Task One... Who Am I, Who Are They?

Possible client groups that use Graphic Design, that I am interested in:

- Music industry - Promotion, Cover Art.

- Public health- Campaigns.

- Entertainment - Cinema, DVD, Idents, Advertisements, Title Sequences

- Fashion - Branding, Magazines, Promotion.

- Retail - Branding.

- Technology- Branding, Apps (iPhone).

- Photography is an area I have a keen interest in, that covers all of the above.

I have no idea, still, of what area I want to focus in on, but for the purpose of the task I will choose the music industry...

Through research I have found that most of the cover art jobs in the music industry are for freelancers, who are picked to come in and work with the others.

What skills I have and how they relate to the needs of your client group?

- Idea generation - to build any concept for a project, a confident generation of ideas is essential.

- Keen interest and knowledge of the music industry - this is obviously vital to have knowledge of past and current music genres, artists etc.

- Ability to work in a team - producing TV adverts requires a team of professionals to produce a piece of work, e.g. sound engineers... and in contrast producing cover art, the designer may be required to work to the needs of the artist.

- Continuously growing knowledge of Adobe software; Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects.

What skills are needed and what skills do I want to develop?

- A sound knowledge of video editing, animation and sound - I have a very limited and basic knowledge of animation, but I plan to develop this further as I am very interested in this area of Graphic Design.

What are my professional/creative aims and how do they relate to the needs of the client group?

- A good foundation of knowledge in design for screen, with knowledge to be applied from designing for print, so I am not too restricted.

-To become a well established designer, known for reliability and high quality, which will make me more appealing to clients.

- To transfer the passion I have on to others - behind any good graphics requires a passion in that subject matter to effectively pass on the message to the target audience.

MPC...

"MPC (The Moving Picture Company) leads the world in post production and visual effects for the Feature Film, Advertising, Digital and Television industries. MPC is based in Soho - London, Santa Monica - CA and Yale town - Vancouver. The facilities are centrally located, networked and have a dedicated digital infrastructure.

MPC Digital takes traditional VFX to the plethora of new Advertising channels available today; whether banner ads for internet websites to special projects such as code driven LED installations, the team can advise on how to re-use content created for traditional media in today’s world; or indeed start something from scratch…"

I would love to be part of their team, they create some of the best adverts out there, and win some well deserved awards too. One of my favourite adverts that they were a part of is the Cadbury, Gorilla's Moment.

The 90 second spot was the first chapter of a series of Cadbury commercials, and in this one it featured a gorilla effortlessly but passionately playing the drum solo in Phil Collin's 'In The Air Tonight'.

Another fantastic advert is the Evian, Skating Babies commercial, which won a Gold Award at the London International Awards '09 and also got into the Guiness Book of World Records for being the most watched viral.

Company: Pixar

With my new brief on Motion Graphics and Animation, and my new interest in this area of digital media I decided to investigate the careers in this line of work. I then began researching Pixar, which I realise I have no hope of becoming an animator for this company due to my lack of drawing skills, but I am still interested to know what a job in this area entails. The interview pasted on my Design Context blog from an animator at Pixar helped inform some of my curiosities, but I dug deeper and searched the FAQs on the website...

What animation software do you use and what do you recommend for those hoping to work for a company like Pixar?

Pixar uses its own proprietary software built and maintained in-house. In general, we look for broad artistic and technical skills, rather than the ability to run one package over another. We concentrate on finding people with breadth, depth, communication skills and the ability to collaborate. If you have those attributes, we can teach you the specific tools.

What do you look for in animators?

One of the most common questions Pixar receives nowadays is, “How can I become an Animator at Pixar?” There’s really no good answer that’s both short and useful, so we’ve put together some information to hopefully provide guidance for people who dream of being involved in the animation process at Pixar.

Pixar places the technology of computer graphics firmly at the service of the art of animation, not the other way around. This priority is expressed clearly in Pixar’s production process, in which the Animators specialize in animation, with virtually all technical concerns handled by Technical Directors.

The implication of this structure and this value system is what Pixar looks for first and foremost in Animators – we want you to be able to bring the character to life, independent of medium. Computer-graphic technical prowess is of course important, but the emphasis is not as strong within the Animation Department. The reality is that computer graphic animators have no advantage over pen-and-ink animators, clay animators, stop-motion animators, etc. So while it’s preferable for someone to have 3D knowledge, it’s not paramount. In fact 3/4 of the Animators on Toy Story were new to computers when hired.

A common question is, “What software should I learn?” The answer is implied by the above: “Software doesn’t matter; learning to animate matters.” Still, you might expect that learning the software that Pixar uses would give you a leg up. However, even this isn’t true: Pixar uses its own proprietary software. Your knowledge of basic animation fundamentals is the foundation for your computer training, not the other way around.

What are the qualities of a good Animator? A Pixar Animator should be able to bring life to any object or character, showing the character’s internal thoughts and feelings through its physical external motion. To do this, the Animator must be a good actor. His or her work should communicate clearly, containing simple ideas with which an audience can empathize. The animation should be entertaining to watch, employing good timing and relying on individualized, believable characters to put forth humor and emotion.

The Animator also needs an understanding of physical motion. Knowledge of weight, balance, overlap, texture, and form should be evident in the work. In fact, in evaluating a prospective Animator, Pixar relies very heavily on the demo reel presented by the candidate.

You could say that three things are important in pitching yourself to Pixar (the reel, the reel, and the reel). Other factors will of course come into play, including collaborative spirit, timeliness, compatibility with Pixar itself; but these issues never even come up unless the reel passes muster.

Of course, the more a reel shows the qualities discussed here, the better.

