PPP3: Studio Brief 3- This is Where I Leave You..

The final studio brief for PPP3 module asks us to produce a 8-10 minute presentation based on the entire 3 years of the course and our personal journey, starting with first year and discussing what we want to do in the future.

There is so much stuff that has happened over the space of the last three years that I genuinely don't know how I am going to fit it all in!

Presentation Planning for Course Journey

Therefore I decided that I would take more of an evaluative approach to my presentation in regards to the years themselves. I split the year up into positive things that happened, the negatives of the year and what I learnt from each year on the course. This way, it would narrow down my approach to such a big year whilst being concise with my information.

What to Include in my Presentation

As well as talking about my time on the course, I felt that it was important to include what I was like before the course and what I want to happen after the course and my aims for the future. This way, I would be able to show how far I had come and where I want to end up.

Presentation Notes

I made some preparatory notes on the presentation itself to take with me. I don't tend to end up using notes when I present but I always feel more prepared and read if I know that I have them just in case.

I presented the presentation in the same style as my portfolio design boards so that my brand identity and style was fluid throughout, even within presentations. This way, I can get the main points across that I need on the screen and just allow myself to talk around it so I have more freedom when presenting.

I felt that my presentation went very well and I managed to cover all of the necessary points during my talk.

PPP3: Visit to Branding by Tonik

Following on from my email correspondence with Branding by Tonik in Sheffield, I had organised a studio visit day with them.

Correspondence with Branding by Tonik

The day before I went, I emailed them to confirm that I was still good to visit which I was. I felt that, by sending a quick message, this would be professional of me to double check and make sure that I was expected rather than forgotten about.

When I arrived, I was greeted by Phil and was made very welcome, invited to sit in the studio alongside all of the designers. I was able to talk through and show my portfolio to not only him but everyone in the studio who all came to introduce themselves and take an interest in what I had been doing. It was really nice to see everyone so engaged in, not just me, but in everything they did. Whilst I got to talk through my work, I was also talked through the work that they had produced and their experiences with clients and working in agencies. I was given the opportunity to see the sketchbooks that they had where they would start working on a project and was able to see the starting points of finished works which was really interesting to see how much a project had been developed.

All of the designers said how much they liked my work, in particular my thought process behind my work and approach to branding, but also Phil gave me some constructive feedback on my portfolio. He mentioned the lack of digital work in my portfolio so far and highlighted the importance of being able to show that I can understand how to design for web as this is an important attribute in the sector. He noticed how a lot of my work is college run or self initiated briefs and said it would be nice to include more client led briefs or quick turn around briefs to show that I can work to a strict deadline as this would be reflective of real life.

One piece of advice that really stuck out to me was a discussion we were having on time and how a studio is run like a business. Time means money so work has to be done as quickly as possible. I had never thought about my work in this sense before. Both Phil and Joe said that a really good exercise for me would be to produce some work in a given timeframe to myself like it would be in a studio and see how much I can get done for that brief. I felt that this would be a really interesting and worthwhile exercise to try for myself as I can see this benefitting me.

What the studio did say in regards to placements was that they would like to do them but they are too small and don't have enough resources for it. They said that they get a lot of people asking for placements but they liked the fact that I had took the initiative to just ask for a visit and to come and say hello. They liked that I was being pro-active in just visiting places and seeing what it was like in the real world.

Before I left, I exchanged business cards with them and they said that they would like me to keep in touch with them in the future which I would love to do.

Tonik Business Cards

I really enjoyed visiting Branding by Tonik as it was a relaxed studio in which everyone collaborates with each other and appreciates and respects each others abilities and skills. It comes across as a great environment to work in and I learnt a lot in the small time I was there- I found them a really inspiring bunch of people. It's a shame they don't do placements because I would love to work in a studio like that one day but I am determined to keep in touch with them in the future.

Progress Crits

For these Crits, we had to show what we had done on briefs so far this semester. We were given sheets where we were to write down three questions that we had for each project so far so that we could get focused feedback on the areas that we need help with.

