A ‘Thor’oughly Good Day

Teesside Alumni and Product Design graduate Dan Walker returned today to spend a full day with our Product Design students. In the morning he delivered a sessional Masterclass on sketching, hand rendering, digital illustration and ‘photo bashing’. This was followed by an inspirational talk about his enviable career to date. Dan is an all round product designer whose work has involved both product and automotive design for many of industry’s biggest names but, he has spent the last 10 years heavily immersed, as a concept artist, for the some of the biggest franchises in TV and Film.

His prolific work to date includes:

  • Doctor Who
  • Torchwood
  • Primeval
  • Batman Begins
  • Doom
  • Watchmen
  • The Golden Compass
  • The Dark Knight
  • Kick-Ass
  • Captain America: The First Avenger
  • Wrath of the Titans
  • Thor: The Dark World
  • Guardians of the Galaxy

After his talk, he spent the afternoon in the studio with our students.

Dan has always had a close relationship with Product Design at Teesside and it is always fantastic to welcome him back.

1_DanMC 2_DanMC 3_SonicDriver  GOLDEN COMPASS SCORESBY BALLOON

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Ireland abounds…

Product Design graduates Anna Staples and Emma Braham applied for European Placements and both ended up working in Cork, Ireland, on three month internship schemes.

Anna has been working for a company called Quay Designs who upcycle  furniture and sell it on in their own shop. Anna says:

“I am really enjoying working at Quay Designs because its allowing me to have a hands on approach with all the furniture, see how timber and oak is treated, we get a lot of different styles of furniture in, art deco and 50s kind of stuff. It’s actually ideal for me at the moment. I also get to see what styles of furniture are on trend and what colours are on trend also.”

Emma has been working for Air Dryer Systems Ltd in their new product development department.  Emma says:

“The experience has been really good, working on products to extend their current range”

Anna is hoping to extend her stay in Ireland for a further 3 months, whilst Emma has since secured a new position back in England.

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Ich bin ein Berliner…

Last week 1st and 2nd year Product Design students could be found in the German capital, Berlin. The main part of the study visit was a day trip to the truly wonderful VW Autostadt in Wolfsburg, probably the world’s first automobile theme park, with its beautifully designed pavilions and of course the cars.

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Other visits included the Reichstag, with the large glass dome designed by British Architect Norman Foster, the Bauhaus Archive Museum of Design, with its extensive collection art pieces relating to one of the most influential art and design schools of the 20th century and the magnificent 368m tall Fernsehturm Tower with its incredible views of the whole city.

DSCF0437 DSCF0486 P1100323 Overall it was an excellent few days with lots to see and do. Watch out for more posts from the trip.P1100460