Jenna Alldread

Role

I oversee the second year of the BA (hons) Graphic Design course. Here, I run a module called Exploring the Graphic Design Industry. In this module we create enriching experiences for students alongside a range of Industry partners both nationally and internationally.

I also teach into the MA Illustration course, where I run workshops and provide studio tutorship.

Delivering lectures, designing and delivering workshops, researching into contemporary graphic design and current pedagogic issues surrounding HE and graphic design. Designing curriculum, writing briefs, liaising with industry to enhance student experience. I’m particularly passionate about success for all students, enabling all students to achieve their best, to be pushed out of their comfort zones and to fully immerse themselves in all the fabulous opportunities that University can offer.

Career overview

I am an illustrator and educator and I have produced illustration work for a variety of clients including - large murals at Leeds General Infirmary, greeting cards and packaging illustrations (mainly joyful characters!) for Marks + Spencer, prints for childrenswear for Lion + Leopard studios which are licensed all over the world + many other small businesses. I also make and produce my own collections of prints, cards and textiles which are sold in various independent shops and galleries across the UK. Previous to NTU, I have worked as a lecturer at Leeds Arts University + The University of Lincoln. I really enjoy designing + delivering practical workshops to a range of audiences, championing the power of creative thinking, solving problems through making + visual communication as a tool to enhance experience + well-being. I have taught workshops at galleries, schools, festivals and events mostly in the North of England.

External activity

• I work as a freelance illustrator producing work for a variety of clients all over the UK.
• I am external examinator for BA Graphic Design at De Monfort University in Leicester and Kazakhstan.
• I am an assessor for the International Society of Typographic Design (ISTD)
• Coddiwomple (alongside Senior Lecturers Laura Quick and Angi Fletcher on BA Fashion Communication & Promotion). I contribute to a series of free-form creative workshops, championing the benefits of artistic play and its impact on creative confidence and mental well-being.  The workshops inherently focus on the human creative process and are held outside of assessment and as a counterforce to digital hypnosis and creative constipation. (2026)
• Animal Illustration MasterClass - Pathways: Into Children's Publishing, a collaboration with The House of Illustration, Harper Collins Publishing, Rob Biddulph + Nottingham Trent University. (2020)
• NTU x Nottingham Young Refugees workshops, exploring themes of belonging, home + Nottingham through fast paced creative activities with students from the BA + MA Graphic Design course at NTU. (2016- 2019)