William Knight's socially conscious portfolio of graphic design

Date
21 October 2016

William Knight is a recent graduate of Brighton’s famously multifaceted graphic design course (and recent new addition to the Anyways studio). As a result the portfolio of the Newcastle native is both comprehensive and consistent, whether he’s working on a publication or representative flags.

One of Will’s publications Pirouettes has just been recently released by Draw Down books, “a personal exploration fuelled by the tragic death of a childhood friend in a road accident”. The designer’s approach to a personal subject is made approachable by his juxtaposition of subjects. Throughout Will visually compares ballet and car crashes, “which on paper seem to be opposites of one another, the book explores the idea that the acts are far more similar than one would imagine.”

A particular fascination of Will’s is flags, displayed in two projects in his portfolio. The first, Flags For The Forgotten depicts the designer’s experience investigating “social inequality and marginalisation”. The set of six flags were created alongside an individual member of a social group who is underrepresented in Britain, including immigrants, the disabled, those who are homeless and refugees. Each flag is based upon a quote from the individual, for instance Khadija an immigrant, who felt “boxed in a bit, lots of people have changed their mind about being so welcoming and warm to our community”. Will represented this visually by designing a black box places inside a white box, “referring to her statement about feeling boxed in, white boxing black in is representative of the white community (the majority) marginalising minority groups”.

Another, Divided Kingdom explores the cultural North/South split of the UK. Inspired by Will’s “own experiences of being a ‘Northerner’ living in the South, the project uses the opinions of individuals of whom I have encountered and worked alongside”. The end result is a set of embroidered flags “commenting on this culturally engrained social phenomenon.” You may be able to spot Will’s It’s Grim Up North flag on tour with Tottenham Hotspur fans at away games.

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William Knight: Pirouettes

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William Knight: Pirouettes

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William Knight: Pirouettes

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William Knight: Flags For The Forgotten

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William Knight: Flags For The Forgotten

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William Knight: Flags For The Forgotten

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William Knight: Flags For The Forgotten

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William Knight: Divided Kingdom

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William Knight: Divided Kingdom, photography by Martin Andersen

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About the Author

Lucy Bourton

Lucy (she/her) is the senior editor at Insights, a research-driven department with It's Nice That. Get in contact with her for potential Insights collaborations or to discuss Insights' fortnightly column, POV. Lucy has been a part of the team at It's Nice That since 2016, first joining as a staff writer after graduating from Chelsea College of Art with a degree in Graphic Design Communication.

lb@itsnicethat.com

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