Module Evaluation OUGD602

OUGD602 Module Evaluation

Since the start of my time at university my practice as grown on a huge scale. When I first started out I barely even looked into design studios let alone managed to network and get in contact with them. Since presenting in first year all the way to this one my confidence has grown greatly. This is mostly due to the constant practice of public speaking and the improvement in myself, my practice and my work. I am now confident enough to post my work online through social media and the use of my new website.

Creating a promotional pack was unbelievably helpful. Business cards are a quick and easy way to give details across to clients and are pretty much essential. Creative CVs help potential employers easily view my work experience and can continue to be updated regularly. My letterhead can be used to send out more personalised messages to potential clients and employers. My website means that I have a portfolio to be able to send across and link online as well as show when networking quickly and easily through any online means. 

Networking has become so much easier and almost second nature to me. I visit more events and studios than ever before and manage to speak and network with new people every time. This helps to build my network within the creative community and make sure I have contacts throughout. 

My skills both in digital and in traditional methods have improved over the three years and I feel this year I have been able to experiment with both more. Many of my projects were self driven meaning my passions could be shown and I could put so much more effort and my own ideas into them compared to briefs set by clients.

I feel my personal professional practice has improved with the help of the tutors on the course, our visiting professionals and myself. Without this module I don’t believe my practice would be as strong as it has become and I may still not even be looking into work after uni. Whereas now I can see my future definitely lies within the creative industry and I plan to keep it going.

Time Management - OUGD602

Example of time plan used this year.

Every year I vow to improve my time management and often try but fail to do it drastically. This year was different I have managed to keep on top of all my projects using roughly laid out time plans for each one to make sure certain aspects of the project are completed on time. This has helped me stick to the stated deadlines and produce high quality outcomes for each brief. Something as simple as a time plan or adding in events to the calendar on my phone has helped so much over the past year.

York Print Fair - OUGD602

Once again I visited the York Print Fair for the day. I always enjoy visiting this city and to have the chance to view printed work at the same time is great. Sean Mort, and Colours May Vary were featured again at this fair and team I hadn't seen since last year at this very same fair. Toucan Tango are based in Liverpool, last year I managed to introduce myself and discuss work with them. I have family from Liverpool and my Dad lives in The Wirral. Scott is also from The Wirral and therefore we had a conversation starter. He explained that they often work with children and do put on workshops I explained about my work and showed some from my website. It is very helpful to have a portfolio in my pocket at all times for instances such as this. I talked about collaborating with Scott and he seemed keen not as the company but maybe as himself, I told him I would be in contact. The fair is organised by Print Stuff, which is partly run by one of the illustration tutors, Matt. This gave an opportunity for illustrators to display their work, last year the class was displayed as a whole and this year a few friends were able to show off their own collective as OK SURE.

Clients and Live Briefs - OUGD602

This year I have worked with more clients and worked on more live briefs. This meant working with people outside of my normal work zone in education. I worked with people in the world for different pieces of work. I plan to be working within branding, advertising and print, and my briefs show this.

Lady Livid I produced branding for last year. This year I have produced packaging and advertisements for their upcoming album. They also want me to update their branding as they have decided against the old design after I suggested they continue to look and get inspired by other logos and bands. As a client they were very relaxed, I was paid for my work and managed to submit everything to them in a style agreed upon by them. I produced a few ideas and developed it over time to get the final result. They have a grunge like style to their sound and therefore I designed around this and around some inspiration they gathered.

Album Covers for Lady Livid

Character Design for Lady Livid

Creative Networks was a brief set by the university. I had to apply to be the designer working on this project by submitting visual concepts for the brief. I was later chosen and worked alongside the marketing team to produce a set of posters and flyers to advertise the events. The events were spaced out across the year but I still had a lot of planning to do to produce the final outcomes when booking print slots and sometimes only being told a few weeks prior to the event due to issues with booking the speakers for the event. I was also shown how to produce invoices for the pieces as I was paid for each set of posters and flyers. The printing costs were paid for by the marketing department and I had to make sure the invoices were written out to them from the print room. I was able to choose the stock and the finish for each of the prints which, was more pricey than they usually pay but they agreed the quality was better suited for what they needed.

My final client brief was for Izzy Tulip-Parkin, a photography student from LAU. Izzy is a really nice person and her work speaks for itself but she was difficult to work with. Mainly because she didn't quite know what she wanted as her branding and didn't quite know how to explain her passions, likes and dislikes until quite far on into the project. We ended up with outcomes both me and her were happy with. As the branding was for her the outcomes should be influenced by what she likes but it should also reflect her work and be clear. Izzy has since given her packs out to clients and professionals that have complimented her on it. I produced; business cards, logo design, creative CV layout and postcard designs.

