OUGD502 - R&R

OUGD502 - R&R

Spending time with my family in australia gave me great cultural insight and I feel has certainly inspired me therefore affected my practice. I received a surprise email form my Australian Cousin saying she was planning to visit the UK and managed to spend a full week with her during one of the independent interview weeks. This gave me a well deserved break as I had been working really hard coming up to the first level 5 deadline and looming deadlines to come. It was great to be able to explore Yorkshire as since been a student ive rarely ventured out of the city centre. I got chance to be a tour guide showing her around the hotspots of Leeds, we also got out of the city visiting, Ilkley, York and Harrogate. It was really good to get out of the busy city and walk Ilkley Moor which gave me a great sense of Yorkshire as well as being  out in the fresh air. York surprised me as to how small it was and educated me about its Roman origins which I took a sense of design inspiration/appreciation from the period. 

It was really nice to take little bit of time out graphic design everyday and have chance to explore my student surroundings from a tourist point of view which left me relaxed and inspired to being design again having had a nice break full of new experiences, great food and good company. 

OUGD502 - Opportunity - Topman

OUGD502 - Opportunity - Topman

As previously documented earlier in the year (ORIGINAL BLOGPOST) I did some work for my retail job producing a back of house development board for the team. On the day I was assembling this the area manager was in for a store visit and took an interest in what  I was doing, Explaining that I'm on a graphic design course she told me that Topman do alot of their design in house and gave me the contact detailed for Emma Murphy, the studio manager. 

This was a great opportunity for me to get in contact with her coming through company channels as I felt more likely to get a response if personally recommended. I connected with Emma on linked in although never received a response to my initial message. Following up from this I remained persistent going back to my store manager to ask for an email address which eventually got a response. 

She told me she'd be happy to catch up with me, especially if it came from Claire (area manager) I eagerly replied to this suggested the potential of a studio visit however was greeted with an automated response saying she was on a location shoot and would reply when she gets back in the UK. Unfortunately I have not heard anything back as yet however will continue to be persistent as I feel this is a great opportunity to find out more about in-house design and its role within a global company such as topman. 

OUGD502 - Studio Exploration - Wolff Olins

OUGD502 - Studio Exploration - Wolff Olins 

I produced a lot of research around Wolff Olins during PPP1 as a notable design studio that I admired within the industry and identified as a studio that I aspire to one day work for. Building on this, I have been keeping a critical awareness of their building portfolio and up to date with their studio blog and current projects. One such notable project developed by the London Studio this year has been the re-deisgn of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, based in New York and is the largest western hemisphere. 

A statement from Wolff Olins contextualises their resolution 'Our new logo no longer relies on symbols and, instead, is based on our commonly used name “The Met,” which has an immediacy that speaks to all audiences. It is an original drawing, a hybrid that combines and connects serif and sans serif, classical and modern letterforms. In this respect, it reflects the scope of the Museum’s collection and the inherent connections that exist within it.' At release the new identity was highly criticised for its sharp connected hybrid however I find the logo refreshingly vibrant, the bold red adds a contemporary feel which is important for museums to battle against their prescribed conventions, paired with the hybrid serif connoting its sense of history and authority. To me the hybrid symbolises the museums holistic nature of all the collection that come within it. The bold creative nature of Wolff Olins is one of the qualities I admire about the studio, never playing it safe, always fearless combined with thoughtfulness that results in their ever expanding portfolio of industry leading design. The main aspect I feel is successful within the re-brand is that its got people talking about it raising its publicity. Without thinking too much into it, I like it, iknow others don't but thats the beauty of design and personal interpretation and perspective that is unique to ones own practice. 

OUGD502 - Studio Exploration - Love

OUGD502 - Studio Exploration - Love 

As well as documenting my current design inspirations on my tumblr page, I also feel its crucial to keep up to date with contemporary studio works that focus on more client based projects and solutions as opposed to the visual culture and aesthetic I document via tumblr. One particular campaign that I found particularly engaging was a brief for Moet et Chandon developed by Manchester Studio LOVE. Small in size but large in stature winning a D&AD yellow pencil for their series of beautifully illustrated whiskey bottles and developing an impressive ever-growing client list that surpasses the expectations of a small studio based up north. 

The particular campaign that caught my eye was for Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial, the first and only champagne especially created to be enjoyed over ice. I loved the refreshingly playful response to the brief which is somewhat unusual for a premium drinks brands such as Moet who would typically opt for a more revered luxurious aesthetic, However this playful creativity creates a more engaging and personable campaign that ultimately attributed to the success of the product demonstrating how the studio fused the luxurious brand image with a strong playful campaign to create a memorable campaign that engaged the target audience and harnessed the feel good summer vibe. 

This campaign to me highlights the studios creative abilities subverting generic conventions, and not being afraid to take the brand in different directions than its used to, in result creating a bold engaging campaign that saw the brand being seen in new lights by both consumer and trade. “It’s a small team, but you can rely on everyone in here for good ideas – and good fun,” explains senior designer Rory Sutherland which is the sort of studio atmosphere that I would be looking for when I start to think about professional placements/employment. Due to its close proximity to Leeds I can identify Love as a great studio to stat an open dialogue with in the hope of studio visits and placements as I begin to transition into level 6.