From a photographic study of a Ghanian fishing village for a local NGO to Twitter-generated reactions to key news events, community and social engagement is never far away from the work of this promising young designer.
Tell us about a favourite project.
My Tweets and the Streets project was a response the death of Baroness Margaret Thatcher. It consists of Tweets that emerged on Twitter following the news. Each Tweet is expressed using the aesthetic of 1930’s trade union placards, combining the traditional format with the new media content. Its aim was to highlight Twitter’s impact upon how society chooses to express opinion en masse. Social media is creating new platforms for social and self-expression and, much like street protests, these platforms have the power to unite and divide.
The idea of community is very apparent in your work…
I think design's relationship with society is one of the things that interests me most about the discipline. Design and visual language can be found in every corner of a community and how that community responds, interacts and interprets with it really fascinates me. The issues are always changing and evolving and this means I want to try and engage, reflect and react to these changes.
What's your most valuable tool?
Probably my camera and my kettle. My camera ensures I can record everything and anything that might inspire and inform my work and my kettle because I am a dedicated tea drinker.
What would be a dream commission?
A dream commission would probably be to collaborate with Graphic Design&. The idea of design existing in conjunction with other subjects is really interesting and definitely something I’d like to explore in the future.
josatchell.com