We want to see your ability to demonstrate a strong sense of acting, more so than movement. Reels that show fast moving space ships, etc. are difficult to judge because we're not able to get a sense of someone’s ability to understand physics and the fundamentals of animation. We would much rather see a simple story line with strong acting. We’re interested in your animation ability – not your ability to model, shade and light.

Acting is the key element and then we review reels to get a sense of weight, timing, staging, physics, etc. People frequently ask if they should include a flatwork portfolio demonstrating their life drawing skills. While this is nice, it doesn’t give us a sense of your ability to animate a character and bring something to life.

There are at least three other issues that can help make the reel a more effective reflection of the person behind it.

First, it can be very difficult to figure out who did what in a collaboration or group project, and correspondingly difficult to evaluate the work, unless there are clearly describable divisions of labor (see item #6 in “Putting Together a Reel”).

Second, it should express what you want to do. The freedom of being in school encourages experimentation and going beyond what you would normally try. However, unless the result shows what you want to do in the “real” world, this tendency does make it harder to see who you “really” are.

Third, realize that whizzy technology is not great art. There’s something about three-dimensional computer graphics that dazzles people until they get lost in achieving this one ray-traced effect, or adding just one more texture map. When you finally wake up and get back to the content, there’s no time left for great animation.

Good animation is clearly visible through almost any technical limitation. In fact, the thrill of great animation is seeing pencil lines or matchsticks and glue come to life; why would it be any different with a computer.

Or, as we never tire of saying: Computers don’t animate. People do.

And in an effort to hit you with even more information, below are some quotes from our Directing and Supervising Animators about what they like to see in reels:

"I'd rather see 15 seconds of amazing animation than 3 looooooooooong minutes of an unwatchable film. Those 3 minutes can feel like an eternity if everything isn't perfect."

"You’re applying for Animation? Well--show me good animation! Show me acting. Show me thinking. Show me a character that is alive. I don't care about lighting, modeling, shading, particle effects, or how clever you are. Blow me away with something I've never seen. An original character with a distinct personality!"

"Do you draw? Are you a good designer? That's great! Make sure it's in your computer animation as well!"

"Animation. Computer. Drawn. Stop Motion. Sand under glass. If your reel kicks arse, we may hire you regardless of the medium. We don't want to see only computer stuff."

"Keep your reel short n' sweet. We watch a lot of these things in reel review so if there's weird, older, not-so-good stuff at the beginning we might pull the tape out before your great stuff! We don't need to see where you came from--we need to know how good you are right now. Edit down to your best stuff."

" The classic animators were inspired by real life and all of the other films around them. And so are we. We're not looking to hire Animation Nerds. We want people who draw from their own other experiences, from live action, and yes, from the Old Masters!"

After reading this, I am now realising, at this present moment in time, I have no hope whatsoever... However, I will keep practising my drawing, and work hard at this brief... Maybe one day...

What kind of internships do you offer?

Pixar offers internships in Animation, Technical Direction, Production Management, Story, Marketing, Engineering and Editorial. Hope is not lost!! What are the qualifications to be considered for an internship? If you are interested in a Technical Director Internship, you must be currently in college working towards your Bachelors, Masters or PhD Degree and returning to school following your internship at Pixar. For all other internship opportunities you must be in or have completed at least your Junior year of college, be a graduate student, or have graduated the year the internship commences. International students who are able to show work eligibility in the U.S. can apply. We do not provide internship opportunities for high school students. What kind of opportunities do you offer recent graduates? We have a new program titled Technical Director Resident. This position is similar to a Technical Director position, but specifically designed for recent graduates. To be eligible for a Technical Director Residency at Pixar, you must be a new graduate from a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD Program at the start of the residency. The goals of the program are to provide new graduates the opportunity to apply their academic training and knowledge to a real job at Pixar. Residents will work on Pixar’s films and will have the opportunity to build their skills and learn from our creative and talented workforce. All technical “Residents” will receive ongoing mentorship and training throughout their time at Pixar. The residency is a twelve-month program. Residents will be evaluated during their term and may be considered for ongoing employment, dependent on overall performance and Studio needs. Recent graduates interested in being a Technical Director are also welcome to apply for a regular full time position with Pixar. The Technical Director Resident position is just a great way to start off your career. If you are a recent graduate interested in other positions at Pixar, please feel free to apply for a full time position or an internship. Positions will be posted on our website when they are available.

Company: Mainframe

This is a UK based company with offices in London and Manchester, voted one of the top 50 studios to work for in the November 2010 issue of Computer Arts. They're main specialties are motion graphics, VFX and animation.

Their founder, Adam, has been invited to be a judge at the D&AD 2011 awards for the TV and Cinema Communications category.

Here is a link to two of their show reels, in Quicktime, otherwise I would have uploaded them to the blog:

http://www.mainframe.co.uk/#reels

I believe they did the cool effects on the woman in this Courteeners video for 'You Did It Doll':

I would love to be a part of something like this! The effects are brilliant, and I love the camera angles used to emphasise the depth of the debris.

Evaluation...

The problem I identified was creating an identity for a specialist vintage shop that only sold fifties clothing and accessories for 18-30 year olds. My original brief stated that I would do the same concept, but also one for the sixties, seventies and eighties, this was an idea I came up with a tutor, however, after talking with peers, they soon pointed out, this would be a ridiculous amount of work. Therefore, I concentrated on the fifties idea.

