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.