Graduating DJCAD student, Iona Sorbie, shares some of the projects she has developed in her time as a student. Join her in this retrospective journey and be sure to check out her and many others’ work at the Degree Show!

My name is Iona and I am in my final year of Graphic Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. I came to Dundee in 2013 to study Architecture, three years later, after obtaining my bachelors, I transferred to Graphic Design and I found my passion. I would say that my past in architectural design has informed my approach and style. As a designer, I strive to create well-informed work that has a purpose. I particularly enjoy creating meaningful or humorous designs, which have an impact on the public. I have a passion for editorial design and branding, but I enjoy exploring all elements of design and acquiring new skills.

I am writing to tell you a little about my course and what I have been getting up to this year. For my fourth year, I had the opportunity to focus on three main projects, alongside one smaller project and my dissertation.

For the first of my main projects, I decided to create a publication for the ‘International Society of Typographic Designers Student Briefs’. I chose to base it on ‘The Holocaust’, creating a dossier style publication to remember the victims and the atrocities they suffered. The publication uses iconography and documentation to echo the sensibilities of the time and a sequential approach to purposefully have an impact on the reader, to ensure this tragedy is not forgotten.

For my second project, I chose to create a beer brand based on The Isle of Mull, to encourage ‘localism’ and celebrate the nature of the island. The brand is bold and colourful with a witty approach to naming, with one beer named the ‘Red Hop Deer’, with posters asking the consumer: What’s in your nature? Are you red hop? Have a red hop deer.

Thirdly, I chose to do the D&AD ‘Monotype’ brief, for this project we were required to celebrate a community with type. I decided to celebrate the strength of sexual assault survivors, a pertinent issue. I tackled this brief with the campaign ‘Powerful not Powerless’, encouraging women to share their stories and shed a light on sexual assault, demonstrating their power as a community. Their strength and the value of this story sharing represented by transforming the typography of associated negative words to positives.

Finally, this year I also completed my dissertation on ‘What is required to launch an independent Print Publication and what impact can design have on its success?’, learning everything it takes to create a successful publication whilst analysing the consequence of redesigning University of Dundee’s Student Publication, ‘The Magdalen’ Magazine.

You can see Iona’s work and many others at the DJCAD Degree Show opening Friday, May 17th! 

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