DAVID GILLIGAN
18/03/70

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Year of Graduation / Grade
1992 / 2:1

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Profile:
My memories of Preston are very fond ones. I remember I lived on spam toasties for 3 months once, as my flat mate went to the supermarket and came back with 15 tins of spam and 15 tins of beans! Now I think I have a gluten intolerance because of it. I never won anything at college apart from a five-a-side football tournament. We were the first Graphic Design team to do so in 20 years! George Hollingworth was so proud. We did have two ringers though but one went back to Napoli before the tournament even started, and he was our best player! As well as football, I also remember playing a lot of tennis, table tennis and PGA golf every lunch time! I lived the furthest away from college than anyone else I knew (Penwortham). It was £14 per week including bills.The house looked like the Psycho house in the film and it definitely had a few psycho’s in it, including geese in the garden that went for you twice a day, on your way out and your way in! Also, I rememeber laughing all day and all night as practical jokes were rife. Good, no great times. Currently I am the Executive Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi Design in London and welcome any graduates looking for placements.

Career highlights include: Shortlisted Design Week Benchmark Awards 2008, Finalist Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) 2002, Distinction AGDA 2002, Design Distinction IdN 2002, Commendation AGDA 2000 and winning the pitch for the new
Premier League identity.

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The Disciples of Design Q&A

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Q How and where did you secure your first job?
That depends, there are two answers really. My first ever job in design was in a tiny studio off Shaftesbury Avenue. It was a placement I got through UCLAN.  They had no computers and lived in the dark ages of design. I hand rendered type and worked up some dodgy layouts for a few weeks until a good friend of mine rang up and told me he had landed a dream placement at Williams and Phoa. I was jealous to say the least, but also made up for him and it meant we could share a flat together as the one I was currently in was so small I could touch both walls at the same time.

Then he told me he had lined up a great interview at Thumb Design, I’d never heard of them, but they were an established design firm in Islington and supposedly one of the pioneers in bringing Macs into design in London. Anyway, he said he couldn’t go, so I went instead! They were slightly perplexed when I said my name was David and not Jimmy but I got the job and haven’t touched a Rotring pen ever since. I was there about a year and learned an incredible amount.

Q Did anyone ever ask you what degree grade you got?
In short no. That is purely a personal goal and is placed in the bottom drawer with my Graduation photograph. But the fact remains that because I pushed myself, my book was strong enough to get a job but not a First. I got a 2:1 and was chuffed.

Q Who’s work has inspired / influenced you the most?
At Preston it was my friends around me and the students in the years above me, oh and Vaughn Oliver. Now it’s Frost.

Q How has the industry changed over the years in your experience?
Computers are the big difference. Now it’s the combination of creativity and your knowledge of technology that defines you as a designer.

Q Where do you get your ideas from? Do you prefer collaboration or thinking alone
I never turn off, which is good and bad! Design is ubiquitous so you can’t ever get away from it. Therefore, if you immerse yourself in it and surround yourself by it you are constantly surrounded with answers. Also, the answers are always found in a well written brief, you just have to look hard enough and then think lateral. Get from A to B to discover C then do mood boards which takes you to D and E. And I prefer thinking alone, but after that it’s best to open it up and see where it goes, as I’m always up for the twists and lucky mistakes! Also, be inquisitive and ask lots of questions until you find the right question! Then once that question is answered you’ll have a full understanding and the answer will be on a plate.

Q What would you have done differently at University knowing what you know now?
Good question. Ask more girls out to start with and learn more computer skills.

Q What’s the best thing about your job
If someone would have told me at school that there was a job where any business could come to you, tell you all their problems and then you have to fix them I would have gone into graphic design there and then. So, I guess the best thing is learning about all these industries from the inside. Then to crack an idea and project these companies intelligently to the outside world is hugely satisfying.

Q What is the most unusual thing you have done in your career?
Urm… I used to design Black+White Magazine. It’s was a cutting edge and cult art/ fashion/ photographic/ design magazine which just happened to have beautiful naked women on every other spread! Some of the photo shoots were unusual to say the least!

Q What do you look for in graduates and their portfolios?
Surprises.

Q Any advice for students entering the industry during the recession?
Believe in yourself and work harder than the next person and you’ll be fine.

Q Any other advice?
Think of graphic design as a lifestyle and not a job and use it to travel the world.

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Portfolio:
It was tough choosing, but then I decided to only show the ones I had on this Mac!

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A1 – Identity and brand relaunch
Austria’s leading mobile phone company. Development of logo and the brand language to reflect a more premium and emotional impact. The theme of ‘Success’ was used as
a platform to interpret the organising idea for A1’s audience segments.

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Amplifon – Identity and brand relaunch
Amplifon are an international hearing retailer, who are in the process of consolidating their local brands under the Amplifon brand identity. We created the proposition ‘Bringing Sound to Life’ and redesigned the brand identity including graphic and photographic brand language to reflect this idea.

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British Handball – Identity and brand relaunch
A new identity was created to better reflect the excitement, speed and dynamism of the sport. The identity portrays speed, excitement and power and is aimed at attracting a younger audience in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

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Black + White Magazine –  Publishing (Australia)
It was a proud day when I became Art Director of one of the best art/ fashion/ photography magazine on newsagents stands around the world. Also art directed a ten year history of B+W Magazine called The Naked + The Nude and a fashion magazine for men and women called B+WMode. After winning two separate awards for my first issue (No. 53) and last issue (No. 59) it was time to move on.

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CrossBorder Capital – Identity and brand relaunch
CBC are a financial research and award-winning fund performance company. Aswell as the new identity a suitable strapline was needed to reflect their research proposition.

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Guinness – Foreign Extra Stout  –  Football Sponsorship Identity
My favourite

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Nike –  Spring 2002 Catalogue
Not too much to say here, so let’s say I just did it…