David Symmons Portfolio

DAVID SYMMONS PORTFOLIO

CONTACT
davidgsymmons@btinternet.com
davidsymmons.ttf

BIO
I am a 26 year old graphic design graduate from Aberdeen. I have recently concluded my studies at Glasgow School of Art and studied graphic design for two years prior to this at Edinburgh College. My practice is defined by deeply personal and playfully experimental projects with a strong focus on typography.

EDUCATION

Glasgow School of Art
BA (Hons) Communication Design
2021 - 2025

Leith School of Art
Foundation Course in Art
2020 - 2021

Edinburgh College
HND in Graphic Design
2018 - 2020

EXPERIENCE

Chairperson
GSA Film Society, Glasgow

Two Week Work Experience
Multiply, Edinburgh

One Week Work Experience
Whitespace, Edinburgh

SKILLS

Type Design
Branding
Publication Design
Motion Graphics
Social Media

AWARDS

Leith School of Art 2021 Design Prize

YCN Student Awards 2018 Commendation

Last Updated 03.12.25

SELECTED WORK

1. WAVERLEY

Waverley is a typeface influenced by Old Style Antique a typeface produced by the Edinburgh type foundry Miller & Richard. Through this typeface I intend to explore typefounding in Scotland during the period of Scottish Enlightenment.

Typefounding in Scotland can be traced back to Alexander Wilson who produced type in Glasgow during the mid 18th century. The practice was continued by William Miller, an employee of Wilson, who established a foundry in Edinburgh and was later joined by his son-in-law, Walter Richard. The Miller & Richard foundry would continue the production of type up until the decline of hot metal type in the mid 20th century.

These specimens act as a kind of artefact from the film. Although the viewer never sees any street signs in Playtime, this is how I would imagine them looking. They are primarily set in style 1, however with hints of style 2 representing Monsieur Hulot's small interactions with the city.

This specimen is an exploration of the themes of Playtime, through materiality. I wished to explore the properties of glass and transparency and how this could highlight the differences between the two styles.

This is a traditional specimen showcasing my type at different scales with the second style screen- printed on top in the form of a typographic map of Paris.

2. HULOT

Re-watching one of my favourite films, Playtime, I was inspired to design a typeface based on the themes of the film. Playtime is directed by and stars French comedian Jacques Tati. The film follows Monsieur Hulot a bumbling everyman who visits Paris for an appointment only to discover it transformed into a maze of Modernism.

Hulot is comprised of 2 styles, the first takes influence from Neo-Grotesque typefaces such as Univers, the second is the popular French typeface, Mistral. Mistral designed by the prolific French type designer Roger Excoffon was an appropriate influence due to its friendly naïvety and unpretentiousness which related strongly to the character of Monsieur Hulot and French comedies as a whole.

The Hastings specimen is a 150cm long piece of printed fabric. The layout and the overall theme of the specimen is derived from the Bayeux Tapestry - the Norman tapestry depicting the lead up to the battle of Hastings in 1066.

3. HASTINGS

In the spirit of the master Punch-Cutters of continental Europe, who took influence from Latin and Cyrillic inscriptions, Hastings is influenced by ancient lettering found in the British Isles. Hastings takes inspiration from runes and manuscripts written in the diverse array of languages found in the British Isles during the pre and early medieval period. The strokes of the letters are largely derived from the movement of the brush on vellum.

4. THE LIMINAL, THE WEIRD AND THE EERIE

As part of our ‘Extending Design’ project in fourth year we were tasked with typesetting our essays into a publication. My essay explored the effect of weirdness and/or eeriness overlapping with the theme of liminality. I explore this effect through three filmic sources, these being – The Trial (1963) by Orson Welles, Pulse (2001) by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Inland Empire (2006) by David Lynch. Throughout this essay I refer to the writing of Mark Fisher who redefined weirdness and eeriness in his essay, The Weird And The Eerie.

The design of the publication explores the themes of the content utilising, contrast, scale, absence, presence and anonymity. It is set in Hulot and Waverley.

5. SYNTHESIS

Synthesis is a project that explores experimentation and typographic play. I digitally combined different typefaces, contrasting; weights, styles and ideologies. The letters where then cut from wood to produce a series of custom made woodtype letters which I used for a selection of printed compositions.