Not for the Brief
Elle Abignano, Maria Adriano, Silje Buxton Soldal, Monisha Chippada, Nikki Farmer, Leila Fri, Amy Ge, Andriana Manon, Estee Sarsfield
'Not for the Brief' is a group exhibition of designers and illustrators breaking from commercial restrictions and not adhering to a design brief. This exhibition demonstrates graphic design experimentation and exploration of nine emerging and practicing designers. Experimentation and image making take place through the use of design fundamentals with each work employing shape, colour, texture and scale - 'Not for the Brief' showcases design and art in duality.
As recent design graduates, the ever-present notion of commercial profitability as an artist or designer is a scary prospect and one that we are prepared to combat by designing to our hearts desire. The exhibition displays an assemblage of recent design graduates establishing their own practice and signature aesthetic outside of a client brief.
The works explore a range of media through print, digital media, painting and photography with applied graphic design principles for image making. The curated collection responds to the box designers are pushed into, with restrictions, guidelines and rules that mold their work into something that is marketable and consumable. Not For The Brief resists the formula for commercial design and celebrates the abstract process, experimentation and work that didn't make the cut.
Not for the Brief Room Sheet (opens in new window)
Artists
Elle Abignano
Elle is a photographer and graphic designer currently based in Sydney. With a passion for film photography, Elle finds joy and creativity in the unexpected outcomes associated with the process, as well as the room for error. Her practice is hands-on and experimental, marrying conceptual thinking with raw and engaging photos.
Website.
Elle is a photographer and graphic designer currently based in Sydney. With a passion for film photography, Elle finds joy and creativity in the unexpected outcomes associated with the process, as well as the room for error. Her practice is hands-on and experimental, marrying conceptual thinking with raw and engaging photos.
Website.
Estee Sarsfield
Estee is a multidisciplinary designer based in Sydney. Informed by speculative and critical design approaches, she asks us to rethink our current systems of doing, living, thinking and working, particularly in the context of the Anthropocene. She holds a Bachelor of Design with first class honours from UNSW A&D and has participated in design programs both in the Netherlands and in Italy.
Website.
Estee is a multidisciplinary designer based in Sydney. Informed by speculative and critical design approaches, she asks us to rethink our current systems of doing, living, thinking and working, particularly in the context of the Anthropocene. She holds a Bachelor of Design with first class honours from UNSW A&D and has participated in design programs both in the Netherlands and in Italy.
Website.
Silje Buxton Soldal
Silje Soldal is a letterpress printer and graphic designer based in Sydney. Conceptually her work is influenced by perceptions of memory and the illustrative narrative. Working primarily with pencil on paper, Silje's practice is informed by processes of repetition and pattern.
Website.
Silje Soldal is a letterpress printer and graphic designer based in Sydney. Conceptually her work is influenced by perceptions of memory and the illustrative narrative. Working primarily with pencil on paper, Silje's practice is informed by processes of repetition and pattern.
Website.
Monisha Chippada
Monisha Chippada is an artist / film-maker currently based in Sydney, Australia. Her work is influenced by her life experiences as uses her art as a means to represent minority voices, emotional growth and as an act of catharsis. Through a combination of textiles, photography, film and interactive works she explores these experiences through the lens of a dreamer.
Website.
Follow Moni on Instagram.
Monisha Chippada is an artist / film-maker currently based in Sydney, Australia. Her work is influenced by her life experiences as uses her art as a means to represent minority voices, emotional growth and as an act of catharsis. Through a combination of textiles, photography, film and interactive works she explores these experiences through the lens of a dreamer.
Website.
Follow Moni on Instagram.
Nikki Farmer
Preferred pronouns She / Her / Nikki
Nikki Farmer is a graphic designer, ceramicist and illustrator particularly interested in the tangibility and physical capabilities of graphic design. Her ceramic practice is a harmonious combination of 2D graphic exploration on 3D functional objects. Nikki's work employs combinations of shape and colour which create whimsical outcomes and compositions.
Website.
Preferred pronouns She / Her / Nikki
Nikki Farmer is a graphic designer, ceramicist and illustrator particularly interested in the tangibility and physical capabilities of graphic design. Her ceramic practice is a harmonious combination of 2D graphic exploration on 3D functional objects. Nikki's work employs combinations of shape and colour which create whimsical outcomes and compositions.
Website.
Leila Fri
Leila Fri is a multi-disciplinary artist, designer that is in her fourth year of Design at UNSW Art & Design. She is particularly interested in how alternative perceptual understandings of our world. Her illustrative practice is built upon the the re-presentation of the spontaneous gestural marks and how these can form unique compositions.
Website.
Leila Fri is a multi-disciplinary artist, designer that is in her fourth year of Design at UNSW Art & Design. She is particularly interested in how alternative perceptual understandings of our world. Her illustrative practice is built upon the the re-presentation of the spontaneous gestural marks and how these can form unique compositions.
Website.
Amy Ge
Amy Ge is a graphic designer with a love of hand-rendered illustration and experimental animation. Her practice is informed by working across disciplines and mediums, and her Australian-Chinese cultural background.
Website.
Amy Ge is a graphic designer with a love of hand-rendered illustration and experimental animation. Her practice is informed by working across disciplines and mediums, and her Australian-Chinese cultural background.
Website.
Andrina Manon
Andrina Manon is a designer and illustrator based in Sydney. She graduated from UNSW A&D with a Bachelor of Design with Distinction in 2018. Her work is inspired by faraway places, vintage fashion, women and wild flowers. Andrina has worked for clients including Lalaland Stationery, BioPak, Princess Highway Clothing, AHD Stationery and Etsy. Her work has been recognised in various group exhibitions and in publications such as Blitz, Accidental Discharge and The Ladies Network.
Website.
Andrina Manon is a designer and illustrator based in Sydney. She graduated from UNSW A&D with a Bachelor of Design with Distinction in 2018. Her work is inspired by faraway places, vintage fashion, women and wild flowers. Andrina has worked for clients including Lalaland Stationery, BioPak, Princess Highway Clothing, AHD Stationery and Etsy. Her work has been recognised in various group exhibitions and in publications such as Blitz, Accidental Discharge and The Ladies Network.
Website.
Maria Adriano
Sydney-based illustrator and designer with a keen interest in design, culture, and politics. Originally from the Philippines, my work is informed by the Filipino diasporic experience and identity. I am passionate about the ways design can foster dialogue and lead towards a better future.
Website.
Not for the Brief Room Sheet