisable, including his iconic work for the 1968 Olympics – design that set a high benchmark for every Olympics games that followed. He takes us back to where it all began, from his industrial design training in the late ’50s, to his first job at General Motors...before sharing his timeless wisdom for young designers.

See the full article here: lectureinprogress.com/journal/lance-wyman

This Lecture in Progress podcast was presented by Will Hudson, the guest was interviewed by Marianne and the producer was Ivor Manly. Sign up to lectureinprogress.com for further insight into the creative industries. This series is made possible by the support of a number of brand patrons – they include GF Smith, Squarespace and The Paul Smith Foundation.