Website

Compared to my old draft for my site, I think that the new one is a vast improvement, since alot of my work is vector based it better reflects who I am as a designer.

Portfolio 2010

Open publication - Free publishing - More graphic design

Professional Pestering - Feedback and summary

So after I sent out a compact portfolio to my mailing list, I didnt get many replies for quite a few weeks, until they came flooding in recently. The first I heard back from was Home Creative in Blackpool who said that my portfolio had some interesting content, but if I was going to be applying for a placement, it helps if the work I am presenting is consistent and can be easily related to the work the agency does. This is the case, since I put a variety of work in, as I was hoping to demonstrate my ability to work across a wider breadth of media, which means that the best way to approach a placement would be to tailor a portfolio that is more focussed towards the work the agency/company/designer does. 
They did however, offer me a visit sometime in August, since they said they are rather busy with some clients up until then.


Crim Collective got back to me, which I was really excited about since I didnt think they would get back to me [Jeffrey Bowman] emailed back and said they were only taking on graduates and those who had had some industry experience. They did, however, say that I was free to pop in and visit any time over summer.


On the other hand, Home Design, said that I can start a placement/visit on the 12th July which is one positive at least. I will be working in their advertising and promotions department.


After joining Flickr and adding the majority of my old and new illustrations up, I have started to gather quite a bit of interest, with the likes of Jack Teagle and Matthew Fieldhouse. Both Jack and Matthew were part of the Nobrow competition which Leigh and I participated in at the end of first year, they also are bespoke illustrators. Which I thought was something as a positive for my work in terms of contact and feedback on work both inside and outside of the course.

OUGD203 Evaluation

This brief has been my defining moment on the course thus far, not only have I felt confident with what I am doing for the first time on the course, but I am designing for passion for another interest of mine as well as gaining new knowledge and skills.

This module has given me the drive and focus I needed so badly in the earlier days of the course, with my added skill points bestowed upon me from Anthony - which to be honest was the key thing learnt from the collaboration: time management. Rather than try to just get by not knowing what day it is, what is timetabled, and not planning appropriately left me in more than a few sticky situations looking and being useless. Since the collaboration, I have managed to better structure my time, allowing for a balance of work and play which has given me a confidence boost, given me more sleep, which has, overall benefited me much more as an individual and a designer.

The initial research was quite fun to do - as well as being informative to the design work - since it was all directed at a subject I already know a great deal about,but had to collect and collate opinions from a broader context, which/who turned out to be the people I was aiming my products at. If I had not found out about Ashley Browning, I would of not gained the inspiration to use the full garment as a piece of illustration, so undoubtedly, if my contextual research had not been done, this entire project would of been a colossal failure.

Since I was working with my own set of skills, abilities and knowledge prior to the brief, it became much easier to plan out and know what was achievable by when and how. The digital side of my project was something that I was quite confident with at first, especially at the prospect of designing, developing and proposing the website which turned out to take alot more time than first expected. I would of really liked to actually make the website in Dreamweaver for submission, but knew that with my lack of proficiency with the software, I would of wasted alot more time trying to make it than actually making the website. Although now hand-in is over, I would really like to make this real, I have had alot of interest from friends in the work produced which not only gives strength to the project, but also the effective design gone into the site and clothing respectively.

The physical products themselves were not exactly what I wanted, due to the printing place being arther limited in terms of colour choices, hoodie colours, and me not having enough money to buy more as to have 3 fully finished, boxed products. I decided not to screen print them, as it did not fit in with the clinical style of the illustrations, and could of jeopardised the look of the clothing, as well as costing me precious hours in the print room. I was impressed by the feedback at the crit though, despite the Metal Gear t-shirt being 3 colours wrong, overprinted and irritatingly inaccurate, it was obvious the main success was the Link hoodie, my choice of the bottle green hoodie with the burgundy and sunflower yellow seemed to work well with each other.

The packaging for the clothing was of a relatively high standard, although if I had planned it and researched it I could of gone somewhere to get my designs printed on real cardboard, but would of probably cost me a fortune for just two of them, let alone three. I did not screen print the boxes, since the illustrations would of been bent due to the nature of making the boxes after they had printed, but Im happy with the outcome regardless.


