The Graduates 2011: Hannah Shipley

A motley collection of stolen passport photos caught our eye when we saw Hannah Shipley’s submission. Her’s is an ideas-based portfolio that drew a smile and referenced the potential for design off the screen or page. Having moved to London from Bristol, the last three years studying Communications Design at Kingston University have been spent on a series of projects, consciously different from one to the next…

As well as stealing someone’s moment in a photo booth, by catching people unaware Paul Arden-style, there is also a clever reinterpretation of legal tender and a very nicely-executed project representing,“how people value success by the hierarchy and amount of brands they own.” The latter, a series of military medals that boast brands as symbols of achievement, is the perfect example of Hannah’s belief that: “Good design is only successful if it excites people and makes them smile/see things from a different point of view.”

If your portfolio was on fire, and you could only save one project, which would you choose, and why?

It would probably be my Stolen project only because of the effort put into collecting those photos. Sitting outside photo booths waiting to shock people was pretty scary and almost getting arrested on my last shot was quite a finale. That project really opened my eyes to the crazy things that design would make you do if you really believe in an idea.

If you could collaborate with another artist/designer (or a number of artists/designers) to make a piece of work, who would you work with and what would you make?

I would get all the bad underground graffiti artists from Bristol and make them do a live life drawing class in Trafalgar Square.

What was your finest moment at art school?

Has to be my first ever project at university. It was an introduction into making a welcome gift for the new students. So what did we make? A chair out of bread! We stuck it together with cocktail sticks so it wasn’t even comfortable to sit on but at least the studio smelled of fresh bread for a week.

We believe it was the Jonas brothers who once said: “We’re the kids of the future.” How, if at all, do you relate to that?

We are the kids of the 90s, I’m getting bored of the kids of the 80s so yeah, I guess we are. 

Can you give us ONE prediction about you and your work for the next year?

Hit or miss – I’ll be in a successful design studio making millions or sat outside a successful design studio busking for free ideas.