Mrs Victoria Squire

Biography

Role

Partnership Coordinator
Victoria is the Partnership Coordinator for the School of Art, Design & Architecture, coordinating student progression activities and Academic Liaison.

Message: Graphic Communication Design Research

Victoria is co-founder and co-editor of the Message : Graphic Communication Design Research journal, published by the University of Plymouth Press.

Message is an international peer-reviewed academic journal that consists of blind reviewed academic papers and occasional commissioned essays. It is dedicated to the development and discussion of contemporary and historical visual communication research, with a particular emphasis on Graphic Communication Design practice, outputs, artefacts and contexts.

Coordinator Message research cluster

Victoria coordinates the Message Research Cluster which is dedicated to the development and discussion of contemporary visual communication messages through research, particularly, but not exclusively, within graphic design, typography, illustration, fine art and publishing. Victoria also contributes to the Design Research area, co-organising combined events for Message, Design Knowledge and iDAT research clusters, as well as organising research events for Message.

Lecturer BA (Hons) Graphic Communication with Typography

Victoria has been a lecturer on BA Hons Graphic Communication with Typography since 1997.

Qualifications

PGCE (Oxford Brooks University)
MA Communication Design (Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design)
BA Hons Graphic Design

Victoria has had an extensive career within Graphic Design Higher Education. Her teaching experience, beginning her career in Further Education, was at South East Essex College of Arts and Technology, moving into Higher Education at North Oxfordshire College and School of Art before joining the University of Plymouth. Whilst in Oxfordshire Victoria completed a PGCE at Oxford Brookes University.

Victoria has been at guest lecturer at UWE Bristol, and Associate Lecturer at Parnham College and Bridgwater College. She has been an external examiner for BA Hons Creative Industries, Southampton Institute.

Victoria has taught at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, including BA Hons Graphic Communication with Typography (year coordinator of all three years), BA Hons Illustration, BA Hons Photography, MA Publishing. Victoria was course leader for BA Hons Graphic Communication with Typography for five years (2002-2007) and re-approved the award.

In 2004-2006, Victoria undertook the role of Subject Forum Chair having responsibility of overseeing the Faculty of Arts Partnerships. She was responsible for the development of the Arts community in the South West of England and Jersey, pursuing initiatives and developing innovations across the forum, building a community of practice. This community had a national reputation due to its size, activities and community ethos and was used as a national exemplar.

Professional membership

Graphic Design Educators Network

Teaching

Teaching interests

Victoria's teaching interests include:
Typography
Editorial design / Book works
Graphic Design process
The exploration of the cross-overs between disciplines and approaches

Teaching and Learning:
Research into depth of learning and mastery of Graphic Design
Research into studio based learning environments

Whilst being Subject Forum Chair Victoria was a member of the UPC HELP CETL management committee which viewed and approved applications for CETL Fellows and CPD awards. The Art & Design South West Subject Forum had five major learning and teaching research projects in progress within the HELP CETL. These projects were identified as being of significant importance within the forum and key academics with interests in these areas took this research forward into smaller communities of practice.

Staff serving as external examiners

External examiner: BA Hons Creative Industries, Southampton Institute (2005-2008)

Research

Research interests

Victoria's visual practice seeks to contextualize herself in relation to her environment and beyond, both physically and spiritually. Through reflective and contemplative working methodologies she seeks to explore the cross-overs between disciplines and approaches, creating innovative working methods and outputs.

The practice manifests itself through a wide variety of outputs such as typographic, book-works, photographic, installation, collection, and animation.

Re-current subjects/themes

Spirituality, contemplation, identity, selflessness, serving others, reality, being at peace, finding oneself, finding silence, faith, looking outwards, looking inwards, the big picture the small picture, the great divide, the light

Space, wilderness, landscape, coast, freedom, adventure, risk, escape, play, isolation

Collections, categorising, archiving, lists, mapping, organising, sequencing, control, time

Words, notations

Current research

‘Voices in ‘rich space’ (working title) isa collaborative project proposal (in draft) arriving from Victoria's continued research into space, silence and time. Victoria and her collaborators will seek to work with a targeted audience group. The project is specifically designed to draw audiences from underrepresented targeted group/s to Exmoor National Park to engage in the natural environment and health and wellbeing.

Victoria's visual communication background aims to collaboratively design and deliver a social marketing/audience development performance or ‘happening’, through determining a personal/group visual response to the landscape to assist with the facilitation of the recovery of mental/physical health and wellbeing.

Within this collaboration, Victoria aims to explore the interstices between visual communication design and other arts practices and investigate the role of visual communication design and what it can bring to such a project.

Other research

spaces that speak

Working specifically with traditionally non-printable elements - spacing and furniture, spaces that speak, through its unfolding narrative, reveals and explores the concepts of space and time within the letterpress printing process. It reflects the unique and traditional characteristics of letterpress, in particular the physicality of space within the process and the setting. The time intensity of this process where; planning, reflection, opportunity for risk taking, experimentation and chance happenings are explored and enjoyed.

