Role
Jess is a Full-Time Senior Lecturer teaching on the BA (Hons) Graphic Design Course and MA Graphic Design Course at the School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University. Jess is module leader of the Typography Optional Module in second year and is a key tutor teaching across multiple modules within the BA and MA Graphic Design courses.
Career overview
Jess Harris has 17 years’ experience of teaching Graphic Design in Higher Education specialising in creative thinking, branding and identity, typography, book design and customer experience. Previously she was head of final year graphics on the BA (Hons) Graphic Design & Illustration programme at the University of Hertfordshire assisting students in winning over 60 awards including D&AD, YCN and ISTD. Many contacts in the industry have provided a bridge between design education and the creative industries via live briefs, student placements and organising visiting guest speakers.
Her students have secured placements and full-time employment in some of the most high-profile design studios in the UK and worldwide. She has a passion for ideas and a strong focus on contemporary professional practice – a firm believer in great ideas executed appropriately and brilliantly.
An experienced practising Graphic Designer previously employed as a senior designer at The Partners – an award-winning London based design agency. During her time at The Partners, she worked on a variety of award-winning projects. Her clients at The Partners included Warner Brothers, Nat West, Citibank, Patek Philippe and Tanner Krolle and she has received recognition from some of the most prestigious industry awards. She continues her practice alongside her teaching on the BA (Hons) Graphic Design course at Nottingham Trent University.
Research areas
2003 – present: Commercial practice including branding and identity, packaging, design for print and exhibition design for clients including Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery, The Welsh Opera House and the Cambridge Printmaking Biennale. Examples of her work can be viewed in her online portfolio.
External activity
- Currently designing the promotional material for the Cambridge Original Printmaking Biennale 2018, launching in September.
- Book design – Design of sample spreads for a book written by Dr Kerry William Purcell celebrating the golden era and associated memorabilia of British wrestling currently pending funding via a crowd-funding publisher.
- Jess recently completed a short course at Central Saint Martins – creating a Digital Typeface.
Sponsors and collaborators
Whilst teaching Jess has continued to practice working with clients largely within the Cultural Sector such as Welsh National Opera, Cambridge Original Printmakers Biennale, Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery and currently Bonington Gallery