6 degree show newspapers celebrating the class of 2021

Degree show season is here! Last year, we looked at how students were using print to put a personal touch on virtual shows during lockdown. This time around we’re happy to see that a number of art and design exhibitions are happening in person again. (If you’re working on one, It’s Nice That has a handy roundup of tips and advice to help you plan your exhibition.)

Below, see how 6 degree show newspapers celebrate brilliant work from the class of 2021 and why “having something tangible was a joy" after a year of Zoom.

University of Central Lancashire

Show Off is the annual end-of-year publication for UClan's Fashion Promotion programme, designed entirely by students as a collaborative brief (this was last year’s edition). For 2021, they’re looking ahead to brighter times with a bold yellow cover for their Positivity Issue — "a celebration of creatives and our ability to think outside the box,” as the editor’s letter explains.

"We love the mini format. It photographs well and is slim enough to slot into a physical portfolio when the time comes!"

“We’ve used the digital mini in the past and love this format,” says lecturer Hollie Spade. “It photographs well and is slim enough to slot into a physical portfolio when the time comes!”

They’re sending out copies in the post (alongside a digital version on Issuu) and will distribute the zine physically at UCLan Open Days and college visits when they start up again. Printed on our digital minis on 90gsm paper.

Belfast School of Art

Designed with help from Rory Jeffers of Jeffers and Sons, this zine features work from 19 Illustration graduates from the Belfast School of Art— including wonderful cover art by Elle McGreevy. “It gives me great confidence that they will go out into the world and enrich our lives for the better by becoming the next generation of creative superstars,” Rory writes in a note at the end of the newspaper.

The zine is being distributed at venues around Belfast and you can also explore the students’ work online. Printed on our digital minis.

The Northern School of Art

For this year’s Illustration graduate show, the Northern School of Art used a zine to showcase work from 26 students in an “accessible and friendly format.” We love the bright, cheery cover design!

"It was a great takeaway for visitors and a lovely memento of the exhibition for students."

“It was a great takeaway for visitors and a lovely memento of the exhibition for students,” says senior lecturer Niel Bushnell. “In fact, we had to limit students from taking too many copies as souvenirs!” Printed on our digital minis.

St. John's University

Encompassing the fields of painting, photography, graphic design, illustration, video and drawing, this newspaper accompanied the Art and Design BFA exhibition for St. John’s University in New York. (You can do a virtual walk-through of the show on their website).

"We wanted to produce something economical and fun that would be easy to carry and to mail. Everyone is thrilled with the booklet!"

“We wanted to produce something economical and fun that would be easy for visitors at the show to carry and easy for us to mail to those who couldn’t attend in person,” says assistant professor Brian James, who designed the newspaper. “The mini format was perfect for all of those reasons. Everyone is thrilled with the booklet!” Printed on our digital tabloids.

Glasgow School of Art

With exhibitions remaining virtual for Glasgow School of Art, Painting and Printmaking graduates found a way to bring the exhibition to peoples' homes. They chose our tabloid format so the newspaper could be “be taken apart and used as part of a display or as individual posters.” (You can also flip through the newspaper on Issuu.)

"We used newspaper because of how easy and fast it is to design and print. The feedback's been fantastic."

“We used the newspaper format because of how easy and fast it is to design and print,” says lecturer Eddie Stewart. “The feedback's been fantastic. Everyone's very impressed with the students’ work and the quality of the publication.” Designed by students Jemimah Vaughan and Felix Butterwick, who put the layout together with no previous experience of using InDesign (bravo!) and printed on our digital tabloids.

This zine, a final project from students enrolled in Programming Design at Sam Fox School in Saint Louis, began with a prompt of random phrases: "favorite drinks, thanks!, psychedelics + music, plants, and sustainability". Using these words as a starting point, each student designed a spread and a page using only code in the Drawbot environment. 

"After a year on Zoom, having something tangible to take with them and give to friends was a joy."

“The class looked at a couple of different formats, but all were drawn to the mini newspaper as something that has a great page size and great texture but didn't feel high-stakes,” says course director Ben Kiel. “After a year on Zoom, having something tangible to take with them and give to friends was a joy.” Printed on our digital minis.

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