Miss Nicola Watson
| Biography | Nicola is a designer working in a variety of fields from graphic design, pervasive gaming, AR, interactive / immersive design, and illustration, to developing digital tools for forensics, and providing creative content support for NHK World TV in Japan Current design work involves developing and managing the framework for a creative education decentralised app and platform employing blockchain technology. Working with creatives in Japan, Germany, US, Canada and France to bring creative support to young people who feel marginalised, across a range of communities. Design education has been a constant throughout commercial work - initially facilitating creative digital workshops and software training at Peacock Visual Arts, then working at NESCol as a part-time visual communication tutor, and lecturing in Communication Design across all stages at Gray's, since 2010. |
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| Research Interests | Decentralised Design Creative Education Creative Communities |
| Teaching and Learning | Currently Stage 3 Co-ordinator and lecturer in Communication Design at Gray's School of Art. Teaching across a range of communication design areas, building in field trips, organising industry-mentored projects, and preparing the students to progress to Stage 4 and beyond. Initiated two creative hub projects from 2012-2018; 'Offset57' & 'Hatch' - used as teaching & learning tools while creating space for talks, exhibitions, workshops and commercial opportunities for students in the city centre. During their run both were featured in local TV and press. Some of the events hosted involved collaborating with V&A Dundee, Fleet Collective, Collective Futures 2015, Code the City, Pecha Kucha Night Dundee, FortyTwo studio, Shellsuit Zombie and Look Again. Secured £5000 in funding from HxA to facilitate a design focused two day event in Aberdeen in June 2022, 'In at the Deep End' - with local design industry and recent graduates. It included guest speakers from The Touch Agency and Cult LDN & NYC, workshops, exhibition, and portfolio evenings. The project also contributed to raising money for Bon Accord Heritage, in saving a category B Listed, Art Deco building in the city. Recently initiated 'Fresh Slice' (Sep 2024) - created as a graduate led initiative, with my role now in supporting our graduates in residence as they organise and network with the local and wider creative communities, holding events, workshops and exhibitions. It highlights our current students, emerging and recent graduates alongside opportunities to network with professionals, while also finding innovative ways to promote skills and practice. Fresh Slice is about to launch its own publication and sister project 'Zest' in the near future. This project has been a great learning curve for our graduates and graduates in residence, dealing with communication, branding, marketing, fund-raising and organisation & managing of events, while building important industry and community links. While working with Stage 3, two of our students created 'Beyond the Grey' project in January 2023 - a physical newspaper celebrating the creative talent of smaller artists and the Aberdeen culture scene. Each year I support the transition of the Stage 4 students who have led the project for a year, to pass on to our Stage 3 cohort who refresh the design and format, and take on the mantle for the next 12 months. Stage 4 students act as mentors during this period, and the whole project offers the students the chance to collaborate within university and on a city-wide scale. The hope is this remains a legacy project at Gray's for a number of years to come, building connections throughout Aberdeen. |