Invoice

I had to prepare my invoice today, its the first time i've ever had to do one as i had to charge my client for the logo design service that i had done. this was for Crabtree and i needed something that would be simple and versatile enough to use in the future.

I wanted it to be simple and easy to read, and clear so that the information could be easily read. It was quite exciting using this, its the first time i've had to charge, and i felt like a proper graphic designer!

Solicitor Branding

Tapas Menu and Flyers

I have finished putting together the flyers and menu that Kevin has asked for, and sent them through to see whether he likes them or not.

4 Briefs

> ISTD <

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ADDITIONAL BRIEF

3rd Year Presentation and strategy

Presentation

I really enjoyed my summer break, I managed to re-charge and get some experience under my belt before I came back for my third year. Before we left for summer I had managed to secure a placement at Popcorn Design studio in London. Popcorn is made up of a team of 4 guys, all fairly young. They are a studio that focuses on Branding and working with type which is great because before I left for summer I established that this was an area I wanted to improve and learn more about.

It was interesting to see the working structure in a studio first hand.

 As for the work I did there, they got me involved straight away. The first day they had me researching and putting mood boards together for a client they had just landed. I also ended up working on a proposed logo for a Right Guard festival, this was a big learning curve for me because I was designing to what the creative director had in mind, which did make it difficult at times because it was hard to get exactly what he wanted. I then got the opportunity to design the logo for the Princess of the UAE. This was a big project and they left it to me, it was scary but also really satisfying because it meant they trusted me enough to deliver a logo that they could present to their client. They have now run with 3 logos I proposed and are waiting for feedback from the Princess, and will let me know when she’s picked one. I am really happy about this because it has given me more confidence in my skills and my ability to deliver to a professional deadline.

My practical skills improved a lot through the placement. All of which I plan to bring into my third year.

After my placement my priorities in design have changed but not drastically. Before I wasn’t considering design for screen too much, but now I want to learn this skill.

I have kept in contact with Popcorn and Pat (the creative director) said I can go back at any time, and specifically told me to go back once I have a viable portfolio to: as he terms it, ‘rip it apart and put it back together again’.

I also visited RR Donnelley, a company based around the globe that specialises in all things corporate. I wanted to see what corporate design was really like, and how the whole system functions. Throughout the day i managed to sit it on a client meetings with Terry O’shea who is the composition manager and head typesetter for the London branch. He also took me through all the aspects of running and working in such a large company. They used to out-source a lot of their work but have just created an in-house design team who I met later.

Learning about the processes within RR Donnelley was fascinating. I never thought about design on such a grand scale, at first it was quite hard to get my head around but I eventually managed to get a grasp. It was completely different to the work produced at Popcorn, and the working style. 

I then went onto go and meet the in-house creative team. It was made up of 3 people, and i spent my time with the creative director Eleanor Broderick. She took me through all the aspects of the corporate industry that they are in and the processes from the start of a project to the finish.

 I also managed to work on a small brief for them, they wanted a new mail out to entice their new customers. They liked the designs and they said if they use them in the future they would let me know. 

Eleanor was really supportive of me, and interested in what i was doing and said that in the future i can always contact her for advice and experience.

Over the summer I managed to land a real client. There’s a new Tapas bar that’s opened near me. I offered up my services to re-do their menus and do some promotional work for them. I have created some A5 flyers for them, and I am in the process of re-doing their menu. I wont be using this as one of my briefs because I don’t feel it will be substantial enough, but It will run through the year. This is exciting and daunting at the same time, but it has really boosted my confidence in my practice as a professional.

After my experiences this summer I have realized how much the placements and advice have helped shape my design practice for this year. So I am sending a mail out to prospective placements in and around Leeds. The idea behind it, is that I want to get some experience even if that means just making tea for the studios. So I am sending them a picture of tea, with some tea bags, just to insinuate the idea. I will then be following it up with a phone call to see if I can secure a placement or at least a visit. Its just a bit of fun, and hopefully it will make the studios smile. By setting myself this I managed to do some screen printing, which I really wanted to get back into before I came back for third year. I have put together a list of the places that I want to send it out to, all covering work with branding and type so they relate to furthering my design practice.

With regards to the briefs I have chosen,  they all revolve around a common theme to help further my development in working with type, branding and print processes. The strategy for this year is to focus on these key areas and choose appropriate briefs to further my development and produce professional work. I have also chosen a brief that I want to work collaboratively on, and I will be working with Amy Leigh to put together a publication all about type. Its an area we are both interested in, and it will push our skills separately. The briefs I have chosen have considerations for on screen design, because I really want to improve my knowledge here.

There are some main themes that I am focused on investigating and covering with my briefs such as; Food, this entails things from packaging supermarket food to branding a restaurant.

Type, I am interested in the manipulation of type through layout, publications, branding as well as the processes used around type such as letterpress, embossing, screenprinting etc,

And lastly Packaging, I really enjoyed creating innovative packaging with my last project and I want to take this on further this year. I have also chosen these briefs to  push my skills in areas I want to improve such as; illustrator, in-design, dreamweaver and photoshop.

