An intimate roundtable conversation with Ian Swift (AKA Swifty), a prolific artist and designer whose vast portfolio includes magazine covers, record labels, posters and more.

Moderated by Dave Kirkwood

In this Meet the Maker session, we ask Swifty about his process and thoughts around making, creativity and staying relevant to clients in a rapidly changing industry. We also discuss his latest collaboration with GF Smith which will be exhibited at Blackburn Cathedral during the Festival of Making conference period.

This event is for a specially invited audience of creative industry practitioners. Limited spaces available for members of the public.

Also at National Festival of Making:

'Instant Lettering'
A new exhibition of Letraset based works

Swifty will feature again in a collaboration with GF Smith for a commissioned series of new Letraset-based works, which will be premiered at Festival of Making in an exhibition at Blackburn Cathedral (12 - 18 May).

On Saturday 12 May alongside the Instant Lettering exhibition Swifty will be running a FREE Letraset print badge making workshop (2-4pm Saturday 12 May - Blackburn Cathedral).

The exhibition is presented by Creative Lancashire in association with GF Smith and Atlantic Contemporary Art.

About Swifty
Ian Swift (AKA Swifty), is a dedicated graphic artist. Since embarking on his career at The Face magazine in 1986 he has pursued an individual course which has led him to specialise in the music industry and youth culture aesthetics. Equally at home with a club flyer or a complex movie title sequence, he has successfully run his own practice ‘Swifty - Grafix’ for over two decades.
Read article by Paul Bradshaw

About Dave Kirkwood
Dave Kirkwood founded his art and design practice, Dave Kirkwood Studio, in 2007. Alongside Dave's client work, he develops experimental working models for generating unique solutions to core brand visual communications problems. Dave's commercial work is underpinned by a body of self-initiated projects and stimulated by the teaching they undertake. Previous projects include 3hundredand65 – a graphic novel created on Twitter in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.

Parking available at Feilden Street multi-storey car park, Blackburn, BB2 1LQ

Creative Lancashire are proud partners of National Festival of Making. In the days surrounding the weekend celebration on 12 and 13 May, Creative Lancashire will present the National Festival of Making Conference Programme, in association with Crafts Council and GF Smith, to name a few.

Join us for a series of presentations, panels, and discussions to be held in Blackburn and Preston from 10 May onwards.. We will be exploring the relationship between making, skills, and new or emerging technologies, through a variety of events aimed at creative practitioners, professional makers, manufacturing businesses, and those working in related fields.

For more information please visit the dedicated National Festival of Making Conference Website: Click here