Students transform Swansea’s high street with colourful designs

Swansea College of Art’s Surface Pattern Design team is delighted to announce that their Swansea Street Wrap collaboration with the Station2Sea project, the team at Volcano Theatre and Swansea Council is complete!

The art students have been busy designing pattern-charged interventions for the city, and the winning designs, as voted for by the public, have revamped High Street’s previously unloved utility boxes. Passers-by might have noticed these popping-up on Swansea’s High Street recently.

The 3rd and 4th year students on the Surface Pattern degree programme have been inspired by Swansea College of Art Professor of Practice Mark Eley, who is one half of the international design duo Eley Kishimoto. He was appointed at Swansea College of Art, UWTSD, in this honorary role in 2017 and is working closely with Surface Pattern students during his professorship.

“I am so honoured to be given the Professor of Practice role at UWTSD, and to be able to work it in a way where I am involved with the Surface Pattern Design student progression,” said Mark Eley.

The brand has become associated with their freedom to decorate anything and everything and Mark Eley is currently bringing this spirit to Surface Pattern, daring to ask our students to ‘Be prepared to pattern the future.’ Eley Kishimoto have been leaders in large scale regeneration projects around the UK, most notably in Brixton.

“This willingness to see our cities differently and bring pattern, colour and pride to our streets has really resonated with the team here in Swansea,” said UWTSD’s Georgia McKie, Senior Surface Pattern Design lecturer at UWTSD Swansea College of Art.

She added: “The Surface Pattern programme hopes to continue working in this regeneration vibe echoing Eley Kishimoto’s proactive approach towards patterning the world, and the design duo’s empowering spirit of creativity and community.”

“BA and MDes Surface Pattern Design have got the magic ingredients and there’s plenty more where this has come from – it’s safe to say they’re obsessed with pattern! They also love Swansea, it’s been good to the staff and students of Swansea College of Art and we feel it’s time to give something back to the city. Teamwork makes the dream work. The collaboration involved several project partners and students from across different programmes in the university – Surface Pattern and Graphics. Completing the sense of giving back, the printing and installation of the patterns to the boxes was undertaken by a Graphic Design Alumnus, who now runs his own well established business in the city – Hansign. And as for the impact of this exciting project if this has made you stop and look twice or brightened your walk to work they’ve done their job! Watch this space Swansea! This is only the start!”