I created the branding and identity for the 'shop', using a fifties style logo with a modern twist, I then used this logo to transfer it on to my other products, such as gift bags, wrapping paper, receipt envelopes, business card holders, business cards, invitations to the opening of the shop and stickers. I really wanted to print out some kind of lucky bags to be given away at the opening but again, with little time to print, I had to stick to the basics.
I did have some more products I wanted to print, such as boxes, as a means of larger, sturdier packaging than the giftbags which were only ideal for small and light items. A belly band for a jewellery box and some artwork I wanted to create for the shop. However, I missed my printing slot due to illness, and my tutor didn't email me back with advice on printing, so I am incredibly disappointed with my products and the presentation boards.

The presentation boards I created were also disappointing, but this was due to a knock on effect of the packaging. Without the packaging, I could not photograph them to create my boards, and so all of this was done on the deadline day, without a lot of consideration. Again, the quality wasn't fantastic but I can call this my learning curve.

The research was really interesting, as I didn't know a lot about the fifties, and I learnt about all aspects of this decade, which can be seen in the blog. I did begin to research the other decades in the first stages of my project when I was creating four identities, again this was interesting and I learnt an awful lot.
A more useful form of research to my product would be a survey to vintage shoppers, to find out information about preferred packaging, and all manner of shop related questions.

I have learnt a hell of a lot over the past few months in terms of printing processses, before, I would just click print and not give it a second thought, until the print came out and the colours were completely wrong. But with this foundation of knowledge I can begin to control how my work will look, and this will enable me to produce some high quality work.
The seminars about printing were really interesting, however the trip to Team Impression was incredible, and made the things in the seminar I was unclear on, crystal clear.
I have learnt a lot about packaging too, packaging is an area I always shy away from mainly due to the crafting element, at the start of doing the packaging I had a very short fuse with it, but after a lot of determination and the enjoyment of what I was doing, I did take a liking to it, although I am still impatient with folding!

Something I did notice about my work in comparison with others, I didn't exploit the print facilities, although, it boiled down to print what is quickest, I would have liked to really show off my knowledge of print and produce something sexy. Although, some of the techniques would not have been appropriate to my work, as I am creating something 'old' looking so shiny foil would not be appropriate, the name 'Simply Retro' I want to create a sense of simplicity yet elegant, so embossing would maybe not be as fine and detailed.

The things I would consider to help me next time, is a sketchbook. Although I hated doing sketchbooks, they kept me organised and I could keep track of what I was doing.

Time Management

Company: Team Impression

Team Impression
1 Lockwood Close,
Leeds,
LS11 5UU
www.team-impression.com

I took a variety of images with my Digital SLR at Team Impression, however my memory card corrupted and I have lost them all.
It was really interesting to see the printing presses in full working motion, and seeing examples of the packaging coming out. Especially the Jamie Oliver cutlery packaging, seeing the finished printed version which had been die cut and then seeing a finished, assembled version.

Seeing the women in the handcrafting section was odd for me, as I just expected that there would be some machine that can fold, glue and bind things together, with the fast ever advancing technology in printing, there may be a machine soon.

Our tour guide explained how one of the rooms used to have around 10 people in it, but then pointed to a machine in the corner and said it does the same job as what they used to do.

I found it a very interesting experience, I just wish I had the photos to show that!

Company: Edge Interactive

This company is a local (to me - Scunthorpe) company, and due to the migration of another local company to the States, they have merged and become a transnational company.

newmediachoice was one of the leading design and marketing agencies in the North of England- based in North Kelsey, near Market Rasen in North Lincolnshire. It's a company I have grown up with having taken part in work experience there when I was 16, and I have followed the companies progress ever since. It first began in Sophie Freear's home in Scunthorpe operating from a bungalow, until she moved to North Kelsey, and was lucky enough to purchase a house with a converted barn which she used as her office.

The client list had extended its services across the Atlantic to San Francisco, and due to the amount of demands on the company, another company was selected to partner and help cope with the demands... this is Edge interactive.

Both companies are ones I am interested in working for, I have seen the work produced by Sophie's company, and

I love their fresh style, which is also the way I would describe Edge Interactive's approach to design.

Here are some examples of Edge's work:

Group Tutorial Preparation...

What is Industrial Experience?

- Doing a live project, not just something made up in the 'studio'.

- Working to a budget and learning how to stay within this.

- Building the necessary skills to help further progress as a designer.

- Having someone 'dictate' what to do instead of thinking 'for this project I want to do this...'.

- Producing work for deadlines.

- Conversing with printers.

What can you learn from Industrial Experience?

- Learn how to converse with clients.

- Experience working to a budget.

- Look at the existing competition - weigh up strengths and weaknesses.

- Find a niche in the market, what can you offer that isn't already in operation?

- Network - get a good foundation of contacts.

What form/format can Industrial Experience take?
- Visiting professionals in your chosen creative area.
- Doing freelance work- meeting clients, negotiating and working to deadlines.
- Working with a team of creatives in a studio - getting used to being told what to do.

- Being signed up to a design and marketing agency where the work is found for you.

- Shadowing a designer- not participating in work but seeing their day to day routine, learn about work load, client meetings etc.

What areas of industry are you interested in?
- Magazine design - layout.
- Music Promotion - CD, Vinyl, Posters etc.
- Motion Graphics - something I have never done but would love to try.
- Fashion - branding, campaigns, packaging.
- Health campaigns - NHS - TV adverts, posters, leaflets/booklets.


What are your concerns about Industrial Experience?
- That it will show I am not good enough or ready to enter the industry.
- Not having the confidence to put myself out there.
- Not finding that niche to differentiate myself from all the other budding Graphic Designers.

What do I want to achieve...

...this academic year?

- A clearer understanding of print: processes, stocks, finishes etc.

- Have a wider knowledge of software -at the minute this is still quite limited.

