Exploring Europe with the Professor Les Mitchell Travel Award

Matt, wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and a backpack, stands in the middle of a busy shopping street. He is next to a tall metal pole covered in stickers.

Matt with a sticker-covered lamppost at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin

The first recipient of the Professor Les Mitchell Travel Award has reported back on his experiences, after a journey spent exploring graphic design, art, and culture across Europe.

Matt Butler, a third year BA (Hons) Graphic Design student, says the experience has transformed and enriched his understanding of the field.

The award was created in memory of the late Professor Mitchell, who spent more than 40 years at ECA, culminating in a role as Head of Design and an Emeritus Professorship. He accompanied many students over the years on design study trips and was a firm believer in the enriching power of travel.

Matt visited nine locations in seven countries, and has compiled an illustrated report on his experiences. We invited him to tell us more:

“I had no specific plan before the trip, I knew I wanted to explore graphic design and its applications within different countries and cities but I had no idea how that would pan out. I wanted to absorb and explore all the culture that was given to me and that was my only plan, to take it all in and try and scratch below the surface. The route I had was one that spanned across a wide variety, from huge cities like Berlin to smaller lake-side towns like Bled. I think that this gave me a taste for various different cultures.

“Wherever I went I was taking photos of everything, signage, packaging and everything in between. Where it was possible I would try to collect any graphic objects or any physical design that I liked. In Berlin I managed to pick up a diatronic type plate which was used to load typefaces onto electronic typewriters. Although it is completely defunct now, it would have been an important stepping stone from traditional typewriters to modern computer word processing. So that was a great find and definitely the best one of the trip. I tried to interact with local people too, I didn’t want my experience to be only focused on graphic design.

“Now that I’m back, I have lots of reflections! Particularly, that the world and its culture is vast and diverse. I couldn’t document even half of the things I saw during the couple of days I spent in each city. In terms of my practice I think it has influenced me massively. The trip has exposed me to such a wide assortment of design, art and culture. What I have experienced will help shape my design process and thinking. It has helped me to understand a little more the cultural context that we as designers have to be aware of in our practice. I am very grateful that I had the chance to go on this trip and thank you to the organisers of the Les Mitchell award.”