I am an innovative and creative graphic designer, specialising in branding, typography and print design. Working mainly in the arts and charity sector, my work has been featured in Design Week, Sky News, Forbes and The Evening Standard. Alongside my design practice, I have delivered art and design workshops at University of Southampton, Dulwich College, University of Bedfordshire and CARIS Summer School. Since 2017, I have been working closely with Arts Emergency mentoring disadvantaged A Level students in graphic design and illustration. These students have gone on to gain places at top design schools in London.
To view my work please visit ailsasinclair.co.uk
For my full portfolio please email ailsa.sinclair@rca.ac.uk
Projects
- GameChangersThis project is currently work in progress – GameChangers, initiated by Big Ideas and Mayor of London, invites young people from London boroughs to find their local GameChanger or inspirational person. Project includes A4 teachers guide, A5 Time to Talk student cards, posters, worksheets and digital assets. More images coming soon.
- RED TAPE – Validation Beyond the GalleryRed Tape is a student lead platform at the Royal College of Art that explores the social, political and economic issues that underpin art and design practice. In 2016, I created an event in response to Assemble winning the Turner Prize the previous December. This was the first time a group of architects had won. I wanted to question how practitioners working outside the traditional gallery system gained and maintained validation. To subvert the traditional lecture format I held a live radio broa
- The Great Exhibition in SchoolsIn the spirit of Prince Albert’s original Great Exhibition, which showcased the most exciting Victorian technology and inventions from 1851, students were invited to create their own Great Exhibition focusing on climate change. To celebrate the old inventions and new technologies, the design uses fluorescent green and pink pantones contrasted with traditional woodcut illustrations. The header typeface, Greta Grotesk, references Greta Thunberg’s ‘School Strike for Climate’ hand drawn signs. The p
- TrailblazersTrailblazers is a Premier League Academies project which celebrates the rich diversity of players from British football, past, present and future. The project uncovers the hidden history and showcases the achievement of the first Black and Asian footballers in the Premier League. The project guides academy players to celebrate their clubs’ history and find their Trailblazer. This project includes brand identity, printed books for students and teachers, printed A1 timeline and digital pdf books.
- HIDDENHIDDEN was an exhibition of work by technical staff at the Royal College of Art. The exhibition ran from the 10th – 17th March 2017 in the Dyson Gallery, Battersea. Organised, designed and curated by Ailsa Sinclair, HIDDEN was a highlight of the Royal College of Art’s annual calendar of events. The technicians have a wealth of knowledge and are a hidden talent at the RCA and this was a celebration of some of their most innovative creative work. The week-long exhibition showcased the work from over 50 technicians across the College, including an exciting mix of jewellery and textile design, painting and sculptures, as well as handmade bespoke cars and interactive virtual reality work. HIDDEN showcased many well-known designers and artists including Natacha Marro, a world-renowned shoe designer. Celebrated for wild and visually striking Bubble Shoes, Marro has worked with clients such as David Bowie, Grayson Perry, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani and Olivia Newton-John. Finnish textile designer Jonna Saarinen graduated from the RCA in 2011 and works as a printed textile technician in the Textiles department at the College. Within her personal practice Saarinen specialises in screen-printed textiles and brightly coloured kitchenware. Her beautifully handcrafted work explores the natural beauty of Nordic nature and the nostalgia of growing up on the Finnish Archipelago. Saarinen has worked with a number of household names including The Guardian, Thorsten van Elten, Etsy, Nokia and Oilily. Recently her stunningly renovated home was featured in the Observer, Mollie Makes and the South London Journal. Saarinen will be showcasing some exciting new work, including large-scale prints and drawings. Simon Ward, a photography technician at the College, is also showing some new large-scale print work. Ward graduated from the RCA in 2007 and went on to win the Man Photography Prize in 2009. His huge and vividly explicit Still Life series of dead animals demands instant attention. These high impact images are at bed scans of the animals, so sharp that every hair, whisker and skin texture are left pulsating with life. Ward’s beautiful and memorable series of prints are displayed in unusual spaces around the gallery adding to the joy of stumbling upon such vivid images. Ian Whittaker, a senior technician in Metalwork, will be showcasing his impressive range of meticulously handcrafted full-scale cars. Whittaker has been building his own cars and scooters since the age of 17 and gained an MA in Design Futures at Goldsmiths University before moving to the RCA. HIDDEN was a unique opportunity to see the range of work produced by the talented technical staff that are the backbone and support for many of the students at the RCA.
Work history
Graphic DesignerGlobal Canopy
Oxford, United KingdomFull Time
Graphic DesignerBig Ideas
London, United KingdomFreelance
Big Ideas is a community interest company delivering education projects. Whilst working at Big Ideas, I have produced design work for the BBC, Premier League, UEFA, Mayor of London, RAF and the Red Cross. As the sole Graphic Designer at Big Ideas my key achievements have been art directing and developing the overall visual language of the company and acting as brand guardian to maintain consistency across all assets. Art directing and delivering multiple large-scale design projects. Directing and managing Illustrators to create varied project identities. As well as editing and producing films in Premier Pro which have increased the accessibility and visibility of our projects.
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Skills
- Design
- Graphic Design
- Graphic Communication
- Print Design
- Typography Design
- Branding Identity
- Collaboration
- Print Production
- Adobe
- Photoshop
Education
MA Visual Communication Royal College of Art
- London, United Kingdom
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BA (Hons) Graphic Arts – 1st ClassWinchester School of Art, University of Southampton
- Winchester, United Kingdom