Mia Minnis

This week, I wanted to take some time to research the design scene beyond the UK. Of course, cities like London have always been a location I’ve considered, along withother creative locations like Glasgow or Bristol, but I don’t think I should limit myself when there’s so much more out there!

I’ve also always been open to moving elsewhere in Europe, with places like America, Canada, or Australia as a possibility too. But this week, I focused on one city in particular that I could genuinely see myself living and working in — Barcelona.

Barcelona has always felt like a really lively, creative city, with incredible architecture and a strong visual identity. Having visited it this year, it made me think more seriously about what it would be like to live there, not just experience it as a tourist. When I was there, there was a festival on in the city, which made the atmosphere feel even more vibrant. There was a real sense of culture and creativity everywhere — from music and events to street activity and visual expression through papier-mache street art and parades. It felt like a place where creativity isn’t just part of the industry, but part of everyday life.

As a young creative, that kind of environment feels really appealing. Being surrounded by that level of energy and expression would naturally influence and inspire your own work. It made me realise how important location can be, not just for job opportunities, but for creative growth.

Further researching into the design scene over there, one studio that really stood out to me was Folch. They’re a multidisciplinary communication agency working across branding, editorial, and digital. Their work feels very concept-driven, but also highly visual, particularly within fashion, food, and hospitality. Their editorial projects are especially strong, often feeling more like curated experiences than just printed pieces. These are the kind of outcomes that I would like to have in my own portfolio.

They also run their own type foundry, FFF Type Foundry, creating both bespoke and retail typefaces. Projects like Odd Pixel or Parapix Script show how experimental they can be with typography, which is something I really enjoy. Having this level of control over type adds another layer to their work, making it feel more distinctive and considered.

WEEK 9

Folch

Recently, I read an article by Creative Boom about Verónica Fuerte, (founder of Hey Studio in Barcelona). It was about how she continues to embrace handmade processes within her work despite the increasing rise of AI within the creative industry. As a long time follower of her on instagram, I found her perspective particularly refreshing.

What stood out to me most was her belief that imperfection is what gives work personality. Hey Studio still physically creates textures and materials by hand, even when digital tools could achieve similar results much faster. I think this is especially relevant within design today, where so much work risks becoming over-polished and repetitive.

Throughout my final year, I’ve found myself drawn towards towards physical processes, print finishes and the quality of holding a piece of design in your own hands. This has made me realise my own appreication for tactile and human design, rather than perfectly manufactured works.

Fuertes opinions on AI are also quite aligned with my own. Rather than rejecting it completely, she acknowledges its usefulness for quickly visualising ideas, but still values human creativity and cultural understanding as the most important part of design.

“What AI makes very nice is fiction. But authenticity is our part, made by humans."

Overall, the article reinforced something that I’ve been thinking about throughout my final year: that experimentation and personal perspective are what makes designs feel much more special and human.

WEEK 10

Hey Studio

This week, as part of Belfast Design Week, I attended Crown Creative’s Open Studio. This allowed us to see their studio set-up and space, but more importantly their overall vibe as place to work.

It was great to speak to several people who work there and hear their experiences, but it was also really nice to look around the studio. I really enjoyed that each designer had their own inspiration board beside their desks. This allows a little insight into the designer, and shows the breadth of interests across the team.

As a particularly nosy person, rifling through their material samples and bookcases was right up my street and honestly, this kind of studio is really somewhere to aspire to be. Working in such a beautiful space, has to havea positive impact on the work that is created.

WEEK 11

Crown Creative

I was first introduced to Jessica Walsh through the work of Stefan Sagmeister. I saw him speaking at the Mac in Belfast a couple of years ago, but at the time I didn’t know who Jessica Walsh was. Luckily my instagram algorithm was listening, and she started to appear on my feed. Immediately her work stood out to me. She felt like a strong and unapologetic female voice within an industry that is still often dominated by male creative directors.

What I admire most about Walsh is her confidence, both in her work and in herself. Her projects are bold, colourful and expressive, often combining graphic design with photography, set design and advertising in ways that feel exciting and unexpected. Even though her work can feel playful on the surface, there is usually a deeper message underneath it, whether that relates to identity, gender or emotion. I particularly like how unafraid she is to take strong stances and create work that sparks conversation rather than simply looking aesthetically pleasing. Her manifesto poster is actually printed and on my wall in studio in Ardmore!

I also find her career path really inspiring. After co-founding Sagmeister & Walsh, she later launched her own agency, ‘&Walsh’ taking her own name as the company title. I think there is something really powerful about that. As a woman myself, seeing another female designer build such a recognisable and respected creative company makes the idea of one day becoming the CEO of my own studio feel much more achievable. Walsh proves that female designers can lead the conversation within the industry rather than simply follow it.

Her work reminds me that graphic design does not always have to feel minimal or restrained to be successful. Instead, it can be emotional, loud, playful and full of personality while still communicating strong ideas.

WEEK 12

& Walsh

Working with Suki Tea is a great opportunity to work on a live brief. Listening to the client briefing, its really interesting to hear their interpretation of what they are asking for, vs what you might think they need.

With a background in design, Oscar has more of an understanding already of what looks good; something which is usually not the case… So this has to be reflected in the design of the publication. With a foundation of inspiration already, combined with trendy Belfast cafe settings, I knew that my outcome had to speak that language that he is already familiar with.

Therefore I decided to go down the typography-led route, pushing myself to create something bold, playful and visually engaging. With the subject matter of tea, my first instinct was to lean into a more minimal, white-space heavy aesthetic, more quiet and refined. However, because of the context of the publication; sitting in cafes and public spaces, it needed to function more like a coffee table book than a just a traditional publication.

Really the audience in mind, would be young adults, students and workers, who frequent trendy independent coffee shops. Going for a bold colourful designs, makes this much more accessible to this audience, because the reality is that louder, larger, and more colourful design is often what encourages people to actually pick something up and engage with it, especially audiences outside of the design world who may not necessarily value subtlety in the same way that designers do.

I have really enjoyed this process, from start to finish. I’m quite lucky that I have had experience working on live briefs at Ardmore, especially under much tighter time constraints, but this particular brief is much more up my street. It combines my love of editorial design, with real consumer thinking. I’m quite happy with my outcome, fingers crossed that oscar is too. With another review next week with Oscar, hopefully any changes that need to be made can be implemented!

WEEK 13

Suki Tea

miaminnis@outlook.com
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