Enterprise - Delegating roles

Reading week = enterprise. We initially wrote a to-do list and through this, delegated specific roles and tasks that we could focus on individually - in my case, accounts and finance. I will look at collating all the start up costs, specifically location / premises, equipment, website though Charlotte will gather various studio locations and their costings.

OUGD202 - End of module evaluation

Enterprise - Lecture 9

How not to fail

Entrepreneur rollercoaster - Uninformed optimism - informed pessimism - crisis of meaning - crash and burn - hopeful realisation (getontherollercoaster.com)

5 reasons why businesses fail

- Failure to adapt to a changing market
- Failing to continuously market yourself
- Not seeking advice or professional help when necessary
- Inadequate accounting records
- Disregarding or misinterpreting financial records

1) Failure to adapt to changing times

- Keep up
- Be informed
- Understand your macro and micro environments
- Analyse and find your place within your competitors
- SWOT your competitors / other practitioners (say, 3 that already do what you want to do - look at their strengths and weaknesses, but be objective)
- PEST your environment (see what factors are in your favour - why is it a good idea?)

Websites

NESTA - Analyses the creative industries and hows 'creative clusters' - reasoning for your location choice
Design Week - All aspects of the design industry, possible quotes for presentation
A-N.org.uk - Artist newsletter, knowledge bank resources - contracts, frameworks, business plans
Creative choices - Essential tools, career guidance, graduate start-ups

2) Failing to continously market yourself

Marketing plan - refer to how you would raise awareness, gain interest and so on...
Marketing communication mix - mention by name in presentation
Choose 3 methods to promote your business but use them creatively and imaginatively
Differentiate yourself by the way you think


3) Reasons why people fail


Five tips for design students

- Integrity - believing in your work, being honest
- Communication - imperative, be credible, develop verbal and visual presentation skills
- Cultural awareness - visual arts, maintaining this cultural awareness
- Development of professional skills - how we add value through planning, organisation
- Getting back to basics - think like an artist, seeing things differently, creative solutions
- Who will focus on marketing? Accounting? Art direction? Administration?
- Assign roles to team members

4) Inadequate accounting records
5) Disregarding or misinterpreting financial records

Keep finance on track - record every purchase / outgoing and so on
Accounting is essential


Business plan

What resources will you need?

Equipment
Space
Stock
Buy, rent or lease your equipment and space?

Why will people buy from you

- 3 competitors
- Look at their strength and weaknesses
- Make your augment coherent
- Say what opportunities this presents to you

Marketing plan

- Three effective and innovative methods
- Explain why they will be effective in reaching your particular target market
- Talk about the 'what' as opposed to the 'how'
- Why will visiting your website be a different experience to others?
- Differentiate yourself

How much will it all cost

- Start up costs
- Overheads
- Direct costs (materials and labour)
- Can you fund it yourself?
- Just show your considerations


Presentation

- No more than 10 slides
- Use powerpoint ONLY as a visual aid
- Do not use it as a crutch
- Hold your notes in your hand
- Treat it like a business pitch

Interviews

- Before you go to an interview, have a look at their competitors
- What are their strengths? How can you contribute towards these?
- What is in development? Contribution towards future plans
- The employer is in business to make a profit - USP, external environment
- Employers are looking for someone who can make a difference

- Conduct a SW analysis and see f you can come up with some opportunities
- Ask them about their competitors to show you have some business capabilities
- Ask them about things affecting their industry

Studio space / workshops

Factory - Screenprinting, woodworking etc
East street arts - Studio and artist spaces (cheapest in Leeds)
Umbrella - General space, creative hubs
Limehouse - Expert advice, manage space (receptionist), offices
Round Foundry - Creative businesses, folding offices
Old Broadcasting House - Hotdesking
Wildfire

Enterprise - Lecture 8

Stash your cash - Looking after the money

• Keep track of who owes you money
• See how much you are spending on materials and services
• See the money coming in and going out
• Make sure you don't spend more than you earn

Enterprise - Press ad

Creative review pictures

We intended to create a minimal and concise advert which clearly stated who we are and what we do. The white background was due to the white stock of CR - the ad would create more white space giving the impression the ad was larger than it actually is.

Ad space: £400, 8 units at £50 each.            
Gotham type: £130            
Neutraface display: £150            
Site URL: £11.49

Enterprise - Logo development

In order to create a diverse range of design ideas, we individually experimenting with logo concepts. We would then collaborate and choose and experiment with the most effective outcome/s. We wanted to keep the aesthetic fairly minimal and neutral as to reflect the nature of our brand - concise, attention to detail etc.

I designed the following, initially looking at wordmarks and creating ligatures to add a sense of flow. Luke suggested looking at 'boxing' the logo by adding a black, solid outline and positioning the logo in various places. I also looked at underlining the text to add a sense of impact.

Using dropbox as a means of sharing the development of our work:

We decided to go use Neutraface that Max used within his designs due to its angular construction and clean aesthetic which we believed could relate to us as a company - clear and concise. We used 800pt tracking to create further white space and added an underline to 'outline' who we are.

Enterprise - Lecture 7

Don't get ripped off
Copyright matters

• Core of the ability to make a living
• You have the sole right to produce copies of your work
• You are the only person who has the legal right to produce reproductions and so on
• Intellectual property - your ideas 
• We have the permission to 'steal' as we are students