Shillo Stories: Rosalie Wood

"Hi I’m Ros. I'm a graphic designer, educator and founder of studio kitschen, a design + ideas studio based in Berlin. When I'm not designing or teaching, I love hosting conceptual thinking or craft workshops to create fun human connections. Otherwise my time is filled with making pies and learning German."

Something that's been inspiring me lately is watching plenty of ‘Inside the Factory'. It's a series about the biggest food production operations in Britain and shares some of the behind the scenes processes (!!).

We're all operating in systems, for the optimisation of systems–in work but also in terms of how and what we eat. The idea that we have formulas of success for every consumable (eyes, tummy or otherwise) gives me food for thought and works as a strong counterpart to visual design systems.

On reflection I didn’t see myself moving away from Manchester and moving to Berlin, and definitely to not be self-employed. I think sometimes the best thing is not to over-think the big decisions and move with your gut feeling.

Here's a project I worked on with Formal Settings for Kotti Island, an audio-visual exhibition in bustling Kottbusser Tor in central Berlin.

I'm working on something for Milan Design Week with Woven Memories. Woven Memories, founded by Gina Nadal, is a blend of traditional weaving and computer science where messages are encoded for loved ones in traditional handwoven textiles. We have been collaborating from Manchester to Berlin with funding from the WORTH Partnership project and we are super excited to unveil the new brand interface that makes the encode and decode possible.

We actually met when Gina was studying for her PhD at the Art School and I volunteered with her to research and respond emotionally to materials and test some initial encoded messages. It’s a really nice full circle moment to celebrate these years on, as Gina gears up into the new beyond! Definitely worth checking out!

Thanks Ros!

Check out Ros' portfolio, Instagram and LinkedIn for more of her work–and take a look at more of our amazing teachers.