IN SESSION: Independent Publishing: a survival guide

This talk brought together Adrian Shaughnessy, graphic designer, publisher and associate lecturer at the RCA with Damon Murray and Stephen Sorrell from the graphic design and publishing company FUEL and Betty Brunfaut and Bakhtawer Haider from the London-based graphic design studio Plan B and Sold Out Publishing. They discussed how they started their imprint, the role of digital media in surviving as independent publishers and why there is still an audience for physical books in a digital/virtual world.

Adrian Shaughnessy will be leading two short courses in May and June 2024, Editorial Design and Typography.

Plan B / Sold Out Publishing

Plan B is a London-based graphic design studio co-founded by Betty Brunfaut and Bakhtawer Haider, blending Pakistani, German, and Belgian influences. They also run Sold Out Publishing, which platforms under-represented Artists and Designers in the art and design industry. Together they design and publish for people, institutions, and brands with one obsession in mind: disseminating concepts informed by sustainability, collaboration and cultural decolonisation. As Royal College of Art alumni, they co-authored the book 'Not a Reference Yet’ and share their expertise as guest lecturers at Kingston University.

FUEL

FUEL are Damon Murray and Stephen Sorrell, a graphic design and publishing company established in 1991. They have been publishing books on design, architecture and popular culture since 2004 and are perhaps best known for their books on the USSR, including the Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia series and Soviet Bus Stops. The documentary film Soviet Bus Stops made in collaboration with photographer Christopher Herwig, was released in 2023.

Adrian Shaughnessy

Adrian Shaughnessy is a graphic designer and writer based in London. He is a senior tutor in Visual Communication at the Royal College of Art and a founding partner in Unit Editions a publishing company producing books on design and visual culture.