The advice posters are designed as welcoming gifts for first year students, so I'm delighted to be able to launch a new model which enables first year students across the UK to request a free advice poster through this site. The poster is then sent in the post free of charge.

This new direction is self-funded, through the help of our sponsors who have helped produce an edition of fundraising posters. The sale of these designs helps to cover the costs involved. We can only give out as many posters as are covered by poster sales, but this feels like a big step towards becoming self sufficient.

I've just put the second batch of free posters in the post. The range of courses, locations and brief messages coming in from students are remarkable.

Two more fund raising designs will be released this fortnight: one from Tiny Showcase and one more from howies®.

We have sold over half of our first fundraising poster edition. Thank you to howies® and everyone who has supported the project in this way.

Earlier this week, howies began screen printing a t-shirt release designed by Lizzy Stewart and produced in association with advice to sink in slowly. This is another way that howies are helping to support the advice project. The t-shirt is available for sale on the howies website until the end of the month. This video - shot at their Cardigan HQ - gives an idea of the printing process involved. 

A quick preview of our first fundraising poster sponsored by howies. The A2 poster will be available for sale tomorrow morning and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

I'm delighted to share the news that clothing company howies will be sponsoring our first fundraising poster release, 'Find some place to stop & be quiet' by Lizzy Stewart.

Inspired by a conversation with howies Commercial Director, Ade Gunn, the launch of the 200 poster edition marks a new direction for the project. Throughout the summer we will be releasing a series of A2 litho posters. All funds from the sale of these designs will go towards printing and distributing posters to students enrolling at UK Universities in September.

howies will also be releasing a limited edition 'Find some place to stop & be quiet' T-shirt to help spread the word about the promotion and the project.

The first advice poster will be available this week on Thursday 7th July. The limited edition howies t-shirt will be available through their website on the same day. 

I will be posting more details soon.

Many thanks to everyone at howies for their inspiration and support.

A beautiful new shop icon created by Robert Telegramme and which is connected to plans for the first Monthly Theme of 'Beginnings'. More details very soon.

In a few weeks time, this blog will be home to a retrospective of work by the students at Mississippi State University and the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn who have fed so much energy into the project in the past 2 years.

It has been a huge priviledge to see the project adopted as a Classroom Project at these two institutions and watch the range of ideas, potential and process unfold.

The success of this venture is all down to designer & teacher Sarah Foley. By the end of the summer, I hope to have a Schools & Colleges Activity Pack available for download, heavily influenced by Sarah's template and next academic year, we will be ready to recieve blog updates from students and teachers, as they work on the project.

Thank you so much to everyone involved.

If you would be interested in recieving a Classroom Pack, please get in touch.

This new blog will be home to responses, to a common theme, from the whole range of individuals who have contributed to the project.

It is an experiment in drawing from the same resources, which have made this project possible, in order to share stories, contrast voices and cross disciplines. The posts will also aim to fit within the ethos of creating something personal and with the potential to last, so they needn't be relevant straight away, but can be read and rediscovered when needed.

It is my greatest hope that the first theme of 'beginnings' will help inspire other's beginnings as well as our own.

An inspirational talk with relevance to my search for a project sponsor this year. Max Schorr is a Co-Founder and Community Director of the wonderful GOOD magazine.

Thank you for visiting. The site is still a work in progress, but I am very proud to introduce some new features. Here is a short tour of our new home on the web:

OUR CATALOGUE:

The Advice Catalogue enables visitors to browse through four years of posters or search by creators and categories to fit their mood (Spur; Balance; Worries and Travel are some of my favourites). Our next plan is to begin cataloguing pilot submissions in the form of songs, films and written content here too.

THE CREATOR PAGES:

Visitors can now also find out more about each graduate and graduates are able to continue to share advice and inspiration, as and when they wish, via their own page on the site.

THE CREATOR BLOG:

An important part of this exchange is the Creator blog which aggregates all the different creator blog entries. I hope it will become a really exciting resource. We are also planning on developing site wide themes to encourage a conversation on issues such as mental health, collaboration, money and friendships. A Classroom Projects blog, for Schools and Colleges who use the advice project as a live brief for their students, will be online soon too.

