During the summer break Ms Cooper heard from Alumna Jun Yi, who graduated in 2018. Jun Yi progressed to Nottingham Trent University to study Graphic Design and wrote to share her recent success in the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) Student Assessment scheme and how she attributed part of success to her study of A Level Literature.
"A few months ago, I participated in the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) Student Assessment scheme. They assess submissions based on the design process: research, reflection, strategy, design development, technical and production specification.
Out of their five briefs, I chose the one about Dante Alighieri's 'Paradiso' from 'The Divine Comedy'. I think I was the only one from my course who decided to do this because ISTD is known for being quite rigorous and content-heavy. The brief was to typographically interpret Canto 33 of Dante Alighieri's 'Paradiso' to introduce it to a new audience."
Jun Yi explains, "To help younger audiences appreciate classic poetry, I designed an interactive book that evokes the wonder and excitement that Dante radiates in his spiritual journey.
When I was doing my research and trying to unpack the poem, I felt like I was back in English Literature class. My university tutor (who's Italian so she's very familiar with Dante) was surprised at how thorough I was with my analysis and my interpretations of the poem. I think it's truly thanks to the great experience I had at Alice Smith that sparked this interest.
I had just woken up from a nap when I found out I was awarded, so I thought I was still dreaming!
I'm incredibly honoured to have been granted an ISTD membership through this submission, and that it was awarded a merit grade."
Watch the video below to see some of Jun Yi's amazing designs in development and read more about how her Paradiso project evolved on her website here.
Congratulations Jun Yi and we look forward to seeing more of your wonderful work in the future!