OUGD602 Module Evaluation

The PPP3 module has allowed me to build on skills and experiences have been introduced over level 4 and 5, Within an ever evolving practice I have been able to develop my contextual understanding of industry and identified areas of specific interest that I have engaged with throughout the year.  The development of the module has supported ongoing personal development and ensured I remain contextually aware of the ever changing concept of visual communication engaging with networking opportunities, industry events, and plans for further study. 

Brief 1 documents my engagement with a commercial practice developing a sophisticated personal branding strategy that appropriately articulates my current practice. The identity is successful in encapsulating my current design practice which holistically references my aesthetic inspirations and my personable tone of voice. Creating a simple logomark that evokes a humanist sense of personality both within its physical composition and type treatments as well as within its brand strategy plays to the unusual spelling of my name to create a bespoke identity as a result. This has been praised throughout the year by students, tutors, and external creative directors demonstrating the success of the concept and its application within my practice.

Developing my online presence has been the biggest challenge within the module, creating a fully functioning website to host my online portfolio is the most effectively way for me to personally engage with studios and freelance opportunities. A PDF portfolio is also available upon request and will be developed into print based upon the feedback of upcoming portfolio surgeries. Printed collateral is developed to further establish my brand, developing business cards in preparation for industry networking events such as the End of Year Show and D&AD New Blood festival. The use of colour within the physical business card is consistent with my websites landing page to ensure a seamless transition between print and digital mediums. Printed collateral is further developed with a creative CV and invoice form, these similarly utilise coloured stock to create a point of difference amongst the sea of white applications is informed through a modular and efficient aesthetic. 

Brief 2 presented opportunity to thoroughly engage with a live creative practice. This ongoing process has inspired new areas of inspiration and allowed a more holistic understanding of the wider contexts of Graphic Design. Engaging with industry talks and seminars provides engaging insight to a range of differing creative practises and provides opportunity to practically engage with such, partially within the DBA brief. This was a great opportunity to network with a range of creative directors that were able to create an engaging resolution for through the structure of the brief  and receive a range of invaluable feedback on presenting styles through pitching our responses directly to them. Further networking opportunities included a range of studio visits and talks with practising designers such as the The Archipelago, Thompson Brand Partners, Harrison Park, and developing a creative report with Lotte Van Baalen to gain a more holistic insight to her practice and discover more about the field of curation. These experiences all resulted in receiving invaluable feedback on my current portfolio and allow me to develop a range of industry contacts that will be exceedingly beneficial when leaving university. 

My main focus within brief 2 has been to explore the potential for further study. Having personally explored where I want to sit within the industry I engaged with the prospect of Art Direction as I feel my practice is heavily revolved around developing sophisticated design concepts and feel this would allow me to explore a wide area of the industry. Attending a range of open days at varying institutions I applied for the MA in Graphic Design and Art Direction at Manchester School of Art, This comes highly recommended due to its prestige within the art and design community. Successfully receiving a place on the course this feel like the most natural progression of my practice and I can’t wait to enrol in September.

Overall the PPP3 module has been an invaluable process of exploring my own creative practice, developing a sophisticated brand identity and excepting this into various online platforms to promote myself as a dedicated and creative practitioner. Successfully engaging with a range of creative professionals has allowed me to build up an extensive range of industry contacts that will be essential when leaving education. Extending  my proposal into further study has inspired new areas of creativity to develop in order to reach my aspiring career goals.  

OUGD602: Personal Branding - Manifesto

Thinking about my manifesto I didn't want to create a ten commandments style rules that I had to follow or conversely didn't want to create an essay that was labour intensive to read and waffled on. Instead I chose to create a succinct paragraph that accurately reflects me as a creative and the style of work I produce. Choosing a small paragraph makes it easy to embed with my website and application forms to give clients/ studios a flavour of my creative style. The content reflects my current style, ambitions, things I enjoy and how my practice runs. Printed this is placed within the modular grid applied to my CV and invoice to ensures consistency within extended collateral. 

"I’m easy going, enjoy what I do, and will always make time for a drink. My design philosophy is simple, make good design with a great concept. I enjoy designing for a millennial audience and focus specifically on brand and campaign identities but will give anything a go at least once, I’m a quick learner. I engage with challenging the conventions of typical Graphic Design incorporating a range of materials and processes into my practice, this allows me to explore other areas of inspiration and never be bored of what I do."

