We are super excited to announce our top students and graduates for 2018! We invited 10 industry leaders spread across the world to judge the work. They were told to pretend they were hiring for a junior role and to pick 3 people they would get in for an interview based on all the applications (we received over 700 of them!). This is the first time ever, we've opened it up to the whole wide world! The result is the hottest talent for 2018, so if you are hiring, read on! Full interviews with each winner will follow in February.
… And here are our 2017 winners in alphabetical order, congrats guys!
Alfred Hoi (work above)
Instagram: @alfredahoy
Wellington, New Zealand
Massey University
Hannah & David's Pick: Alfred’s folio demonstrated something of a rarity amongst submissions. That is, the ability to demonstrate high level conceptual thinking, combined with contemporary, high quality aesthetic output. Sharp, unflinchingly current, and extremely interesting.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Amélie Lehoux (work above)
Instagram: @amelehoux
Montréal, Canada
Université du Québec à Montréal
Tad's Pick: Many things drew me to Amelie’s work. The strong sense of whimsy, the unexpected color palettes and subtle yet well thought-out conceptual iconography in each piece. But what put this folio over the top for me was the designers willingness to explore and push various styles and mediums with such ease.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Artisa Tumiwa (work above)
Instagram: @tigamatasapi
Jakarta, Indonesia
Swinburne University of Technology
Dem's Pick: I’m impressed by Artisa’s approach to framing problems, taking a challenge-process-solution approach to describing work helps to contextualise the projects in this entry. It’s also great to see that the users are considered when designing the final solution.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Charlotte Taylor (work above)
Instagram: @charlottetaylr
London, United Kingdom
Goldsmiths University + Chelsea College of Arts
Will's pick: Unlike anything else I saw while judging the other portfolios. A fine art practice with a design eye – the compositions and colour palettes work really well.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Dang Vo (work above)
Instagram: @danyillustration
Montréal, Canada
Université du Québec à Montréal
Tad's Pick: I will admit that I am a sucker for strong brand identity work especially when applied to food packaging. This designer’s folio has several successful examples of thoughtful identity systems and creative packaging solutions. Many of the designer’s projects stood out, but the ‘Ancobaleno” chocolate packaging and how it was ultimately presented really took this from a student portfolio to a professional one.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Daragh J Anderson (work above)
Instagram: @daraghanderson
London, United Kingdom
Central Saint Martins UAL
Dem's Pick: I found myself drawn to Daragh’s work on both a visual and a conceptual level. Each project seems to explore interesting and important topics while achieving an impressive level of refinement, tied together in a very well presented entry. I’m particularly impressed by the elegant response to the D&AD brief, which communicates a powerful message through an engaging medium.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Dominique Vine (work above)
Instagram: @dominiquevinedesign
Melbourne, Australia
Monash University
Tad's Pick: From the start I really responded to how the designer presented their work. Very simple, clean and straight forward. The decision to use black only enhanced their bold colors and strong typography choices. Several projects really stood out, but Dominique’s overall strength through-out the book was typography. From the ‘Dreams Archive’ project where we see the type heavily manipulated to the smart type pairings on the “Abbotsford Convent Identity” project, this designers understanding of type far exceeds expectations.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Gemma Mahoney (work above)
Instagram: @gemmarmahoney
Melbourne, Australia
RMIT University
Hannah & David's Pick: There was a lot of contemporary typography of a certain style, appealing, yes, but fundamentally similar. Gemma’s work goes a step further and as a result stood out to us. It is clearly work that is engaged and interested into current typography experimentation, but so too is it fearless in playing with pastiche and historical type, bringing it bang up to date with colour composition and application.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Ivo Pallucchini & José Bessega (work above)
Instagram: @amateurdotrocks
Berlin, Germany
Escuela Relacional & Haus Escuela Visual
Will's Pick: Great portfolio from start to finish. Nice typographic work throughout, feels very relevant to today.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Jen George (work above)
Instagram: @jen_georgee
London, United Kingdom
The University of Leeds
Hannah & David's Pick: Jen’s book has experimentation, interest, and yet an aesthetic and structural rigour that really appealed. The ‘Thames River Postman’ concept for the Royal Mail assignment really caught our eye - we’d love to see more!
Interview:
Coming soon!
Jenny Liu (work above)
Instagram: @jen_iverse
Sydney, Australia
Billy Blue College of Design
Johan’s pick: Jenny combines a satyric approach with a search for simplicity that gives her work a mature and intelligent result. She understands the scope of the subjects she is dealing with, digs them out, and transmits a graphic material that seems to be aimed at the right target. Special mention for the handwritten typographies of the AGDA project.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Jeremy Hooper (work above)
Instagram: @hoopergrafik
Wellington, New Zealand
Massey University
Will's Pick: Consistency of work across digital and print and supported by great photography as well as the design.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Jing Ong (work above)
Instagram: @jingw_ong
Brisbane, Australia
Shillington College
Johan’s pick: Lightweight, refreshing and poetic work, combined with impressive illustration work and a beautiful mastery of space. Jing particularly seduced me with her Joy Luck Club lettering, which is a real risk-taking and avoids the current fashion effects.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Kathleen Crosby (work above)
Instagram: @thleen__
New York, USA
Shillington College
Johan’s pick: Kathleen shows interesting versatility and bravery that I want to salute! She tackles unusual subjects and her work is both controlled and relevant, with a touch of humour. I am sensitive to her storytelling skills through design and illustration and her abstraction.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Kiera Needham (work above)
Instagram: @kieraneedhamdesign
Bristol, United Kingdom
Plymouth University
Dem's Pick: Kiera’s work is a fantastic mix of playful and visually striking, with a diverse selection of projects. I was drawn in the by the adventurous exploration into visual communication and the insight into some of the process behind the projects.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Laura Wadley (work above)
Instagram: @laura__wadley
Christchurch, New Zealand
Ara Institute of Canterbury
Justin & Steve's Pick: Laura’s work is strong, concise, and well organized. When reviewing portfolios we’ll often notice that the layout and design of the portfolio gets overlooked. Laura’s book shows that she not only cares about the layout of the work being presented, but also the beauty in the work itself.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Leanne Gu (work above)
Instagram: @leanne.xyz
Melbourne, Australia
Monash University
Matt & Tim's Pick: Leanne, Leanne, Leanne. This is good stuff. It's fun and intellectual - qualities rarely found in the same room together - and the kind of work which suggests a preternatural gift.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Madison Tierney (work above)
Instagram: @madisontierney
Melbourne, Australia
RMIT University
Verònica's Pick: Madison knows her style, it is strong and creates a trademark on her work. Experimental, hand made with a solid concept to support.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Manuely Avila (work above)
Instagram: @manuelyavila
Melbourne, Australia
RMIT University
Matt & Tim's Pick: It seems overly precocious that a person, like Manuely, has developed such a refined, sophisticated and considered sense of design so early in her career. But she has. So we nod our heads, smile, and clap with admiration.
