Students get creative with poster artwork for Bath Fringe

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Bath Spa students get creative with poster artwork for Bath Fringe

Tuesday, 28 January, 2020

Final year BA (Hons) Graphic Communications students from Bath Spa University have wowed a panel of judges with their original designs for this year's Bath Fringe Festival poster and programme.

The group of final year students, were given a professional brief to come up with unique and eye-catching designs for the next Bath Fringe Festival poster. The students then had to present their final designs to a panel of judges and explain their concept, colours and inspiration. The judges then retired to discuss all of the entries before choosing the winning design which will adorn the Bath Fringe Festival programme this year.

The final six students were James Whitehead, Caitlin Curtis, Cav Rigby, Amber Brookes, Niamh Thompson and Lucy Thompson.

Tim Vyner, Professor in Illustration from the School of Design at Bath Spa University said, “Our final year Graphic Communication students have been designing the poster and visual identity for the Fringe for many years. It's a really good professional opportunity for students to work directly with a client, and it is always a really nice moment when the Fringe gets its unique personality for each year once the designs have been selected.”

Steve Henwood from Bath Fringe Festival said, "There are two things we gain by using student work here: firstly that they are precisely the people who are most attuned to the newest developments and fashions in graphic art, they're spending all their time keeping up with exactly that, our images never look out-of-date. Secondly they know how to communicate with their own age-group (and those a little older) better than any focus-group; and these are always a generation that a Fringe needs to be able to talk with. It's a win/win/win setup and we always get brilliant images."

This year the winning design has been created by James Whitehead, whose bold imagery and imagination captivated all of the judges.

James said, “I am so pleased that my work has been chosen to represent such a unique festival. I really wanted the design to encapsulate the idea that something fun different and on the fringe was coming to Bath and I thought what represents being on the fringe more than being an Alien”.

The final design was launched to the world at the Bath Fringe Festival Open Meeting on 14 January at the Bell Inn.

The Bath Fringe Festival 2020 runs from Friday 22 May until Sunday 7 June. Full information can be found on the Fringe website, across their social media feeds, or in the printed festival programmes which will be available locally nearer the time.

Written by Luke John Emmett on behalf of the Bath Fringe Festival