OUGD602: Creative Report - Plants on Pink // Zine

Due to the project revolving so much around imagery I felt it was appropriate to interpret my interview with Lotte into a zine / lookbook, this would give me opportunity to use some of the great online content she curates for the project and create a purely engaging resolution. Designing this zine I wanted to create a minimal publication that experiments with contemporary arrangements and would commercially appeal to not only the creative community but the following of plants on pink. The zine is split into two distinct sections, an image only a4 publication with a smaller a5 insert that houses the interview. I explored running the interview across the main stream however felt it was more appropriate to contain it as a contextual understanding of the project that is in-keeping with the minimalist style of the publication and allows a linear narrative. Printed on a thick pink stock is consistent to the insert to create continuity within the cover, the tone of voice is informative and presented in an interview style to add commercial value to the publication so to be appreciated to used to inform beyond the purpose of the module. I was really happy with the output, unfortunately I had to source the image online and due to the constraints of the instagram platform the images ensured some forms of pixilation however this is unavoidable asking Lotte for home HD images she sent me 3 good quality files however this wasn't enough to fill the content of the zine. The production values are finished to a high standard and evaluated the final quality of the creative report. 

OUGD602: Portfolio Review - Thompson Brand Partners

Discussing with tutors extended opportunities to engage with the industry, Amber suggested contacting alumni Jimmy Smith, who works at Thompson brand partners as a means to build up industry contact. I love the work Thompson produce and felt a looking through my portfolio would be a non-invasive way to become familiar with the studio. Emailing jimmy directly he initially didn't reply however a follow up email quickly responded saying he would be happy to help setting a time and date for me to go in and get a feel for their studio space. 

Talking through my portfolio with jimmy was a great experience in understanding the etiquette in engaging with live studios and gave insight as to how potential interview scenarios might take place. Jimmy offered a range of great insight into my current portfolio this ranged from taking certain projects, adjusting their running order, and the role of narrative within each brief. He said he really liked my brand proposal for Harrison France and the use of innovation within my Greenalls submission and said its exactly the things Thompson look for and try to implement into their own practice. The main point I took from receiving feedback from jimmy was that he said 'Bring it to life make sure the story you tell is consistent with the one on screen' this advice is a great platform to build from ensuring I am passionate in how I talk about my work as this will inspire whoever I am talking too and get them excited about what I am producing. 

OUGD602: Design Strategy Presentation

Creating my design strategy presentation allowed me to reflect not only on my level 6 experience but my full university experience at Leeds College of Art. To inform this presentation I looked back at both my level 4 and 5 presentations to review my development which is reinforced through my first slide of how far I have come, and how I will take these skills to develop further as I move forward into postgraduate and commercial practices. through this presentation it allowed me to explore my current practice, my current brand and how this is promoted to the world, and how my practice can develop further. This presentation is representative of me as a designer and inspires me to continue to develop my practice as I transition into the industry. 

OUGD602: Portfolio Review - Harrison Park

As our portfolio surgeries have been delayed until after hand in I wanted to get some feedback on my portfolio before I submit and felt this would be a good excuse to get into contact with Harrison Park, an LCA alumni I follow him on social media and really like his work. I was curious to ask him about his experiences after graduating and how he chose to move into the freelance sector. Harrison was happy to meet up and despite a few timetable clashes we arranged to meet up for a pint and look through my portfolio. 

Meeting Harrison he showed me his portfolio and how this had developed from his student portfolio to his current professional folio, It was interesting to see how he has evolved as a designer in the two years since graduating and the difference in the type of projects he now engages with commercially as opposed to his student briefs. Looking through my portfolio was really helpful as he pointed out some stylistic changes to make regarding some briefs. Harrison was complementary of my work he seemed genuinely engaged with the projects I was undertaking and completed my Harrison France brand proposal and said that my YCN competition entry was particularly strong. Talking to Harrison beyond subject of portfolios gave me a greater insight as to what its like to work within the industry, he emphasised how from a freelance point of view time is money therefore he works fast creating a 2 or 3 sophisticated design proposals for a client in a day. This shocked me slightly as I am in a routine of having weeks to work with design proposals and is something I will need to improve upon when graduating so to keep up with the faster pace as a designer. Talking with Harrison made me aware as to how naive I am as a designer, he mentioned a vast range of studios I had never heard of, my response to this is to start taking a more active role in looking through design bloggs such as its nice that and computer arts to develop more of a sophisticated understanding of what is happening in the design world and what different studios are working on. It was a really great opportunity to just sit down with Harrison and have a beer, he gave me some great insights into the industry and helped me develop my portfolio further both digitally and through my website. 

OUGD602: Creative Report - Plants on Pink // Q&A

Sending Lotte a series of questions I wanted to focus these around a design practice as opposed to talking generally about the project as I felt this would allow me to get the most out of the interview. I had to chase up Lotte for her response to this due to looming print deadlines however she was more than co-operative and provided me with some great responses that provided a clear insight to you and the project and how she works as a creative.