...it's not yet! This selfie of a group from the assessment team was taken as the first of the 2014 ISTD Student Assessments drew to a close on Sunday 30 March in London. Coming up, further assessments will take place in Ireland, Lebanon, South Africa and Australasia.

Nearly 200 entries were received from over 40 institutions across the UK and Europe, with students choosing from five diverse design briefs demanding content development as well as creative graphic and typographic design. The result was an encouraging general standard with a broad range of quality and interpretation, topped off with some truly outstanding submissions from future typographic design stars. However, to be judged to have met our notoriously high standards and to receive a professional qualification, successful submissions must be of a standard that can only be achieved by adopting a professional approach.  

A team of 35 design practitioners and educationalists analysed and assessed each project in detail, under a two-stage system including a moderation process to ensure marking consistency, and a further stage of assessment of submissions awarded merit and commendation status. 

As ever, the assessment team were all volunteers. The ISTD board is grateful to all of them for giving up their weekend to help in our mission to promote, develop and maintain standards in typographic design. The team comprised:

The 2014 Assessment is the first under the stewardship of ISTD education director John Paul Dowling, senior lecturer in graphic design at the University of the West of England. John Paul's new ISTD role follows a long and successful period of leadership and development of the Assessment from Professor John McMillan, whose contribution is respected and appreciated by all of us who have worked with him over the years. 

John Paul's view of his inaugural year at the helm of one of ISTD's most respected initiatives: "This has been one of the most stress-inducing but ultimately rewarding tasks I can recall! But I'm delighted that, when the Assessment weekend arrived, the team was diligent and professional, and the event management went without a hitch, with the added benefit of being a great social and inspirational occasion. There was a generally high standard of submissions responding to a choice of challenging briefs, set by members of the ISTD education team and in one case supported by Monotype, whose contribution is greatly appreciated. I'm now looking forward to more of the same as the Assessment continues around the world."

Students and their tutors will know in two weeks whether their submissions have been successful. However, we won't be publishing their work until the last of the 2014 Assessments is completed, but it will be worth waiting for! 

Look out for more information on the website. www.istd.org.uk

With best wishes,
on behalf of the ISTD board