Evaluation
The process of this
creative report allowed me to become more familiar with a number of industry
studios and professionals which aids the ongoing development of networking and industry
awareness within my practice. I found this the most challenging aspect of the
report as firstly I had to identify particular industry figures I admired and
felt engaged to talk to, which was only half the battle as I found it
particularly difficult to get in contact with a number of these figures and
more importantly get a response back. This initially deterred me but seeking
feedback from other students and tutors I found the only way to be successful
was to pro-actively engage with networking strategies such as linked in and social
media platforms to create a more personal connection with potential figures as
opposed to generic multi-purpose emails.
Moving away from
corporate studios I shifted my attention to freelance designers, in the hope
they would be more available to engage in a dialogue. This successfully
resulted in identifying Ben Biondo as an appropriate research focus for the
body of my creative report. I identified Ben through my personal blog used for
inspiration. I was initially attracted to his aesthetic as his implementation
of pastel colours, clean lines and refined illustrations appealed to my sense style
and was reflective of the type of design I aspire to produce within my own
practice. Contacting Ben required several attempts due to his busy schedule my initial
email got lost in his inbox, through perseverance I managed to open I dialogue
with Ben who was more than happy to engage with the brief.
Analysing Ben’s
practice and his route into industry via his website I wanted to focus the body
of my creative report around his inspirations and attitudes towards design. I felt
this would create a more engaging report and would give me greater insight as
to how Ben approaches design and ultimately how I can transfer some of these
qualities into my own practice, in order to holistically develop as a creative practitioner.
I questioned Ben about his sense of style and how he manages to maintain this aesthetic
while fulfilling the needs of his clients as well as broader topics of
inspiration and the correlation between location and aesthetic. His answers demonstrated that
he clearly thought about each question and carefully considered his responses.
This provided me with a great insight into Ben an individual with a genuinely
creative outlook on life.
I was ambitious with the how I wanted to articulate my creative report,
I asked Ben if he would be willing to collaborate with me on a series of prints
that used succinct statements representing what I took from my
investigation into his practice and how these elements can help me to develop
as a person and a creative. Ben agreed to this collaboration and sounded genuinely
engaged with the concept. I developed a set of three statements which focused
around the main points I took from the report; "have some f**king
fun" which I feel is needed as I can get quite perfectionist(ic)
especially around deadlines, Ben’s practice reminds me to just take a step
back, don't stress and just enjoy the process of making things. "open your
eyes" focused on how Ben talks about taking inspiration from places,
feelings, ideas and just about everything. Finally, "don't settle,
evolve" removes a sense of permanency from design which helped me to
identify that we all evolve as people and creatives and that where we start
certainly isn’t where we'll end up. Ben interpreted these statements into signature
illustrations which I then complemented with type and colour, screen printing
the resolutions to create a limited run of contextually engaging prints.
I have been thoroughly engaged with the creative report and learning
about Bens attitudes towards design as I feel I can definitely take away elements
of this to inspire my own practice. The prints created a high quality engaging resolution
that works well to articulate the key aspects I have taken away from my
Investigation into Ben Biondo. The element I have most enjoyed is the process of collaborating with
Ben as treated me as a designer not as a student which was really nice to
be accepted and work professionally with a designer I admire within
the industry and for him to complement my contribution to the collaboration serves
as a great stepping stone in building my confidence of working within the
professional sphere.
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