James' teaching centers on understanding graphic communication concepts and processes, as applied to a range of media.

 

He currently leads BA (Hons) Graphic Design, has lectured on the BA (Hons) Graphic Communication with Typography, BA (Hons) Illustration, MA Publishing and MA Communication Design programmes at the University of Plymouth, and has prior experience of writing and managing higher education art and design programmes for the University of Brighton and the Open University. He has helped a number of students win of international design awards, including the D&AD New Blood Awards, Creative Conscience Awards and the ISTD Student Assessment Scheme. James' students have had their work showcased in international publications such as Creative Review, and have gone on to work for some of the world's leading creative agencies, including Leo Burnett, M&C Saatchi and Jones Knowles Ritchie.

 

Live design projects that James has coordinated include those run in collaboration with House of Fraser, IBM, Skint Records, The Met Office, It's Nice That, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery and the English Riviera Global Geopark.

 

Invited lectures:

• Brocklehurst, J. (2020). Inside / Outside. Guest Lecture. MA Information Experience Design, Royal College of Art.
• Brocklehurst, J. (2017). Digital Design for Heritage Spaces. In Daybell, J., Maudlin, D. Cornerstone Heritage Summer Lectures. Public talk. Powderham Castle.
• Brocklehurst, J. (2014). Designing for Engagement in Interactive Storytelling. In Denham, S. (Chair) CogTalk - Immersive Worlds: Between Fact and Fiction. Public talk. University of Plymouth.
• Brocklehurst, J. (2012). New Formats and Illustration. Guest lecture. Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London.

Conferences organised:

• Whittaker, E., Brocklehurst, J. (2013). Expanded Narrative Symposium. University of Plymouth.

Other academic activities:

• Peer reviewer for New Media (Chapter), A History of Illustration (2018), Edited by Doyle, S. Rhode Island School of Design, published by Bloomsbury/Fairchild.

Artistic projects:

Projects include experimental interactive typeface PlymouthPress (2021), and the design and development of mobile apps The Cartographer's Confession (2017), Journeyer's Guidebook (2016), The Lost Index (2015), which used consumer smartphone technologies to create location-driven narrative experiences. These were produced in conjunction with researcher Dr Emma Whittaker, for external organisations such as the Digital Cultures Research Centre Bristol, the Jubilee Library Brighton and the National Museum of Denmark.

In 2013 James collaborated with the poet Lytton Smith and BA (Hons) Illustration students to produce an interactive Twitter-based poem The Repurposed Magical Tent.

Between 1999-2004 James created animated and moving-image artworks that investigated the notion of a 'digital aesthetic'. These were exhibited at the LUX Centre London, The Cyberart festival in Bilbao, broadcast on MTV2 and published on the Arts Council funded multimedia DVD Hi-Fi Rise - Sonic Cities From Another Timeline, produced by the artist group Semiconductor.