Annie Kobyluch is a Communication Design graduate from Glasgow School of Art, specialising in Graphic Design. Growing up in a creative family, Annie has always enjoyed creative subjects and frequently visited galleries and museums. Hearing an A-Level tutor refer to Graphic Design as ‘visual problem solving’ influenced Annie’s decision to pursue the subject; realising she preferred it to Fine Art because of its more structured approach to creativity.
Annie particularly enjoys developing a range of ideas before considering the final outcome of a project and has a sophisticated and well-crafted portfolio of work. Reflecting on her time studying, she now believes she learnt the most through making mistakes, risk taking and experimentation. As she tells us, “I think the best piece of advice I could give my younger self is that it’s okay to make mistakes and take risks, in fact, it will lead to better work!” Annie’s design influences are constantly shifting and she’s found that by avoiding the internet, using books to gather ideas, tracing typefaces and playing with scale by hand, she’s been able to push creative boundaries and create more interesting work.
Annie’s student work gravitated towards editorial and book cover design, which led to her being selected as the first prize award winner in 2020’s Penguin Student Design Awards, creating a series of adult fiction covers for John Le Carré crime novels. She was also one of ten creatives to be recognised by Creative Review in their ‘Gradwatch’ 2020 showcase featuring design graduates producing outstanding creative work.
Like many other graduates, having her degree show and graduation cancelled during the pandemic felt very anticlimactic. However, Annie managed to secure remote internships with Johnson Banks and MUBI. These openings gave her an insight into working in a professional studio environment and experience working on a diverse range of projects, which has led to a Junior Designer role at MUBI and we can’t wait to see where Annie’s career takes her!
We caught up with Annie to find out more about her experiences of remote internships, finding’s inspiration offline and advice for emerging designers.
Why did you decide to become a designer?
I’ve been brought up in a family that really encourages creativity. My dad is an artist and we spent a lot of time in galleries and museums when we were younger, so I think I’ve always been drawn to creative subjects.
I found Fine Art too free, whereas Graphic Design provided the structure I felt comfortable with and at the same time still gives room for creativity.
Where did you study and what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you started your design education?
After A Levels I studied a foundation degree at Leeds College of Art. Following this, I went on to study Communication Design at Glasgow School of Art with a specialism in Graphic Design. Reflecting on my time there, I think the best piece of advice I could give my past self is that it is okay to make mistakes and take risks, in fact, it will lead to better work!
“In my first year, I found it so frustrating because I wasn’t clicking with the course at all, but as soon as I started to take more risks and not worry as much about how refined the final outcome looked, I started producing work I was happy with!”
Chindogu is a Japanese invention, it is an unusual gadget, originally created as the solution to a particular problem, although effectively it hardly has any utility whatsoever, it’s really almost useless. For a gadget or an object to be considered a Chindogu, there’s a set of regulations that define their philosophy and amongst the vital tenets, we learn that an object cannot have a real use and that they are not for sale. My aim was to create the brand identity for an exhibition showing a variety of Chindogu inventions. Also to get across the playfulness and origins of the inventions in the branding.
How have you grown over time and developed throughout your education and career so far?
I think I have found a better balance now between spending enough time on the development of the idea andmaking sure the final outcome is finished to the standard I want. Previously I spent too much time focused on creating something that looked perfect. But if you start with a bad undeveloped idea, it doesn’t matter how muchtime you spend refining it, you’re not going to be happy with it in the end.
Tell us about a favourite project that you’ve worked on and why it’s important to you?
I was one of the winners of the Penguin Student Design Award in September 2020. Doing that brief has turned out to beone of the best decisions I ever made. It really opened my eyes to the world of book design and also introducedme to some amazing people in the industry.
John Le Carré book covers: My winning submission for the Penguin Student Design Award 2020. For the Adult Fiction Cover Award, students were asked to design a cover for John le Carré’s ‘The Night Manager’. The judges asked students to try to avoid the usual spy and crime clichés that characterise so many books in this genre, and instead to focus on developing a clever, fresh, contemporary, and above all, original design that appeals to a broad audience. I enjoyed working on this project so much that I turned it into a series, and designed the covers for ‘The Constant Gardener’ and’ The Tailor of Panama’, all by John le Carré.
Where do you get your inspiration from and how do you approach a new project?
I try to stay away from the internet and my computer as much as I can when I start a new project. I find looking at books is the best way to get inspiration. If I’m doing branding work, I use tracing paper a lot, copying typefaces and playing with scale. Being able to lay out my ideas in front of me rather than on a screen I really like.
“I find looking at books is the best way to get inspiration. If I’m doing branding work, I use tracing paper a lot, copying typefaces and playing with scale.”
How has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted your career?
Initially it impacted everything, GSA had no hand in, degree show or graduation which at the time felt like such an anticlimax to such a busy and exciting year. When I started sending out my portfolio everyone was very polite and encouraging, but also unable to offer me any opportunities due to Covid. However, as working from home hasbecome the new norm, studios have adapted and I’ve been able to have some great experiences! I did a remote internship for Johnson Banks and MUBI, which has now become a junior designer position.
Christian Petzold season graphics for MUBI: An identity system for the Christian Petzold film season on MUBI. I made a poster and unique title treatment that was used in all of the social clip assets and the trailer.
Could you tell us a bit more about your experiences undertaking remote internships?
The first remote internship I did was for Johnson Banks, which was arranged by one of my tutors at GSA as Michael was a visiting lecturer. I did the internship for a month and it was really interesting to see how the studio was run. As it was relatively small, I got to chat to everyone on the team on the daily Zoom calls! At the time the team was very busy, so I was pretty much doing something new every day which was great! Whether it was coming up with branding concepts or research about new clients.
After that I did an internship for the design team at MUBI. That came about as I was featured in Creative Review’s Gradwatch Series and Pablo Martin who is the Creative Director at MUBI got in touch offering me an internship.
Do you have any role models or mentors who have shaped your career?
One of my tutors at GSA was a woman called Jo Petty and I would say she really shaped the designer I am. She was a big believer in crits and discussing your work and ideas, (the crits turned out to be one of my favourite parts of my university experience!). She also understood how I worked and the type of pieces I wanted to produce; shewas the kind of tutor that would leave things on your desk that she thought you would like even if it had no relationto your project whatsoever.
“One of my tutors at GSA was a woman called Jo Petty and I would say she really shaped the designer I am. She was a big believer in crits and discussing your work and ideas, (the crits turned out to be one of my favourite parts of my university experience!).”
What top tips would you give to current students considering a career in the design industry?
Talking to your peers is key – they gave me some of the best advice as they were the people I was talking to on a daily basis about my work. Also try and speak to people whose work is very different from yours, getting a completely different perspective is always good!
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Article by Rebecca Burrows
Rebecca Burrows is one of our DesignbyWomen collaborators.