- Room 703A, Roland Levinsky Building, Drake Circus
- +44 1752 585236
- victoria.squire@plymouth.ac.uk

Profiles
Mrs Victoria Squire
Lecturer in Graphic Design (Typography)
School of Art, Design and Architecture (Faculty of Arts and Humanities)
Role
Victoria is the Partnership Coordinator for the School of Art, Design & Architecture, coordinating student progression activities and Academic Liaison.
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.
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 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 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
Key publications are highlighted
JournalsOther 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