With my dissertation I have planned it so that it realtes to my design practice and the areas I am interested in. I plan to discuss the importance of branding within current society, and what is deemed successful and how it’s deemed successful. I intend to look at the audience and how it interacts with brands, for example interaction with Apple and apple products. I also intend to deconstruct branding, taking it apart so that I can analyse how its been successful and why. In preparation for my dissertation I have interviewed the creative director of Popcorn, for his opinions of branding. I have nearly finished my reading which relates to a specific parts of my dissertation thus far. I also plan on speaking to the people I will hopefully be doing placements with, or visits as they are all related to branding in some way so it will help to get more opinions from professionals.  I am happy with the progress I’ve made because it’s given me more of a direction for my dissertation and I can now get a grip of what its going to be about.

The things I have done over summer have helped shape my design practice for this year, and I feel I have a clear direction for what I want to produce and how im going to produce it. I have more confidence in myself, and I am looking forward to the opportunities that are coming up.

Thank you for listening

SUMMER

>ALL SUMMER EXPERIENCES ARE DOCUMENTED ON MY SUMMER BLOG<

10 briefs

Open publication - Free publishing - More briefs

Second Evaluation - Placement Popcorn

I fully engaged with the placement I did at Popcorn, I did my best to try and be reliable and productive. I contributed with the creative director and had constant contact with the other employees. I used the resources in the studio, their collective library and magazines for inspiration and research. My practical skills improved a lot through this week, I highlighted what my improvement was through the week. And my other knowledge of the skills I had helped throughout this week. My drawing and visualisation skills improved 10 fold, finding easier way to express my ideas and a more thorough way of organising my development.

After my placement my priories in design have changed. Not drastically but enough to incorporate more so as to make my practice more professional and more diverse. Before I wasn’t considering design for screen to heavily, but now I know I want to learn how to design websites and all things screen based. It’s a very valuable and attractive skills for the industry I am in. there are certain other basic skills that I want to improve such as Photoshop as I saw a brief glimpse into the potential of the software when it comes to furthering my practice. It will help with my lack of professional illustration skills.

One thing this placement has made me realise more than anything is that I want to be part of a design team. A small one. I revel in the interaction and the vital communication between the team members. Freelancing isn’t for me, not after my visits and placement.

How would you grade yourself on the following areas:

5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor Where there are spaces feel free to add additional content that is relevant to your own practice or progress

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

ENGAGEMENT

Attendance

X

Communication - verbal

X

Punctuality

X

Communication - written

X

Motivation

X

Communication - visual

X

Commitment

X

Organisation - time

X

Quantity of work produced

X

Organisation - project

X

Quality of work produced

X

Organisation - personal

X

Contribution to the group

X

Presentation - crits

X

RESEARCH SKILLS (Use of… )

Library (Studio)

X

Magazines (Studio)

X

Internet

X

Visits

X

Blog. (critical journal)

X

PRACTICAL/ DESIGN SKILLS

Photoshop

X

X

Typography

X

Illustrator

X

Drawing/Visualisation

X

X

Indesign

X

Photography

X

Quark Express

X

Screen Printing

X

Flash

X

Book binding

X

Dreamweaver

X

Stop Frame Animation

X

After Effects

X

Video

X

DVD Studio Pro

X

Illustration

X

How would will you prioritise your focus on improving the following skills;

5= highest, 4 = high, 3 = necessary, 2 = unsure, 1 = low Where there are spaces feel free to add additional content that is relevant to your own practice or progress

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Studio Skills

X

Communication - verbal

X

Digital Skills

X

Communication - written

X

Visual Skills

X

Communication - visual

X

Study Skills

X

Organisation - time

X

Research Skills

X

Organisation - project

X

Finishing Skills

X

Organisation - personal

X

Presentation Skills

X

Presentation - crits

X

Presentation - assessment

X

RESEARCH SKILLS (Use of… )

Library

X

Presentation - portfolio

X

Magazines

X

Planning – Action Plans

X

Internet

X

Planning – Brief writing

X

Visits

X

Planning - Evaluation

X

Blog. (critical journal)

X

PRACTICAL/ DESIGN SKILLS OTHERS….

Photoshop

X

Typography

X

Illustrator

X

Drawing/Visualisation

X

Indesign

X

Photography

X

Quark Express

X

Screen Printing

X

Flash

X

Book binding

X

Dreamweaver

X

Stop Frame Animation

X

After Effects

X

Video

X

DVD Studio Pro

X

Illustration

5= highest, 4 = high, 3 = necessary, 2 = unsure, 1 = low

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Design for Print

Packaging

X

Design for Advertising

X

Editorial (Magazine)

X

Design for Public sector

X

Publishing (book)

X

Design For Education

X

Publishing (Magazine)

X

Design For Information

X

Promotion (poster,flyer etc.)

X

Design For Environment

X

Promotion (environmental, exhibition.)

X

Signage

X

Illustration

Editorial Illustration (magazine)

X

Typography

X

Editorial Illustration (newspaper)

X

Font Design

X

Book Illustration (cover)

X

Letterpress

X

Book Illustration (Children’s)

X

Layout/Grid

X

Storyboards

X

Moving Type

X

Character design

X

Printed Type

X

Design for Screen

Motion Graphics

X

Ethical design

X

Film/TV Titles

X

Client Led

X

Animated Stings

X

Designer Led

X

Animated Shorts

X

Problem Solving

X

Interface design

X

Art Direction

X

Web design

X

Project management

X

Flash Design

X

Account Handling/Client Contact

X

Interactive Technologies

X

Freelance

X

Independent

X

In-House Design Team

X