We invited UAL students to create a design for an A5 notebook cover to be sold in our shop. Our theme for the notebook was Joy. We are pleased to announce the winners of the competition, Kamila Jaworska (London College of Communication) and Remi Yu Dong (Camberwell College of Arts)! The designs were of such a good standard we also awarded a runner-up prize to Costanza Thom (London College of Communication) who had her design turned into wrapping paper which is also on sale in-store and online.
The notebooks were produced sustainably with Generation Press, who are in the top 5% of all B Corps for Environmental practice. They use renewable energy sources, are carbon neutral and these notebooks are made from FCS-certified paper with vegetable inks to remove toxic chemicals from their manufacturing process.
We asked the two winners and the runner-up a few questions about the competition and their winning designs. Here’s what they had to tell us about their work:
Remi (Yu Dong)
Remi graduated from Camberwell College of Arts with a graduate diploma in illustration, and is now studying MA illustration.
What does joy mean to you?
Joy means every warm and subtle moment, keeping doing what you want to do and to love the world.
What is the inspiration behind your design?
I like collecting my daily life, so I was inspired by stray dogs I met. After I came to London, I found so many wonderful things, even tulips everywhere, seagulls, pigeons, dramas, a variety of desserts, happy people on the street and grass etc. Almost every family has a dog. Everything is so beautiful, so stray dogs should be as happy as we are. In this design, I built a happy world to fulfil the beautiful wishes of dogs and people with Aladdin’s magic lamp. There’s an equal relationship.
What advice for other people to enter your future pattern design competitions?
Just attempting or trying boldly. This is the third time I have participated in competitions of not just a shop, but the first time I have been so lucky! To be honest, this design was a test of limiting the colour, using the digital method and mixing elements, and I never thought I’d be selected. Just trying to create everything you want in your drawings.
Buy Remi’s notebook from not just a shop here.
Kamila Jaworska
Kamila is currently studying the BA Graphic and Media Design course at the London College of Communication.
What does joy mean to you?
Noticing small things in my surroundings, like a small colourful plaque or a piece of cool signwriting, brings me joy. My phone is full of photos like that. Also charity shops and fried breakfast but that’s not as interesting.
What is the inspiration behind your design?
I wanted to make a design that was super simple, yet still an explicit depiction of commonly known joy. The smiley face came to mind, as it is a symbol recognisable by a lot of people. I played around with some ideas and turned the symbol into a confetti design, perhaps something that could be a repeating pattern. I chose confetti because it is associated with parties and celebrations, which are often synonymous with joy.
What advice for other people to enter your future pattern design competitions?
Read the brief very carefully, highlight it if you need to, and understand what it is really asking for. Try and come up with something that answers the brief, but at the same time is also true to your style and practice.
Buy Kamila’s notebook from not just a shop here.
Costanza Thom
Costanza Thom is a graphic design student at London College of Communication.
What does joy mean to you?
Joy to me means to feel at ease and, in order to achieve this comfort, to appreciate the small things in life, such as natural landscapes and flower fields, reason why I decided to make a pattern representing the latter.
What is the inspiration behind your design?
The flowers in my pattern and in particular their strong, warm hues are inspired by floral designs from the 1970s. These were often accompanied by messages of love, which tie in with the theme of joy of the competition.
What advice for other people to enter your future pattern design competitions?
My advice for anyone looking to enter a future pattern design competition is to get familiar with Adobe Illustrator. It might be difficult at first, like with any learning experience, but it is an extremely useful tool, especially for creating patterns.
Buy Costanza’s wrapping paper from not just a shop here.
