Phoebe Hall is a Yorkshire-based BA Graphic Design student at Leeds Arts University, and founder of HECTOR design studio. HECTOR specialise in screen printing and digital graphic design, often combining both processes to create a wide range of digital representation for live briefs, collaborations, client briefs, and personal projects.
Phoebe first began studying Graphic Design at high school, followed by 2 years of studying an Extended Diploma in Art and Design at Leeds College of Art. During this time, she was able to play around with physical processes such as lino print and letterpress. “Despite enjoying the creative freedom of the course, I felt that my creative process wasn’t developing at the same rate as my peers who all excelled within digital design,” says Phoebe. After finishing her diploma with a pass, she took a year out from the design world and worked full-time with the impression that her dream of working within the design industry would fail to come to fruition. Fortunately, Phoebe struggled to settle into the 9-5 life, and decided to give herself a final shot at becoming a full-time creative practitioner in 2018, which is when she began her BA Hons degree in Graphic Design.
As someone who has always been “somewhat disjointed from the technological processes”, initially Phoebe felt “out of depth” on the course which was mostly dominated by digital designers. She states; “After months of trying and failing to achieve what is classed as ‘the contemporary design approach’, and limitless late-night sessions trying to understand the fundamentals of type, I began to experiment with the screen printing process and instantly fell in love”.
The hands-on, messy nature of the process allowed Phoebe to put her physical efforts into the design outcomes she was creating, and suddenly, her digital mock-ups were able to come to life. Through spending days on end in the print studio, Phoebe realised that the aspects of digital design that she disliked were being phased out by the physical process. “The satisfaction I would get after a day in the print room coming home covered in ink is second to none compared to the never-ending developments of digital processes. It was here that I realised that if I wasn’t able to put my physical passion for design into my outcomes, I didn’t feel that they were worth sharing. Passion for me is everything,” describes the printmaker.
Fast forward to her final months at LAU, Phoebe has now found a harmonious balance between digital design and screen printing, allowing myself to build ideas and concepts on the computer, then bring them to life in the print room. This is evidenced throughout the work being released by HECTOR.
Currently, HECTOR is thriving in both the digital and physical design worlds, as evidenced in the studio’s recent release; The Fresh Collection. What began as digital designs for a live brief with Camden Town Brewery, developed into a series of prints inspired by clothing patterns seen on the well-known 90s TV show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Through developing these designs physically in the print room, the 2D prints Phoebe began with grew into a full double-denim, ’90s inspired hand-printed clothing collection. Phoebe also produced a screen printed fashion zine featuring a nostalgic photo shoot of the collection, shot on film.
The Fresh Collection is the first of many clothing collections to be released by HECTOR, with the second drop, The Colour Edition, being released on Everpress shortly. Following her graduation this summer, Phoebe aims to launch HECTOR as a full-time design studio operating from West Yorkshire Print Workshop, her local print studio.
“As it stands, I am looking forward to watching HECTOR grow as a studio beyond myself, collaborating with other practitioners, and most importantly, following a life-long passion for print!”
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