Category: Interviews and features

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””

Linnea Strid, a 2013 graduate of our BA Design course, talks to us about what she’s been doing since she finished her studies and what her work is about:  

Why did you choose to study at Goldsmiths? How did the experience compare to your expectations?

It’s quite a funny story, I had my heart set on studying fine arts, but my mum’s convinced that fine art as a profession ends in poverty and alcoholism (she based this projection off Van Gogh). We settled on Design as a middle ground. I lived in Shanghai while applying and didn’t have a clue what universities were good, but Goldsmiths was mentioned as being a great option and I liked that the course was open-ended. I figured it would be less industry focused and closer to fine arts.

 I came in quite blind, I’d never thought about design before and didn’t have any set expectations or ideas about how the course would be. I was right in thinking the course wasn’t very industry focused but it definitely wasn’t anything like fine arts! In first year I did consider switching back to art because I hadn’t really understood design as a concept, but I’m happy I didn’t. Overall it was a refreshing experience to be thrown into something I knew so little about, and having no preconceptions allowed me to make it my own. Continue reading “BA Design alumna Linnea Strid on design in the time of web”