THE SHOP:

If you are a fan of the project, our new Shop includes a choice of advice posters; our most recent postcard pack; screenprints and items by contributors that represent a personal aspect of their work.

OUR UNIVERSITY ADOPTION PACK & CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES PACK:

Finally, if you are interested in adopting the project at your University or as a classroom project at your School or College please get in touch. An adoption and activity pack will be available soon.

More details ASAP, but in the meantime I'd love to know what you think.

Many thanks for all your support,

John Stanbury

Founder and Project Manager, advice to sink in slowly

A selection of the good luck messages which have been written to accompany poster designs over the past 4 years of the project:

"Believe in you own abilities, surround yourself with inspiring people and just keep going ... never give up."

Simon Peplow

"It's all about experimentation and reinvention. If something is not working, try something else and start over. Be flexible, curious, intrepid. Don't expect to get it right first time. Learn from each attempt then rip it up and start again."

Coralie Bickford-Smith

"During my course I was drawn to many books, authors and disciplines and at the end of the day I was so influenced by all these ideas that I didn’t know what to do with my own project. However, in the end I found my bearings and I know that that exposure changed and enriched my final work. 

So, my advice is that you should eat a daily amount of nutritive ideas: green, red, orange, purple, blue, yellow and black ones. Then, process and digest them: take what is important and useful but make it yours, give it your personal input. Finally go to the loo, take a deep breath and evacuate! Yes! That will help to keep you moving and to construct your learning for life. 

Good luck and receive a warm hug from MEXICO!"

Cynthia Ortega Salgado

"Arriving at University I was nervous about meeting new people and joining in with events and I spent a great deal of time alone in my room refusing invites and becoming more secluded and lonely. I realised that I needed to start making an effort and when I did I met some amazing people who I hope to be friends with for many more years."

Suzy Phillips

"When I came to Falmouth I was looking for shortcuts; ways of working that made it quick and easy to produce good work. In three years I have learnt that there are no shortcuts if you want to produce something genuinely good.

It's simple really: the work you put in always shows on the page. If you work hard you can make beautiful things and that can be a great feeling."

Michael Robinson

"People warned me that students who take study trips abroad during their degree never do any work and inevitably waste precious time. Indeed I was told I had done this when I returned from three months in Romania because I had only filled one sketch book. But on the contrary, the people I met and the time I spent drawing, observing and even just thinking are still making a direct impact on me and my work four years later."

Michael Sibley

On the fourth anniversary of the project, advice to sink in slowly distributed 350 posters to students enrolling at University College Falmouth.

Blog description from the brilliant Newspaper Project:

"This is the blog where we're alarmingly honest about where it's all going wrong. And occasionally smug about where it's going right."

This poster was designed by Steve Bond and Dean Owens for the purpose of inspiring content for their magazine POST.

It's a view of life summed up by the expression on Steve's wonderful friend Mabel's face, who should contribute her own advice to the project as soon as possible. For me it means that a day in thought is a day owned; thought leads to action; action leads to control, not over anything in particular, but some control over what comes next and that coming from you. Your input is vital: in collaboration, in everyday matters, in relation to others and to yourself.

So I wanted to put it up here as:

1) I have come to realise that it is a credo my friends live by and I'm delighted they let me turn it into an advice poster.

2) Because it is becoming my credo too and am proud to share it with such wonderful people. I hope I can live up to their example.

I just heard about StoryCorps through a wonderful segment on the BBC World Service Outlook programme.

"You bring a loved one to our booth - a parent, a friend or someone you have just met on the bus whose story you want to get to know - and for forty minutes you just talk. Most people ask the big life questions like: "What are the most important lessons you have learnt?", "How do you want to be remembered?" or "What did your grandmother sing to you when you were a child?" Then at the end of 40 minutes two CDs have been burnt, one stays with you and the second goes to us and we put it in the Library of Congress and it becomes part of the oral history of America."

Listening to the piece reminded me of the inspiration for this project. I was talking to my friend Cynthia and she mentioned how she often asked her Grandmother for advice and inpiration; it was something I had never done and immediately regretted. 

