TRANSNATIONAL:
Here i have found publication called 'Graphic' Which is based in South Korea in the capital Seoul. It was started in 2007, and focuses on other trends in the graphics world, stuff that is different from the mainstream. Throughout the publications they have on issue per publication so it has a continuity within. Graphic is an independent magazine which does not depend upon sponsors or any governmental organization for financial help but aims it at independent journalism by emancipating its own editorship from them. The magazine circulates within Europe, Korea, America and Asia.
Korea has achieved one of the strongest recoveries among OECD countries from the 2008 global recession. It is expected to carry on until 2011 because of the positive impact from external demand spreads futher to the domestic economy. Korea has a lot of plans to create a sustainable country, which is green. This is very positive in respect to the graphics world, it means there will be more companies needing advertising publications, information graphics etc. The positive recovery has stimulated the creative world of graphics and helped magazines/publications such as Graphic flourish in this current climate. Korea is well know for the political divide between the south and the north, The north state being a communist totalitarianism state and in serious poverty. Whereas in the south the government encouraged the growth of family-owned industrial conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai. And they are now currently a major exporter of cars and electronic goods, this is all good for Graphic designers such as myself there is a constant branding/publishing and design work needed for marketing these jobs. Whether its for the large companies or their smaller competitors. Korea runs a multi-party political system leading to a variety of elections and campaigns all of which need designers to do their campaigns which is one avenue I am interested in. The social standing of Korea is varied. Newspaper readership is high and here are more than 100 national and local dailies. The press is often critical of the government. Socially the impact of this is hude and design wise as it means the message is constantly being communicated leading people to discuss and be informed. Which leads to more publishing jobs and layout designers.
Korea is one of the largest technology suppliers to the world therefore they are are the forefront of the technology change, Helping the designers situated there interact with the latest technologies. South kora is at the leading edge of the digital revolution. Its a trailblazer for high speed and wirless connection. Which again has a huge impact on the social scheme in Korea as everyone is connected in one way
EUROPE:
Today i looked at a company called 'Swiss Legacy', they are a design company that really appeals to me they focus on typography and other such practices, working over a variety of medias and this style of working, i feel works best for me. Looking into the European Economic climate was interesting. Since the recession Europe especially was hit pretty hard. One of he main reasons for the currency climate at the moment is because virtually all countries involved have broken their self imposed rules. Every country is in debt, resulting to huge taxes and mass job loses across everywhere. This leads to small creative busniesses being squezzed down. Small businesses are stopped resulting in clients being lost for creative design companies. With regards to the Political standing within Europe, its hard to gage an overall view as there are a lot of political beaders within it. The European Parliment oversees all actions within the EU but that doesnt have any major affect on Graphics companies unless its a large contract and they are dong something possibly contoversial, bhut otherwise its fairly free. The social side of Europe again is very hard to judge. The countries can be divided or joined, the current economic crisis has put a strain on political relationships, which can prove problematic, and as this filters down through the creative industry it can ruin client designer relationships leading to clients walking away or designers having to stop.
The EU is the global leader in many technologies the problem now is that it is facing increasing challenges from traditional competitors and emerging economics alike. The research and development helps contribute to the economic growth which is exactly what the EU needs to re-kindle the financial climate. New technology creates jobs and adresses scoial changes such as poverty, health problems and environmental cha nges. All of these contributing to the creative industry. everything needs and identity, branding and publication.
Where are they and how will they find me?
NATIONAL:
Here i have found a company based in London with a diverse client base called '400'. they are interesting company as they are fairly large and do a variety of different things for their clients. This is surprising as the Uk was hit hard by the recession making job hunting very hard. There were a lot of job cuts and huge businesses went under. I would have thought a company like this wouldn't do very well as their client base would dwindle considerably. For example, Woolworths was a well known and respected family business but as soon as the recession hit it meant that they were run out of business and soon were shut down, this meant that whoever was doing the design work had lost a huge and valuable client. This can be devastating to companies especially small ones, and some large ones as they get complacent relying on their large contracts. However, now the UK economic standing is slowly beginning to rise again. But the devastating job loses across all the industries, will take a while to regain its feet.
Politically, the UK has had a large election recently leading to innovative ways of campaigning (Gordon Browns Campaigns against David Cameron with the Billboard designs). While this was happening it was a huge design boost for the country, there were a variety of areas that a keen design campaigner could get their teeth into, and its something that heavily interests me. And generally as a country the UK is very social. With a variety of newspapers and publications covering nearly every topic that is being discussed that week/month. These are hundreds of ways to keep socially in-sync, with the amount of reading material readily available. Socially, the country is battling the recession together which means everyone is joined in one. The current job cuts that are mounting across all areas is forcing people to try new things and that leaves a market open for designers to help people try new things and get more involved.
