London Calling: International Traveling Studio

Students of LAU graphic design department of Beirut and Byblos experience contemporary graphic design on an international level. Accompanied by instructor Danielle Kattar and following a rich schedule of exhibition tours, gallery visits and professional workshops, students enlarged the scope of their knowledge in design and took their appreciation regarding visual culture to a broader level.

Observation, documentation, analysis and design were each integral to the traveling course. Students visited internationally renowned exhibition halls and galleries such as The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Museum of Brands, The Design Museum, The Tate Modern, The Hayward Gallery, The Japan House Gallery, The Somerset House and The Serpentine Sackler Gallery. In every venue, they were confronted with masterpieces of art and design, analyzed and explained by professionals who guided the group through different narratives and contexts of the works. Students also visited the iconic William Morris Gallery where they participated in a linoleum print workshop with artist Anna Alcock. The highlight of the traveling studio's learning experience happened at the St Bride Foundation (the typography archive) where knowledge about history of graphic design and typography suddenly ceased to be abstract notions. During an entire day of work, students were taught the old ways of manipulating an Adana printing press by professional printer Michael Clayton and historian Bob Richardson. Artist Radhika Khimji met with them at the Tate modern museum to talk about her experience in recording sensory experiences in a creative manner as well as keeping an art journal. Historian Maciej Zimoch took them on a walking tour in Shoreditch while discussing the ephemeral art of graffiti and its role within the social fabric of neighbourhoods.