James Brocklehurst

James' teaching centers on understanding graphic communication concepts and processes, as applied to a range of media. He specialises in graphic design for digital and interactive media.

He managed the BA (Hons) Graphic Design with Typography programme at the University of Plymouth for eight years, lectured on the BA (Hons) Illustration, MA Publishing and MA Communication Design programmes, and has experience of writing and managing higher education art and design programmes for the University of Brighton and the Open University. He has helped a number of students win international design awards, including the D&AD New Blood Awards and the ISTD Student Assessment Scheme. James' students have had their work showcased in international publications such as Creative Review, and have gone on to work for some of the world's leading creative agencies, including Leo Burnett, M&C Saatchi, Jones Knowles Ritchie and BBC Studios.

 

Live student design projects that James has coordinated include those run in collaboration with IBM, Skint Records, House of Fraser, The Met Office, It's Nice That, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery and the English Riviera Global Geopark.

 

Invited lectures:

• Brocklehurst, J. (2020). Inside / Outside. Guest Lecture. MA Information Experience Design, Royal College of Art.
• Brocklehurst, J. (2017). Digital Design for Heritage Spaces. In Daybell, J., Maudlin, D. Cornerstone Heritage Summer Lectures. Public talk. Powderham Castle.
• Brocklehurst, J. (2014). Designing for Engagement in Interactive Storytelling. In Denham, S. (Chair) CogTalk - Immersive Worlds: Between Fact and Fiction. Public talk. University of Plymouth.
• Brocklehurst, J. (2012). New Formats and Illustration. Guest lecture. Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London.

Conferences organised:

• Whittaker, E., Brocklehurst, J. (2013). Expanded Narrative Symposium. University of Plymouth.

Other academic activities:

• Peer reviewer for New Media (Chapter), A History of Illustration (2018), Edited by Doyle, S. Rhode Island School of Design, published by Bloomsbury/Fairchild.

 

Artistic projects:

Recent projects include experimental image typeface PlymouthPress (2021), and the design and development of immersive mobile apps The Cartographer's Confession (2017), Journeyer's Guidebook (2016), The Lost Index (2015), which used various technologies built in to consumer smartphones to create location-driven narrative experiences. These were produced in conjunction with researcher Dr Emma Whittaker, for external organisations such as the Digital Cultures Research Centre Bristol, the Jubilee Library Brighton and the National Museum of Denmark.

In 2013 James collaborated with the poet Lytton Smith and BA(Hons) Illustration students to produce an interactive Twitter-based poem The Repurposed Magical Tent.

He was part of the organising committee of the Digital Research in Humanities and Arts Conference 2017, and co-coordinated the Expanded Narrative Symposiumin 2013.

Between 1999-2004 James created animated and moving-image artworks that investigated the notion of a 'digital aesthetic'. These were exhibited at the LUX Centre London, The Cyberart festival in Bilbao, broadcast on MTV2 and published on the Arts Council funded multimedia DVD Hi-Fi Rise - Sonic Cities From Another Timeline, produced by the artist group Semiconductor.