Visual Identity Brief: Kingston School of Art (KSA) Degree Show 2023

Context

Every year, KSA presents the work of its foundation and undergraduate students at our degree shows at the Knights Park campus and other Kingston University (KU) sites occupied by KSA (e.g., the Town House, Penrhyn Road, the Rose Theatre and River House). The shows provide an opportunity for KSA to highlight the work of its students and promote the faculty to key audiences including industry contacts/potential employers/ prospective students/schools/alumni/members of the local community and internal stakeholders, as well as friends and family. The restrictions of the pandemic necessitated an online show in place of the physical, which was so successful that it will be continued again this year, alongside the onsite element. The show website has archives from the past two years' shows and is a space which allows all foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate students to profile their work digitally.

The Kingston School of Art Degree Show website >

Design brief

A visual identity is sought, that conveys the celebratory nature of the event whilst conveying KSA as a world-class and cutting-edge Art and Design institution. The design should be applicable to all print, web, and marketing communications about the show.

Design requirements

The design should be:

inclusive and consider all disciplines across KSA
professional without being corporate
playful and yet respectful
easy to apply across a variety of different print media of varying sizes, where instant impact is paramount
visually and technically appropriate for email communications, web, and mobile applications
responsible, with ethical practice at its heart; it must respect the people and buildings that make up KSA, and have a responsible and sustainable environmental impact
accessible and inclusive for all visitors while also complying with guidelines for those with impaired vision or other reading difficulties, or impaired mobility
authoritative and should connote expertise, innovation, and KSA's standing as an institute
effective yet subordinate to the show content and serve rather than dominate
innovative and must complement the forward-looking nature of the student work displayed in the show

Key objectives

To launch the professional careers of KSA students
To maintain the world-leading profile of KSA
To attract and impress external visitors
To deliver positive PR/media coverage
To encourage student recruitment
To showcase collaborations with business and other partners

Audience

Primary:

Potential employers of graduates
General public and local stakeholders
Press and media
Friends and family

Secondary:

Current and potential students
Current and potential sponsors/donors/funders including research bodies
Peers in art and design education and research

Scope of applications

There are two elements to the brief: 1) communications and 2) exhibition design.

Website

Design and develop the front-page introduction to the KSA Degree Show website 2023, working with BOB Design (the designers of the website) to launch the overall branding.

Internal KSA - Knights Park and other locations

Design and develop wayfinding so that guests to the show can easily navigate the buildings and find specific courses.

Internal KU/KSA communications

Creation of engaging content for social media (GIF/video etc) which builds recognition of brand identity on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
Website landing page
Digital screen information on-site
Event entry on KU/KSA websites
Save the date comms via Dot mailer
Production of posters on Riso printer

External adverts (some examples from previous years)

Dezeen
Crafts Council
a-n.co.uk
Creative Boom
London Design Festival

Essential information

Foundation show and private view: 25 May. Show continues until 4 June.
UG Private View: Saturday 10 June, 1– 7pm; show continues: Sunday 11 June to Friday 16 June: times to be confirmed.
A UG Open Day is planned for Wednesday 14 June.
All collateral must include KSA's website and the KU/KSA logo lock-up in the top left-hand corner. The KSA branding guidelines should be a constant source of reference. Before items go to print, they will need to have sign off from the KU Design & Publications Manager.
In advance of the show, alongside the Faculty Events Officer, the ‘designer' will be expected to work on-site at Knights Park and other show locations to ensure the wayfinding is in place and operating successfully.

Selection process

Proposals are invited responding to this brief by Friday 20 January 2023. These should be in PDF format and no longer than ten pages. The proposal will need to demonstrate ability to deliver the project, including appropriate technical skills. A panel will then select the one scheme to take forward.

For any further information and/or to submit your proposal please contact: Anne Marie Fisker, Faculty Events & Stakeholder Engagement Officer Email: A.M.Fisker@kingston.ac.uk

Fees

The payment will be £2,500 in total (this also covers the online launch of the Postgraduate Show late in September). A contract will need to be signed and the final payment made only once the entire project has been delivered to a satisfactory level.

Schedule

The successful proposal will be confirmed by 31 January 2023. Work should then commence according to the estimated timeline below.

Date	Action
January	Show identity selected
Early February	Adverts booked and due dates confirmed
By 1 March	Design brief presented to all stakeholders
By 1 March	Meet with comms/marketing re: conversion activities
April	Artwork for adverts due
April	Invitation artwork to printer and mailing house for distribution
Early May	Creation of map with show locations
May	Determine banner and other requirements
May	Work with web team to install branded banners on website
May	Map finalised and printed
May	Create posters for each course along with wayfinding
May	Create artwork for KU digital signage
25 May	Private View: Foundation Diploma in Art, Design & Media Practice. Show continues until 4 June.
5 June	Launch of online show
5-9 June	Final prep, including signage and wayfinding installation
10 June	Private view, show opens
14 June	KSA Open Day
16 June	Last day of show
Post show	Remove all signage
September	PG online launch

KSA's history

Teaching art and design began in Kingston in the 1870s, using the "South Kensington System". In 1899, Kingston's Schools of Science and Art and Technical Institute were founded, with the teaching of fine art developing alongside science.

The two disciplines were divided in 1930 with Kingston School of Art establishing its own building on the current Knights Park site in 1939. Since then, the school has continued to expand along the river.

Design and fashion were added to the curriculum in the 1930s, as was architecture in the 1940s. Science and art were reunited as Kingston Polytechnic in 1970; subsequently becoming Kingston University in 1992. Over time, courses and research have broadened and evolved.

In 2017, Kingston University's Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture was renamed as Kingston School of Art, reclaiming a long-established heritage and identity.

In 2018, the School of Arts, Culture and Communication (from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) joined Kingston School of Art, aligning KU's offerings in performing arts, media, journalism, publishing, and humanities and offering a more natural fit for course provision.

Now re-establishing its historical identity, Kingston School of Art has a new and sustained agenda with international ambitions, built on a century of commitment to practice-based excellence.

KSA brand

Kingston School of Art has four distinctive features that combine to set it apart from other universities.

The art school experience

We are an art school where our workshops and studios are open for creative exploration and allow opportunities for students and staff to work together and to share ideas whether they are studying or researching architecture, art, design, or the creative industries. Our riverside site is home to events, to the Stanley Picker Gallery and brings together an active and creative community that is lively and always changing.

Practice-based learning

All our courses at Kingston School of Art have practice at their heart, whether that is the practice of making, of thinking and making together or of making through innovative and creative thinking.

We encourage and enable experimentation; skills development and dialogue as to the critical role of our past, of what it is to be human and how we expand our collective and creative potential through combining innovative and academic ideas and practices.

Working differently

We work closely with businesses, with communities and with the creative and cultural industries internationally. All our students have opportunities to work on live industry briefs for a wide range of clients and communities. Our staff are a rich mix of practising professionals and academics, and our students have opportunities to experience work placements and artistic residencies that encourage discussion and debate with industry, designed to develop their expertise and stimulate entrepreneurial careers and creative business networks.

World-class facilities

The Design Museum describes our workshops and studios as ‘world-class' and all our students have access to all facilities, regardless of their chosen discipline. Our community makes and learns together. We encourage our students and staff to be brave, experimental, and entrepreneurial and to pursue careers internationally, working with and for leading brands and cultural organisations and we support them to establish and develop innovative businesses as creative leaders.