Designer and teacher at Glasgow School of Art

Born: August 8, 1961;

Died: April 12, 2017

KERRY Lloyd Aylin, who has died aged 55, was at the forefront of graphic design innovation in Glasgow and the west of Scotland, initially graduating from The Glasgow School of Art in 1983 and progressing to work in the print and publishing industry. She returned to the GSA to teach graphic design and lecture in the communication design department. She gained a number of prestigious awards for the school, where she was also a governor from 2009.

She was born at Ely Maternity Hospital in Cambridgeshire on August 8, 1961. Her father, Squadron Leader Arthur Noel Aylin, was based at RAF Alconbury near Huntingdon. Her mother, Frieda Aylin, was from Stranraer in Wigtownshire. At the time of Kerry’s birth, the family, including her seven-year-old sister Eleanor, was living at Alconbury American base, their father was liaison officer with the American Air Force.

Within a year of Kerry being born, the Aylin family moved to Stranraer to be closer to Frieda’s sister Betty Parker, and her husband Billy, who lived and ran Low Balyett Farm on the outskirts of the town. Her father retired from the RAF and returned to being an accountant.

As a child, Kerry spent many happy years at the farm, riding ponies, feeding chickens, collecting eggs and playing on the beach, collecting seashells and feathers for use in craft projects. She always had an art project on the go and this was a constant pleasure throughout her life – she was a true maker at heart.

During her time at Stranraer High School, she excelled at art, and was taught by Mansell Crighton, himself a talented artist. She left Stranraer to attend The Glasgow School of Art, achieving a BA (Hons) in art and graduating in 1983. During her time at the school, Jimmy Murray (formerly head of design at Blackie’s Publishers), Gordon Huntly, Kit Grant, Dugald Cameron and Jimmie Cosgrove were all formative influences.

On graduating, she worked at Miller’s Graphics in Newton Terrace, Glasgow, suppliers of Pantone markers, artboard, Letraset artwork and reprographic materials.

After 11 years in industry, Ms Aylin returned to The Glasgow School of Art as a member of staff, where her career blossomed, later becoming a governor, and she shared her extensive knowledge and talents with her students.

One of her interests was the art of letterpress type, and its influence on design communication through to its use in today’s digital formats. Working alongside colleagues Fraser Ross and Edwin Pickstone, Ms Aylin spent many long and happy hours in the case room, setting type and producing hand-finished work on the vintage Eagle Press.

At the GSA, she provided support to schools as a specialist in assistive technologies and in the innovative application of technology to traditional industry techniques and divergent thinking. She was also an Adobe Education Leader and a contact for the Adobe Partnership, having visited them in the US many times.

Among her accomplishments, gained alongside her partner Joseph James, are a Scottish Design Award, Europrix winner for the best learning product in Europe, the Prix Mobius shortlist and a British Interactive Media Awards finalist. She was a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the European Academy of Digital Media. Together they produced many freelance projects including the production and development of the interactive elements of the Mackintosh Interpretation Centre at The Lighthouse in Glasgow.

Early in her career, Ms Aylin worked at MEDC in Paisley, where she was involved in some early beta testing of Apple and Adobe desktop publishing products and digital design software. She was also a senior designer at HarperCollins Publishers.

She ran her own design business from 1994, focusing on communication design, primarily in publishing and interactive learning technology. Her clients included GSA, Roger Billcliffe Gallery, SMSplc, Crossbasket Castle, The Wellcome Trust and Hilton Hotels.

She loved music and singing, and she was thrilled to become a member of the GSA Choir, enjoying every minute and saying it made her feel uplifted. She also developed an extensive knowledge of the turn-of the-20th-century Glasgow designer Talwin Morris, growing a collection of books, bindings and original Talwin binding brasses. An incredibly generous person, she regularly found time to make beautiful gifts for family and friends.

Kerry Aylin met Joseph, a designer and photographer, in 1984. They have one son, Alexander, who was born in 1999. Their creativity now follows to the next generation. Alexander is a successful photographer in his own right. It was with pride that Kerry attended his first exhibition at Glasgow’s SWG3 in September last year.