I have a secret to spill, I’ve been doing lots of graphic design projects is a leithéid with my good friend and neighbour Ruairí. I’ve kept them secret because *usually* I hate doing these sorts of projects. Mostly because there’s too much back and forth with clients, lack of control and the results are usually bleh. But I LOVE working with the Pleann Teanga, Ruairí is a dream client who gives me full creative control and fixes my spelling mistakes without making me feel bad.

The job of the Oifigeach Pleanála Teanga is to promote the use of Gaeilge throughout a region and to create a plan for the promotion of the language. My home, Oileáin Chléire was very lucky to have an artist appointed as our OPT and Ruairí has consistently used the arts as a means of putting Gaeilge chun chinn. Táim an bhródúil as an obair atá déanta agam le Ruairí agus an Pleann Teanga, so I thought I’d share that work with you, the good people of the internet.

Mátaí Beoir

Cape Clear is a holiday destination, with lots of festivals throughout the summer calendar. Long before the new wave of athbheochan na Gaeilge, people came to Cape to try out their cúpla focal. A great place to try this is ordering pints at the bar. We wanted to create gluais focal that people could easily access, and that would look lovely in the bar. Irish pubs are chaotic spaces, with thousands of photos, old signs and artefacts drilled onto the walls. We didn’t want to make another sign that would get lost in chaos, so I created beer mats. Everyone puts their drink on a beer mat, so it seemed like the obvious place to put a guide to ordering drinks at the bar.

Scairfeanna

I can’t really remember why we designed these scarves, I think it was to give as gifts to people taking part in Pleann Teanga Events, such a Coláiste Samhradh LADT+ . These turned out super cool, and I’ve seen some very trendy people wearing them. These were super fun design and surprisingly easy to get manufactured too!

Various Risograph Prints

Ruairí recognises by love for all things Riso, so when I steer a project in the direction of the risoprinter, he’s always on board. The Kayak dictionary was a recreation of a brilliant guide written by Séamus, the founder of the Cape Clear Kayak Club. This project was another fun way of presenting a stór focal in a way that looked cool. I loved this project!!

Ruairí also commissioned me to present the Ferry Timetable in a way that would look beautiful on people’s fridges (where everyone hangs the yearly timetable) I had a bit of craic with this one, creating a silly illustration of the ferry being taken away by a whale.