I’m giving it my best go in a tough industry. Been supporting other Scottish brands for the past year as part of our relocation to the Barrowlands for the regeneration of the area.

Getting ready to launch my new label at the end of this year, most of my inspiration comes from Glasgow, taking hard lines of the tower blocks currently being brought down all over the city and turning them into something soft and feminine.

1. Event: Shoot Your Shot – HI-NRG/Italo-Disco/TAKING YOU HIGHER!
One of my favourite club nights, the promoter Bonner is insane in all the good ways. Next party is 27th of May at The Art School.

2. Music: Sofar sounds: While they haven’t happened too often in Glasgow, these secret intimate gigs are pretty relaxed, the extensive acoustic playlists on youtube lets you really explore and discover new artists.

3. Music: Bigg Taj – Superstar Sardar – Spoken word artist, singer and beat boxer extraordinaire kills it again with his latest EP. Genuinely one of the coolest guys around.

Bigg Taj, Superstar Sarwar

4. Music: Etta Bond – I’ll try not to gush, but I am in love with her sound and attitude. Soulful spoken word and sing speak with a feminist edge, she is out of this world and HAS to be checked out.

5. Website: Braw Wee Emporium – Our neighbour in Barras Art and Design in the Barrowlands, packed full of excellent music and gifts from exciting artists and designers. Definitely worth a visit, especially during the Braw Wee Fair, on the 1st Saturday of the month.

More: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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For more recommendations on what to read, watch or listen to, go here.

It all started as an experiment — a test to see if there were others out there like me.

I like having nice things, eating well, traveling. I know these things have an impact on the world around me, and I don’t want to leave a trail of destruction in my wake. I also don’t want to sacrifice the things that make me happy.

The thing is, consumers (and if you’re reading this, you are one) are the biggest force for change. Every single day, we make hundreds of decisions that affect the world around us.

What if, rather than being reminded that we’re part of the problem, we felt motivated to become part of the solution?

The good news is that human creativity and generosity are making it easier for each of us to live the lifestyle we want while changing things for the better, every day in every little way.

Chefs making outstanding meals using local and seasonal produce. Designers upcycling everything from fashion to furniture, to make stuff that’s even better. Entrepreneurs building successful businesses that solve more problems than they create.

These are the companies I want to see grow and succeed. The ones making a real difference in the world and in their customers’ lives. The ones carrying out a vision where everything we make, do and buy does more good than harm.

So I made it my mission to spread their stories in order to make more people aware of them, inspire more shoppers to buy from them and challenge more companies to act like them.

What began as a handful of articles on a self-built website has become Thoughtful, an online magazine that champions lifestyle, design and culture making a positive impact. Rejecting any hint of guilt, we show how easy it can be to live well in every way.

Our community of creatives and trendsetters is leading a movement to take conscientious consumerism out of the niche and make it desirable and accessible to everyone. Together, we’re spotting examples of how to live more thoughtfully all over the world, and using #thisisthoughtful in social media to identify and recognise them.

We collect all these posts on our website and share the best in our newsletter and social media—regular reminders that a better world isn’t just some conceptual future state, but part of our lives today that maybe just needs a little nudge.

#thisisthoughtful serves as a platform for inspiring random acts of thoughtfulness too. Leading up to the holidays we put loads of little origami envelopes all over London, each containing a lucky penny and a note encouraging people to pay it forward generously to people in need. We open-sourced the envelope template so that anyone, anywhere could get involved. People were making and finding envelopes far and wide, from Amsterdam to New York, Canada to Russia, Colombia to The Philippines.

The first step was seeing if there were others out there like me. Now that I know there are, I’m eager to connect us all through shared stories, projects, experiences and more.

View Thoughful here. For more about Daianna, see her twitter account here.

More: Website | Instagram | Facebook| Twitter

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Want to read more blogs by artists? Look here.

Summer is upon us yet again and there has been a determined buzzing in the corridors and rooms of Gray’s School of Art meaning it is once more the week of the Degree Show.  20 – 27 June celebrates the magnificent 130 years of positive impact and inclusion Gray’s holds within the local community – and far beyond. Promoting and preparing the individuality of each student, the show is a rich culmination of the eccentric, the skilled, and the beautiful – not to be missed.

On entering the building we are immediately met with the works of the three dimensional design department. Stopping by the pieces created by Hannah Rachel Morrison a wave of emotions are brought to life by her sea-scape inspired vessels. As if on a beach-combing adventure, the collection of hand thrown ceramics with ethereal, shimmering pools of blue green glass collecting in their bases, alongside kiln formed glass vessels, evoke a sense of discovery and sentiment. It is incredibly difficult not to get hypnotised by a video set alongside the collection, showcasing the process of throwing on the potter’s wheel – reiterating the craftsmanship, skill and time that goes into each creation.

