Editor
President of the Students’ Representative Council (GUSRC) Liam King has criticised the front cover of the latest undergraduate prospectus, calling it “the foulest thing produced in years”. He told The Glasgow Guardian: “The company contracted to [carry] out this work, D8, were either working to a terrible brief or the University willingly let them butcher our quads with Photoshop.”
The front cover of the 2016 prospectus shows two students walking across the West Quadrangle of the Gilbert Scott Building, the University’s main building. There have been allegations that the image was modified, with parts being added digitally post-photoshoot – a practice commonly referred to as ‘photoshopping’.
The Glasgow Guardian understands that King made his concerns about the front cover of the 2016 undergraduate prospectus known in an email to the Marketing, Recruitment and International Office, in the hope that similar errors could be avoided in the production of future prospectuses. Despite the admission that “small errors” were made in relation to the design of the 2016 undergraduate prospectus, the University will continue to work with D8 in the production of the 2017 prospectuses.
A spokesperson for the University’s Marketing, Recruitment and International Office (MRIO) said: “The 2016 Undergraduate Prospectus was outsourced to an external agency, D8, and was produced with minimum additional budget. As one of the most important information tools for prospective undergraduate students the Undergraduate Prospectus represents excellent value for money and has been rigorously checked by a number of focus groups including first year students, who provided overwhelmingly positive feedback on the style and content.
“A small amount of Photoshop work to the front cover image was required in this case. In a document the size of the Undergraduate Prospectus some small errors are inevitable, but we apologise for any offence caused by the incorrect crediting of the QMU which will be rectified. The 2017 Undergraduate Prospectus is currently in production with D8 and we are delighted to continue to work with them to evolve and improve this important publication.”
The managing director of D8, James Young contacted The Glasgow Guardian at a later date, and said: “Whichever small gobshite wrote this article has no idea what he’s talking about and would be better spending his time worrying about something he actually has some knowledge of. That process shouldn’t take long.”
Correction: This article initially reported that Liam King had emailed principal and vice-chancellor professor Anton Muscatelli about his concerns relating to the front cover of the 2016-entry Undergraduate Prospectus. We have since learned that he did not contact the principal directly, but instead made his opinion known to the Marketing, Recruitment and International Office (MRIO).
