The Graphic Design Society at Ulster University
Starting my foundation Art and Design course at university amid the Covid-19 pandemic was an unprecedented challenge to my peers and I - restrictions kept us apart and our ordinary university experience was replaced with remote learning and minimal social interaction (no freshers events!) so bonding with peers felt nearly impossible. There was no chance to hang out, discuss coursework or build valuable relationships beyond our online group chats. I decided to become student representative to help build a place where my peers were welcome and feedback and collaboration was encouraged, and I carried this through into my first year in the Graphic Design course.
It was at this time that my lecturer mentioned that there was once a thriving graphic design society at the Belfast School of Art, but as things usually do, this eventually faded and no longer existed. My first thought was “why has no one started this up again?” It seemed like such a missed opportunity. We all needed a space to connect, share ideas and enjoy each other’s company outside of lecturing hours. As student representative, I felt it was my duty to step up and create that space. This would be a place where students could come together, socialise and talk about their work and their hopes for the future. And so, the Graphic Design Society at Belfast School of Art was reborn.
It wasn’t just me of course - Anna and Mia, who I met on my first day of university (how lucky am I?) shared the same vision. Along with building a professional network of young designers, we wanted to build real relationships with our classmates. After all, these are the people we will likely work alongside in the future, so it only made sense to establish these connections now. But we didn’t want the society to be just about graphic design, we also wanted it to be a space where students could explore other creative outlets, unwind and learn from one another. It’s about creating a community, where our shared passion for design becomes a branch for so much more.
Starting the Graphic Design Society wasn’t a walk in the park - there was a lot of groundwork involved. We had to build a committee, plan our social media presence, and figure out how to attract our fellow students to join up. But after weeks of preparation, we were ready to launch. Our first event was a Donut Day as we wanted something casual to get everyone mingling, talking and feeling comfortable. We had a fantastic turnout for this - the relaxed, welcoming vibe really set the tone for what the society was all about. We then hosted a pizza night, which was the perfect way to continue bonding with our peers, chat about design and get to know each other better in a laid-back environment.
Then our biggest and most challenging event came in: a conference on AI in Design. This took months of planning, collaborating with lecturers and designing promotional material. The conference centred on how AI will impact our future careers in graphic design, the advantages it offers us and the challenges we may face. We even secured guest speakers which helped to draw students in from all year groups. After our introduction to the conference, we broke out into groups, each with a lecturer or guest speaker, to create an AI generated movie poster. Each group used a different AI software to create this. We then came together to explain what we had achieved and critique as a group. Seeing such a positive turnout and engagement made all the effort worthwhile.
Now that I’m stepping into a new chapter with my role at Clever Ghost, I’ve passed on the chairperson position of the society to the year below. I am genuinely excited to see what fresh ideas they’ll bring to the society. I’ve even thought about getting a few of my industry connections to collaborate so fingers crossed we can make that happen. Looking ahead, I can’t wait to see where the society goes from here. It’s been such a rewarding experience watching it grow and I hope to see even more new faces when I return as chairperson in my final year. If you are studying graphic design or just have a passion for it, I’d highly encourage you to join the society. It’s a brilliant way to connect, learn and have fun with likeminded people!
If you are a student, you can join up here: www.uusu.org/get_involved/societies/join/graphicdesignsoc