So far, the briefs I have done this semester are DBA and YCN (apart from the design boards) and I have worked on my Kitty Collateral brief and my Luxury Chocolate Collaborative brief. As I have already finished those other briefs, I didn't feel that it was necessary to get feedback on those so I focused on writing questions on my Kitty Collateral brief and my Luxury Chocolate Collaborative briefs.

Questions for my Briefs

After an hour, we met back up and had to present the work that we had done before asking the questions that we had and getting feedback on them.

Presented Book for YCN

To show that I had done some physical work, I presented my YCN storybook showing all of the pages and talking about the concept and the content of the book. I got great feedback in regards to the amount of work that I had put into the book and how it was clear that I had put a lot of thought into the book as I had come up with all the content as well as the visuals and how it works in regards to answering the brief.

Even though I didn't want any feedback, I stated that I hadn't done the design boards yet for the submission and this is what I was working on today having been working on the photography. I was given great feedback in regards to what I should include within my boards and should talk about on my blog. I should show the character development and how I have come to the stage I have and why I chose these particular characters and representations. Alongside this, the narrative is the unique selling point of the product and should be reinforced, particularly the synecdoche within the story and its relevance. 

One fantastic suggestion I was also given was to apply my book to an iPad if I had the time so that you would be able to see it in a digital realm and allow it to reach a larger audience range. I knew straight away that this would give a more integrated product and be able to use the story on many platforms.

Display of Kitty Collateral Brief

Next, I went onto talking about my Kitty Collateral Brief and I had three questions that I wanted answering.

I wanted to know about my font choices and their relevance, ect. The comment I got back was quite unnerving as there was mis-understanding of my brand name due to the font with the name all in capitals. I am going to have to think about how I can address this problem.

I asked about the time restrictions that we have at the moment and whether I should continue with wanting to make all the products or should I mock the project up. I was given positive feedback ascertaining to both but ultimately, after the discussion, it was decided that I should continue to make stuff but I should be selective as to what I choose to produce and what I can mock up.

Finally, I wanted to talk about the idea of producing a web proposal for the brief as this would add to my portfolio through the feedback that I had been getting as well as handing itself to the subject matter. I was told that I shouldn't try and code a website (which was never my intention int he first place) and that I shouldn't worry about it but if I have the time I should show a proposal for a web site.

Display of Collaborative

Lastly, I had some questions about my collaborative work with Emily as we so far have determined the visual identity for the brand but I wanted to get some feedback on the decisions that we had to make.

Saying that, I didn't have a lot of time left to speak about it so I only asked the first question which was about which colour foiling would be best for the colour scheme. Emily and I had been torn between silver and gold and the feedback I got was to go for gold based on the tone working with the brown and cream scheme better.

I will be working from this straight away and taking a lot of this feedback on board as I felt that it was quality and constructive thoughts that can push my work further.

PPP3: Visit to United by Design Studio

Following on from my email correspondence with United by Design in York, I had organised a studio visit day with them.

Re- Confirmation of Visit

The day before I went, I emailed them to confirm that I was still good to visit which I was. I felt that, by sending a quick message, this would be professional of me to double check and make sure that I was expected rather than forgotten about.

Portfolio Prepared

Also, I readied a printed portfolio and CV like I was asked, alongside a business cards and a copy of my newspaper project so that I could take it with me so they could see the physical work if they wanted.

During my visit, I felt very welcomed and spent an hour talking to Owen Turner, the founder and managing director of United by Design. During out chat, I was able to talk to him about, not just my portfolio, but my experience whilst at LCA and his own experiences within the design sector. It was great to find someone as a professional who understood the situation most students have in struggling to find work or placements having gone through it himself and the fact that he wanted to help students as much as he could was very inspiring.

The feedback that Owen gave me in regards to my portfolio was that it was very strong and the way that I had great enthusiasm and passion when talking about my work really showed my dedication to the subject. He liked the way that I had put thought into my design decisions and wanted me to continue to focus on audience and to develop an understanding of specific audiences to target, in particular the way that I had approached this with my National Trust brief.

