Enterprising graphic design graduates selling stylish prints, cards and home wares online.
15 Aug 2013
Image: Detail from Eve Before the Fall by Ciara Phelan.
Enterprising Graphic Design BA(Hons) graduates from the University of Brighton Faculty of Arts have started up a new art and illustration label and online store selling stylish prints, cards and home wares.
Many Hands is the brainchild of Ciara Phelan and Adam Ellison who launched the label in December 2011 with the aim of promoting artists’ work to a wider audience.
Phelan produces collages that have graced the pages of Wired US, The Guardian and The New York Times. She has also worked on projects for Gap, Orange and Toyota, and exhibited in London, Brooklyn and Beijing.
Adam Ellison’s witty illustrations communicate concepts and between-the-lines ideas using subtle and intelligent graphical imagery. His client list includes Unilever, Time Out London, Big Issue and Waterstone’s magazine Books Quarterly.
Also included in the group of eight artists is fellow Brighton graduate, Owen Gildersleeve. His playful, hand crafted paper creations won him a prestigious ADC Young Guns 9 award in 2011, and have seen him produce illustrations and designs for international clients including Rolex, Cadbury, The Guardian, NSPCC, Royal Mail and The New York Times.
Image: Detail from Addicted to Dreaming by Owen Gildersleeve.
Phelan acts as artist manager of the group, bringing together like-minded artists who have motivation and drive. She said: “I just wanted nice people who are friendly and approachable and who don’t have an ego. Many Hands is a group project that requires people to put in extra time and help others. It wouldn’t work if everyone was concerned about themselves.”
Many Hands had its first group show at the Pick Me Up art fair at Somerset House, London in April. Phelan said: The response from the general public has been amazing – everyone was extremely complimentary and genuinely excited.”
The Graphic Design BA(Hons) at Brighton takes an integrated, cross-disciplinary approach to teaching that covers current and predicted future working practices. The focus is on students' personal development through creative exploration and intellectual understanding. Staff and students from this course play a leading role nationally and internationally in advancing contemporary graphic narratives, film, media animation and illustration.
