HND Visual Communication students from Forth Valley College have been working hard to produce work for a pop-up shop based in Made in Stirling, between Monday 11 to Sunday 17 December.
Made in Stirling, 44 King Street, Stirling, has the aim to ‘empower the community of artists and makers across central Scotland by providing access to, and the opportunity for, creative enterprise, sector specific business support, peer knowledge exchange, and education’, and have given over an area in their store for students to sell their work just before Christmas.
Students have produced A5 prints, riso prints, tote bags, notebooks and packs of Christmas cards and have been delighted with the opportunity to show off their talents.
The first year graphic design students set up creative visuals as part of one of their projects on Typography and Visual Communication and had the option to opt-in to the pop-up.
Some second year students also joined to show off some of their own designs. This has allowed the students to start considering how to market their work and be able to ‘earn as they learn’.
Graphic design skills involve typography, illustration, photography and drawing as well as digital. Students on this project have learned how to put these skills into action and into producing saleable physical products.
Lecturer Kirsteen Wright, said “The students have created amazing products for sale. We want students to learn skills on the course that they can transfer into being able to earn money, whether that is working for themselves or a company. Each student paid their own material costs, so now they have the chance to earn that back, as well as make a profit. Made in Stirling also take a commission, so students have had to consider all this in budgeting costs.
“Over the last few years our course has become more digital, and so it’s been great to get the students making physical products again. It was a busy, production line in class last week printing, ironing tote bags and packaging up products for sale.”
Mark Milligan, a first year HND Visual Communication student, said, “It feels amazing to be able to show off my work to the public and to have the experience of designing things to sell in a commercial environment!”
Kirsteen, added: “The pop-up shop is available in Made in Stirling until Sunday 17 December, and the students are hoping as many people will drop in and grab a unique piece of work to support their efforts. There’s also an Art and Design Degree Show on upstairs too, so that’s another reason to visit.”
Photographs taken by Lewis Downie, first year HND Visual Communication student.