One piece of feedback he gave me was that I could do with a digital project so that I am able to show a wider range of skills with the sector being very web-focused at the moment. This is a piece of feedback that I had been given at my portfolio surgery which I aim to address in the future so this is something that isn't new to me. However, Owen advised me that this isn't to say that working on paper is a bad thing and that, if anything, I should do more work straight onto paper first. Also, he suggested re-organising my portfolio so that the spreads doubled up as this would allow it to flow better. It was just a small point but I could see what he meant straight away and I believe that this would make a lot of difference in how I present myself.

After going through my portfolio, I was able to meet the rest of the team at United by Design and have a look at the studio, which is quite a small but cosy room which everyone works together in.

Owen said that he would like to offer me a placement at the end of June if there is room to have me but the main thing is for me to complete my degree and keep in touch to organise something nearer the time. Following this, I gave Owen a copy of my CV so that he has something to keep for future contact.

Changing Portfolio Ordering based on Owen's Feedback

Based on the feedback that Owen gave me about my portfolio, I changed the layout of the portfolio so that it had much more of a flow to it. As soon as I did it, I could straight away see the improvement on the presentation of my portfolio as the pages go well together.

I had a great time talking to Owen and found him very inspiring and insightful. It was definitely a worthwhile trip to York to visit and I would love to keep in touch with him. As I hadn't been on a studio visit before this, I didn't know what to expect but just getting this time to speak to him and see the inner workings of a studio and what inspires and pushes other people was invaluable.

PPP3: WPA Pinfold Briefing for Design Academy

The design agency WPA Pinfold came into college to give a presentation based on their Design Academy initiative, which aims to give students/ graduates the chance to gain paid experience working in a design studio whilst learning at the same time.

- WPA Pinfold has been around for over 30 years
- They work in a conversion in Holbeck, Leeds where they have a big studio with in-house digital service upstairs
- They have an office in London which is used for meeting clients
- They focus on branding and rebranding, specifically in the brewery, education, entertainment and energy sectors.
- They have a disruptive approach- don't believe that the client knows best and they work on a problem rather than just what the clients want.
- They have 5 different specialisms- Packaging, Identity, Retail/ Spacial, Digital and Commercial Design
- They like to make a project integrated and involve everyone in the company
- They have 29 members of staff
- They like to focus on competing in awards with international recognition
- They like to go abroad to see different cultures and how this can impact of their method of design
- They put on an art show with proceeds going to charity that everyone within the culture gets involved with

Specialism

- Brand is important because they represent the commercial equity and represent the values that we trust
- Brand is much more than a logo- its the components that make it
- Brand equity is brand value which strength is shown by the brand loyalty
- Take a strategic approach to work. If you take a thorough, story approach to work then clients can't argue with you in the end.

Design Academy

- Design Academy is an introductory programme between University and Industry
- 6 month paid internship working with clients and having an assigned mentor
- Most people tend to stay on as a full time designer after the 6 months is over

In order to apply for the Design Academy, I needed to send 3 examples of my best work alongside the section of design that I would be wanting to go into. I felt that this was a great opportunity that would be great for me so that I could learn whilst getting involved with the day to day running of a real world environment.

I selected these 3 briefs because they reflected the area of design that I would want to specialise in if I worked at WPA Pinfold which is brand identity. They all show some range of different approach to brand identity, whether it be a campaign re-brand (National Trust) or a start up brand (Parish Pub) or a theory applied synthesised brand (Zephyr Air).

WPA Pinfold Contact

I sent the examples of work with the email address that was given to us along with a short description of being at the presentation and the area I would like to go into.

PPP3: Correspondence with Something More Studio

As part of the live brief that we did for Something More studio, those whose brand was chosen was offered the opportunity to go and visit Duke Studios

Correspondence with Something More

I am looking forward to the visit to Duke Studios as it would be great to see design working in a community style space as well as be able to look and see other design studios in the area and perhaps make a few contacts whilst I am there. It is a great opportunity to see what else is going on with other studios as well as with Something More.