Nina Pannone BA Graphic Arts (Illustration) 2021

My favourite element of the course was the opportunity to go abroad for a semester in Bergen, Norway. I am truly grateful for the opportunity as I had an amazing time, experienced a totally new culture and met people from all over the world. It is an experience I will never forget.

I chose to study illustration as it became a natural continuation from the work I did at A-Level and at Art Foundation. Visual Communication, particularly illustration, is something I have always enjoyed.

Whist studying there I learnt that it is important to do what you enjoy and to not be so tied down by numbers and marks and grading. If you focus on the numbers then this tends to affect the work that you make, as you worry if it’s good enough rather than actually enjoying the process of making it and being satisfied with the outcome.

I also relearnt the importance of experimentation and letting go. Some of my best ideas come when I’m not trying to achieve anything in particular! I think this is important to remember as there are times when I get stuck in an idea and it’s a good way of refreshing my take on a brief.

I am currently working on an externally set editorial project, by a magazine called ‘Its Freezing in LA!’ We have to illustrate an article and a story based around the theme of climate change. This involves distilling information within the article down to a simple message that can be easily understood by the reader and works well as a tool of communication that accompanies the article. Because of the nature of the magazine and the requirements set by them, I am focusing on more raw, analogue image making techniques such as collage.

I try to use as many facilities as possible, mainly the printing workshop on. I try to include printing in my projects whenever possible, such as screen printing and riso printing as it adds a lovely tactile element to my illustration. It also makes you think about paper stock and inks, which is something that you don’t tend to think about when doing digital work.

Outside of my studies I volunteer at the University magazine, Wessex Scene, as Head of Imagery. This means that I oversee all the visual content (apart from ads) that goes in the magazine and a group of illustrators at WSA who all volunteer to draw for the magazine too. Having this job allows me to keep illustrating continuously on the side on projects that aren’t related to what I’m doing currently at university and serves as experience that will look good on my CV. 

After being on exchange I have a desire to see the world and say yes to as many opportunities as I can and see where it can take me. I would love to work outside of England and see how professionals in different countries respond to the same trends. I find it fascinating how the different experiences that people have, lead to them reacting differently and coming up with ideas that I couldn’t; the idea of collaboration with like-minded individuals excites me.

 

Want to know more about Graphic Arts at WSA? Listen to the Coffee with a Pro podcast produced by our Graphic Arts students.