Voice Overs - OUGD602

I helped out a few classmates in their projects. Not enough to state collaboration in designing but to lend my skills in voice overs. I am not professional in any way but used to work in a recording studio and have experience on radio. I'm sure the people marking the work will be sick of hearing my voice by the end of the year and not just through the 4 different voice overs. I helped lend an ear to the recordings and helped to emphasise points that needed it or change information that wasn't relevant. Some things were not clear when speaking therefore had to be changed and it proved difficult to pronounce some alliteration. I did this to help out friends with their work whilst improving my confidence with speaking. This also helped to gain a few favours from the friends in the future. It was great to put my skills from other areas to work within design work.

Presentation - OUGD602

Work Placement - OUGD602

After a few months of back and fourth on emails due to other commitments on both ends we managed to work out some dates I can come in to work at Newman. The placement starts on the 25th of June 2018 and will last four days.  It is not a placement in a graphic design agency or a studio but it is within the industry. I haven't got this placement to tick a box on a grade but rather because I enjoy teaching. Most of my family are teachers so have grown up around it, they usually work with younger students than college level but I would like to go into college or university level at some point. Since starting University in 2015 I have stayed in contact with the tutors at my college and have often visited back to check in. In first year I even offered to go in to give a session but once again it was hard to organise a date. My tutors remember me from college and often asked me to help out with technical issues or how to create something in PhotoShop when they weren't sure. We talked about me delivering some print workshops but the equipment at Newman is lacking in the graphics department to be able to show screen print, letter press or anything we have had the chance to do at University. I even asked in the print room if I was able to borrow any equipment but it was a no due to the fact I would be taking to another institution with no safety measures in place for the equipment and no training. Instead we came to the conclusion that I could help out alongside the tutors and give digital workshops to the year 12 students. I am looking forward to be visiting Newman again and potentially finding out whether or not I enjoy this type of work for a future career.

This work placement has not yet been finalised but I have been having phone calls with Dave from Fusion about my placement. Once again emails were not responded to so I had to use other means and call up the company. Dave mentioned he would email me back but never got round to it so I called him again a few weeks later to make sure he had not forgot. He said that this is a very busy time of year for placements but would be able to fit me in. I explained when our final deadline is for university he said to call when I am free and arrange to go visit them so we can finalise dates of the placement. I stated above that I would like to go into teaching in the future but this is not the only avenue I am looking down so have also been contacting agencies so that I can gain as much experience as possible. 

Manchester Print Fair - OUGD602

As stated in the Hepworth Print Fair post, often you see familiar artists at different events. Once again Laura Knight, The Lost Fox, Sean Mort and a few more faces that I have seen or spoken to at previous events were displaying and selling their work. Some of Sean's work really intrigued me but sadly I wasn't able to purchase it on the day as I had no way of paying. I also didn't fancy lugging two huge pieces back home. Instead I am planning on buying them online. Something I did learn is that if I wanted to set up at a print fair I would need to invest in my printing for one and into a card reader as you can miss out on a huge number of sales this way. I was a bit worried about being able to use traditional print methods after leaving university without paying out extortionate amounts per day. Quick online shopping searches showed that I can purchase second hand equipment relatively cheaply. After speaking to another printer at the event, Or8designs, I found out he screen prints in his own spare room and just gets a friend to expose the screens for him. This is great to know that people that do this for a living are able to print in their own home for a cheaper and easier means.

Hepworth Wakefield Print Fair - OUGD602

Print fairs always interest me, the variety of work on display is incredible. Often going to print fairs local to the north, or fairs that are on in more major cities feature the same artists and designers. This is a great way to network, if someone can recognise you at different events you begin to work up a relationship with them. In the bottom picture on this post you can see Laura Knight's stall. I met Laura last year at the York print fair and have now seen her at a few different events that I feel comfortable going over to have a chat about work and university. Laura has been quite helpful and has accepted work off a classmate (Hannah Johns). She is a lovely woman and now recognises me whenever we see each other, she's always welcoming and up for a chat about the industry. Last year she so happened to be collaborating with an old friend of mine from college. It's great to know that she works in this way and like I stated earlier it is a great way of networking at a print fair. I believe a lot of my work could be displayed in a fair such as this therefore I have planned to do this after graduation. 

