Home Truths - Times Higher Education

Illustration for magazine article on studying locally.

Local College Illustration

Illustration commissioned for Northumbria College as a design to be used on a 'mobile study vehicle' to bring further education to remote communities in Northumberland, England. The collage features elements representing subjects available to study & local landmarks.

Times Higher Educational - Skills Only Study Hampers Student Progress

Editorial illustration for the Times Higher Education Magazine for an article looking at how 'skills-only' education courses are hampering the progress of students.

Times Higher Educational - University Rankings

Illustration for the Times Higher Education magazine for an article looking at University league tables & how fluctuating & confusing these can be.

Men's Fitness - Stress

Collage illustration commissed by Men's Fitness magazine (Dennis Publishing) for article on the causes of stress in mens lives & how they might cope with it better.

EDF Energy - Improve you Carbon Footprint

An illustration commissioned for EDF Energy to show how customers can improve their own personal carbon footprint & play their part to combat global warming.

Times Higher Educational - Gender Gap

Illustration for Times Higher Education magazine article discussing how even though equality for women has improved there are still more struggles ahead.

Times Higher Educational - Rear View (Nostalgia)

Chronic Bullying - Times Higher Educational

Campaign - Advertising & Over Consumption

Times Higher Educational - Climate Change

Times Higher Educational - Impact Of Terror Legislation On Academic Study & Research

Times Higher Educational - From Which Class Do The Brightest Students Come From?

Times Higher Education - World to You

For article about how UK students no longer have to go out into the world to experience different cultures as universities are encouraging foreign students to come to the uk.

The Guardian Guide - Peep Show Returns

Commissioned for the cover to promote the return of the 'Peep Show' TV series with Mitchell & Webb, but not published.

Times Educational- Texting

The problem of students using mobile phones during lectures...

Times Educational- Women Control

Article on how women in society are targeted & controlled by both sexes.

The Guardian Guide - Josh Schwartz

Illustration for feature on Josh Schwartz the successful Teen TV show writer whose series include, The OC, Gossip Girl & Chuck.

Times Educational- What Price knowledge?

Article about the Research Council UK idea of developing an algorithm with which to test the economic benefits of research...which has now been abandoned.

How to Judge a Book by its Cover -Generation X

A cover I did 17 years ago re-surfaces...Generation X by Douglas Coupland

How to Judge a Book by its Cover
By Jonathan Gibbs
Published: March 1 2008 02:00 | Last updated: March 1 2008 02:00
Generation X

by Douglas Coupland

Abacus, 1991

Illustration by Paul Bateman

First impressions of the cover for this book are likely to be along the lines of how dated it looks.

The collage design, by British illustrator Paul Bateman, leans heavily on 1950s and 1960s imagery, which is at odds with the book's reputation. For this is Generation X, Douglas Coupland's debut novel, that did so much to define the zeitgeist of the 1990s.

But this was always a much misunderstood book, not least because its publication was closely followed by the explosion into the mainstream of grunge, which fused the book and the movement in the public's mind forever. This is unfortunate as Coupland's characters were not disaffected, Nirvana-obsessed rebels like the grunge kids, but ironical, informed drop-outs, haunted by nostalgia for their country's lost innocence.

Hence the retro look. According to Bateman, ''the source imagery was mainly from ads in 1950s and 1960s American magazines, reflecting the cultural memory and stories that the book's characters share''. He also deliberately blew up many of the images until the print pattern showed through, alluding to the media-savvyness of the Gen X mind. The pixelated areas were a nod to the emerging computer technology of the day, though, amusingly, this is clearly an old-school cut-and-paste job. Digital design would have to wait.

Also striking is the book's square shape, which makes it look more like a coffee-table book than a novel. This was a result of the interior layout, which reserved wide columns at the page edges for slogans, cartoons and Coupland's famous mini-definitions (''McJob'', ''Ultra Short Term Nostalgia'' and so on). These, together with the shape, gave the feeling that the book was somehow non-fiction after all - a key factor in its success.

Jonathan Gibbs

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

Times Educational (scotland)- Ministers Under Attack

Times Higher Educational - Campus Extremism

Times Educational (scotland)- Ministers under attack from Media Rottweillers

Times Educational (scotland)- Dr Who Spoof, Attack of the Hisslopps

The Guardian Guide - Review of the Year 2007

The Guardian Guide - Review of the Year 2007