PPP3: Contacting Studios

Following from the re-design of my brand identity again, and now that I have re-designed my portfolio to a much better quality, I decided that it was time for me to try and contact studios as I felt that I had a much better chance then the previous attempt I made. 

Research Studios List

I started researching an array of different studios that have different attributes that I feel I could learn from. Also, I made sure to not just look in Leeds but to look in a much wider area geographically so I wasn't just stuck to one area and was more focused on the work of the studio itself.

RAW Design Studio- (http://www.weareraw.co.uk)

'Channel 4 Breakfast Club Brand' by RAW
RAW 'Channel 4 Breakfast Club Brand' [Internet] Available from http://www.weareraw.co.uk/work/channel-4-breakfast-club-brand (Accessed 9th February 2015)

'Let's Talk Turkey Campaign' by RAW
RAW 'Let's Talk Turkey' [Internet] Available from http://www.weareraw.co.uk/work/lets-talk-turkey (Accessed 9th February 2015)

RAW is a creative agency in Manchester whose work I liked as it was very similar to the style that I work in, with illustrations and story-narrative being prevalent within the work. I felt a real connection as it made me think that my style of work could be implemented and used in the professional realm so I knew that I wanted to contact them.

MARK Design Studio- (http://markstudio.co.uk) 

'Manchester Literature Festival 2013' by MARK
MARK 'Manchester Literature Festival 2013' [Internet] Available from http://markstudio.co.uk/mlf-2013/ (Accessed 9th February 2015)

'Virgin Unite/ Virgin Mobile' by MARK
MARK 'Virgin Unite/ Virgin Mobile'  [Internet] Available from http://markstudio.co.uk/virgin-donate/ (Accessed 9th February 2015)

MARK is an independent design branding studio in Manchester who have worked with a large array of clients on a range of varying projects. However, campaigns seem to be a main focus of the studio and its great to see how they apply a brand to a large variant of different media which I felt would e something that would improve my own practice to learn how they do this.

United By Design- (http://www.unitedbydesign.co.uk) and (https://www.facebook.com/unitedbydesign)

Website and Facebook Profile for United By Design

I found United by Design in York as I had seen some bottle designs that they had produced and wanted to find out more about the studio, however, when I went onto their website there wasn't any case studies or work that I could see close up. I decided to see if there was a blog they had so I could see their work in progress which there wasn't, but I did manage to find their Facebook profile which had an array of images of work they have done. Not only this but it was like a record of the studio culture which I found to be really fascinating and the fact they seem very open about it makes the studio come across as a lovely environment to be in. The environment of a design studio is defiantly something I would like to find for myself so they would be a good place to message.

The Engine Room- (http://engineroomdesign.com)

'Spotty Otter' by The Engine Room
The Engine Room 'Spotty Otter' [Internet] Available from http://engineroomdesign.com/case-studies/spotty-otter (Accessed 10th February 2015)

'Interfix' by The Engine Room
The Engine Room 'Intermix' [Internet] Available from http://engineroomdesign.com/case-studies/interfix (Accessed 10th February 2015)

The Engine Room is a small studio in my hometown of Huddersfield and I felt that they gave a great example of when design is produced for the more corporate side of business. I don't have much experience of corporate branding and I feel that this would be great to see how branding is different to how I tend to produce brand identities. Not only this, but it was nice to see a local business from my hometown doing well for itself and, because it is not in a city, it would make for a different perspective on the design industry.

The Individual Agency- (https://theindividualagency.com) and (https://weareindividual.wordpress.com)

'TIA Develop Tollington' by The Individual Agency
The Individual Agency 'TIA Develop Tollington' [Internet] Available from https://weareindividual.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/tia-develop-tollington-2/ (Accessed 10th February 2015)

'Taylor Hughes Brand Development' by The Individual Agency
The Individual Agency 'Taylor Hughes Brand Development' [Internet] Available from https://weareindividual.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/taylor-hughes/ (Accessed 10th February 2015)

The Individual Agency is a small Leeds design studio who do a lot of digital branding work. Again, I found that they were a studio that I couldn't access their work so I decided to see if they had a blog and it turned out that they had an old blog from a few years ago that I could have a look at. It turned out that they had originally been from Huddersfield and even did the brand identity for my old hairdressers so I felt that this would be great to talk about in regards to how they started as a business and how they have progressed.

