Brief 3 - Form and writing - Submission

Brief 2 - Reel - Submission

Brief 1 - Creative Networks - Submission

Raw studio visit

After e-mailing Tom at Raw, I went to visit the studio to show him my portfolio. Tom gave me some really insightful advice and gave me a lot of encouraging feedback. He wasn't able to offer me a placement as they had just taken on a new designer and there would have unfortunately been no room for people on placements. He said to keep in contact and show him updates to my portfolio if I ever need any feedback.

Creative Networks 
—
Tom said it was great that me and Luke took on this live project for the university and it was made better by the fact it was in support of creative collaborations and the creative industry in general.


Warrington Museum
—
I explained where the concept originated for the brand mark and he informed me that many portfolios rarely have a solid back story behind a branding project and this was nice to see, which was also nice to hear. I will definitely push myself in terms of conceptual idea generation when approaching future projects to ensure a clarified and well thought out concept. With the icons, he said to remove the red to ensure a monochrome palette throughout which I will definitely take on board

Portfolio (so far)

I decided to put a portfolio together as I had organised a visit with Raw in Salford. I tried to select what I believed were my most effective resolutions from the past couple of years. I also incorporated the project for Warrington Museum that I was completing for the OUGD301 module. I collated some of my favourite design a day projects and included this as a self-initiated brief as I have had encouraging feedback regarding the project.

Self promotion - Branding

The other day, we had a pin up of our business card and selected promotional material. I hadn't sorted anything out beforehand so when this task was announced, I decided to look into what I could do in more depth. I am currently doing a design a day challenge and in my studio placement and during my studio visit to Future, this was pointed out on both occasions as it showcased how engaged I was with design and expressed my creative interests.

I thought I could create a mini-mailer with various prints of my design a day designs - also outlining what number in the series it was. I also included an info sheet of who I am, how the challenge came about and my contact details.

The sticker would feature each of the studios / designers / recipients addresses and fold over the back to ensure the package was secure. I used a grey(ish) thin stock to create contrast against the white label.

I wanted a sticker of my logo to apply onto the mailer but as the vinyl cutter wasn't working, I had to make do without. I remembered from my studio at Wash design that they used a hand embossing tool to apply a clients logo through blind embossing onto a letterhead / stationery so I'm gonna do the same - its subtle but creates a nice, tangible aesthetic.

PPD Workshop

List 5 (or more) things you know now that you didn’t before the break:

• Every studio differs; it is about finding my place within the industry
• Researching and contextual referencing is essential & needs to be from a diverse range of sources
• I'd ideally want to work within a small independent studio 
• Invoice a client - potentially request half of the payment upfront & don't get ripped off
• Detail (in terms of design) is key. 

List 5 (or more) things you would address differently than you did this Summer:

• Be more pro-active and prioritise my time more effectively
• To be more conceptual — I tend to stick with what I am most comfortable or familiar with
• Be more engaged with networking (online and offline)
• Ring design studios and devise a mailer as opposed to e-mailing studios
• Be more confident & communicate more

List 5 (or more) specific things you will address this Semester, that should be useful:

• Try and improve my pitching & presenting skills - to be confident about my ideas and in general
• Blog all the time and be consistent
• Not leave things (tasks) to the last minute - when given, do them straight away so its still fresh
• Go outside - to galleries, events, talks etc
• Take full advantage of everything that is available to me - utilise it!

List 5 (or more) things you feel we could address as a group?

• Approaching a live project - legalities, things we need to look out for
• Costing - what's fair? (To us and client)
• Copyrighting work