Whilst the work points reference to traditional letterpress, it shifts deeply established conventions about the purpose and hints towards the future of letterpress through an experimental animated piece of practice and research.

PEER REVIEWER November 2014: 11th International European Academy of Design Conference (April 2015, Paris) 'The Value of Design Research'.
Track 18: Design and public policy - social design - The value of design research for societal change and behavioural change.

CONFERENCE ABSTRACT May 2014: 1st International Symposium: Speed, Silence and Solitude, INAA Toronto, Canada.
Abstract accepted entitled 'Letterpress and the soul': space, solitude, time, silence and a narrative.

Research groups

Message

Publications

Key publications are highlighted

Journals

Articles

Squire V 2011 'Journey to stillness' Varoom

Squire V 2001 'The book as a vehicle for creativity; cross pollination of graphic design' Association of Illustrators

Reviews

Squire V 2005 'Review of book 'How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul' by Adrian Shaughnessy' Association of Illustrators

Squire V 2001 'Review of book 'Becoming Designers: education & influence'' Association of Illustrators

Books

Squire V, Willberg HP & Forssman F 2007 Getting it Right with Type. UK/USA Laurence King Publishers

Conference Papers

Brocklehurst JR 2012 'Repetitive Swipe Injury - Challenging Design Conventions Within Tablet Publishing' Ridout; Squire 2nd Message Symposium: Against Orthodoxy - Why Publish? Sherwell Centre, Plymouth University 03/04/2012 03/04/2012 Publisher Site PEARL

Reports

Squire V 2003 Review of book 'Type and Typography' by Phil Baines and Andrew Haslam. Laurence King Publishers Ltd. London

Squire V 0 Review of book 'Designing Type, by Karen Cheng. Laurence King Publishers Ltd. London June 2005

Designs

0 Hollerday.

0 Inhale and Hold.

0 spaces that speak letterpress animation. PEARL

Exhibitions

0 Text + image = messagen. Crosspoint, Plymouth University 20110301 0 1

0 Motherhood and the mundane. Sherwell Centre, Plymouth University 20090401 0 1

0 Hollerday. Hollerday Hill, Lynton, Devon, UK 20080601 0 4

0 Journey. Swansea UK 20070101 0 1

0 The voice of McCleash. Westcliffe-on-Sea, Essex 19990101 0 one

0 Void. Newport, Wales, UK 0 0 1

Other Publications

Squire V 0 Exhibition catalogue for 'Allegory', 'Interstice', 'Journey to stillness', 'Motherhood and the mundane', 'Reverie', 'Silence', 'Void'. University of Wales, UK University of Wales, UK Newport, Wales, UK 0 0

Squire V, Jones P & Dudley E 0 Message issue 1, co editor. 0 0

Squire V, Jones P & Dudley E 0 Message issue 2, co editor. 0 0

Squire V, Jones P & Dudley E 0 Message issue 3, co editor. 0 0

0 Website submission: 'Allegory', 'Interstice', 'Journey to stillness', 'Motherhood and the mundane', 'Reverie', 'Silence', 'Void'. University of Wales 0 0

Personal

Other academic activities

Approval/validation events:

FdA Communication & Media Arts, North Devon College, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), May 2006

FdA Digital Visualisation, Truro College, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), April 2006

FdA Music Performance, North Devon College, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), April 2006

FdA Performance Production, Exeter College, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), stage one only 2006

FdA Video Production, Exeter College, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), stage one only 2006

FdA Action Photography, Truro College, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), stage one only 2006

FdA Media Advertising, Truro College, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), May 2006

FdA Graphic Design & Multimedia, City of Bristol College, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), May 2006

FdA Graphic Design & Multimedia, Weymouth College, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), May 2006

FdA Spatial Design, Plymouth College of Art & Design, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), July 2004

FdACAD Visualisation/FdSc CAD Technologies, City of Bristol College,external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design) May 2004

FdA Silversmithing & Jewellery, Truro College, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), April 2004

FdA Fashion, Plymouth College of Art & Design, external academic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), April 2004

FdAIllustration, FdA Ceramics, FdA Fine Art, North Devon College, externalacademic (Subject Forum Chair Art & Design), March 2004

BA Hons Creative Industries validation, Southampton Institute, external academic, January 2004

BA Hons Digital Art & Design validation, University of Plymouth, 2002

Additional information

Vice Chair/Foundation Governor for West Exmoor Federation
(Lynton C of E School, Parracombe C of E school, Kentisbury School)

Lead Governor and chair - Ethos and Community Cohesion committee
Vice Chair - Federation Improvement Committee

Profiles

Lecturer in Graphic Design (Typography)

School of Art, Design and Architecture (Faculty of Arts and Humanities)