DPS ALUMNI Q&A: MATT BUSHER
Which course did you study at LCC?
BA Graphic & Media Design (Typography)
Tell us about your current role and what you're currently working on.
I’m currently Senior Designer at Assembly London, a creative agency with offices in London and New York. We work on campaigns, identities and digital experiences for clients within the fashion industry, like Stella McCartney and Arc’teryc Veilance.
At the moment I’m finishing up a packaging project for Song for the Mute, an Australian brand who we’ve been working closely with over the last 18 months on everything from their new identity to their social media presence and an installation featuring hundreds of suspended dried flowers for their showroom in Paris.
We also curate and design True, an annual publication celebrating modern photography. We’ve just started the commissioning process for the next issue, which will probably be out in the new year. We’ve got big plans for this one!
What made you choose the DPS opportunity?
I wanted to gain some real-life experience and get a bit of a better understanding of what it was actually like to work in a design studio. Up until the DPS I think I probably had a bit of an idealistic and unrealistic view of studio life.
Where did you go for your DPS year? Tell us a little bit about your experience:
I spent most of my year at Cartlidge Levene, working on a book on Japanese architecture for Phaidon, as well as lots of signage work for Derwent London. The studio has a very rigorous approach to typography so it was a great place to hone my layout skills and apply them to projects at such vastly different scales.
On Mondays I worked with John Walters, the editor of Eye magazine, helping him with research, calling in books that we were interested in reviewing (and even writing a very small review of an event for one of the issues!)
What's the most important thing you learned from doing the DPS year?
What I didn’t want to do! Or, rather, how I didn’t want to approach my working practice.
How did DPS alter your future ambitions?
I think when I started the DPS I wanted to go into publishing or editorial design. By the time I finished my year I still had a love for books, but realised that it probably couldn’t be the focus of my practice once I graduated.
Would you recommend a DPS year to other students and if so, why?
If you have the opportunity, then I’d definitely recommend it. I learned so much and it definitely gave me my break into the industry – about a month after graduating I was offered a full-time junior role at Cartlidge Levene.
What advice would you give to students applying for the DPS year?
Apply for things you have an interest in, but don’t be afraid of curveballs – I turned down one or two things that in hindsight could have been really good experiences.
What was the best thing about your time at LCC and why?
The collaborative atmosphere. I met a frequent work partner, Rishi Dastidar, in my first year when we were paired up on a live project with writers’ group 26 to celebrate the history of Circle Line. 10 years later we’re still working on exhibitions and publications together. And I still work with friends from LCC every now and then.
Is there a particular person who shaped your university experience or creative outlook?
Probably David Lowbridge, who was working at Cartlidge Levene when I was on my year out. He became a bit of a mentor, especially when I went freelance, helping with everything from new business proposals to presentations and recommending me for various roles. We still meet up regularly and have fairly in-depth discussions, some serious, others less so! We’ve just started a project together that I’m particularly excited about.
Where do you go for inspiration?
Books, films, exhibitions… pretty much anywhere that’s away from the computer! I also find going for a long walk with the dog incredibly helpful – sometimes you just need to let your mind wander without any distractions. It’s a bit of a cliché but it does really work.
What does your workspace look like? Do you have a studio?
Our studio’s in an old printing factory in De Beauvoir Town. It’s probably what you’d expect a design studio to look like – whitewashed walls, Dieter Ram furniture, lots of plants! My desk is usually fairly tidy, but I always have a few books to hand along with different samples for the various projects I’m working on.