Winner

The Kerry Aylin Prize for Distinction in Print

Communication Design School of Design

Luca Hallam (She/Her)

I see design as an opportunity to be curious, drawing inspiration from systems, archives, and pattern. My work is motivated by concept-led briefs and acute research processes, which evolve through play and material interrogation. Making by hand is intrinsic to my practice; I believe strongly in the satisfaction that can be gained from working meticulously, and harnessing techniques rooted in craft-based histories. My visual conclusions present a kinship between analogue and digital applications of design, a tension between past and present techniques.

During the second half of this year I have worked on two main projects, both culminating in the form of books but of contrasting application/purpose. I enjoyed exploring the differences between highly reproducible printed matter that is accessible on large scales, while conversely considering the book as a designed object, challenging/exploiting its intricacies and dimensions.

 

 

 

Contact
lucahallam@gmail.com
L.Hallam1@student.gsa.ac.uk
Website
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Works
Stamp Book Archive
Stamp Archive – Full book
By Any Other Name
Spreads, ‘By Any Other Name’

Stamp Book Archive

Postage stamps are micro-representations of movements in art and design and vehicles of insight into socioeconomic histories. Referencing my family’s archive of Dutch stamps, this work captures the key features and legacies of Dutch design through observations and experimental responses. Perforations reference the stamps’ physical quality, patterns and typographic layouts culminate in a book — the book as informative artefact, presented as an aesthetic experience. Challenging the dimensions of a book, pages are bound with folds at the fore-edge, revealing a discreet space where the original stamp lies. This book is a celebration of stamps, and the colours, icons and type they adorn. Taking the ratio of a typical Dutch stamp (25 x 36 mm), the enlarged format of the book aims to magnify the beauty of stamp design, in homage to the stamp as a design object and it’s country of origin

Stamp Archive – Full book

By Any Other Name

Online academic material is often digitally shelved within desktops and harddrives, and once submitted, never to be read again. Submitting my dissertation via the click of a button did not feel representative of both the workload and sentimentality I felt for the work, thus resulting in my decision to create a physical copy for print. Enjoying research-based approaches, I acquired a surplus of sources which functioned as puzzle pieces in forming the written outcome. Research displayed to mimic the chaos of a mid-essay desktop is followed by a 140-page image log, capturing the embodiment of the essay, and the significant roots of the process which typically remain unseen.

Spreads, ‘By Any Other Name’