Link to Flickr album of Images: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAGzcQ
Collins Debden and Communication Design at The Glasgow School of Art are proud to unveil a new collaboration – the launch of The Collins Debden Graduate Award – a prestigious design award that will see a Communication Design student’s designs featured in Collins diary and stationery collection.
The winner will be presented with the first annual Collins Debden Graduate Award at the School’s Degree Show in June and will go on to work with the Collins’ design team to apply their designs to diaries, notebooks and other stationery products.
In a show of appreciation for the rich history and prestigious legacy of both institutions, the winning design will highlight the unique cultural significance of Glasgow, where both Collins and GSA were founded in the early 19th Century. The inaugural winner of this award is Communication Design student Katie Smith, whose work was inspired by the iconic Glasgow Art Deco restaurant Rogano and her family tradition of Christmas Eve visits there for lobster and champagne. In the work she imagines her sister and herself through the ages, each decade beautifully depicted in a separate course.
Richard Sloan, Collins’ Marketing Manager :-
“Just as William Collins was given an opportunity in Glasgow 200 years ago, Collins is now giving opportunities to young people in the city to make their mark by having their designs featured in Collins’ famous collection.”
“For several years, Collins has been championing young designers in Glasgow, but this feels like the culmination of that. To formally work with such an historic and prestigious institution as The Glasgow School of Art really feels like a great fit for Collins, and it will be so exciting to see their designs come to life in our 2025 Collection next year.”
Undergraduate Programme Leader of Communication Design at The Glasgow School of Art, Steve Rigley said “We are absolutely thrilled for Katie. Her winning submission is informed by extensive research into the history of the Rogano, a Glasgow institution, and by the elegance of 1930’s era fashions. Her final book has been bound by another Communication Design graduate, Glasgow Bookbinder Gillian Stewart, and so the whole award-winning project offers a testament to the excellence and innovative spirit of our students and graduates.”
Collins products are sold globally from the UK to the USA, Middle East, Singapore, and Australia, offering opportunities for exposure and invaluable real-life experience for the winning artist.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Degree Show 2023
Digital showcase of Degree Show 2023 will launch at www.gsashowcase.net at 4.30pm on 1 June. The showcase is accessible by our graduating students for 12 months following graduation to be able to be used as a professional portfolio/ shop window.
About The Glasgow School of Art (GSA):
The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) is internationally recognised as one of Europe’s leading independent university-level institutions for education and research in the visual creative disciplines. Our studio-based, specialist, practice-led teaching, learning and research draw talented individuals with a shared passion for visual culture and creative production from all over the world.
Originally founded in 1845 as one of the first Government Schools of Design, the School’s history can be traced back to 1753 and the establishment of the Foulis Academy delivering a European-style art education. Today, the GSA is an international community of over 3500 students and staff across architecture, design, digital, fine art and innovation in our campuses in Glasgow and Altyre (in the Scottish Highlands) and a thriving Open Studio programme delivering non-degree provision to over 1500 students annually.