Graduates 2009: Jamie Thompson

Date
29 June 2009

Jamie Thompson has just graduated from Camberwell College of Arts with a degree in graphic design. His journey to this stage though is not your regular design story. Having started a degree in medicine Jamie fell in love with photography during his first year and soon after quit. Having re-applied to study photography he transferred again while at Camberwell to the graphic design course.

“I did some photographic assisting at I-D Magazine with Ben Weller which made me realise that it was the creative directors who were developing the concepts for the shoot and for the magazine. I found myself not only interested in the photography itself but also how the photographs would appear within the context of the layout and concept of the issue of that magazine. I changed courses to graphic design and really enjoyed not having a restriction on the medium in which I could create work. Having learnt a lot about what I wanted to do from working at I-D I decided to try and get some more industry experience to see how things work. I made a showreel and got an internship at Moving Brands in my first year.”

Having worked at Moving Brands, AKQA and then Kin all before he had graduated Jamie has certainly made the right kind of connections and certainly one to look out for in the future.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I remember asking my Dad how I could become a part-time lollipop man and part-time wizard. Thanks to the recession I may never realise these childhood dreams.

In reflection, how bad was your work in the first year?

Some of it is really awful. One piece in particular looked like I’d tried to make Tracey Island using my feet. There are still some design horrors lurking at the back of my hard drive from the first year. I hope my work has improved since then.

If you could show a piece of your folio to one person, what piece would you choose, and who would you show it to?

I would probably show ‘Paint by E numbers/Blogging with bar graphs’ and ‘Sonic clock’ to Kin, Hudson Powell and Karsten Schmidt/Universal Everything as I find their work very inspiring and respect their experimental side and attention to process that I hope to achieve in what I do in the future.

If you had your own business, who would you employ and why?

I think I’d employ Fred Goodwin in a lollipop lady agency and then make him redundant (but in a nice way).

If you’ve got any left, what will you spend the last of your student loan on?

Looking at the state of my bank balance it might have to be penny sweets.

Where will we find you in 12 months?

I’m starting an MSc at the Bartlett in September and so hopefully working on interesting projects with people who are passionate about design. I also hope to get some sleep at some point.

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About the Author

Will Hudson

Will founded It’s Nice That in 2007 and is now director of the company. Once one of the main contributors to the site, he has stepped back from writing as the business has expanded to become The HudsonBec Group.

will@thehudsonbecgroup.com

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