Self Branding Pack - OUGD602

I now have, business cards, a letter head, creative CV and a website to showcase my work to professionals. This will ultimately help me to network and become employed. I will also help for collaboration projects and at print fairs or exhibitions. I am pleased with the work I have produced and feel it is to a strong standard.

The work produced can be seen below photographed in a photography studio:

John Lewis Exhibition - OUGD602

John Lewis put on an exhibition to show off the latest work produced by Leeds Arts University students for their Loved and Found department. One of our very own classmates, Hannah Johns is featured in the department and her work can be seen above. The department is a good size on the 1st floor of the store therefore they were able to showcase a good amount of work. It is great to see paid opportunities for students from big companies such as John Lewis especially featuring work made at our university. Hannah's work stands on display on the main wall in this section of the store and features a series of three fabric screen prints with hand stitched wool across the pieces. It was a slightly different experience to usual exhibitions, being in a store but was still great to get out and see work in context.

Self Branding Creative CV - OUGD602

I first created my CV at college which then changed first year of university to fit with my new branding. CVs should constantly be updated with the new information and experience so I will continuing doing this. This year I changed the layout of my CV to fit with my more refined style. Through this you can see how I have updated my experience and how my style has become more honed in.

I have toned down the unnecessary colour on the piece so it is not too distracting. Added in a bit more about me as a designer, and taken out information about my work experience to make it easier to read. I have also added in placements, clients and exhibitions to show off my experience. My contact details have all my other self branding on them and are easier to read than previous versions.

Self Branding Website - OUGD602

I have used Adobe Portfolio to host and design my website. As I pay for the Adobe Creative Suite the hosting is free. Although the design is limited on the site it does still offer presets that can be customised to an extent. This is the best cost effective way to display my site whilst staying professional. You would not know where the site is hosted and does still look unique in many aspects. Currently I only have 6 briefs on display but do plan to have more very soon from work I have created over this year. The work displayed should be high quality containing no mockups unless purchased to give a more professional look to the portfolio. I have booked out photography studios to photograph my work at a higher standard. The domain name is paid for for two years and from this I have added on a custom email address at a very reasonable cost.

Alec our tutor was very helpful for this task. I planned on creating a website after I had finished at university but really this was just delaying possible time I could be promoting my site to potential employers. Giving us the task to create a website in a week obviously not full finished but working at least was brilliant to make sure we all had this asset for the year.

I now own the domain www.joshstorey.com along with the email address hello@joshstorey.com

Contacting for Placement - OUGD602

I first contacted Newman on the 5th of March 2018 about a placement. As I already had contacts there it made sense to ask instead of beating around the bush. Cheryl replied within 2 days on the 7th asking for a presentation about myself and my practice and some ideas for workshops or sessions. I sent back redesigned ideas and briefs we have conducted over the past year. One is inspire by Robot Food's: Project Disrupt. The Second inspired by The Pop Up Agency's team building task.

Cheryl enjoyed the ideas but stated she was looking more for workshops such as print that the students could learn from. I put together these tasks as to take a project or brief we may usually have to undergo at college but make it a bit more fun. When I was at college briefs like this were what I was looking for rather than doing work for grades. I may try re-pitching these ideas to Cheryl at a later date. She also mentioned getting me in to work at Newman before the easter holidays in a few weeks but it may be a bit of a rush trying to do so.

Repackage and Rebrand -

The task is to take a boring or mundane product and refresh the idea. Make it something new something tat doesn’t currently exist. Take inspiration from sources that aren’t necessarily in the same category as your given product. Look at how similar products are branded and completely change the designs to make it stand out above all the rest. Use skills such as, product design, package design, branding and more to carry out this task. Presentation skills will also be tested and boosted in the final stage of this task to explain what the idea behind the rebrand is and why?
Split the class into groups of 5/6 depending on the class size. Give each group a mundane product to repackage/rebrand. For the first session research the product and start putting together some initial ideas. In the second session work together to finish off the designs. Present the final outcomes and explain the thought process behind the idea. This whole project will be a really quick turn around and test the students skills in design, presenting and team work.

Quick Team Building Task -

Split the class into groups and ask individuals to write down their needs and values. Next write down as many brands or companies that could incorporate those needs and values. Take the favourite idea and write it on an A3 sheet. Then in groups move around and add to each idea. Discuss as a group which ideas are the favourites and why. Place ideas into how much impact the idea has compared to implementation (How easy will it be cost wise and work wise). In 140 characters and up to 6 emojis describe what your idea is most effective idea is.

Self Branding Business Cards - OUGD602

This year is my final year in education and it's time to put my name out into the world. I needed a logo to show my image as a designer, a business card and more promotional material.