The Chase- (http://www.thechase.co.uk)

'Royal Mail Collectibles' by The Chase
The Chase 'Royal Mail Collectables' [Internet] Available from http://www.thechase.co.uk/casestudy/royal-mail-collectibles/ (Accessed 10th February 2015)

'Merseystride Campaign' by The Chase
The Chase 'Merseystride Campaign' [Internet] Available from http://www.thechase.co.uk/casestudy/merseystride-home/ (Accessed 10th February 2015)

The Chase is a creative consultancy that primarily works within branding and has offices in Manchester, Preston and London. I felt that the work for The Chase was very highly presented and professionally produced with a strong following and I felt that it would be good to see what it would be like to visit a larger studio with a global clientele and how the studio runs.

FOKE- (http://www.fokestudio.co.uk)

'Hophurst Brewery' by FOKE
FOKE 'Hophurst Brewery' [Internet] Available from http://www.fokestudio.co.uk/hophurst-brewery.html (Accessed 13th February 2015)

'The Bavarian' by FOKE
FOKE 'The Bavarian' [Internet] Available from http://www.fokestudio.co.uk/the-bavarian.html (Accessed 13th February 2015)

FOKE is a small independent studio of one in Manchester who do a lot of illustrative branding work, producing large amounts of collateral which is very reflective to how I work and what I produce as I love to produce brands with large scaler printed work. Based on this, I felt that this would be a good match for me and my design work and the style that I work in. Plus, it would be interesting to see how a freelance designer works in regards to business, giving me a different insight into studio life.

Contacting Studios

Following on from this research, I decided to send an email to each of these places to see whether I could get the opportunity to visit their studios. I made sure to include a more personal aspect of each email by talking about the work I had seen for each studio to show the research that I had undertaken.

Alongside these studios, I messaged some studios that I didn't do the previous time that I had researched into contactable studios (see blog post), including Split. Tonik and Eleven Design.

Contacting Professionals

Quite a few of the emails didn't get any reply but I did get a reply from United by Design (see Blog Post), Tonik (See Blog Post), Split Design, FOLK Design, Engine Room, The Individual Agency and MARK.

Correspondance with Split Design

Oli at Split Design replied to my message saying that they didn't have the time for me to come and visit their studio but he looked at my portfolio and said it had some very good work in it. He also gave me some advice saying that it would be a good idea to have some more digital based work within my portfolio so that there is a bit more variety. I felt that this was some valuable information and feedback to get and I can see his point so I think it might be an idea to try and write a new brief that I can react to this information and make some work in response to his comments. I sent him a reply thanking him for his input as he had took the time to look at my work and give me such credible feedback and how I would love to contact him again when I have more to add to my portfolio.

FOLK Design Reply

I got a reply back from Martin Higgins at FOLK Design saying that it wouldn't be possible as it is just him working independently. This is a bit disappointing because I would have liked to have seen what it would be like to see an independent person working as a freelancer. I know that I think it would be best for me to work in a studio but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't look at seeing what it is like working freelance day to day either.

Engine Room Reply

I got a reply back from The Engine Room saying that I would not be able to come for either a visit or a placement and, instead, I would be put on a list of contacts for when they organise there next local events. This is a shame that I wasn't able to get anywhere with it as it would have been great to see a studio that is local to me and how they work.

The Individual Agency Reply

I got a reply from Michelle Edgar- Parsons at The Individual Agency who said that they are currently too busy for me to visit them but to keep in touch. It was a very nice reply and I am very tempted to message them back at the end of the semester to see whether they would have time for me then.

RAW Reply

Quite a while after I sent the initial correspondence, I finally got a reply from Jane Bowyer at RAW who unfortunately couldn't accommodate for me to visit which is a shame because I really liked their work and felt that my own style and approach would fit in really well with theirs.