OUGD602: PPP- Module Evaluation

Throughout the my final year PPP has been its most valuable as it has allowed me to understand who I am as a designer at this current moment and what I want to achieve after graduation. Completing two design placements was part of this process as it allowed me to understand what type of studio environment I do not want to work in but also what I enjoy too. Throughout this year I feel as though I am beginning to understand more how I work and who I am as a designer. Over the extended practice briefs I have found that I enjoy creating branding and packaging amongst various other briefs but the main focus of my work is impact. My use of colour and want to create bold and interesting graphic design is across all of my projects. Through completing Brief 1 (self branding) I have been able to create a CV and business cards/ portfolio that I am proud of and this will enable me to network at the end of year show and penguin design awards. Working on collaborative briefs throughout PPP and design Practice has ensure that I am able communicate my ideas effectively and I am starting to gain confidence working with other people as up to this point I have only enjoyed working on projects by myself. Overall PPP has taught me to be confident about myself and my designs and to keep trying to share my work with studios. This will hopefully lead to a paid role in a studio where I can continue to learn and develop as a graphic designer. 

OUGD603: Brief 9- Working collaboratively

Within brief 9 of extended practice I worked collaboratively with Natasha who owns a new custom made candle store called SUNDAY.

Working with her was a great experience as I was able to gain an understanding as a business owner what she needed to achieve to progress her sales. Finding design solutions to this problem of her packaging not catching attention was a fun task. Packaging design is something I would like to continue with in the future as it is a different process to flat design. 

Working collaboratively with Natasha was a completely different experience compared to other university projects. However learning how to communicate with others and explain concepts and ideas is a brilliant way for me to gain my confidence in design. Over summer I aim to continue with completing small freelance projects to continue this learning process.

OUGD602: Job Applications

http://onlystudio.co.uk/contact-only/

This morning I applied for the design Job at Only. This is a studio I have contacted previously on the phone to attempt to gain work experience with. I sent a covering letter and CV with samples of my work so hopefully I should hear back from them. Regardless having completed Brief 1 for self branding I feel more confident in being able to send over my work and over summer I will continue the job hunt. 

OUGD603: Brief 8. Working with Jacqui.

Within extended practice I worked Collaboratively with a company called the Practical Printer to create laser cute wedding stationary for them to sell online and showcase their new purchase of a new laser cutting machine. 

Working for a paid live client is entirely different to working on university projects as there is an added pressure on time management skills to complete the project in order to keep the client happy and receive payment. Jacqui was a pleasure to work with and she was incredibly clear what the company wanted to achieve. Jacqui was also incredibly complimentary and he emails just had an aura of joy, this pleasant nature and happy attitude is absolutely brilliant and something all designs should use, its incredibly infectious and makes you positive and excited about the project.

In the near future this could potentially also turn into an ongoing project as they are in the beginning stages of setting up a website to sell the printed products on. Once they have created test prints I will be able to receive printed hard copies of my designs in the post on various stocks which will be great!

OUGD602/3: My Design Practice (BRIEF 1)

Throughout this year I have been gaining more confidence in my designs and pushing myself to show how each brief can be across a range of collateral. Gaining feedback from design studios has been a great way for me to become more confident about my work and I am hopeful that eventually I will be able to work in a job that is both fulfilling and enjoyable. Using Behance as a digital platform has been really useful as I have gained many contact experiences from it and it is a great way to send a quick link to a profile.

OUGD602: PPP, BRIEF 2: Junior Designer Jobs

I created a CV/ application on 'JobLab' which claims to be one of the best ways to seek work as a student/ graduate. So far I haven't heard any responses or opportunities but I will continue to keep looking as one of my sources for junior designer roles. 

Job Application: 

Whilst looking online for Junior Designer Roles I came across this graduate role at a marketing company in the city centre. From looking on their website I loved the playful tone of voice and general aura of the studio so therefore I sent in an application. I will be contacted by the design team within the next two weeks to discuss work and my application. 

OUGD602/3: PPP BRIEF 1/2 Portfolio Review with Robot Food!

Robot Food

Julia & Ben the senior designers came for portfolio surgeries 

The pages I printed to show Robot Food: I chose my most recent and current pieces as they are more up to date and I am confident with the success of these designs. 

Feedback: 

Their favourite pieces were Penguin, tumtums and Rio Sol. They also showed an interest in the Macaroons brief. Overall the feedback was really positive and they expressed that I had some great simple ideas. They really liked viewing the artwork on the tablet too on Behance and suggested that for interviews I take the tablet with me. They also suggested better ways to describe my work and how to present it with more confidence. 

