Lucy Parkin

What The Hell Am I Doing?

No Idea, But Hopefully This Will Help.

10 Creatives Who Have Inspired Me:

1.   Ellen Lupton (Her book ‘Thinking With Type’ has seen me through many a project during my time at uni, as well as being a huge comfort for a growing typography enthusiast.)

 2.   Paula Scher (My introduction into the graphic design world at the age of 17 and the start of my love for typography. She is the true definition of learning the rules in order to break them)

 3.   Irma Boom (Again, the perfect example of learning the rules in order to break them. She is a huge role model for me in the world of book making)

 4.   Chris Killip (His documentation of lives is so captivating, and his longing to capture the beauty of the everyday also fuels my practice)

 5.   Hans Hillman (He designed film posters that have always stood out to me since I discovered his work. There’s something very intimate but almost disturbing about his work, which I’ve always found intriguing)

 6.   Margaret Calvert (Having such powerful knowledge and skill to make the Transport typeface, the outcome that impacts countless lives across the country daily, yet in such a simple, often overlooked way always reinforces the responsibility that designers often carry)

 7.   Ken Briggs (The National Theatre Posters that he created during his time as creative director are timeless and a masterclass in typography and poster design)

 8.   Rick Poynor (Working on preserving the design history of the National Theatre Posters is fascinating and has inspired an avenue of work for myself in researching and analysing the history of the design world more)

 9.   Alina Derya (A very current designer who beautifully uses typography in such an illustrative way)

 10.  Richard Bird (Again, his legacy of posters for the National Theatre is incredible)

10 Projects that have inspired me:

  1. “National Theatre Posters – A Design History”, Rick Poynor: Helped me realise the importance of documenting the history of design and how fulfilling that can be.

  2. “Schießen Sie auf den Pianisten” Film Poster, Hans Hillman: Incredibly symbolic poster for the film it’s depicting and was intriguing to analyse and has therefore stayed with me throughout my practice.

  3. “Visual and Syntactic Materialities” Elena Etter: A fascinating and fun book depicting how language and typography meet so imperfectly yet beautifully.

  4. “SHV Think Book 1996–1896” Irma Boom: Pushing so many boundaries of book making and is a true testiment to how the form of a design is integral in it’s impact.

  5. “Love Poems” Alina Derya: Intimate and personal use of typography which perfectly echoes the emotion of the poetry written.

  6. “These Northern Types” Split: The investigation in how communities live and are formed are themes I love making a part of my own practice, making this project a massive inspiration.

  7. “Graft” Split: The typeface design that came out of

  8. “these northern types”. I would love to take my investigations from a particular community and make a typeface from that.

  9. Posters and Identity for the Public Theatre, 1990’s Paula Scher: The first set of pieces that inspired me to delve into the world of graphic design, it completely captivated me. National Theatre Posters by Ken Briggs: Timeless designs that established a brilliant legacy of design for the national theatre.

  10. “In Flagrante” Chris Killip: His documentation of life and community sparked a longingto also capture the beauty in the everday.

10 Studios and Agencies that Appeal to me as a Designer:

  1. National Theatre Graphic Design Studio (London) I’ve always had a love of theatre and I’ve used a lot of their work as inspiration for my practice.

  2. Ilk (Leeds) I strongly admire their work in helping local talent market themselves and strengthen the identity of Leeds.

  3. Split (Saltaire, Shipley) Their engagement with typography, community and printmaking resonates a lot with my practice.

  4. Penguin Creative (London) I’ve always been a lover of books and typography, there is such a strength in story telling.

  5. Studio Build (Leeds) They have a practice built on curiosity and crafting which resonates with what my practice is built on.

  6. Journal (Leeds) A lot of their work is based on the local community and history which is a strong attraction.

  7. Northern Block (Northumberland) Working more in the creation of typefaces is a direction that grabs me and Northern Block create some really engaging and creative work.

  8. Studio Mono (Leeds) Their work in connecting people through their branding resonates with why I want to be a designer.

  9. Robot Food (Leeds) Again, the way that their work connects communities and people is very true to my beliefs a as a designer.

  10. The Print Project (Shipley) Expanding my practice and skills in print making is of huge interest.

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