French Style Workshop


2026


A Newschool project; this project details a workshop that was undertaken with 9 students at the University of the West of England. Investigating graphic design and non-graphic design students reaction and ability with analogue French curve tools for logo design.

This workshop is a step into the past; exposing modern students (from graphic design and non-graphic design backgrounds) to techniques that would have been used 50 years before for logo design alongside font production and pattern making. Each student had at most 1 hour to produce a logo for the fictional magazine Surf Spray - the logos to be used for their upcoming clothing line. They used traditional tools such as tracing paper, light boxes and Letraset. The best 3 logos were selected, vectorised and then embroidered into clothing patches. Alongside this, a document was designed which workshop details and insights were collected. The design of this inspired by the old-school manilla folder filing system. Aimed at current and new generations of designers (who aren't familiar with these pre-digital tools), art historians and retired/more mature designers. Outcome was 1x workshop document, 3x embroidered patches. Insight gained into running workshops, the current designer's experience with analogue tools and what is enjoyed vs what is not enjoyed.


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