The experience was really good and I am now feeling a lot more confident about my pieces for my portfolio. There wasn't necessarily any negative feedback only to always think of new ways in bringing a brand to life especially with new briefs and to keep doing work over the summer for myself to keep building my own personal skills and concept thinking. After speaking to Robot Food it has made me think positively about the end of year show and how I can push myself to create the best brief I possibly can. 

OUGD602: PPP- BRIEF 1 Self Branding

Previous self branding I created last year: 

I looked at the elements from this and found that the logo I created last year worked perfectly on my Behance page and business cards. However I have found from the end of last year through to this year I have been refining the work I create through using illustrator more often and also elements of bright colour. The use of yellow with black & white creates striking contrasts and isn't too feminine, just simply bold which is what I want to portray for my graphic design practice. I also used this yellow throughout my PPP final presentation (see previous post). 

Therefore I recreated my CV with added work experience I have had over this year. This will make explaining who I am to potential employers/ for internships much easier as it is all in one document. 

I have found that when looking for inspiration for design I often seek outside of the UK a couple of examples of studio's are below: 

From looking at design studios elsewhere in the world I have been able to take inspiration in the form of colour palettes, layout and typography. I have found that over the third and final year of university I have started to refine my work which I know will always be a changing process of learning new skills and new ways of working. I have found in my own work this year I think more about colour and impact of a design in terms of the audience and this is relevant for own branding. Through using black/ white and a bright colour it not only portrays myself as a bright and friendly person but also my suggests that my practice as a designer is quite colourful and bold. 

Why choose yellow? 

Yellow is a positive colour that stands out and grabs the attention of the eye due to its luminosity. Therefore to help me stand out in terms of CV's and job applications the use of bold contrasts is a perfect way to capture the eye. 

New CV: 

I spent time putting my CV together with relevant information including a small paragraph I wrote about my practice which will also be found in the 'yearbook' publication for our end of year show: 

'I am an ambitious graphic designer specialising in brand identities, image making, packaging and publishing. I am always committed to producing innovative, broad ranging design with effective solutions. I am passionate about pushing the boundaries within every project by creating unique concepts that I execute with high attention to detail.'

I put this logo and my details across business cards too which are relevant for my practice especially due to the end of year show in the near future and attending events such as the Penguin Design Award evening in June. Having business cards to hand will be vitally important to be able to network and communicate ways to contact. 

The content for yearbook publication includes the paragraph I wrote above about my practice but it also includes three images of my work which are: 

I chose these images for the book as it displays my achievement for this year which was being shortlisted for penguin. I selected the chilli sauce bottles as it displays my ability to work on a client brief based on packaging and finally Rio Sol which is a personal project and definitely displays the style for the large majority of my work which is use of colour and layout, overall impact. 

With this in mind, to describe my practice I used BOLD, BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL as my three adjectives for the yearbook which I feel as though in a condensed manner describe my practice as a graphic designer. 

Online presence: In terms of having content online for now I feel as though using Twitter and behance is a good mix along with a printed portfolio for interviews and the end of year show. I have created the logo and colour ways I would use if I were to create a website for myself and with more time this is something I would develop in the future as a freelancer. 

https://www.behance.net/MelissaMorris

Portfolio

To begin the portfolio I have continued the colour ways/ typography and logo seen on my CV & business card to create consistency. Within the portfolio the images need to be large to fill the pages and limited type. 

I also used my logo to help put together an invoice via Paypal which I have used for any paid freelance work I have done. 

Evaluation: 

The creation of new branding/ self promotion material has enabled me to contact studios and make connections with having my work seen. Through creating a paypal account and invoices it has enabled me to begin working on smaller freelance projects alongside university work and this is something I will continue over the summer. By creating business cards and having them professionally printed means that I now have a large amount of them I can take with me to events such as the end of year show and penguin design award evening as this would be a perfect opportunity to network. Using a simple layout and bold colours in my CV represents me as a person and as a designer as I have found that I tend to prefer designing with colour palettes and bold simple designs. The use of the bright yellow helps my CV stand out amongst my competitors for jobs and internships and I have already received excellent feedback on my designs on my Behance page. The use of online sites such as Twitter and Behance have increased my chances of my work being seen by studios in the Leeds area and beyond. By having self promotion material as a designer it gives potential employers a suggestion as to what kind of person and design I am which will be incredibly useful to use when I have graduated. As I have the basics of my own branding this will help when I am creating my own website over summer to gain further freelance projects. Overall I am extremely happy with the outcome and prints of my branding and this will be something incredibly helpful for now and in the future. 

