All the students who have worked with us here at the Brayford Campus, or in our previous life at Thomas Parker House will be saddened to hear the news of Vic Ashborn’s passing.

Vic was such an important part of our life here on the Graphic Design course. He was always helpful, cheerful, and, happy to puncture the pomposity of academic life. I think his previous career in the RAF put that in perspective.

Over the years, there must be thousands of students that have turned to him for advice, help and a shoulder to cry on after a particularly bad crit.

And a fair few academics as well.

He was a Freehand man, not Illustrator. He never threw away a piece of kit that might be useful later (we still have a box of 25-megabyte hard-drives). He was the man you turned to when the kit broke down and the first person you went to see when your Mac wouldn’t start. An awful lot of students owe him their grades when he resurrected their work from a broken hard-drive, just in time for the deadline.

We all wish that he could have enjoyed a longer and happier retirement.

Our thoughts are with his family.