Hello! I am Amber, the BA (Hons) Graphic Design Course Leader and I teach predominately on the final year of the degree as well as providing supervision on MA Graphic Design. As part of my role I have written undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of study, sat on both internal and external degree validation panels and I have been an external examiner for over a decade.

My research and design practice is rooted in the theoretical, cultural and historical contexts of sustainability. My PhD being driven by the investigation into models of sustainably within traditional printmaking, creating a printing process that is fully sustainable and biodegradable as well as economically viable by developing seaweed-based inks within a cottage industry environment.

I am the director of Leeds Print Festival, a weeklong event that champions contemporary and traditional printmaking. The festival takes place at venues throughout Leeds engaging both creative and the wider community of the region and features live printing, exhibitions, workshops, a print fair and a series of talks. Key speakers have included Alan Kitching and Ken Garland.

Currently, I am working as part of a team of external academics as a research associate for Nike as part of their Global Sustainably division, to create independent external research related to environmental sustainability and labour, health and safety in the supply chain. Nike Grind; an initiative developed in 1992 to repurpose shoes headed for landfills is now a global sustainability programme that helps transform manufacturing scrap and end-of-life shoes into recycled material.

Artefacts

Smith, A. (2015) Samples.

Smith, A. (2014) Process and printmaking.

Creative Projects

Smith, A. (2016) Leeds Print Festival x G.F. Smith Print Archive.

Conferences, Talks & Presentations

Smith, A. (2015) ‘Printmaking in changing contexts’, Printmaking in Changing Contexts. Cartwright Hall, Bradford. 30 April 2015.