The one thing I think that may have an impact on my grade is the lack of physical development work since alot of my work was digitally produced and developed on screen as opposed to alot of post production sketches and visualisation. The main reason for this is because the main body of work was to be produced for screen instead of print, which I have tried to make clear throughout the project, with the exception of the boards, products and packaging, so hopefully in this respect the reason for not having as much development work is justified. The most successful in development terms was the website, as the main body of illustrations was generated, it was only a matter of refining the initial ideas down, but whereas the website has evolved over the entirety of the brief, being adjusted according to the critical review during the timetabled sessions.


Another main improvement that I have started to demonstrate on this brief alongside being much better organised, is the ability to record and document all aspects of the project, instead of being lazy and thinking about blogging it later on, I have managed to keep on top of the posting, which has greatly benefitted me, allowing to make better decisions and design to a much higher standard by means of much better critical analysis.


Things I will do differently:


Blogger - 


Try to keep my blog up to date, but keep it tidier, with less scattered posts, more critical evaluation and learn the basic HTML I need to be able to keep everything aligned and the right size.


Context - 


I think that I needed alot more external sources, more critical links to my work rather than relying on the knowledge I had in my head as to ensure my work is well informed and contextualised enough.


Production - 


I think instead of all the proposals I could of done alot more mocking up and making physical objects, since alot of the time my work was just print outs on sheets of A paper.






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

Collaboration Evaluation

The majority of the collaboration brief was more than a challenge, not the brief directly, but having to try to come to some sort of agreement with Anthony on almost every design decision, since the start of the brief where we identified our key roles within the collaboration Anthony had emphasised that we had to stick to and adhere to only those roles we had assigned each other.

This became more than a hinderance on more than one occasion, for example at the start of the biref when trying to outline the brief and rationale rather than hear what I had to say and confirm on something, he would often go to ask someone else that he sees in his eyes as worthy to confer and discuss our ideas. This was incredibly irritating especially when it took us 2 weeks to come up with something solid, which left us to produce next to no work, which leads on to my next point, following on in the tradition of Anthony's common mood swings and apprehension to anything conclusive, when it came to decision making, or any sort of preparation or planning, he would refer to the role sheet at the start. 


Any of my image making had to be run by and cross-checked with Anthony before I proceeded to develop or even start creating visuals, as to ensure it fit the brief according to him, which made me lose alot of drive and interest very early on in the brief, along with his continued negativity, disinterest and snide comments made it a very tough project to finish.


In contrast, he did teach me the value and skills of being well organised to make better use of my time which will really help me for the next brief, but rather than scrutinize, overplan and procrastinate to the point where nothing gets done, I will have free reign to produce a much larger quanitity of work, and produce something that will be a decent portfolio piece.

OUGD202 Evaluation

This module has been the trickiest so far on the course, in terms of having to learn 2 new pieces of software that
were something you cant just jump on and expect results. Since I had never used After Effects before,
I had to try to conevert myself to the structure of working within my worst enemy, time. In the early stages of storyboarding, with no real idea of how long ten seconds actually is, the limitations to that time, and what can/could be achieved within that short space, I was overly ambitious and ended up confusing myself with what I was going to do.
Instead, storyboarding became an easy way to show the start and end of what I wanted to see, not making things majorly complicated for myself, and simplifying all my ideas, which came to a great benefit to me since my initial idea was based around very complex and technical animations. If I had paid attention to the limitations within my first drafts of the idents(storyboards) and what can and cannot be done in After Effects, I think my animations would of come out more polished, and crisper. On the other hand, I think I did display a certain amount of techinical competence with the software, considering that it was something I greatly struggled with, making use of things from the camera, lighting, transformation and stroke effects, but not to overkill the final result.


Then there was the case of DVD studio pro, which was - again - another piece of software just introduced to us on this module. With a few stop starts and confusion, I soon got to grips with it, along with an easy to follow schematic (despite the scrappy drafts) that allowed me to complete the DVD stage in more or less an afternoon. Digital media is something best left alone as I have learned from this module, as it can be decieving, and unreliable. On top of that it requires a level of visualisation and techinical competence that I simply do not have. This is reflected by the uninspiring DVD interaction, since I knew that DVD studio would be something best tempermental with things like loss of files, links etc, I decided to keep it simple, and easy to produce, as to not cripple myself before hand in, and lose a massive portion of time before submission, which could of happened quite easily.


