Student designs East Berlin-inspired 2015 Orwell Prize trophies
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Winners of The Orwell Prize - Britain's most prestigious award for political writing - were this week presented with trophies designed by a student from Goldsmiths, University of London’s Department of Design.
Keir Middleton, a third year BA Design, Creativity & Learning student, designed the three trophies, awarded to novelist James Meek, Guardian journalist Martin Chulov, and BBC social affairs correspondent Alison Holt, for work which comes closest to George Orwell’s ambition ‘to make political writing into an art’.
Goldsmiths’ Department of Design has an ongoing relationship with The Orwell Prize, with the university’s students designing a new trophy each year.
Keir explains: “The design was inspired by Polish communist propaganda, which I believed mirrored both the stark and brutal writing in George Orwell's famous satire 1984, as well as the communist apartment buildings that could be seen throughout East Berlin, as well as much of communist Europe, before the end of the Cold War.
“When designing the trophies, I wanted to create something that emulated the cut and dry policies of politics throughout Europe.”
Rose Sinclair, programme leader for BA Design, Creativity and Learning, said: "It has been a pleasure to again work with The Orwell Prize team. The students put forward to design the prize develop the design ideas and concepts in collaboration with The Orwell Prize team, and although there are constraints within the brief set, the students utilise the skills developed during studio-based design briefs, live projects and skills developed as part of their industry placements, to respond to clients demands. Keir has managed to capture the essence of what the prize is about in his response to the brief."
Keir was also part of the Goldsmiths team who created The Orwell Prize trophies in 2014. When the Prize team contacted the Department of Design about this year’s trophies, he jumped at the chance to be involved:
“Design has always been so prominent in my life and Goldsmiths has given me the opportunity to nurture this passion of mine. I aim to pursue a career in teaching design to the younger generation or to further my own skills in the field,” he adds.
Find out more about the Department of Design at Goldsmiths.