To start off I worked around putting many different ideas together for my logo design but it made sense to stay simple and stick with my initials. In first year I had gone for a very different approach to using my initials and this put my image in a different light as if I only do work for humour. This year I adjusted the typeface Futura, as this is my mostly used typeface. I use it in all my design boards, presentations and usually start off a project designing with it unless the brief dictates otherwise. I feel it is bold, future proof and visualises me well.

This then helped me to produce my business card I initially wanted the designs to be embossed but found out this was not cost effective. I was also planning to print them using screen printing and possibly foil blocking but in the long run I would not have access to these facilities. Instead I decided to go down the route of using an online printer, Moo. They offer brilliant service and amazing print quality. I opted for 100% recycled cotton for my cards to save on paper wastage. For some reason their delivery system messed up and I actually received 200 cards instead of the 50 I originally order all before their estimated delivery. 

Self Branding Brief - OUGD602

Background:

Self branding is important for everyone. A means to keep in contact or share your details with clients, professionals and more. Therefore it should represent your as a designer, you should be able to show off your skills as best you can and gain recognition with help from your branding.

Problem:

Once I graduate I currently have no means of showing off my work in portfolio form without linking to Behance which isn't as professional as a website. I also have no business cards to give out while networking which is an easy and effective way to gain clients or start a chat with people in the industry.

The Task:

Create a pack for my own self branding. This should included, but is not limited to; an online portfolio/webstite (not Behance), Business cards, Creative CV and some sort of visual representation of me as a creative.

Considerations:

• Business Cards
• Logos
• Creative CVs
• Website Design
• Promotional Packs
• Clients
• Professionals

Exhibition, 100 Days of Film, TV and Games - OUGD602

I attended Courtney's exhibition on 100 Days of Film, TV and Games, not only to show support for a fellow classmate but also because the work she had created is something I'm truly passionate about. I had followed all her posts throughout the project and often complimented her on each post.

The exhibition itself was in my opinion one of the best self initiated i have attended. The atmosphere suited the design and made great used of such a small space. There was even a competition to see how many of the illustrations you could name in accordance to the film, tv show or game. We managed to win and name 93 in total. This was a great idea as it got people involved in the exhibition giving it an interactive element. The turn out to the event was really great, all night there were people coming in and out, it was nice to have seen Abi and Chloe from Buttercrumble turn up. We turned up early on and stayed throughout most of the night. As the exhibition was on something near enough everyone could relate to you could see everyone pointing our pieces that meant something to them. Throughout the project Courtney has explained what each piece meant to her and seeing her with her family, and her dog you could really see the inspiration coming through the pieces. All in all this exhibition made me feel good about myself and about the ability of my classmates. I hope I can create some pieces I will be really proud to show off in a manner similar to this. Once again well done Courtney you've really produced something great here.

Rough Trade Talk - OUGD602

Liv Siddall visited the university to give a talk about her work and experience at Rough Trade. She was able to go to this company and create an entire magazine for them on her own, contact professionals, music artists and more to help out all on a tiny budget every month. Seeing that she was able to do something like this in so little time with such little money was incredible showing that you can really achieve anything if you put your mind to it. It gave me hope for the future that I may be able to embark on some seemingly impossible projects and still get the outcomes I desired.

Evolution Print - OUGD602

I have visited a few printers in the past few years such as Snape's, Footprint and Precision Print. Evolution was on par in size with Precision and the people that gave the tour were very enthusiastic about their print. They explained they work together with other companies and produce all kinds of commercial print as well as for students or independent professionals. I managed to speak to one of the directors of the company, he was very, very passionate about the whole company which made you want to go to them more. His outlook on the business is very pleasing and shows some good sales techniques. When speaking to him I did ask about work experience so as to gain knowledge of the more industrial side of print. Business cards were given out and now I have a means of contacting them for such things.

Employability Week, Abraham (The Pop Up Agency) - OUGD602

This blog post is layed out slightly differently to the last few from this week as the information given I felt was quite important to note down.

We have been told about The Pop Up Agency before but to meet Abraham and hear about the agency first hand was amazing. To see how their company started up and how it has branched out gaining work from huge names all over the world was really something. Abraham never seems to be in one country for very long, he or the agency always has somewhere to be around the globe, a job that allows you to travel as a creative must be incredible. The inspiration seen around the world would put your work on another level.

Why?

Challenge ourselves and the creative industry

How?

Solve briefs within 48 hours

What?

The Pop Up Agency

------------------------------------------------------

Feedback, Reflection, Transparency.