The UK relies quite heavily on imported technological goods, but it is always at the forfront of the technological movement happening in the world. This keeps the people involved and informed and helps create design jobs to help brand and market the new products by promoting and informing people.
Where are they? How will they find me?
LOCAL:
Here i have looked at a local creative business near me called 'Creative Design'. Not only do i know of them i actually spent 4 weeks working with them this summer. It was an interesting experience, and different to what i was expecting. Creative Design is not a large company it is rather small with only 3 Graphic Designers in charge of everything (this is where i worked) and 6 other people who are employed to make everything else run i.e printing and making etc.
Creative Design is situated in a small town called Stamford (Lincolnshire). The town itself economically is fairly stable as it is a very wealthy town and area, a lot of private schools and local business's such as farming and agriculture. this brings a lot of money into the area, and local business's selling their products whether it be food clothing etc. This creates a variety of jobs for the creative industry, whether it be branding or marketing or general publishing. Stamford is also situated within a good commuting distance to London, this means there are a lot of expensive hotels around the area. Creative Design themselves get a lot of the contracts for the hotels, which means creating letter heads and menus. So there are a variety of medias available to market within. This all creates a very successful economic grounding for the companies in the area as everyone plays off one another.
Stamford is a very conservative area, and generally doesn't have any run-ins with the local MPs or Government, they just get on with things and therefore the town has no real political battle as everyone is generally of the same view. The area doesn't generally receive a lot of government funding either which also allows local companies and areas to get on with what they want to do. As the town is quite small and the area itself, people generally know everyone and their business which helps a lot for businesses beginning out as there is a lot of word of mouth that happens. This is highly beneficial to a company such as Creative Design, because when people need design work doing then it means people can suggest them and they know where to go, this way they get a fairly varied but big client base. The social interaction within the community really helps businesses grow.
Technology wise, Stamford doesn't exactly have a big standing within the market. However as the area is quite wealthy it tends to have a lot of new and innovative gadgets/cars etc, which means the community have quite a big interaction with the technological market out there. This helps Designers in the area live with a constantly changing and upgrading area making them versatile to the current market climate.
PACKAGING // BRANDING // PROMOTION
After looking into the cliental list i made, i began to realise that the industries that are important to me are the ones that incorporate packaging, branding and promotion. This correlates with me as a designer as the skills i have work across a variety of different medias and i am driven to push myself with new ideas and methods of delivery as much as possible. Being decisive has helped me focus on the areas where i know i would excel out in the main market and helped me gear my research that way. I looked at two companies that i feel embodied what i am looking for and i feel within those companies my creative style would thrive because they appeal to my varying nature and team work based ethic. The skills needed to work within these places are to be current and edgy and have a open mind for new things, which is exactly what i would bring. you would need to be informed and work hard. My aims are to work within a company that i would thrive in and would be able to contribute and it be appreciated, therefore i would try to avoid the larger companies as you would have the same atmosphere as you would working in a small agile and inventive company. I want to remain a versatile designer and for that i would need to work within a versatile environment which is exactly what you get when working across packaging, branding and promotion they would give me ample opportunity to try and push my skills as well as creating a professional standard to match myself against. By remaining versatile it mean i would be transfered over the varying jobs that are available within this client base, this is what I view to be key in becoming a successful graphic designers and making a name for myself, which is another important aim of mine.
PACKAGING // BRANDING // PROMOTION
Graphicthoughtfacility - Again this is another company that works across a broad media base such as digital print, products, digital graphics. As well as having a huge client base that means they get to create all sorts of edgy and innovative designs for many different causes. One of the more interesting parts of this company is the work the have done for Theater. I love the Theater, i have been performing my whole life, and Shakespeare is a great love of mine and this company created some amazing programs for The Globe Theater, this really interests me because it is a passion of mine and the style they have worked in captures me because its so well crafted and executed. This is where i want to be, designing work for things that i love in a company as versatile as this. Their designs are sometimes unconventional but that excites me because it means they are pushing themselves to break the mould and try new things which is what i am all about. Sometimes the ideas i come up with are too big for me, but within this company i feel they would flourish because they are pushing for the new and innovative design which i know i could bring to the table. What i also like about this company is they have some very selective clients which means that their work is catered to the clients that appreciate it the most, which means there is a trust and a bond between the designers and clients. This is interesting because it means that they arn't taking any old job so that means their designs are refined for their purpose, i really like this idea of working it means that there is in instant understanding between designer and client which is fundamental for a good partnership to work. Another aspect that i like is their work isnt just about designing for designs sake they actually have a message behind their work, for example the work for the globe was based on 'A politically-charged season with a Roman theme. The graffiti tradition of the streets of Rome was given a contemporary update in recognition of the theme’s continuing relevance'. I like this, it gives depth to their work which is exactly what i try to do with my work, i want it to work on more than just one level this is another reason i feel i would thrive in a company like this.
PACKAGING // BRANDING // PROMOTION