I wrote down two phrases from Mathew Bannister's conversation with StoryCorps founder David Isay:

"Forty minutes to transmit wisdom from one generation to the next."

"Turn off your computer and cellphone, look a loved one in the eye and tell them how much they mean to you by listening to them."

There is a wonderful conversation between Seymour and Marcia Gottlieb in the Outlook piece and these three compilations are an introduction to the breadth and emotion of the recordings. The talk below by founder David Isay gives an overview of his career as a Radio Producer and the ideas and passion behind the StoryCorps project (apologies for posting such a long video, but I enjoyed it so much I would feel I was cheating to post anything shorter). 

Finally, if you have the chance, I throughly recommend listening to as much of the World Service as you can.

There is no obligation, but I would be delighted if you would consider posting on the Creator blog. 

In the past 4 years the range of people who contributed to the project, by sharing something and making a connection, have, on every level, made it what it is. 

To continue to share, even on the smallest scale - by drawing from individual experiences: things you've learnt; things you are learning; things you are passionate about; things you are worried about; things you have finished; things you are working on; things you are thinking of; the sort of things you would share in a discussion with friends, family or workmates  - it could be possible to create an expansive resource for current students, graduates and fellow contributors. 

Not every day, or every week, but whenever you have the impulse to share, please do. 

The connection that started when a student received your poster has the chance to continue; we can map out a small area of the transistion from student to graduate and there is also potential to break down boundries between disciplines, posts by a Designer will appear next to those by a Fine Artist.

I think we can create something really exciting.

This will be a learning process, but I'd love to hear what you think.

It may not look like much, but this is pretty rough for Gylly.

And after a night of storms...

I have begun to categorize posters for the Catalogue and am trying to break down the broader topics like Work into something more specific. At the moment Travel works well and I'm thrilled with Ideas. Spur and Carpe Diem perhaps overlap a little too much. 

Also for each poster, I have been adding links to related designs.

In both cases, having to hold all the different images in your head at once inevitably means missing some, so it will be a question of refinement for quite a while.

Moving from one theme to another has changed my view of many of the posters too.

I'd always thought of David Plant's design as rather a gentle reminder. But now I see the illustration as someone regretting their initially brave decision and at the same time realising it's probably too late to amend it. The words and hand type are a reassurance that doubts are part and parcel of those decisions.

I'd welcome any help with the catalogue. If you'd like to suggest a poster category or you disagree with placement of a poster within a category, please leave a comment below.

The rewards of sitting still and being observed by Dean. 

A gallery of past & present advice designs can be seen on the Education Guardian website.

So wonderful to read these two reactions from people who got their packs in the post yesterday:

http://hellojenuine.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-advice.html

http://remember-who-u-are.blogspot.com/2009/03/advice-to-sink-in-slowly.html

Coralie Bickford-Smith recently designed a wonderful advice poster, partly inspired by the Orange Juice song 'Rip it up & start again'.

The association feels especially relevant as Edwyn Collins (lead singer of Orange Juice, solo artist and idol of mine) suffered a debilitating stroke in 2005. His remarkable determination to recover - learning to speak, read, write, walk, draw, sing and compose again - is documented in the BBC Scotland documentary Home Again (see part 1 of 4 below).

As Coralie writes:

"It's all about reinvention: that it's flexible; that when it feels like it's going wrong it's ok to start again and when you do things over, although it's a chore, it makes them better. Practice makes perfect...."

For the second year in a row the advice project has been featured in the CR graduate guide.

Plus, Lee Basford's poster is on the cover.

Photo credit: Mark Surely

'I've loved the project since I first saw it when I enrolled at Falmouth and would love to be a part of it.'

'I remember having one when I first enrolled at Uni, so actually getting to design one would be wonderful.'

'I am a big fan of the project and I would love to get involved.'

'I remember the posters from my freshman year as well and I got a lot of enjoyment out of mine.'

'I remember getting my advice poster when I started 3 years ago and I loved it.'

'I remember getting one in my 1st year and thinking what a great idea it was.'