• Value of being Naive
• NAIVE & STUBBORN
• WE ARE A REACTION OF OUR TIME
• Ask for help; one CEO knows another CEO one Creative Director knows another etc.
• Start out optimistic but learn and learn from mistakes.
• Try things. Find what you're good at
• Don't sell yourself short, be sustainable
• Sales, Development, Execution
• Understand the value you are providing
• Value of guidencence and help

Costings:

Salary, expenses and savings 33% each


Go out and get it. Know your value.

Employability Week, Shannie and Will (The Elephant Room) - OUGD602

I was not able to make it to the talk from The Elephant Room due to personal reasons but I did look into their agency and from what I saw the work was really great. People that attended the talk explained that it was incredibly inspirational and possibly one of the best talks all week. I am annoyed I was not able to attend the talk but will make it a priority to attend all future talks of this nature.

Employability Week, Chris and Eve (Robot Food) - OUGD602

This was my most anticipated talk of the week. Robot Food are a packaging agency based in Leeds and both Chris and Eve are graduates from our course. Their packaging can be seen displayed in most stores around the UK working with huge brands all over. I heard of them initially through a friend on the course and have followed them ever since.

Packaging has always been something that interest me but I had never looked into it. As a creative I've never really found one aspect of design I would love to stick out and go into as a career. I have felt over the past year that packaging could really be that something and Robot Food are one of the main inspirations for this.

I asked both speakers are they able to carry on with self driven projects outside of work. They explained that they quite often take on their own projects as the times they work to in their job are feasible and leave them time to socialise as well as start their own projects.

Chris explained he started his career in Preston (My home town) but it wasn't that great and eventually came to work for Robot Food. I did question him on why Preston "wasn't that great" but he meant that there wasn't much to do which I agreed with. He lived in Lancaster most of his life before uni and work, knowing someone who has started out from a similar background and worked his way up in the industry was a real inspiration and confidence boost.

Employability Week, Rose (OOMK) - OUGD602

Rose was a different speaker to any we have had in all three years. Not for the practice she was in but because of her age, she was younger than most professionals we have had the chance to meet. This was great, a lot of her projects seemed self driven and personal showing that we can all do what we enjoy, you just have to find out to fund it and get it out there. 

We were able to make a zine with Rose using work from the whole class. Although this was not the most difficult brief or maybe for some more digital students the most stimulating it was a great look into working in a team. As nearly all of the third year students were in it could have proved to be quite a difficult task getting everyone's work in in such a short time but instead it seemed to flow together even if time over ran slightly with the photocopying. 

Below is my piece, I took some inspiration from Dines the day before but also tried to fit the design to my chosen word, Juxtaposition. 

Employability Week, Dine (Studio Blup) - OUGD602

Dines from Studio Blup was a great start to the Employability Week. He was a highly energetic, passionate and inspirational person. The talk given gave fuel to most students in the studio knowing that he was able to start up a studio on his own from his bedroom. This is similar to how a lot of people work at the moment so it means that it is possible to do as long as you push yourself. He told us how he nearly lost out on a brief to Adidas and thus losing over £2000 because of such a little issue as using the wrong colour envelopes. This was stated in the small print of the brief that he as many of us as young creatives skipped over. A valuable lesson for all of us as we move into the future.

Later in the day we were able to pitch an idea to Dines and see gain some valuable feedback on how to push this idea. Knowing how to get something out into this busy world of design is a very valuable asset. Nowadays social media almost rules over all of us so this was a main advertising feature throughout the pitches. Dines was very happy to stay around and have a chat and even help a few individuals showing that even when you've made it in the world of design and own your own company you can still be humble and help out aspiring creatives in the same field. 

Contacting Professionals - OUGD602

Above are some of the agencies I have been looking into over the past few years. I believe my style and skills would fit into these companies or could help to bring a new insight into them. Many of the agencies are up north. This isn't just by preference but because I enjoy the works presented by each of the companies. Most deal within branding, advertising and some within packaging. I enjoy to work in a diverse environment to show off all my potential and to be able to learn new skills or improve my current set. Working for agencies such as the ones above would give me the opportunity to do all of that.

I did not want to be generic in my emails to the companies and instead wanted to be able to start up some sort of conversation with them. I managed to find contacts through LinkedIn and through a method taught to us by Alec Dudson showing how to search for email addresses within agencies. As I said earlier I have been looking into some of these agencies for a while so I could find some addresses through their websites.

I sent out the emails through my new personal email address, linked to my website and added an email footer to give a more professional look to my emails.

Here are some examples of emails sent out: