Inspirational designer Katie Jones founded FRESH magazine whilst in her final year studying graphic design at Manchester School of Art. Frustrated by the lack of diversity she noticed in the design industry and during her design education, Katie decided it was time to make a change. She describes the ethos of FRESH as, “a celebration of the black, asian and minority ethnic designers that exist in the world” whose work often goes unnoticed and uncelebrated, a situation that had a negative impact on her when she was starting out as a young designer.
At the beginning of her third year of University Katie was inspired by designer Ian Swift (Swifty) and co-founder and creative director Pali Palavathanon from branding and digital agency Templo who both gave talks as part of her course. This was her first experience of hearing inspirational and diverse role models. It made her question why it had taken so long and gave her the impetus needed to start using graphic design to address the issue: “I was tired of feeling like I wouldn’t have a place in the design world as a black female. I didn’t see a single designer who looked like me.”
It turned out that she wasn’t alone in this feeling and after discussing her ideas with fellow students at Manchester Uni FRESH became a collaborative project and movement. She produces the magazine together with her friends and classmates, Lauren Goldsby and Haseena Ali. Katie, Lauren and Haseena work together to curate and design the magazine and exchanging ideas forms an important part of their creative process. As well as producing FRESH, Lauren and Haseena both currently work as agency designers and Katie has started a career as a freelance designer.
Currently on its fourth issue, FRESH magazine seeks to advance changes the design industry desperately needs. The latest ‘Honest’ issue contains a visual feast of diverse designers and illustrators and was inspired by a shared sense of purpose to make change through unapologetic visual communication. In Katie’s words, “The truth can be hard to hear – but we have to start there if we’re going to create change. This issue is about honesty and light. It’s about taking risks… trying to do something to change the game [and] is here to showcase people being unapologetically themselves.” It’s brilliant, hard-hitting and honest and it’s a refreshing change to hear people give their opinions on race and diversity so openly. We highly recommend it! To find out more about the magazine and to order the latest issue visit @fressshmagazine.
FRESH has been nominated for an award at the Dutch Spin Awards, which led to a trip to the Netherlands for Katie, Lauren and Haseena to give a talk about the project. They’ve also been featured on the radio, in Elle magazine and have recently taken over Ladies Wine Design Manchester. All three are definitely ‘women to watch’ for the future and we can’t wait to see what they do next!
We caught up with Katie to find out more about the collaborative creative process of producing FRESH magazine and future plans for the magazine.
Why did you decide to become a designer and how has that evolved over time?
I don’t think I ever decided to become a designer. I’ve always trusted that there’s a plan set for how my life plays out and I’ve moved through life always making decisions that I think will enhance the journey. I’ve designed things since I was a kid, I used to think I was destined to be a fashion designer, but graphic design ended up becoming the right direction. I met my FRESH team through studying graphics, so it just had to be the right choice. I think I found my feet in the design world when I realized that through design, we can share a message which is equal parts powerful and visually delicious.
How did FRESH magazine come about and what are your future plans for the magazine?
I founded FRESH in 2017 during my third year at Manchester School of Art. Lauren Goldsby and Haseena Ali, my friends and peers on the course supported the whole movement from day one and naturally we began working together to strengthen our message.
FRESH started through frustration and passion. I was tired of feeling like I wouldn’t have a place in the design world as a Black female. I didn’t see a single designer who looked like me. I don’t think my race holds me back in anyway, I just couldn’t understand why I never saw any Black people when I came to graphic design. I knew they were out there, but I felt nobody cared as much as I did about their absence.
I didn’t know FRESH was going to be a magazine, I started by having a conversation with other Black and Brown people at uni. I booked out a photo studio and put posters all over the art school asking for people to come down and let me take their portraits. I put on some jams and slowly but surely, people came down. I asked about their practice and naturally the conversations turned into something real. It turned out that I wasn’t the only one who was sick and tired of the lack of diversity in the art school. We’re in Manchester man. There are people from all walks of life out there but as soon as you come into the building, it disappears.
The energy from the photo shoot manifested itself into what FRESH is today. We’re seasoning the creative industry with the diversity it absolutely needs.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you started your design course?
Since graduating in 2018 the FRESH team has sought out advice from loads of designers to make the transition to working life more manageable. I went down to London with Haseena and Lauren to meet up with Pali Palavathanon from Templo design studios, who gave us the best advice and calmed us down massively. He explained to us how the industry actually works, and I think from there, we were able to venture out into the world of design with more confidence. Lauren and Haseena have been working for design agencies since graduating and I’m working as a freelance designer, which is no way near as ‘terrifying’ as everyone makes out.
I wish I’d been given more advice on what working as a freelance designer is actually like. Uni places a lot of emphasis on joining the ‘industry’ and I think students feel like if they’re not working for a studio then they’re not a success. Which is wrong.
Please stop stressing about your grades. STOP IT! Trust us, the people who care most about your grades are probably going be your family. Once you start looking for jobs, your grade will most likely never be mentioned ever again. It’s all about your portfolio and your personality. Stop working on projects that you think are going to get you a good grade and start working on things that you love. That way, your portfolio will thrive, you’ll be more confident in your work and you’ll probably end up getting a job where you get paid to do that thing you love.
How has being female impacted your education/career so far?
Being a female in the design world is amazing. I think we’re probably supposed to feel that all the men get all the good jobs and women are at a massive disadvantage etc. I’m a Black woman. So, imagine if I allowed such a negative narrative to dictate my mindset. I probably wouldn’t even bother.
I see my femininity as a gift. I think a female mindset allows us to think differently about projects and briefs and handle them with a sensitivity and energy that comes naturally to us. The idea that women have to work twice as hard to get to where they want to get has enabled me to think big. As long as you know where you want to get to you’ll get there. Don’t allow a narrative to put a ceiling on your goals. You’re a woman. Own it. It’s a blessing.
Has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted your career and how have you managed this?
I think Covid’s been horrible for everyone really. We’ve tried very hard to see this abnormal time as a weird kind of blessings and it has allowed us to regroup and check ourselves. We’ve used the time to grab hold of the magazine reins again. Things were moving really quickly before lockdown and we were definitely overwhelmed so we’ve been able to use this time productively by working on the latest issue of FRESH. It’s our fourth issue and is called the ‘Honest Issue.’ We’ve been able to take our time with it and craft it into the thing of beauty it’s destined to be. Having FRESH to work on through lockdown has given us a sense of purpose and power.
Where do you get your inspiration from and how do you approach a new project?
At FRESH we listen to an enormous amount of music. We’re forever making playlists. It’s the best thing ever. We’ll get together to work on our next move and get excited to share with each other the new musical gems we’ve found. We’ve been doing this since uni. Lauren found this Turkish song in our third year and we got so hyped about it that we threw a whole house party in homage to the song. It was amazing. So yeah, music definitely influences how we work. Music alters our mood massively. Whenever we have magazine deadlines our playlists just get better and better. We have to balance our mentality and eradicate stress in order to create work that fuels our audience.
In terms of approaching a new project or starting a new magazine, we just come together, cook food, listen to music, sit by a fire and talk. Conversation is the absolute key to starting something new.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
No idea. We take each day as a gift and ensure that we’re working to spread a message on the importance of diversity in design. We’re a great team of designers. Already we’ve done things we couldn’t have imagined. We were flown out to the Netherlands for a design awards show, we’ve been on the radio a few times, we’ve been featured in Elle magazine and we’re completely winging it! I hope we’re still winging it in five years’ time. So far, it seems to be working to our advantage.
Who are your top five female design/illustration/creative crushes currently working in the industry?
Hard question, we’ve come into contact with so many ridiculously talented female designers. So five, is a hard one but we’ll give the people what they want, haha.
Firstly, we’re completely in love with recent graduate and graphic designer from Manchester School of Art Jada Giwa. She designed and curated the third-year graphic design degree show, she dealt with the hot mess of coronavirus and overcame a massive challenge with apparent ease. She’s amazing and a ridiculously gifted photographer/art director too.
Secondly, Danielle Molyneux founder of Studio Dotto. We caught up with her after we graduated, and she gave us some priceless perspective on the design industry. Her mentality and design work are next level.
Kay Young is a London-based musician we’re absolutely in LOVE with at the moment. She’s a producer, rapper and singer and her beats are heaven sent. Everyone should be following her man. She does an Instagram live every Monday where she lets her followers choose a track that she mixes into something new. Watching her creative process is incredible, she’s amazing.
Laetitia Ky is an artist we’ve been following on Instagram for a while. She’s an artist from Ivory Coast who literally sculpts messages using her hair. Just go and follow her or have a look at her work. Wildly beautiful.
Rebekah Williams is an amazing photographer we met at uni. Her photography captures the power and beauty of femininity and we can’t get enough of her overall aesthetic. Get it girl.