Copy of the “Pizza, Briefly” speech

To the “Us, Briefly” Grad Show Team

“Thank you everyone for coming, I'm not sure who caught the speech during the private view, but this is a speech from the heart, it's kind of long - but I hope this one is worth listening to. I don't usually do speeches, or scripts, but I reckon this is a very important day for all of us. A day that I think we all thought was very far when we signed up for this course.

We spent days listening to critiques, feedback (some useful, some not so useful), watched seniors crafting their type, bind and showcase their books, set up their board games, trim their work, watching prints fly out of Liv's risograph printer and host their grad show. At the end they've built their identities and put them up in vinyl for all of us to look up to, and less than 2 weeks ago, we did just that - filled their shoes - we're now all graphic designers.

What comes next is scary, but whether one of us lands in an agency like pentagram or i love dust, become a brand's in-house designer, go freelance or decide to put Adobe products to rest altogether and never use the word "typeface" ever again, I'm glad we all have come out of the course with a very unique perspective on books, logos, branding and all sorts - we'll never look at posters the same way again.

Thank you to Zeal, a close friend who I know put her heart and soul into the catalogue, jokingly even more than their actual submitted project. We met at a cafe before grad show work begun and she casually told me that there was already a website up and running. I catch her at 3AM online on Discord often, hammering away at the publication, I don't know how many meals were skipped - but I know it's enough for a special mention. Not just for designing and managing so much of the production process, including delegation, managing where all the files and information go, keeping things up to date and managing 40+ requests - but being a friend to talk to throughout the show, it's not an easy task - both the work and listening to my worries. So many visitors and even other course students and staff are jealous of the catalogue and we owe it to you. I speak on behalf of the course that you did an incredible job and have raised the bar so high for the course, I'm super proud of all the things you've done for the show and yourself, and I'm forever honoured to be your friend and coursemate.

Thank you to fundraising, those who contributed, and those who helped produce prints to be sold - if it weren't for you, we would not have such an outstanding identity for our batch. Despite all of the comments on how late we are, we pulled through with an outstanding grad show and accompanying materials. A special thank you to Betty who always checked up on me and my wellbeing - constantly offering help, it's easy to get so caught up in getting the grad show done that you forget about yourself - and she always tried to lend a hand and make sure I wasn't overburdened, including setting up this very pizza night.

Thank you to Hannah and her little notebook for managing curation and so much more, she took a look at the to-do list, swooped in and started getting so much done that even I couldn't keep up. Admittedly I'm not used to things being done without my supervision but you've done an outstanding job. Thank you for all the stories at the invigilation table too, P.S sorry for the beef sandwich *cough* that was nuts.

Thank you to Sofia, who has practically helped in every show department - you've brought so much energy, ideas, joy and enthusiasm to the studio and the grad show prep overall. You've taken so much initiative handling the social media team and I'm really glad to have worked with you. ADHD besties for life.

Also I want to dedicate this part to my partner Nabs, she's obviously not here - but we have a 7-hour timezone difference, we're used to calling every day so the past 3 weeks has been brutal - she's usually asleep by the time I'm home after chipping away at the grad show. She's been super supportive, patient and understanding and I couldn't have done all this without her and love her very much.

Finally thank you to everyone here. I usually don't like group projects, and this was the biggest one - and I'm glad to have done it with you all. I've spoken to some people I don't usually chat with, and it's nice to finally bond with some of you - even for just a moment to hear your stories, favourite bagels, sharing our frustrations and spilling some piping hot tea. To everyone who's taken time out of their day or even week to painstakingly put commas on the floors, walls (and peel them), get their hands and clothes covered in paint/ink, get a sore arm from all the screenprinting, go through my hundreds of texts messages and spreadsheets, wait for visitors to come and go, take card payments and many, many more tasks - thank you for being part of Us, Briefly. I hope I wasn't too tough on anyone, and I apologise if I've ever come across as bossy, demanding or dismissive at any point - I really am proud of you all and couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for the past 2-3 years. Here's the really corny cheesy bit but like a comma, this is just a pause and not a full stop. Enjoy the pizzas and don't forget to check MyStudies :^)”

- Ibbi <3
09/06/2025

Us, Briefly was the name of the University of Brighton’s BA Graphic Design graduate show in 2025.