Hannah Morrison

As we move around each display, we embark upon the slick and well-oiled machine that is the product design department. Surrounded by innovative ideas, I was struck by an installation from Ross Marshall which focuses on upcycling and the responsibility of today’s designers. Constructed from re-purposed materials, the fun and quirky piece gently coaxes us into considering our impact on the planet as consumers and producers. With an element of art and design’s influence both present and future now at the forefront of our minds, we continue on to explore the labyrinth of the school’s corridors.

Carrying on through the building we finally come to the weird and wonderful world of sculpture. This section of the show is well worth exploring and is sure to surprise – there is even a car on display. Don’t forget to continue on across the courtyard where more students of Contemporary Art Practice display their hard work such as sculptor David Mitchell’s poetic representation of the beauty and intrigue of nature. Focusing on the nobility and strength of man, Mitchell’s work has a highly traditional feel. His busts are created using bronze, terracotta and plaster and each sculpture holds a strong presence in the room whilst revealing a vivid sense of the character it portrays.

Ross Marshall

David Mitchell

In the main hall, the Graphic Communication students serve up work that makes us laugh, cry and think twice. Work includes the charming illustrations of Holly Green. Aimed at children, Green has used her characters to beautifully tell a story and they come alive as decorative forms on a range of children’s products.

Holly Green

Be sure to save time for making your way to the top floor of the building where Painting and Fashion and Textiles can be found. I strongly recommend getting absorbed in the explosion of colour, life and narrative that fills each room and corridor. Be mind-boggled by the surrealist art and Rogue Taxidermy of Rebecca Gallacher; be intrigued by the patterns and depth of colour present in Erika Doy’s Bio:Morphology garments; lose yourself in the fluid vibrancy of Steven Tupper’s expressions where the smell of cut lino still fills the air…

Stephen Tupper

Erika Louise Doy

One of the final displays to be discovered was the work of Fine Art student Heather Macinnes. Each canvas conveys vibration, optics and a mathematical order of pattern – whilst also challenging intuition. These mesmerising sequences – created by scraping a layer of black ink away in part to reveal the colour underneath – draws the viewer in quietly. And in a similar way, this review barely scrapes the surface of what Gray’s has to offer this year. This inviting chocolate box of art and design welcomes you to come along and be inspired whilst celebrating the hard work and commitment put in by each and every student.

Heather Macinnes

Gray’s School of Art Degree Show 2015 continues until this Saturday 27 June in Aberdeen. Find out more information online here.

More: Website | Facebook | Twitter

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See more Degree Show reviews on Central Station here.

As the offspring of a textile artist and an engineer, the combination of aesthetic expression and methodical problem solving led me to a career in graphic design, and is without a doubt where I belong. Pre-degree, I came from a more art-focussed background, and my course at University of Cumbria embraced this, and enabled me to develop both a conceptual and analytical way of creative thinking, whilst providing the perfect setting to explore the expansive subject of graphic design. This was a great starting point, as to me, concept is key, and I strive to produce intelligent, effective and conceptually inspired visual communication at all times.

Versatility is also something I strive for in my creative output. I don’t have what you’d call a definable ‘style’— which I’ve found is both a blessing and a curse — but I like to embrace the fact that I don’t. I aim to start each design brief with a clean slate and tackle the problems within. I usually find that a functional and effective visual treatment emerges from the creative process, without having had a stylistic approach in mind to begin with. This isn’t to say that all design briefs can, and should be approached this way, this is just how my process has evolved and how it works for me.

Manifesto Zine Contribution

East End Transmissions Exhibition Identity

Don’t Mention Dementia

I am very passionate about culture and the arts, and work on a freelance basis with cultural based organisations and individuals (as well as for clients and on projects outside of this sector) but I definitely get a buzz when I can combine my two passions — design and culture. Art and culture are intrinsic to life. Without the resources of our libraries, museums, theatres and galleries, and the creative expressions of music, literature and art we would find ourselves static and sterile. It is because of this I aim to provide these organisations with the ability to engage and interact with audiences through the power of design, to not only keep the interest in the institutions alive and economically strong, but to share, stimulate and enlighten our social well-being.