To be honest though I am reasonably happy with the turnout, despite working with the animations for so long, I began doubting them and if they were doing what they were meant to be doing, especially considering that I had to drop the last ident I did since I knew it was not working at all, and relying on working from a storyboard ythat was mean to be backup work and post-developmental.


The research process was something that helped to give me a clearer idea of what I wanted from the animations, since it was very hard for me to get any clear concepts that could be applied in After Effects, and I'm still getting used to the analogue/digital switchover way of recording and documenting, but blogging has now been embedded into my way of recording this past module since alot of the time is spent in front of a screen. Even though I was still leaving myself notes to put this that and the other to better support my work, I know that somewhere, I would of missed out something that would be vital to this project, despite trying to be as thourough as possible on the blog.


My main weakness with this project was not just my lack of know-how in the technical aspects of this project, but my animations lacking the professional look for application to the watershed, this aside, I was very happy with the final design for my packaging, as it tied up the loose ends of the project, keeping the visuals all neat and uniform with each other, which was something I wanted to do from the start, even if I was not completly satisfied with the final outcome, I know I did a good job of making the DVD something to be proud of.




Things I will do differently:




Blogger -


I think that with the emphasis on blogging for this module was effected by me not being able to take myself away from working on the animations, which led me to alot of late night blogposts, left as drafts with little or no writing on them, and not taking time to make them something that would of given me more marks and helped me alot more.


Research -


I found a limited amount of research that was the foundations for something that I started straight away, which dinted the final outcome, as if I spent more time looking into what I could of done in after effects I could of produced something much more professional.


Evaluation -


This was considered in the blogging part of the evaluation. I have not taken enough time to look at what I was doing, and try to amend it, which was another thing that will lose me marks, since there was emphasis on self-reflection.


Motivation -


Towards the end of this module, I was starting to get frustrated, and this was havign a major effect on my work towards the end, seeing it as a finish line in a race, not taking the time to ensure all ends were met to a high standard, I need to maintain focus on the objectives and not lose interest.


Neglect -


I was much sloppier in my punctuality for this module and tended to overwork myself, without giving myself a balance, and ended up really messing up my body pattern, which invariably had a negative impact on my work. I intend to better myself for the next module.




Attendance3
Punctuality 3
Motivation 3
Commitment 4
Quantity of work produced 4
Quality of work produced 2
Contribution to the group 4




Classic example, this was a draft that didnt post on saturday.

PPD presentation

Open publication - Free publishing - More graphic design

Port it in

Andrew Wightman

Scoping out potential competitors, as well as giving a huge amount of recognition to a particular hero of mine, since I started actually reading the paper (Guardian, Times, Independent, Star if I'm feeling lazy) I started to notice a lot of his illustrations crop up in editorials as well as front pages for supplements. His work is often content driven and focuses on detail and attention, something that is a contradictory trait to my own, but nonetheless someone I admire for having it.

I googled myself

There I am! One day it will be some professional work that will be the first image result on google. Still, result.

Placement

Amelia's magazine was a suggestion for a placement from Jane in the group sessions we had, since I expressed my desire to do some casual critical journalism, as well as doing some image/illustration/type work alongside. Since Amelia's Magazine is nationally and internationally renowned, I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to get into one of my favourite places in industry. So I went ahead and scouted out any potential jobs, and sent them a few emails enquiring on placements.

There are four main areas to apply for/work for which includes art, music, earth(eco), and fashion. This includes attending events relative to the subject area and writing a review as well as any supporting information. 
Due to my main interest in music and art, I would of applied for both, but upon reviewing the conditions, it turns out my chances at this moment in time are limited, since they only take 3 month internships at a time, and would currently clash with the majority of timetabled sessions occurring when I would be in college. This aside, I got a reply saying that I would need at least 3 published articles, on either a website or 2 in print, which means its something to aspire to at a later date.

Crim Collective

Crim Collective are in their own words - 

"To date the Crim™ are an internationally acclaimed collective producing work for galleries, bars, fashion boutiques and film. It also supports international educational programmes celebrating and memorializing? the enjoyment for drawing and all that is art and design."