- Start building a portfolio that I can begin to feel proud of.

- A better idea of the path I want to take e.g. type? image?

- To have made contact with some graphic practices about industrial experience.

- Know exactly what I want to do in my final year.

- A few possible lines of enquiry for my dissertation.

...by the end of the course?

- A grade I am really pleased with.

- A list of contacts made through networking inside and outside the college.

- A strong, visually exciting portfolio to take away with me.

- To have participated in industrial experience whether I enjoyed each one or not - learn from experience.

- A job offer would be fantastic!!

...in my career?

- To be successful and respected- happy clients and great earnings.

- After experiencing working for other practices, to maybe even set up my own practice.

- Great reputation.

In my PPD group: Ailsa Marrs, Brian Cantwell, Arthur Carey, Ben Mckean, Pav Adamek, Karl Mead, Steph Bourne, Chris Anderson, Nick Morgan, Paul Brandreth, Richard Robinson, we agreed on a common set of hopes and goals for the future to come up with a group list:

...this academic year?

- Better source of contacts.

- Generate good amount of work for portfolio.

- Work out direction for third year.

- Ideas for dissertation.

- Industrial experience.

- Multimedia skills.

- Confident in approaching professionals.

...by the end of the course?

- A degree!!

- Strong portfolio.

- Job.

- Contacts.

- What kind of designer we want to be.

- Website.

- Market ourselves in a positive light.

...in our career?

- Individually recognised style/ work.

- Set up own business.

- Internationally respected/exposed.

- Financially stable.

- Do/make cool stuff.

- Maintain a good work/life balance.

Enterprise Lecture Two - Ideas and Opportunities

Ideas

- Occur any time.

- To anybody.

- Randomly.

- Seldom materialise.

NOT AN OPPORTUNITY - must differentiate.

Opportunity

- Environmental factors merge.

- Right conditions.

- Right place; right time.

P.E.S.T Analysis

- Framework of environmental factors.

- P - Political.

- E - Economics.

- S - Society.

- T - Technology.

Concorde

- P - Help cement Anglo French relations after WW2.

- E - Economic developement with USA.

- S - Social demand to travel more frequently - luxury travel.

- T - Turbo jet engines - Vulcan bomber 1950, ABS braking system - Dunlop, Pressurised cabin system.

Changes - Are you aware?

- P - Local? National? International? Trade laws? Tax breaks? Human rights? Legislation?

- E - Opinion? Informed?

- S - Affect everyone? You? Work/life balance? Eco-aware? Ageism? Debt recovery?

- T - Do you know the latest thinking? Or what's in the shops?

What kind of creative are you?

- Evolutionary

- Manager

- Cautious

- Revolutionary

- Opportunist

- Risk taker

What is a Creative Entrepreneur?

Owner Entrepreneur - Interior designer, Project manager, Coordinator, Collaborator.

↓

↓

Owner Manager - Creative with assistant, Small practice of creatives, Cooperative, Retail.

↓

↓

Owner Worker - Artist, Craftsperson, One man band.

Where do opportunities come from?

- Trends.

- Technical developments.

- Political change.

- Economic boom and slump.

- Human need.

- Problems.

- Research.

Nike

Problem: New running track surface in Oregon at a university, so different materials for soles were experimented with to see which would grip the track better.

Solution: New 'waffle' sole was designed.

Post-it

Problem: Bookmarks are ineffective, and lightweight glues don't stick.

Solution: Merged non-permanent glue with bookmark and developed the post-it.

- Technology push - pushing new ideas

- Market pull - demand from consumers

Where does the creative fit in?

- Project management.

- Know how to find the right people.

- Know where to source stuff.

- Can work with a team.

- Get along with all kinds of people.

- Optimistic - communicates well.

Project Manager Skills

Communication:
- Define problem.
- Build confidence.
- Problem solving.
- Risk analysis.
- Physical resources.
- Planning.
- Human resources.
- Quality control.

So you think you have spotted an opportunity?

SKILLS:
- Technical.
- Processes.

APTITUDES:
- Teamworking.
- Entrepreneurs do not do it alone.

PREDISPOSITION:
- Risk/caution.
- Evolution/revolution.
- Manager/opportunist.

Is this a good opportunity?

COMPETITORS:
- How many are there?
- How well are they doing?
- What do they do well?
- What could you improve on?

Assessing competitors (S.W.O.T analysis)

- STRENGTHS: learn from what they do well.
- WEAKNESSES: what they are not good at.
- OPPORTUNITIES: for you or your practice.
- THREATS: from macro environments.

Assess the quality of opportunity

- For me.
- For customer.
- For planet.
- Other stakeholders.

Internal environment

- Your skills.
- Your resources.
- Your lifestyle.

Micro environment

- Your network of friends.
- Your competitors and other practitioners.
- Your suppliers.
- Your local community.
- Stakeholders.

Macro environment - no control

- World market conditions - currency, population.
- Economics - exchange rates, wealth, debt.
- Technology - supporting, emerging, alternative.
- Social trends - needs, behaviours, demographics.
- Politics - legislation, tax, war.
- Environment.

Enterprise Lecture One - How To Get Yourself 'Out There'

The Design Council

- Set up by government.
- Carries out investigations on design and informs designers - http://www.designcouncil.org/
- Found that only 2% of design work is being executed by large companies.

Marketing

'management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.'

- Identify customer needs.
- Develop pricing strategies.
- Promote products to target market.
- Identify distribution networks.
- Add value to product through customer benefits.
- Monitor the performance of the products.

