Over Level 4 & 5 I have gained a greater understanding as to what sort of design I enjoy making. I enjoy making design that exists in a physical sense so the work I produce in my final year will all be based on the idea initially of it being a printed product that can be picked up/ handled ect.
This year will give me the opportunity to seek work outside of university, which is something I have been quite nervous to do previously. Over summer it has given me time to understand what design I like which leads to what I want to create. Through COP1 & 2 I thoroughly enjoyed traditional printmaking and so over summer I visited a studio with the intentions of a possible work experience placement.
I visited a studio called Print for love of wood which is in Lancashire- and although I think her work on the website is beautiful. It certainly proves that you can’t know until you visit somewhere. So therefore since then I have been searching for various types of studios, as I don’t think I like to stick to only traditional workshops.
Unfortunately the studios I have contacted don’t have any spaces currently but they’ve put me on a list for when they have room available. Therefore there is hope at the end of all the phone calls, visits and emails.
In COP 1&2 as stated before I concentrated quite heavily on craft and traditional printmaking methods. For COP3 I have chosen a topic, which is much heavier and more interesting for myself as a research project. I have chosen to focus on ethics and what role graphic designers play in charities. This is because I thoroughly enjoyed researching and producing work in design practice for a brief based on Autism last year. I have found this incredibly interesting because I like using outside sources in my design rather than it being design for another creative sector.
Over
the summer I spent my time reading through theory and contacting studios who create
branding and other projects with charities. This was to gain an insight into
how they work and why they work for particular charities as primary research
for my dissertation. The next step is researching smaller charities who would
appreciate graphic design being created for them.
I have already spoken about my troubles with trying to source a work placement or internship. But over the year I plan on visiting studios in other cities such as Manchester as I am originally from nearby. I’m also planning on visiting other workshops and places such as the Manchester craft and design centre. At some point in the future as a family I will also be looking to moving to France as this is somewhere I visit often. With this a future goal to move to somewhere in Europe I plan on visiting cities within France to go to visit studios.
Within
extended practice I firstly wanted to mention the competition briefs I will be
considering entering. I thoroughly enjoyed the penguin brief last year and this
is something I want to do again this year.
As
well as the book themed competitions I will also look thoroughly into the YCN
briefs this year as of course they are always incredibly varied. I have also
been working hard over summer to try and find as many live briefs as I possibly
can to ensure I have enough for the module. For some of my other briefs I will
be rebranding and creating a menu for a café/restaurant and also for a coffee
shop.
I
am also sourcing small companies, which I could create some branding for, as
this is something I haven’t done an awful lot of and feel as though I should to
be able to expand my skill set and be confident in approaching potential
clients. I will also be partaking in collaboration with beth for a traditional
print based project.
Finally
overall this year I want to use it as an opportunity to focus heavily on
concepts of my design and gaining more critique and making time for that. I
still have an interest in traditional printmaking but it is not something I
would consider to be my only skill as I enjoy being able to take on a variety
of different types of projects. I suppose as a conclusion to this and how I
will use Level 6 is to understand the specific briefs I enjoy most, as I don’t
have a specialist area I’m working towards. At this stage I know I want to focus heavily on printed projects rather than coding ect as I want to make my current skill set stronger.
As a focus I know the projects I want to do currently are: (in list form)
Two visiting professional briefs
Competition brief: YCN released in October (campaign or packaging)
Competition brief : Penguin (book cover design) released in October
Collaboration on course: Beth Taylor- Traditional Print collaboration screen print/ letterpress. (currently writing our brief)
Collaboration off the course: Possibly with Sophie Wright from illustration- yet to be confirmed
Live briefs: The River Cottage Canteen in Plymouth: pitch for new branding and menu design. Would take this further by completing other printed material.
Coffee shop logo: Genaro’s Coffee House- would take this further by producing material that the logo could be part of.
Other briefs include:
Possibly secret 7 or other book cover designs.