Being freelance is fantastic. I get to work within my own creative space one day, then join another design team elbow-deep in a project the next. I have to be quick and able to pick up the elements and create something brilliant, and then head back to my desk at home, to be called upon again for another challenge over in Edinburgh the following day. No two days are the same and it’s not something I would change. I love a good challenge and get a kick out of working under pressure, so I feel pretty fortunate to be in an industry that generously serves both. In addition to my freelancer lifestyle, my current alter-ego is as the sole designer at The List, working across both their website and bimonthly magazine. The most recent issue was out on 3 June, so get your copy of this snazzy dose of arts and entertainment news! (#shamelessplug)

The List

Having the odd personal project on the go is also definitely an asset. I flit between digital and print in my day-to-day work as a designer. I do a healthy dose of front-end development as well as graphic design, so my side-projects tend to encompass them both as well. Currently out and about in the public sphere on my Etsy shop thingsbyJD, are a series of Risograph prints and postcards, which were influenced by the artwork I produced for the Bauhaus: Art as Life exhibition at the Barbican. They were the outcome of an exploration of composition and colour, and my first hands-on experience of the riso process. The quality of this type of print is something special, and one I recommend having a go with!

Risograph Prints

Composition Postcards

To me, being a designer is not just a career choice, it’s a way of life. Design is about communication, and by tuning in to the details of the everyday; from colours to textures, from sounds and interactions, and by appreciating both the visceral and the visual, I attempt to draw on all these experiences and infuse them into my design to communicate in strong, beautiful and effective ways.

See more work by Jen on Central Station here.

More: Website | Instagram | Etsy | Twitter

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Artist profiles delve into the psyche of the artist talking about daily life, inspiration & art. Read more profiles here. 

Interested in writing one? Contact us

Edinburgh based freelance graphic designer and photographer Ken Gray tells us how he got to where he is now.

I work on a large variety of pieces, including arts catalogues, magazines and corporate identities. My design work is at kennethgray.co.uk and my photography work is at kennethgray.photography.

1 University Libraries Department, John Smith’s bookshop, Glasgow

For two summers, whilst studying Book Publishing at Napier in Edinburgh, I worked for John Smith’s bookshop in Glasgow. The job was based in a converted church building near the Mitchell Library. Basically I had to open boxes of books and check them off against orders. The part I really remember though was the weeks of adorning books with sticky back plastic protective covers. Much as I wanted to work with books, it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.

2 The Scotsman newspaper, Edinburgh

It seems that most people working in graphic design in Edinburgh went through The Scotsman at some point in their career. This was my first job after leaving college. I had to set adverts for The Scotsman and Evening News using Quark Xpress. I had never used it before, so I bought a visual quickstart guide, went to the pub and read it cover to cover. I was working the 4-11pm shift, which meant that most dinners were takeaway baked potatoes from the shop at the top of Cockburn Street. The advertising department was in the basement of The Scotsman building, and I was working with people of my age and time-served typesetters who really knew their stuff. I had to typeset adverts for the likes of ‘Dial-an-Iron’ and various car companies. The adverts, once we had printed them out, went to paste-up where they were glued on to the page layout. I learned a lot about working quickly and accurately to deadlines.

3 County NatWest, Queen Street, Edinburgh

Next off, I worked for the in-house graphic design department of County NatWest, a division of the NatWest Bank. This would have been about 1991. Already you could see technology changing whilst some practices remained the same. I had to print out the titles of reports for covers, then paste the printout on to a board for the printer. I would adjust kerning between the letters by cutting and moving the text printout on the board. I would make outline drawings in Freehand, then paste them on to the board and overlay the printout with a markup sheet for the printer to let them know what colours should be used. We had a photographic enlarger in its own darkroom. Eventually we had some equipment which seemed like science-fiction at the time – a desktop rotary scanner for transparencies plus Photoshop version 2.5 (before layers!). We would either commission photography or buy it in from agencies like Tony Stone, which at the time had an office in Edinburgh and would send across selections of transparencies for us to choose from. The job was mainly designing covers for the analysts’ reports, making up presentation material or charts, and producing small newsletters. I really learned to pay attention to typeface and layout details.

4 Shaw Marketing and Design, Edinburgh

I joined Shaw Marketing and Design in Edinburgh as a visualiser, which meant that I would take a rough sketch from one of the two designers and work it up into a full design. Whilst there, I worked on a lot of visuals, including making photo-realistic renderings of scotch whisky bottles with proposed labels mocked up on them. I would also work on the packaging artwork for whisky, including Cutty Sark and Glengoyne. I began to learn HTML and CSS, working on websites using the ExpressionEngine CMS. Eventually I became a designer in my own right. I learned how to take a job, right from initial idea and sketch, all the way through visuals, to final finished print-ready artwork.