PRODUCT = CREATIVE OUTPUT


1. Understand needs →→ 2. Develop concept →→ 3. Test concept
↑

↑
6. Assemble feedback←←5. Market product ←← 4. Refine concept

Jeff Bezos - president, CEO of Amazon.com

- Biggest book seller.

- Added value to product through customer feedback - created interactive environment on the web: discussions, reviews etc.

- 'To help people to discover exactly what they're looking for saves them time and improves their lives.'

Value Proposition

Tips:
- Make it short.
- Be specific.
- Use your customer's language.
- Pass the 'gut feeling' test.

*Elevator pitch- pitching an idea in the time it takes to move between floors in a lift.

* Be equipped. Be ready.

* B2B = Business to business.

Service Organisations

e.g. Google.

- No tangible product but its something that changes circumstances.

Basic Principles of Marketing

- PRODUCT -service offered, work produced.
- PRICE - daily rate, free, royalty, relative pricing level.
- PLACE - sales environment, best location to sell.
- PROMOTION - marketing methods, branding.

Speaking From Experience... Evaluation

The problem I identified is that not everyone makes full use of trip week, my primary research in the studio supported this issue, and I found some people did not do anything but wished they had. Therefore I decided to try and promote trip week to encourage my target audience, next years first years, to get out there and make the most of this week. As I did make the most of trip week, speaking from experience, I want people to be as inspired as I was. I took lots of photo's to go in my stock library, which happened to come in use for my What Is A Line, Visual Language brief, and some art work I saw at the Saatchi inspired my book brief.

My methods of research were fairly limited for primary, as all I could do was ask this years first year group how they spent trip week, what they wish they could have done, and museums they would like to visit. This is the main research that has informed my response to this brief.





My secondary research was looking into places students could visit in trip week, I focussed on London mainly because that is where I went, and it is a fantastic city, and with enough preparation and planning, the travel can be extremely cheap, as I found out in my research, I looked into travel to London, student railcard prices, hostels and attractions. This would then be transferred to the website I wanted to create. With more time and resources I would love to have gone to different cities to photograph and collect information and even review some of the places, to create a whole series of information, even European cities. If I had realised how important this week was, I would love to have gone somewhere like Paris or Berlin.


The secondary research mainly took the form of the Internet, I am not a huge fan of internet research as there are always contradictions and misinterpretations, however by visiting the gallery websites, and travel websites I can be assured that the information is likely to be very accurate.


The Victoria and Albert Museum website proved a useful tool for research:

I struggled a lot with this brief due to reasons out of my control, so I found it incredibly hard to design, I had the ideas there in front of me, but I could not see the ideas visually. I learnt you just have to throw yourself into it, and learn to enjoy making mistakes rather than being annoyed and getting nowhere.
I am a little disheartened my products aren't to scratch, and printed on the correct stock, so next time I will make sure I can get into print. The products are slowly growing on me, and I feel I have partially answered the brief as I have designed the range of products, but they have just not been produced.
I decided against the text/email, as the students will be around the studio a lot, so they will be reminded by the posters, business cards etc. around.

Here are my final products...

- Business card.

- The Road trip CD

- Poster

- Business card

- Stickers

- Website (proposal)

As a proposal, to take this further, with knowledge on websites and time to produce one, I would like to have created an actual website rather than an animated screen shot. Some hot dog fold books of places to go, stay and travel would be a great idea to print.

I feel I have a small range of products but I don't think I have tken full advantage of the brief; I could have really branched out with this and transferred the logo on to shot glasses, key rings, t-shirts, etc.

InDesign...Evaluation

I found this brief incredibly challenging as I am very new to using InDesign, however I did pick up some hints and tips along the way which may help me in a future project. For example, the 'W' key enabled me to see my document without my grids and guides, and preview how it would actually look. I used a 3 column grid with 5mm guttering and found it helpful for laying out, although on paper I don't find them useful as they can get quite messy and confusing.

I do think I have answered the brief, legibility was an issue to be carefully considered, and I think that I have produced a legible piece. The article has just over 300 words and contains two images, which is another set of criteria for the brief.

I am pleased with my final design, although I maybe should have used a larger photo of Elliot, as of course the interview was about him. I think my design is appropriate as I used Futura Bold for the titles and quote, because this is Elliot's favourite font, and I really wanted to personalise it to his taste. Also I tried to steer away from using bright colours, as this is something Elliot is not a fan of however, he does like colours that make an impact, hence using black and white, with the light blue to pick out the questions and quote.

With my final print, as I have not printed with a printer that is callibrated to the computer's colours, the black is not as black as it should be, but on screen it looks much better, and I hope Elliot likes the design too.

Due to the software being new to me I did experience a few obstacles, and found it slightly confusing having to prepare the images in Photoshop and then placing them in InDesign, as I kept trying to insert them straight into the document. Using the text boxes over the grids made it so much easier to see how the document would look, however next time, I should probably prepare the typed content in Microsoft Word or something similar, as it would be easier to see as I was typing, as 12pt text in a full document view was quite minimal, and to zoom in would mean I was missing parts of the document.
Also, I did get confused occasionally with distinguishing the bleed outline to the actual page bounding box, but once I got used to the set up it worked fine.

I had a lot of fun, all be it being quite stressful learning a new software and trying to produce a document and I look forward to creating more magazine layouts in the future. It was interesting to speak to Elliot as well, as up until the start of the project I had only spoken to him a few times. So the brief has worked well on all levels.

Speaking From Experience... Crit

Today I had a crit with Natalie, Jo and Charlotte due to missing Friday's crit. I found it highly beneficial due to having a variety of personal problems which although I tried not to let them effect my work, they have had quite a profound affect on this project. As the people in my crit were aware of my circumstances I found it easier to present my work, and their support was incredible and really helped me to focus, and get into the swing of things again.