Interview:
Coming soon!
May Kim (work above)
Instagram: @guccimay
New York, USA
MICA: Maryland Institute College of Art
Matt & Tim's Pick: It's exciting to see design that's rule-bending, energetic and a little barmy. Why? Because it points to new possibilities and a designer who isn't worried about what silly old judgy people think.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Nam Huynh (work above)
Instagram: @namhuin
Stuttgart, Germany
Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design
James & Beth's Pick: Contemporary, energised, fresh work. Ambitious and adventurous with medium and application. Great volume and high quality of work throughout. Interesting exploration of typography across the board and the Workpool project is excellent. We can feel Nam’s genuine hunger for design. We’ve featured Nam’s work annually in our International Poster Exhibition at Graphic Design Festival Scotland for the past few years. The poster included in the 2017 exhibition ‘Big Trouble in Little Europe’ is the perfect example of a poster which needs no typography and no accompanying information to communicate clearly, effectively, pack a punch but still have a hint of intrigue. Great work.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Nathan Holthus
Instagram: @nathanholthus
Wichita, USA
McPherson College
Justin & Steve's Pick: Nathan has a great understanding of branding and typography design. He’s doing what he loves and it really shows. At National Forest we’re big fans of the ‘Americana Style’ and blue-collar approach to Nathan’s work- his portfolio presents a lot of great branding and we’re looking forward to seeing what he explores next.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Nicola Householder (work above)
Instagram: @nicolasage
San Francisco, USA
Pratt Institute
James & Beth's Pick: Refreshingly playful work. We get a good vibe from Nicola and can feel her positivity and personality from her work. She feels like a Warrior! Endearing personal projects Prank Scouts and Bingo Cards are right up our street. Great ideas and playfully executed. Confident use of colour, illustration and a distinctive hands-on style which we think stand out and could be very successful commercially.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Ronnie Alley (work above)
Instagram: @ronniealleydesign
Philadelphia, USA
Philadelphia University
Justin & Steve's Pick: We really like Ronnie’s color sensibilities and minimal approach. His portfolio presents a range of styles while preserving his personal approach to design and illustration.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Samantha Allen (work above)
Instagram: @samallendesigns
Melbourne, Australia
Monash University
Alberto's Pick: Samantha is all about sophistication, attention to detail, exquisite editorial approach from concept, content, layout, typography, printing, use of materials and binding. She is a classic designer with a a surprisingly mature approach. Shows great sensitivity and respect for the work.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Samuel Forbes (work above)
Instagram: @samuelthomasforbes
Wellington, New Zealand
Massey University
Alberto's Pick: Samuel is really deep into trends and experimentation but also shows a very versatile portfolio. He takes good care in production process and experiments with print techniques. He also shows good layout composition skills, spontaneous handwritten intervention on designs and a very strong typographic palette. He has a strong character and definitely understands very well the rules of disruptive editorial design.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Shauna Buckley (work above)
Instagram: @shauna.buckley
Dublin, Ireland
Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT)
Alberto's Pick: She has a very clean yet strong editorial style, with good composition, very mature text treatment, but also with a very good use of of custom lettering. She also seeks for concept in her projects and focuses a lot on the quality of the content. Nothing is random or just pretty, she makes design with purpose.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Stefan Pelikan (work above)
Instagram: @stefanpelikan
New York, USA
Penn State University
Verònica's Pick: In Stefan's portfolio there is a high quality in innovation and experimental way. I see a very defined style that I think is good, it empowers his work. He needs to improve this way and continue going further.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Thomas Hedger (work above)
Instagram: @hedgerart
London, United Kingdom
Central Saint Martins UAL
Verònica's pick: Of all the portfolios I saw focused on illustration - Thomas's is a highlight. It's strange to find an illustrator where all their styles are good. Obviously he knows the techniques and this helps him to go further and experiment in many styles.
Interview:
Coming soon!
Zoe Hu (work above)
Instagram: @zoehudesign
Melbourne, Australia
Monash University
James & Beth's Pick: Solid concepts resolved with strong and effective outputs throughout. Valuable skill set to bring to the studio: solid typography, good conceptual work, good motion graphics and illustration. Professional aesthetic sensibility. Mirror Mirror is a tight project with the full package. The interactivity is well considered and brings it to life. We’re always interested in designers responding to current affairs, so for us this was stand-out.
Interview:
Coming soon!