'No problem, it's a really good idea. I know I appreciated it 3 years ago.'

My good friend Simon came to stay recently and left this customised version of his poster.

Needless to say, I treasure it.

There is a wonderful piece on the advice project in the Creative Review graduate guide. The guide comes free with this month's issue.

The designs included (clockwise from top left) are: Let go, Make it happen, Words are not enough, Show some guts, Take time, Make more GIF files, Let go of what you think you know and Travel & Network.

Thank you Mark!

The postcard pack is now available from the advice to sink in slowly shop:)

It's a wonderful feeling to flick through the pack and be surprised by the designs. They work well as postcards and holding them close to see the extra details makes them feel even more intimate.

Robert did a fantastic job on the front and inside covers.

I particularly love how the type on the inside covers sinks into the off-white texture of the creamback stock. Thank you to all involved and I'm very sorry for the long wait.

You can see more photos of the pack and the full range of contents here.

There is a wonderful mention of the project in the new issue of US publication STEP inside design.

Thank you Michelle!

Ju - who for the past year, has helped guide the advice posters and the new postcard pack to the press in the most patient, enthusiastic and expert way - has designed a new poster for the project (detail below).

The design comes from his doodle pad which sat on his desk for the duration of the POST 3 job. See the full version here.

I received the first proof for the advice postcard pack 3 weeks ago and have been carrying it around in my pocket ever since.

Thank you to Rob Evans of Telegramme Studios for the great cover design.

Tem's 'Take Time' design as a postcard.

Oliver Sutherland's 'Make more GIF files'.

Jasmine Foster's 'Work outside'.

The pack will contain 24 postcards printed on a Cream back stock, which has a lovely writing surface. A complete selection of contents and some more photos of the proof can be seen here.

Steve and I are aiming to have the final pack in our hands by the end of March. I think we're both too excited by this to wait any longer. I'd like to try and be ambitious and approach as many Galleries, Museums and Bookshops as possible. If you have a favourite place you think would be interested in stocking the pack, please let me know.

The project has received some wonderful support recently. From myself and all the artists involved, it means a lot...

To:

The serif, Kitsune Noir, Core 77, Metafilter, Gycouture, Homebug, Chicagoist, Uppercase Journal, More Ways to Waste Time, Kak.ru, Craftzine, 16 Sparrows, Crap detector, Roadside Scholar, Over the counter culture, Nestled In, Lifelounge, Sweet Sassafras, Liquid treat, bunnehmunches, Port City Studios, Urban Outfitters, Speak Up, Goodonpaper, MuralMania_archiblog, Design Crush, twenty2woblog, Running Amok, Andrew Sullivan, the (non)billable hour, Cherry coloured, Occasional jottings, Favoritos, Please be quiet, Quipsologies, Cosas notan simples, Arts Houston, Ines Berrizbeitia, Hotcards, Chicago Tribune, 冬眠, Syndicate Product Covert HQ, Les Mangues Italiennes, Woobiquity, UCSD Arts Libraries, Letters from a librarian, L1brar1an, 2Modern Design Talk, pica + pixel and bblinks.

Type by Ellie Cryer

The wonderful Illustration blog Drawn! have posted a link on the project. It's a real honour and a wonderful late Christmas present.

Thank you Johnny and everyone at Drawn!

Thanks to everyone who visited the advice to sink in slowly exhibition at the Poly.

My favourite part of organising these projects is the hanging and I had a great time playing with different combinations of the posters (for inspiration, I recommend looking at how Little Friends of Printmaking and Analogue Books hang their shows).

Rebecca painted two examples of messages from graduates to first years, onto the gallery wall ...

Tem brought books, furniture, a chess set, cushions, a spinning globe, a tv, plants, a dvd player and a typewriter from home and created a unique and welcoming space it was hard to leave at the end of the day ...

... and Chris Stonehill coloured his brilliant comic introduction to the project and we printed it A1 for the exhibition.

It was wonderful to see the reaction to the posters and to talk about the project, with staff, students and most of all lots of people unconnected to the University. We sold out of 14 different poster designs and sold over 200 posters in five days, which was extraordinary.