5 Freelance graphic designer and photographer, Edinburgh

I went freelance in 2006 and was lucky enough to start working for Alliance Trust in Dundee. I worked on material for their newly introduced corporate branding, in co-operation with the in-house department. During that time, I also began to work for other clients, including Scottish Natural Heritage, The Scottish Gallery, Fettes College, the Scottish Wildlife Trust and St Columba’s School. I have worked on a wide variety of commissions, including arts catalogues, brochures, corporate identities, prospectuses, children’s magazines and websites. I know some really good creative people to call upon, so I have a roster of folk to collaborate with, including printers, photographers, paper makers, illustrators and developers. Freelance work comes with its own set of hurdles, but it also allows for opportunities. I’ve been able to develop (boom, boom) more of an interest in photography, and had a couple of photographs included in the RSA Open exhibition in 2014. The most enjoyable part of working as a freelancer is building really good, strong relationships with a client.

More: Website | Twitter

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We’ve asked professionals in creative industries what jobs they have had in the past to get their foot through the door (or at least pay the rent). For more in the “My First 5 Jobs” series look here.

Suisse is a multi-disciplined agency situated in the very vibrant Merchant City area of Glasgow’s city centre. There are only two of them – Paul Gray and Lyn Cunningham. Here’s a bit more about them and what they love.

We are small and we like it that way. We get to touch and manage the work. We’ve both been around a while and have seen most things. Some 50 years joint experience between us. We have won a fair few awards over the years and we are delighted to have the admiration of both peers and clients. Safe to say, we love the industry. We love the challenges. We love the work.

Books:

The Piano
Jane Campion’s book / laterally a film
A beautiful story of a fateful romance that could never be. Beautifully shot with fantastic performances from Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel.

Perfume
A novel by Patrick Suskind (the story of a murderer and a perfumer )
All consuming passion of a man chasing life through his sense of smell. A bastard child born into the slops of a fish market. Quite brilliant in the images it creates. A gift to me from Ross Hunter at Graven Images. One I’ve read time over. A fantastic bit of writing.

Films:

The Proposition
Directed by John Hillcoat / Nick cave screenplay. Ray Winstone stars in it. One of my all time favourites. Kill your brother or I will kill your other brother. Great tension. Super acting.

Sexy Beast
First time out as director – Jonathan Glazer (the Guinness white horses ad) directs a masterful film. Ray Winstone is superb.

There Will be Blood
My all time favourite movie. Daniel Day-Lewis is outstanding. Fantastic film. Great ending too. The closing line is a beauty.

Music:

The Smiths
A seminal band and a huge influence on my youth. “Meat is murder” – I’d never heard lyrics like that before. They don’t rhyme, don’t fit the beat but they get through. Clearly courageous and certainly of their time.

This Will Destroy You / Mogwai
Masters of the big-build white noise. I think they are both quite brilliant.

More: Website | Facebook | Twitter

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For more recommendations on what to read, watch or listen to, go here.

After graduating we got involved in the summer project Somewhereto_ Re:store which was set up to regenerate unused space within Glasgow city centre by creating a creative pop-up venue. We documented the ongoing of the space for the duration of the pop up (one month). This was our first mural together and where we realised we could possibly take it further and start a collective. The name came about as the newspapers were coming and we had to think of something quick – Mairi and her partner had the name Little Book Transfers kept aside for the day they started a band together, but as it had been a few years and they hadn’t gotten round to it, we thought we had to put the name to good use as it just suited what we wanted to do perfectly! (We are still going to have a band one day!)

We work doing illustrations used to create private commissions, illustrated objects, live art and wall and window murals, ranging from small to large (around 25ft!). Our work is often feminine and is inspired by nature and form. It has a surreal undertone and can often be described as humorous and whimsical. We also work with blocks of colour, which we illustrate on and around.

We work together in our office/studio space smack bang in the centre of Glasgow. We normally come up with small, basic sketches, together or apart and verbalise our ideas to each other whilst using Illustrator for mockups. There isn’t much in-between from initial sketch to finished product as we do a lot of our work on the spot and change things as we go when creating mural work. We work in a spontaneous way, making the process more exciting, where we have loose sketches at hand, but it is all very much freehand! We go with what feels right for the space when we turn up to different sites and locations.

The highlight of our career so far would be last year (as we have only been working as a collective for roughly a year) when we had a 5 month long feature in the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow in correspondence with Generation: 25 Years of Contemporary Art. We created a 25 year long timeline which consisted of 25 individual illustrations which we free-handed onto the walls of the GoMA balcony. We montaged and illustrated a selection of world history and art events that took place to create humorous yet informative work for each year.

Our first solo show at The Good Spirits Co. on Bath Street will showcase a selection of large illustrated boards and screen prints inspired by exotic botanicals and the female form. The show will run from 12 March until 19 April.

