Georgina Burton (she/her)
My graphic design practice focuses heavily on exploring locations, cultures and identities, especially those that have played a role in shaping my upbringing and background. My work primarily consists of editorial design, book design and branding, embodying both humour and emotion depending on the concept I am exploring. Creating a sense of person and place with playful design is present throughout my practice, allowing me to highlight areas and communities that may otherwise be overlooked.
Shuggie Bain
Shuggie Bain, written by Glaswegian author Douglas Stuart, is a Booker Prize-winning novel. The book delves into the complex relationship between a young boy named Shuggie and his mother, Agnes Bain, who battles alcoholism. Set in 1980s Glasgow’s East End, a period marked by the detrimental effects of Thatcherism, including a soaring rate of unemployment and an increase in drug and alcohol abuse, the narrative explores the hardships faced by the characters. This project involved the redesign of both the softback and hardback editions of Shuggie Bain, along with a dust jacket. To effectively convey the themes within the novel I utilised colour and imagery. Given the novel’s poignant nature, I opted for subtle visual elements and carefully chosen colours to evoke the setting and themes. The front cover features a modified image from The People’s Palace archives, incorporating white and blue hues – a subtle homage to Scotland and Glasgow – whilst also symbolising the central themes of the book. For the typography, I selected Dinamo’s Arizona typeface. This type echoed Celtic letterforms, a typographic style commonly found around the East End of Glasgow, particularly in pubs. The design of the dust jacket intentionally reveals the faces of the two key characters, depicting Shuggie and the body on the floor. This approach allowed me to allude to the characters’ roles in the book and the notion of hidden realities behind closed doors.
Brand Identity – Lucy Johnson
Lucy Johnson is a Silversmithing and Jewellery student, currently in her final year, at The Glasgow School of Art. Her practice is influenced by shapes and materials that are most commonly found within British brutalist architecture, a post-war style that emerged rapidly within the 1950s and materials commonly found within this architectural movement, such as concrete. Within the project, I created a brand identity for Lucy that can be applied as she begins to transition from university to industry. The project tasked me with creating an identity that was focused on branding Lucy as a person rather than formulating an identity concept for a pre-existing business. The primary influence for the mark I designed focused on Lucy’s initials, using shapes and angles from the letters L, J and O as visual start points to create a mark that included her name alongside her visual references. The finalised identity included business cards, packaging concepts, social media assets and website design.
Dull Weekly
Dull Weekly is a magazine publication I designed to showcase the weekly dramas of a small village in rural Suffolk. The project aimed to address the issue of traditional English villages disappearing due to increased housing developments, as they get absorbed by neighbouring towns. To celebrate the unique characteristics of rural areas, particularly their gossip culture, I chose to create a tabloid magazine. In the design process, I incorporated humour and utilized techniques that are commonly found in tabloid magazines, such as vibrant colours, engaging imagery and distinct typography. This approach resulted in a final outcome that captured the essence of circulating tabloids while also highlighting the amusing aspects of rural village life.
Overall, Dull Weekly served as a platform to shed light on the challenges faced by rural communities, as the UK’s current housing development schemes continue to absorb them, whilst also adding an entertaining twist through its design and content.
In Loving Memory of…
In Loving Memory of… was my primary project of the year. focused on Happisburgh, a small coastal village located in North Norfolk, England. This area of coastline faces severe coastal erosion, which has been rapidly increased by climate change. Predictions are that Happisburgh will lose over 97 meters of land within the next few decades, ultimately leading to the demise of this village, as well as it’s community. The aim of my work was to raise awareness about the village and the significant loss its residents are experiencing. I also wanted to highlight the failure of the central government regarding the support and protection of Happisburgh and its inhabitants. Additionally, I incorporated a depiction of the current coastline at Happisburgh along the side of the book, I did this through paper cutting. In terms of content, I utilised primary images I had gathered during a site visit to Happisburgh back in November. I also integrated Edwin Brock’s poem The Sea, The Sea. Through playful type composition, representing the progressive erosion within the book’s pages. Furthermore, I also created a plinth resembling a brick wall, wherein I created a box with a hole to house the book. This metaphorically reflects the process of deconstruction – readers must extract the book from the wall to read it, paralleling Happisburgh’s fate.