Seeing all the posters together made me realise how far the project has come in a year and how much work people have put into it. It can sometimes feel quite a fragile thing to work on, but the show itself and people's response to it has made me really excited about where it's going to go next.

You can see more photos of the exhibition here.

Thanks to everyone who came for making it such a special evening.

I didn't take many photos on the night as it was too dark for my phone camera, but I went back the day after to document the drawings and was met with the wonderful smell of mulled wine still in the air and a really nice mood about the place. Really cold night, NinosKika performing (amazing - thank you guys!), people drinking and talking about what they were going to pass on, watching people draw and my favourite moment: people drawing while NinosKika were playing.

You can see photos of all the evening's drawings here.

Leaf Tea House is now open for events bookings and lots of people were coming up with ideas... backgammon nights, poetry evenings, exhibitions and I'd love to do another of these themed evenings with live music and space for people to draw.

If you'd like to book Leaf please call James on: 01326 211424 or you can e-mail him at james@leafteahouse.com.

It's a pleasure to be putting these up around the place... 

A very big thank you to Robert Evans and for the new advice poster you can see here.

Some exhibition plans:

Participatory evening at Leaf Tea House, Friday 23rd November, 4-9pm.

Everybody has a piece of advice they wish they had known earlier. Come to Leaf and pass it on in a creative way. Art materials, mulled wine and a big sheet of paper supplied. Plus a free poster to the first 30 people through the door.

Exhibition of all 80 poster designs at Falmouth Arts Centre, 26th November - 1st December, 10am - 5pm.

Background to project, selection of poster blurbs and all the posters for sale including our first Poster/CD package, a collaboration between Matt Davies and Richard Dinnis (more details soon).

Exhibition private view at Falmouth Arts Centre, Wednesday 28th November, 6-9pm.

To be confirmed: NinosKika may be performing a short set at the private view, including a song they have written for the project.

I can't say it enough, but is such a pleasure to work on this and think of being surrounded by all the posters. Thanks to everyone involved for making this possible.

"I've been out there in rain, hails, been out there one day in a clap of thunder and lightning - great forked lightning came down through the water...''

Roma Pearce, a dear friend and swimming companion, was interviewed by ITV over the summer (you'll need to skip the first 5 minutes to get to her bit). What she doesn't mention is that she's swam with dolphins and seals at Gylly too.

Roger Towe, Head Librarian at Woodlane library died earlier this week from a heart attack.

It is very hard to imagine the college without him.

My first thought, after disbelief, was that I didn't say thank you enough. Without Roger's support and encouragement this project wouldn't have happened. He was always available for a moral-boosting talk, full of ideas and contacts and when you are trying to get a project started, a positive voice from inside the college means so much.

He had a vision for the college that came from a genuine enthusiasm for student's work and from seeing the library as a hub that brought people together. The exhibition space above the library and ongoing collection of student and graduate work and publications was just one part of this.

Dean Owens put it well when he said: 'He's irreplaceable as his job description could simply have read: 'being Roger.'

Thank you Roger.

Update: Anne sent this picture together with her comment below:

It's a wet and windy poster eve night.

I hope there are some wonderful surprises in store.

I will write more tomorrow, but I just wanted to say GOOD LUCK to everyone starting a course at University College Falmouth and if you get a poster today, I'd love to hear what you think.

Almost all of this year's designs can be seen here.

Just got back from helping personalise the 1000 issues of POST. Each issue is hand-numbered and contains two advice to sink in slowly postcards inside an envelope stamped with the POST logo. 

Just realised I didn't take any photos of inside the mag, will remedy that tomorrow. Congratulations guys!

POST is a new journal enabling students on the MA courses at University College Falmouth to see what is going on on the other MAs.

I've been really lucky to watch Dean, Jon and Steve bring this thing together. Their passion, expertise and attention to detail, has created an inspiring first issue and an ongoing concept that's going to last.

The magazine launch is this Thursday, at Woodlane Library. I hope I can convince them to 'post' on the project. There is a strong advice to sink in slowly connection so more POST news to come ...