The first point mentioned was to scrap calling the week, Trip Week. Jo thought it sounded quite primary school- like, this is something that definitely doesn't need portraying. Also Charlotte and Natalie said how the name isn't very motivational, they were two people that I found didn't do anything for Trip Week, but wished they had done, which is the general case I found in my primary research.

From here we began bouncing ideas off each other foussing on the fact that I found inspiration for my book project in London, so we incorporated the word inspiration to some taglines.

- Prepare to be inspired - prepare is one of the key words here, as you do have to prepare it yourself, and then obviously the word inspired is what hopefully people will be. This reminds me of the Alton Towers tagline for the ride Air, 'Prepare for Air...'


- Inspiration week - a better variation of trip week.

- Inspire yourself - this focusses on making people aware that it is down to them to sort out their excursions, as again trip week may bring across the idea of something pre-planned.

- Be inspired - this is quite instructional, as all designers need inspiration.

- Are you ready to be inspired? - This is just a question that may feature on posters around college as a reminder to students to get ready for the week in February.

From here, we began to discuss the potential products I had come up with, the idea of the DVD was pretty much all agreed, that not everyone would be bothered to put the DVD in and navigate around to find information, as people would be more likely to use a website, and from here a blog was mentioned. I had briefly covered this in a mind map but not thought of it any more, the blog could be a place to share experiences, or organise groups of people getting together to go on trips suitable to them.

Another interesting idea the girls came up with had a game theme to it, for example, sending people to a city to photograph 20 specific objects which may be of use to their future briefs. As something I got from trip week was building up a stock library of images, and they too could benefit from that.

Or creating an A2 photo frame that can be rolled up and carried around, and the idea is using the photo frame as a view finder, the students have to take the most interesting photograph in pairs, with proof of visiting that place which may include collecting items like receipts, travel cards, photographs, post cards, leaflets etc. again these are items that can have use at a later date. Once the week is over, the students can upload their images to a blog and get people to vote for it, with the winning pair winning something graphics related, or some library vouchers.

Tying in with the blog, to promote it, it was brought up that I could create small business cards. I could have one side with the slogan on and blog address on the other, this will be handy to keep in purses and wallets, and a place for other students to share their experiences to inspire the new students.

Another game idea is to provide students with a series of images in a specific city, it could be Leeds for those who can't afford to go elsewhere, or London for those who want to travel, and the students have to research into the images, and visit the places themselves. This would link in my next potential product, a road trip CD, this would combine entertainment with travel, the CD would feature songs picked from this years Graphic Design group in the response to the question, "If you could pick a song to listen to on a road trip what would it be?" The CD cover would have the design on that would feature on all the products, and the inlay would have a fold out section with small maps on it for towns and cities around Leeds. It is slightly gimmicky, but everyone likes a free CD!

The iPhone app idea was dismissed by all, originally it did seem like a good idea, and I did recognise that not everyone has an iPhone when making evaluation points on my ideas. And this was an agreed point among everyone, using my current group as an example, around 5 out of 57 have an iPhone, so this will not be a successful way of communicating to my target audience. However, it was mentioned that if I was wanting to communicate in an electronic way, I could design a multimedia message to be sent to mobiles, or an email to be sent out, which will be a great way of reaching out to my audience.

Overall it was a very positive and inspiring crit, and it was interesting to see Natalie and Charlotte's work as I had no idea what they were doing. And it was even more interesting to see how Jo's work had progressed from the last time I saw it.

PPD

Which of these words describes you as an individual?

- Determined

- Considerate

- Confident

Which of these words best describe your approach to life?

- Reflective

- Punctual

What do you want to be?

- Organised

- Decisive

Which of the following qualities do you look for in others?

- Honesty

- Confidence

- Commitment

- Creativity

- Humour

- Punctuality

- Flexibility

Which of these words describe your ambitions as a designer?

- Creative

- Effective

What do you want your work to do?

- Persuade

- Shock

- Change

- Entertain

- Inform

Which of the following words do you associate with your work?

- Message

- Media

- Type

Which of the following areas have you developed your skills in?

- Type

- Colour

- Photography

- Composition

- Print

- Research

- Problem Solving

Which of the following areas do you need to develop your skills in?

- Video

- Idea generation

- Drawing

- Image

Which of the following are you interested in developing skills in?

- Typography

- Illustration

- Motion graphics

- Advertising

- Photography

- Book design

Communication Is A Virus... Final Crit

This had to be the worst crit I have ever participated in, and after speaking to others afterwards, I know I am not alone. Due to a certain member of the group constantly talking and distracting others, it was virtually impossible to hear what members at the opposite end of the table were saying. Especially Brady and Naomi's idea, an idea I was looking forward to hearing after having no prior knowledge of the idea, so I gave feedback later on after the crit had ended.
When it was mine and Meryem's turn to present, we barely received any feedback, this was due to the individual still chattering on resulting in the opposite end of the table hearing next to nothing what was said. We were a little downhearted, as we were feeling more confident than the first pitch.
However, we were told our point of sale was a little specific, and we should consider the product being available in larger shops. Another consideration was a to create a blog website, following on an idea Meryem already had in the format of website like http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/ a website where people share drunken text messages they have sent 'last night'. This could be an interesting way of people sharing their compliments, although I am aware it does contradict our verbal, 'non-digital' attitude. So this would need some careful consideration.

Communication Is A Virus... Pitch Review

The comments were very positive, and there were suggestions which Meryem and I need to discuss whether to carry out or not. For example, the stickers with blank write-on boxes, and love heart sweets idea.