More: Website | Facebook | Twitter

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See more art & design collectives we’ve featured on the site. Think we should feature your collective? Get in touch.

Can you tell us a bit about your background – how did you first get into photography?
It is a bit of a serendipitous story. My roommate Mike Dewey got me this vintage Minolta film camera for my birthday about 2 years ago and as soon as I held it in my hand I was hooked. There was something about the analog process that made me fall in love with capturing a moment. Ever since then I have had some sort of camera slung around my shoulder whenever I step out the door in the morning.

How would you describe your process?
As someone who is self-taught, I find the best form of education is to take every shot you would regret not taking. It is pretty simple but so far it has not steered me wrong. When I get stuck or am not sure what to do, the best way for me to break through is take a bunch of bad photos and figure out how they could be improved. Once I have done my selects I typically pull the image first into Lightroom for things like color correction and then onto Photoshop for detailed adjustments.

Film photography or digital?
I enjoy aspects of both but I have switched to digital for the most part for logistical reasons. I will never stop shooting film though. Every picture has this extra splash of color that adds to a shot’s character.

We love that you give away outstanding images for free every week, but why do you do it?
This project all stemmed from the idea that if I started to become a shutter junkie, pictures would just waste away on a hard drive. I felt that was unfair to the energy I put into each one. I am in awe day in and day out by people’s creativity and, through my web design career, owe a lot of my value to others who have taken the time to explain their process for the sake of contributing to a wonderful community. This is my response to their selflessness.

You have traveled the globe and captured some stunning images. Where would you return to?
That is a loaded question because I would probably go back everywhere if I had the opportunity. My favorite country recently was Iceland because of the culture and the out of this world landscapes.

What photographers do you find most inspiring?
I have the pleasure of being friends with some insane natural talent who continually set a really high bar. I look up to Bret Lemke and Taylor McCutchan for composition and color. Mike Dewey has a masterful eye for color, which I am perpetually jealous of, and look to everything he does as a challenge to catch up. I have also amassed quite a collection of inspiration on Instagram from people like Noah Sahady, Alex Strohl, Matt Bauer, Humza Deas, Jimmy Marble, Daniel Zvereff and Porter Counts, to name a few that I am constantly humbled by.

Tell us a bit about your day job.
By day I design websites for Thrive Consulting Group. I spend a lot of time in Illustrator trying to figure out how to make a user experience tell a story and a brand. The beauty of my job is no two things I create are solved the same way. Always being challenged in some fashion keeps things fresh and exciting.

What one piece of advice would you give to an aspiring photographer?
Do not get discouraged by details or complexity when you first start out. At the end of the day taking the shot whether it be good or bad is progress. You can learn equally as much if not more from a photo that is not your best by looking at how you did it and thinking through how you will do it differently the next time around. Trying to figure out all the variables can stifle action. Go shoot! Something you get will be great and it only gets easier over time.

See Jay’s growing collection of freely downloadable images here.

More: Website | YouTube | Twitter

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Want to read more Q&As with creatives? Find them here.

DesignersMX is a project combining Blake Allen and Josh Sullivan’s passion for music with their love of design. Jesse Bunch came on shortly thereafter to make it all work.

A community of designers quickly emerged and made the site a playground for creativity and inspiration.

After a brief hiatus, Blake pitched a rebirth to Hannah Paramore in 2014 and now DesignersMX has the full attention of Blake, Hannah and the folk at Paramore | the digital agency.

A multitude of designers from around the world have shared their playlists along with their own beautifully designed cover artworks.

Sean Weber | DesignersMX

For 80s influenced electronica, check out Sean Weber’s Miami ’87 here. If that’s not your thing, may we suggest you begin with Tobias Van Schneider’s Delirium 2013 which has 13 hours of listening pleasure.

You can browse through a multitude of mixes here and see the designers who have taken part here.

More: Website | Twitter

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For more creative delights we’ve Spotted on the web take a look here.

Looking at what Art & Design education should or could be, Parallel School encapsulates the idea of non-institutional, self-led education. The aim is to connect people of different backgrounds from around the world to share their knowledge with one another.

A truly international concept, Parallel School has previously taken place in São Paulo, Berlin, Glasgow, Moscow, Paris and London, with an “each one teach one” system, meaning all participants are equally teachers and students. Guests and lecturers from different disciplines are also invited to complement the workshops.

The most recent Parallel School event was in Brno as part of the 2014 Biennal of Graphic Design. You can take a look at the journal documenting their workshops here.

Lookout for Parallel School happening near you or you can submit your own idea for Parallel School here.

More: Website | Facebook

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For more creative delights we’ve Spotted on the web take a look here.