A graphics student has been lauded as ‘one to watch’ by a top design agency
Becky Sidwell's sustainable font Gaia
It has been such a great way to publish my work during this difficult time. I was very surprised when I received the email that I had been 1 of 14 students that had been selected across the country!
Final year BA (Hons) Graphic Design Becky Sidwell is one of just 14 students specially selected by award-winning agency Design Bridge in their curation for The Nationwide Degree Show.
With many degree shows cancelled across the UK, the project aims to share work from art and design students with some of the biggest names and faces in the creative industry.
Becky was chosen for her project Gaia, a new sustainable typeface. Each character has half the normal amount of pixels which saves electricity and ink half when being printed.
She said: “Gaia’s pixel amount is 50% smaller than a normal typeface. Therefore, the amount of electricity and ink is around 50% less too. With this in mind, each ink cartridge will last twice as long due to the reduced amount of ink being used.
“It feels really good to have been selected for the curation with the Design Bridge. It has been such a great way to publish my work during this difficult time. I was very surprised when I received the email that I had been 1 of 14 students that had been selected across the country!”
Becky’s work was reviewed and celebrated by Design Bridge’s Executive Creative Director Claire Robertshaw and Creative Director Chloe Templeman. Chloe commented: "A clever approach to sustainability by making a typeface 50% less than we need, reducing ink yet still functioning and legible as a clean and beautiful font."
Becky's project is also featured in Staffordshire University’s online graduate exhibition GradEX20 along with some of her other design work. The online GradEX Portal has been shared with more than 7,000 employer contacts and final year student projects are available to view throughout the summer.
She said: “It will definitely boost my confidence in the fact that industry is actively looking at yours and others work. It is a great idea and I am very grateful for Design Bridge to have selected my work let alone promote it.”
Samantha Owen, Lecturer in Graphic Design, added: “Not only is Becky a wonderful talented student, but she has also done a wonderful job coordinating her peers during the lockdown period to ensure that they're all up to speed with deadlines and opportunities. She has contributed to social media content and been a fantastic ambassador of the course. We'll look forward to inviting her back as industry alumni in the future.”
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