OUGD602: PPP- BRIEF 2 Studio Contact

From looking at studios online I came across Live&Breathe on Twitter as they appeared on some posted linked to Pressision Printers. I liked their work especially the rebranding for childrens clothing which is something I have enjoyed this year. Out of curiosity I sent them my CV and portfolio as they stated that they like to look at work. Here is their response below: 

I had brief but brilliant conversation with Lee via email about my work and the college which has resulted in an interest in the End Of Year show that the studio will be attending at some point during the week of the exhibition. Gaining feedback like this from studios is great for my confidence when building my portfolio and I will hopefully gain work opportunities from sending my portfolio out. 

I also sent my work to TURNKEY in Leeds as I have looked at their work before and enjoyed seeing the variety as well as mix of clients. Unfortunately as you can see below they aren't recruiting at the moment but it is great the my portfolio is being viewed. 

OUGD602: PPP- BRIEF 2. Final Presentation

Presentation notes: 

1.    – Hi

2.    Before coming to LCA I did A Level graphics, photography & media. I knew that I was creative and had ideas but they were always rough and sketched. I wasn’t sure how to put them together but three years on this course has really developed me in design thinking and also my finish.

3.    Within the first year it was a complete change to move from the countryside to the city. I was also introduced to a whole new way of thinking with the workshops in the fundamentals of design. I had originally come from a illustrative and artistic background and over my three years here I have been refining the artwork I create through developing skills on adobe software.

4.    Within 2nd year I became more confident with using software and processes this meant that over time my quality of work has improved drastically. My ideas development and use of illustrator was really shown within one of the briefs last year for autism awareness. Within this brief it really pushed my ability to research and speak to others about a particular issue to be able to create a design solution. At this point I feel as though my ability to use illustrator is improving and this means that my overall final finish is also improving too.

5.    COP gave me confidence to contact designers and professionals and for my dissertation I contacted a number of people to ask for their opinions on ethics within design and also what they thought of the first things first manifesto. To further this I also completed a live project for COP with a hedgehog charity. It was a great experience and the branding is actually being used by the charity to raise awareness and funds for much needed equipment.

6.    In this final year I have focused heavily on finish and quality of my designs. This is something I received feedback on in 2nd year. From spending a while rendering my sketches on the computer this has meant my final resolutions have been to a higher standard than previously. Within 2nd and the beginning of this year I wasn’t sure what direction of design I wanted to focus on, but eventually I have found I enjoy branding briefs. I also enjoyed the experience of DBA as gaining knowledge of how to present professionally was great, even if I didn't fully enjoy the brief itself. 

7.    PLACEMENT 1- For my first placement in January I worked at Totality GCS in Leeds for a week. The placement gave me an insight to commercial design and especially into packaging. (SOUP&GO) However this placement also made me realise that I prefer to work in smaller studios and on a more personal level.

8.    PLACEMENT 2- I thoroughly enjoyed my second placement and I worked at a small studio in Blackburn, Lancs called Source Creative. It was a great experience because I was able to work alongside the designers on the same briefs and they showed an interest to my ideas and work. I also learned a little bit more about how they run their company from a business perspective and they gave me advice about charging and dealing with clients. The briefs I helped complete there were for the community and to improve the culture in the area which was really great to be part of such as artwork for a St George’s Day event and branding for a woodland walks organisation.

9.    Within the final year I have been focusing on improving the visual standard and finish of my work. This has included the presentation so I can gain a good quality portfolio for when I leave. Through developing mock-ups, screen-printing and using the photography studio I have been able to expand projects with printed materials to show brands across a range of possibilities.

10.         My aims for the rest of this year are to continue with more branding projects and develop my briefs to show full concepts to try and push myself in presenting work better. I hope that these briefs will therefore give me a strong portfolio to leave university with. After easter I will hopefully be working alongside Ink&Pixels studio to complete live projects as a collab. (&Elmwood)

11.         The portfolio of work I will gain from my three years at LCA along with the end of year show will prepare me for working in a small graphic design studio. Over the next few years I have ambitions for creating a contact list of clients to work with as a freelancer whilst gaining industry experience in a studio job. This will hopefully prepare me and lead to working for myself in the future.