The main issue I wanted to sort out was the iPhone app idea, we did not have any visuals for this proposal, as it was just an idea, but after the great feedback, we have decided to carry it out.
I do feel that Meryem was quite nervous during the talk, as I seemed to fill in the gaps, this may reflect the fact that we were unsure on our idea, so for the next presentation it is important we are 100% confident on what we are doing.

Communication Is A Virus... Pitch Feedback 2

Assessed by: Nick & Kim

PRESENTATION
How professional was the verbal element of the presentation? Was it delivered with clarity? What might have improved it?

Yes, was clear what they wanted to do, good amount of information...more visuals?

How professional was the visual element of the presentation? How well were the boards designed? What might have improved them?

Good! Clear connection of all three boards and thmed throughout - more statistics.

PROPOSAL
What is the message?

Get people to compliment each other more.
Is there a clear sense of audience? Who is the project targeting?

Unsure.

What context(s) will the message exist in? How does the proposed solution answer the 'virus' element of the brief?

Distributing a product - a flip book.Overall, what do you think of the proposal?

Good! Think they could have a lot of fun with it.

Communication Is A Virus... Pitch Feedback

Assessed by: Steph and Josh

PRESENTATION
How professional was the verbal element of the presentation? Was it delivered with clarity? What might have improved it?

Impeccable.
Made sense- order to it.

How professional was the visual element of the presentation? How well were the boards designed? What might have improved them?

Clear, concise- not too busy.
Remember the 'little book of charm'.

PROPOSAL
What is the message?

Be nice to people.

Is there a clear sense of audience? Who is the project targeting?

Everyone?

What context(s) will the message exist in? How does the proposed solution answer the 'virus' element of the brief?

Compliments the spread from one person to another.

Overall, what do you think of the proposal?

Cupcakes - yeah!
Be good but what if the person giving a compliment doesn't get one.

How feasible is the project? If you were the client, would you be prepared to fund the project so it could go ahead? Have you been convinced?

I can see the project being made successfully. It's a good idea that people should find easy to do.

Vogue...

At the beginning of the brief I felt that for such a short amount of time, I would not be able to produce something I was entirely satisfied with. Although it is not the idea I had in mind, I have proved myself wrong, and am quite pleased with what I have produced. I feel what I have designed is appropriate to the brief; it communicates the personality of Vogue, in a slightly negative but somewhat truthful manner.

My research was fairly limited compared to how I would usually research for a project, and in turn proved to not be use to my final piece, as my original idea was to create an “anti-Vogue” magazine cover, because Vogue is always shown in a positive light, e.g. the magazine, so I wanted to create something a little more controversial.
Research that may have been useful to the project may have been more silhouettes and figures, as ideally I would have loved to have done an illustration, but this is an area which I am quite weak, and would need a lot of time spending on.

Other than a memory stick disaster, the only obstacle I struggled with was the time, which made me all the more determined to complete the brief. I think the timescale forced me to make decisions that normally I may have put off for a while. If the timescale had have been different I would like to have done a photo shoot with a model in a Tim Walker style, in the fact that the props would have been human sized to emphasise the small models, and how they are represented, basically as robots who are told what to do, how to look and how to eat. I think this would have been interesting, but I am pleased with my final poster.

I did learn a lot in this brief about myself, as it showed that when I put my mind to it, I can do something which I otherwise may not have believed I could. I think my thumbnail stage was incredibly weak, but as mentioned in my book, the idea came together by accident, and impulsively I went with it, and I am glad I did.

Collection 100 Product Evaluation

I think I have come a long way from my research, to say I started with Christmas as a topic and had a very hard time finding a direction to go in, I am very pleased with where I have ended up. I have really challenged myself with creating a film, and editing it.

I think the end product, 100 seconds of jokes is quite funny, however it is not what I had originally set about accomplishing, as I was hoping to get 100 people to tell 100 jokes, however, one important lesson I have learnt is putting people on the spot in front of a camera asking them to tell a joke, is not incredibly successful, my close friends who really understood what I was trying to accomplish were very helpful and volunteered to tell multiple jokes, however this was not suitable to my brief. However, some people, no matter whether I gave them a joke, would not entertain the idea, sadly some are in my class...

The film and DVD set up is extremely basic, because a) I had no idea how to create something intricate and b) because I wanted the focus to be the jokes, not the way the menus are built etc. I have included the other jokes on the disc as I felt it would be a complete waste if they weren't included.

I did find the DVD quite entertaining to watch back, however I found myself staring at frames either side of the screen on a lot of the jokes, although I tried to set the camera up so this was not included and it was just the plain neutral background, it appears I was not careful enough. If I had the knowledge I would have cropped the shots to erase this, as it did become quite an annoyance.

Jokes that went wrong have been put on an outtake film, however, some were just too offensive and I have had to get rid of them completely. I do understand some of my jokes included are close to the mark, but a lot of comedians are, there is a warning on the poster and DVD cover to warn people that it may cause offence.

I like my 5x5 grid of images of some of the participants, it gives a clue again to what is on the disc without saying "This disc contains jokes"... As the photos were taken against the same background, it gives consistency although the lighting does vary.

After research into the DVD posters, I used the same visuals from the DVD packaging, but included the DVD logo and a 'review' to make it more realistic, and to show what the poster is promoting as it isn't quite as obvious as some posters, for example, some have, directors names, actors names and awards won printed on.

I do believe I have fulfilled my brief, and do hope that my film will make someone smile, if not laugh, people have asked to watch it, and from every person I have seen watching it they have laughed several times.