They have a plethora of multi-talented, designers, artists, illustrators, programmers, and tutors on their team. Some members include YCN winner Luisa Biolchi, Jeffrey Bowman (AKA Mr Bowlegs), and Robert Loeber (Urban Outfitters). They have done work for Computer Arts, Barclays Bank, Converse and the Independent.

Alot of their work and their values seem to be rooted in having a good time, with a celebration of hard work based around contemporary youth culture in the arts. This sort of attitude is something that I can see myself working with for a long time, especially the collaborative practice of like-minded individuals producing some quality work that always looks good. Since they are based in the University they started in, I assume that they have all mod-cons in terms of access to the facilities which means that they instantly have an advantage to a majority of design agencies/collectives etc.

Home Creative

Home Creative are a Blackpool based design agency, although their work seems quite dry at first I was initially drawn in by their extensive list of clients they have worked for, are doing work for, or who keep coming back to them. The website they have is incredibly slick and the presentation of all the information in a focussed central window looks great.

Some of their work, such as the SOS brief for condoms, and also the Castrol brief I am not interested in the slightest, but the rest of their work for low-brow companies that are local are something I would like to work for/towards. But instead of the clinical delivery, I would try to offer something more individual to the table. Overall I would like to keep in contact with them, they have a good client list, their work stretches across a wide enough demographic and Jeff is a really easy to talk to guy.

Placement

Been talking with the guys from Home design in Leeds, a collective of web designers, illustrators, animators, advertisers and business buffs situated on the outskirts of Leeds. I have been talking to them on and off for some time now, but I was apprehensive about confirming a date, since I had not really looked into the calender like a fool. 
I did however, confirm that from the 28th June till the end of the week (Saturday 3rd) I will be going in to their web design department to look at how they work, and hopefully learn some new skills that would make me a quicker web designer (for mocks and publishing). 
Phil has also said that there will be a opportunity to work with the animation team as well as the advertising department, but I don't think I will be looking at animation, since the design for  screen module was a bit of a headache and not something that would be beneficial to what I want to do.

Grafik

After I went to London to visit papa Cummings and his girlfriend, Margarita who is a tutor and artist at the Royal College of Art, I managed to meet some rather interesting individuals. 
I met Richard Brucht, AKA HUGO who writes for Grafik and expressed interest in doing a talk at the college at some point in the near future, although have been told he is often tied up with freelance work and obviously the job at Grafik. 

Home took my house away

After hearing nothing back from the local agencies in Harrogate, my house being on the market, and my job starting to take a particular zing from my free life, it seemed all is lost.

But wait, the buyers of our house are a couple who both work for and run a design agency who specialise in advertising, and are a lovely couple.

Hurrah! Lift the veil of angst and longing for a house that will be never seen again, hope is on the horizon.

I got talking to them and they have offered to let me have a look round, and get a chance to get a potential placement.

Here is some of the work they do:

So its alot of public domain work, and some of their work may not be what I'm completely interested in, but I think it would be a good place to start, considering I would like to work towards branding, and advertising. Their intro video shows that it looks like a huge hub of creatives working as a team, not just a practicing studio.

About?com

Found this great opener stressing the importance of having a strong portfolio as a graphic designer - 

'When trying to break into the field of graphic design, having a solid portfolio is crucial. 

If you are job-hunting, your portfolio is what employers will be looking at to decide whether or not to give you an interview. 

If you are starting a freelance business, potential clients will be comparing portfolios to choose a designer for a project.'

There are several choices for what type of portfolio to build already available, and each one has its pros and cons. If I'm considering a website, its easy to access, provides an interactive hub of my work, and can be sent out as a link quite easily. 

However, it is rather time consuming, can run the risk of looking run-of-the-mill, need to know the tech skills to set one up and depending on how I do it, can cost a bomb concerning domain names, etc.

PDF's are standard as we all know now, handy for reviewing work, with additional space for notes, and in some case indications of how to read a presentation board and so on.

They are also incredibly easy to email, print, produce, and read through, with the handy 'Book' style format they have. 

I would not say that the traditional portfolio is anything to be ashamed of, or something that is unnecessary, as its always good to view something in its true context and its entirety, rather than a flat, digital representation of it. Just that its much easier to send off to clients, employers and agencies.