Author: goldsmithsdesign

“Environment, Ethics and Cultures”: new book edited by Goldsmiths Design academics

“Environment, Ethics and Cultures: Design and Technology Education’s Contribution to Sustainable Global Futures” is a new book edited by Professor Kay Stables and Steve Keirl, both members of academic staff here in the Design department at Goldsmiths.

“This collection engages environmental, ethical and cultural values perspectives to show how Design and Technology (D&T) Education actively contributes to the significant educational goal of attaining sustainable global futures.

An international collection of authors representing all levels of education articulate how D&T research, curriculum theory, policy, and classroom practices can synergise to contribute positively to the education of children for sustainable global futures. The book offers a spectrum of theorised curriculum positions, political and policy analysis, and case studies of successful school practice.”

The book is available in hardcover or paperback from Sense Publishers.  The publisher’s website includes a free preview of the first two chapters.

Chris Waggott, BA Design alumnus: “Goldsmiths is not just about what you do, but also about the people you work with”

Christopher Waggott, a graduate of our BA Design course, talks about his experience studying with us and about his current work in film and interactive design.

Q: What were your expectations when you started your studies at Goldsmiths?

A: I came into it with quite an open mind. It was really refreshing to be taught in such a comprehensive way, that didn’t necessarily focus so quickly. It allowed you to develop into the kind of designer that you wanted to be, rather than being funnelled into a system that forced you into doing very similar things to everybody else.

Q: And what kind of designer did you want to be?

A: That’s the thing, I didn’t know, and being at Goldsmiths allowed me to figure out a lot of things along the way. I suppose that even when I left I wasn’t entirely sure of what I wanted to do, but it gave me the tools to continue working that out. It was my graduation project that set me up on the path of making films and videos, onto what we’ve been doing for the rest of our careers. We’ve got a studio called Common Works, and I have two partners; one of them is Sam Tripp who also studied on the Goldsmiths Design course with me. Sam and I worked together at Goldsmiths from the very beginning, and we’ve continued to do so. It’s interesting that Goldsmiths is not just about what you do, the actual design work, but the people that you work with also stay with you when you leave. As a studio, now, we do three main things: graphic design, moving image and creative development, websites and code. The things that we were doing in our last year at Goldsmiths are very similar to what we’re doing now, just a bit more evolved.

“Recounted” by Common Works at the V&A
“Recounted” by Common Works at the V&A
“Recounted” by Common Works at the V&A

Continue reading “Chris Waggott, BA Design alumnus: “Goldsmiths is not just about what you do, but also about the people you work with””

Fashion Research Unit to launch at Goldsmiths

Inaugural Event Fashion Unit

A new research unit focusing on fashion will be launched at Goldsmiths, as a collaboration between the departments of Design, Media and Communications, Visual Culture, Sociology, ICCE, IMS, Computing and Art, and following the success of the Design Department’s new MA in Fashion. For its first two years, the Fashion Research Unit will be based in the Department of Media and Communications, with Prof Angela McRobbie as Director.

The inaugural event organised by the new unit will be an afternoon seminar, “Critical Perspectives on Fashion Research and Methodology”, on February 18th, starting 2 pm. Entry to the event is free (email Katie Hindle, cop02kh[@]gold.ac.uk, to RSVP) – you can find a full list of speakers on the Goldsmiths website.