Hannah Waterman

I’m Hannah – I am a multidisciplinary designer studying the Visual Communication MA, with a background in graphic design. I like to work in many different mediums in order to select containers which work best for the subject matter at hand. Over the course of my MA I’ve used stop-motion, book design, letterpress, painting, illustration, and photography in order to convey my ideas. 

In my freelance design work I create branding and ephemera for brands in a variety of sectors, from events, to publishing, to hospitality, to healthcare. More recently, I have been teaching art and graphic design NCFE and National Curriculum to 8-20 year olds with specialised educational needs. 

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with typography and linguistics. As a teenager, I would analyse the layout of album covers and CD booklets for hours – leading me onto doing graphic design work for local bands and musicians. I also work with audio, and hold a diploma in guitar performance: performing and marketing music, putting on grassroots events, and collaborating with other artists were an extremely formative part of my teenage years.

I graduated from the University of Brighton in 2022 with a BA degree in Graphic Design. Throughout these past few years, I have been focusing on gaining technical, theoretical, and conversational design skills across a range of media. My personal work typically focuses on finding means of expressing personal narratives, or of communications systems for topics that the population may find difficult or painful to talk about. 

I like to see my work as solving puzzles: every design problem has a solution, and the challenge is getting to the most effective container, context, and imagery for what that puzzle requires. My work is multidisciplinary, and I’m never able to predict which media or technique I will be using next, but my main stays are typography, painting, photography, and video. I like to adapt to different mediums because effective communication relies on an appropriate visual context for the specific subject matter. I’m not afraid to try new things.

My ethos as a creative can be attributed to playing in punk bands growing up: say something, mean it, and be bold with what you make and what you share. Art-making began as a self-regulation tool for me when I was younger – something which many creatives can attest to. Teaching has validated this for me even further, as all the young artists I supervise are so talented, and they draw for the same reasons. This humanity has remained the backbone of my work throughout my career. 

I often create work that tackles difficult subjects such as trauma, illness, and pain, and learning how to disseminate that often very sticky information effectively, whilst maintaining elegance in my designs, has given me an edge as a visual problem solver. It is so important to me to shed light on misunderstood and neglected topics in our society, and in particular when dealing with tough subject matter, imagery really shines as a perfect instrument for expression. 

When I think about why I do what I do, and why I create, my honest answer is that I have no choice in the matter. This is who I am. I love what I do so wholly, and I put so much energy and enthusiasm into my work, and that’s what I believe I bring to the table. I really, really care about what I am making, and that’s the most important thing.