If I had chance to revisit brief, I would consider advertising volunteers to tell jokes, rather than put peopleon the spot, although some people were more than happy to help, I do understand it can be a little daunting in front of a camera. Also I would have liked to photograph every person that told the joke, but I did not have access to a decent camera all the time, and again I think that would add to the horror of being in front of a camera.

I was extremely thrilled that second and third years took part, I am usually a really chatty person, but I was quite worried about approaching them, especially near deadline. The vast majority were very nice and helped out, and made comments on my project, and it is still nice that some ask me how I am getting on when I walk down the corridor.

What skills do you feel you have developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

I feel my research skills have improved massively, with the ‘What If’ brief being a guideline to what research is required for a project. The Collection 100 brief has looked at a different way of information collection, for example, the facts, opinions and objects.

Skills in software again have improved as I imagine they will at the end of each module, in the Photoshop brief I learnt how to export a number of Photoshop files into a PDF presentation. I learnt the very basics of putting together an image sequence together on Final Cut Express from exporting images to a batch on Photoshop. I enjoyed learning Final Cut so much, I decided to incorporate it into my Collection 100 Product brief, and learnt how to video on camera, play it back into the computer and edit the project using the timeline, the blade tool and selection tool on Final Cut Pro. I then had to learn to export it to the correct movie format so that it could be burnt on to a DVD. I learnt a few more things in Illustrator, from a peer, they explained the best way for me to create a net, which involved using the pen tool, this again was quite an important skill for the Collection 100 brief, as without it I would not have been able to create suitable DVD packaging.

I learnt book binding this term, which was really interesting; however I was quite ill so as much as I enjoyed it, I really didn’t want to be there. It is something I would definitely like to learn again, and integrate into my briefs of the future. I was pleased with the end products that I had created; they look quite professional and smart. I feel this has been quite an essential skill for my Graphics work, as if I wanted to create a book; I would have had no idea.

I have spoken to more people this term; for example, I have spoken to second and third years, which happened through approaching them for help in one of my briefs, last term I had not spoken to them. Also I spoke to some older students briefly as I was lucky enough to be able to sit in on a talk to the second years from a Graphic Designer.

I have started to plan out what to do with my time which is a skill developed from the Time management PPD session. This helps me to work to certain targets for specific times to make my aims attainable.

The Visual Language – Photography day brief has helped me to look more carefully when considering frame and format, which was considered when photographing my yellow object for the Photoshop brief. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? Categorisation has been an approach to my research in a number of ways, for example, the Collection 100 – Photography brief was the small introduction to categorisation, as the photos had to cover, words, textures, people and places.

The What If brief looked at categorising research based on its form for example, quantitative, qualitative, primary and secondary. Collection 100 was heavily focussed on categorisation and the workshop about methods of categorising before the brief was issued at Christmas. I have also learnt to look deeper into research, and question things to help solve the problem, for example in the topic of homelessness we realised the high amount of deaths from drug abuse in recent months, and questioned why aren’t those people getting help, which lead the project on to be about informing rough sleepers of where they can get medical help.

What strengths have you noticed in your work and how have/will you plan to capitalise on these?

I think my level of creativity is quite a strength in terms of format, for example creating a stencil/sticker idea to navigate rough sleepers to medical help for the What If group brief, and a lot of other groups made posters, and so I have learnt and will quote, ‘Posters do not always solve problems’.

Also in my Collection 100 Product brief I created a film, as publications featuring jokes, usually are written down, on the internet, in crackers and in joke books, which have clearly been done before.

Back up research is quite a strength in my work, and shows how I have arrived at certain outcomes.

What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these fully?

Again, I seem to leave my sketchbook work until near the end, although I was much more organised with it than the previous module, I did leave some bits until the end, which ends up creating unnecessary stress for me.

Another weakness is my graphic abilities, when looking at my work I feel I am not always that adventurous, although creating a film was very out of my depth, in terms of the printed work, I would love to learn illustration, to get out of the idea of using computer type all the time.

Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

- This is probably an issue I will always try and improve, but my time management is something I will try and manage differently, especially with printing, to allow room for technical hitches.
- My development work needs to be kept together so it all feeds into one in continuous flow, as some development is in my sketchbook and some on my blog.
- I will try and present better at crits, I am normally not a nervous person, but I do worry sometimes presenting an idea to a small group as it can feel a little pressuring, especially when it may be an idea that is something out of the ordinary.
- I will try and learn not to be so pessimistic about my work; this is an issue I have had since school, and something I do aim to overcome. I am not entirely negative in the fact that I say, “My work is rubbish”, but I do tend to say, “I am not entirely sure about this idea…” so I need to learn confidence better.
- I will learn to dissect the problem properly before trying to jump into something too early; this is something I learnt in the What If brief.

Attendance – 4/5
Punctuality – 4
Motivation – 4/5
Commitment – 4/5
Quantity of work produced – 3
Quality of work produced –3
Contribution to the group - 4

Blog Group Discussion...

Posted here, as the members blogs were not uploaded.

Chris Anderson - I was in his Crit Group on Friday, so it was interesting to see where he had taken his ideas after the discussions the group had. He has took the idea of categorising the masks he is making into decades which I think is a really good idea, for example for the 60's decade he has a Beatle inspired hair cut mask!

Emma Cooper - Emma's idea has also slightly changed, which was a suggestion I made, instead of creating one pop up book of a tree with 100 branches, 10 books of 10 trees with 10 branches inside, this may work easier in terms of crafting, and will be easier to read the facts printed on the branches.

Ben Mckean - This is the first time I had seen any work by Ben so it was interesting, I think the Lego book is an interesting idea, however, I suggested the images of the lego structures he photographed should be on a white background for consistency.