Freelance Diaries: April ⚡
A month of mural workshops, volunteer days, networking mornings, agency presentations, quick portraits, masquerade balls, team culture shoots and attempting to switch my brain off for at least five minutes.
A few highlights:
🎨 documenting the collaboration between @withingtonwalls , @oskarwitha.k & @mandemmeetup_mcr
🌿 photographing @plant_mcr volunteers growing greener spaces across Manchester
📸 quick headshots and brilliant conversations in my @peoplewithgrit studio and across Manchester
💻 team culture and portraits for studios and agencies wanting to show up more personally online
☕ ongoing storytelling with @venturecafemanchesterand , @sister_manchester and @affinitylivinguk
Also a very proud moment this month… sitting on my first freelance panel with @lwd_manchester 👀
And finally, I attempted a proper holiday.
The laptop still came. Obviously.
But so did the bike. 🚲
Not entirely switched off… but progress nonetheless ⚡
🎉 Festival of Libraries is back 10-14th June! 🎉
Manchester City of Literature’s award-winning Festival of Libraries, the county-wide celebration of Greater Manchester’s 133 libraries, have today announced the first wave of a whopping 120 event-strong programme!
Across all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester, this June libraries will be filled with artists, dance, performance, theatre, authors, painting, hair-braiding, live music, film screenings, exhibitions and more.
Head to our website to find out more be amongst the first to get your tickets.
#FestivalofLibraries #Manchester #CityofLit #Libraries
Living Dots - Science & Media Museum 🌳
Scroll for behind the scenes…
A pleasure to work with @mediamuseum and @instructstudio to make 8 wooden trees, 8 wooden bushes and a tactile interactive wall based map for the Living Dots exhibition in the Bradford Science and Media Museum 🌳
Graphics by @instructstudio
Printing by Extreme
New work for @instructstudio : photographing Voice of the Fans at @leedslibraries part of @leeds_lit_fest — a deep dive into the history of football fanzines and the people who made them.
The exhibition brings together decades of DIY publishing, activism and fan culture, showing just how much of football’s story has been written from the stands.
DDW – Day 3 💙
To wrap up our time in the Netherlands, we spent our final day exploring Amsterdam! It was my first-ever visit (which is hard to believe given my love for all things Miffy) and it definitely won’t be my last.
We kicked off the day at the @stedelijkmuseum in the most colourful way possible — visiting @martens__martens ’ ‘Karel Martens – Unbound’ exhibition and even meeting the brilliant master himself.
Of course, no trip would be complete without a stop at the @nijntje_nl store (for cultural reasons, obviously), followed by a wander through Amsterdam’s charming streets and a sweet finish with stroopwafels and @tonychocolonely_nl treats! 🐰🇳🇱
Altogether, these few days were filled with creativity, inspiration, connection, experimentation, reflection, and pure joy!
#design #festival #amsterdam #netherlands #art #designinspiration #graphicdesign #miffy #nijntje #dickbruna #travel
DDW – Day 2 💚
Day two took us to the @klokgebouw — four buzzing halls filled with graduation projects and work from forward-thinking designers and studios. From AI and sustainable materials to reflections on the planet’s future and humanity’s role within it, the creativity on display was inspiring!
We also stopped by VEEM’s ‘Manifestations’ exhibition, exploring the (mis)matches between humans and technology, and imagining how tech might make our world a little kinder.
One exhibition that particularly stood out to me was @redbox_platform ’s ‘Red Box Exhibition’, which demonstrated how thoughtful design can foster inclusivity by revealing and rethinking the everyday design choices that shape women’s experiences ❤️
#design #festival #dutchdesignweek #netherlands #art #designinspiration #graphicdesign #DDW25
DDW – Day 1 🩷
Two weeks ago, the @instructstudio team headed to the wonderful city of Eindhoven for the 25th edition of @dutchdesignweek !
Under the theme ‘Past. Present. Possible.’, this year’s festival celebrated today’s creative energy and imagined what design could become.
On our first day, we explored the inspiring @designacademyeindhoven 2025 Graduation Show, visited @kazerne ’s ‘Basic Instinct’ exhibition, soaked up inspiration at the @vanabbemuseum , checked out the ‘Something Bigger’ exhibition by something.events_nl at Schellens Fabriek, and ended the day meeting brilliant designers and studios at the NRE grounds 🙌
It’s hard to put into words how much creativity we absorbed in just one day — we left completely inspired (and maybe a little overwhelmed!) by the ideas, energy and brilliance everywhere we looked!
#design #festival #dutchdesignweek #netherlands #art #designinspiration #graphicdesign #DDW25
Custom made laboratory style table for @thackraymuseum for their exhibition - “POO” 💩
A lovely little project and team to work with, everyone should go and visit!
Amazing exhibition design by @instructstudio
💩 Welcome to the number one exhibition on number twos!
Photographed for @instructstudio , who designed the graphics behind this brilliant family exhibition at @thackraymuseum in Leeds.
POO! lifts the lid on bums, tums and stinky science – answering children’s curious questions about digestion with smells, touch, discovery and even a real Medieval poo from the 12th century.
A colourful, interactive space that proves how design and storytelling can turn even the messiest subject into something fascinating, educational, and fun.
📷 I love capturing exhibitions that spark curiosity and play.
👉 What’s the most unusual exhibition or installation you’ve ever visited? (Let’s see if anything can top photographing poo!)
POO IS HERE 💩
The number one exhibition on number twos is now OPEN.
Why are farts colourless? Who did the world's biggest poo? How do you get constipated? Through recreated smells (oh yes!), touch and discovery, POO! flushes out the science behind one of the body’s most remarkable (and messy) functions.
You’ll even come face to face (or nose to nose) with a real Medieval poo from the 12th century, as well as a surprise from the National Poo Museum, alongside our own collection of Victorian laxatives, digestive cures and digestive ‘solutions.’
Don't hold it in, get ready for POO! this summer.
🎟️ Free with a museum ticket or Membership
📆 Our summer holiday activities Poo, Glorious Poo run from 28 Jul-31 Aug
📸 @bydevonchambers
🔗 in bio
A tour of our new website! 🌏 💻
⚡ The site is now a dynamic platform and resource for writing enthusiasts. Discover workshops, events and submission call-outs ⚡
Features include: a Writers Gallery, Showcase page with new writing and features from our community, a What’s On page.
Visit .uk
Designed by Koto & Instruct Studios. Developed by Oh Digital
@studiokoto@instructstudio #Cultureword #writing #poetry #Manchester #website #relaunch
