WPAPinfold opportunity.

This morning we received an email about an opportunity to visit WPAPinfold which could possibly lead onto an internship. Even with all the commotion of the submissions this is something which I went straight ahead and booked my place on the event. This was a studio which Kevin at True North said might interest me and would be the type of studio that he could see me working in. Not an opportunity to be missed when it is so close to home too and is something to look forward to after leaving here.  

OUGD602 End of module evaluation.

This module is something which I have often neglected during the past year with focussing too heavily on my extended practice but without doing so would have no work generated fro my portfolio. Towards the end of the year I began to realise the importance of my own practice and how this relates to the professional industry. I should have found a better way in which to balance the too and this poor project management is one of the reasons why this module hasn't been as successful as I would have hoped initially. 

Throughout the module I have gained developed massively as a designer and because of this my statement of intent has changed and developed over the months which I have shown and documented throughout the various presentations this year. This is something which took a long time for me and with this my confidence about my work and presenting this has grown. Confidence has also come later in the year from the positive feedback which I have received from a number of different studio visits. Most of the places I have been to have focussed on print and branding but at different scales. It has been good to see the range available in the industry and feel that I would be more suited now in a larger agency as I feel this would be the space which would provide the better opportunities. But also collaboration has featured heavily in my extended practice and a large agency would allow this to take place again but on a bigger scale. 

Throughout my extended practice I have taken part in a variety of opportunities which have pushed my skills and techniques away from my comfort zone. This has been great in terms of my personal professional development as it has made me more open and willing to try new stuff especially those which are independently. 

Contacting people in general is something which I have struggled with in life because my nature is so quiet and timid but this year I have again tried to push myself to do more. My job role within my part time job has also been extended which has allowed me to gain confidence when speaking on the phone. Although this is external to the course and the subject of design it is still a good skill to have the opportunity to develop and has made me more confident when approaching studios. Without this some of the studio visits which I did in Manchester would have never of happened. 

During this module I focused on my self branding and promotion in order to make myself known within the industry. Along with this I have participated within exhibitions to improve my networking and brand name. My concept behind my promotional material is based around the skills in screen printing which I have developed over the year and my love for print. But also my personal design interests with the use of geometric shapes and iconic simplistic forms of typography. I extended the use of typography from my personal branding into a full alphabet during my extended practice module so this was a great opportunity to marry the two modules together, showing me who one does effect the other. 

Unfortunately this year I haven't managed to secure a placement or an internship but have had various offers for further contact in the future when space becomes available. Although this has been a weakness for this module because I have been so slow at developing my self confidence and portfolio I am more determined now after several points of feedback and also confident that I will receive one in the near future and is something I am going to explore whilst doing my end of year show work. I have gained several points of contact which have said get back in touch about possible places at the beginning of June so this is exactly what I intend to do when the time comes. I have learnt from my mistakes about holding back on finding one. I am no longer afraid to approach people as I have nothing to lose.

Overall this year I have developed massively as an individual but also my practice. I am confident at my position within the industry and what I need to do next once graduated. Through this module I have realised my love for all things print, type and branded based and this is something to build upon, continue and begin to share properly with other professionals. This course has been one of the best experiences I have had so far because of the skills I have gained and the outcomes I have produced. 

Final presentation boards.

Self branding- Finals.

Self branding- Final website.

www.natalie-dyson.co.uk

Statement of intent change.

Progress tutorial.

This was a crit which I wasn't well prepared for knowing that I had so much left to complete for 603 at this stage. As I resulted I appear nervous because I was unsure of the outcome and where I should have been. This is something which I will address although I am not usually like this when meeting professionals which is good. I learnt from this my work is good I just need to start believing that to convince others too. 

Studio visit- True North.

Today I had the opportunity to visit True North in Manchester which is a brand and communication agency. Not only did I get the chance to look around a beautiful and spacious studio but the chance to have a portfolio surgery with one of the designers there. This was an interesting chat which I left more positive about my work and direction with my practice. Also left with some useful direct contacts to email when I get back that could lead to more studio visits or placement.

Feedback and suggestions which I received about my portfolio was:

• Digital portfolio and the copy written on them isn't necessarily needed on a face to face portfolio because you are their to talk about the concepts. 
• But the copy amount on the digital portfolio is good and needed. 
• First project works well to explain me and my personal interests. 
• Good to have direct link to self branding straight away. Expansion good to start with.
• Send Leeds cat rescue proposal of site and re brand. Turn it into a live project. Mention willingness to work for charity for free. 
• 78violet- expand onto other products such as posters, tour stuff etc
• BEAR- more realistic box. Wrap design around an actual cereal packet and photograph. perspective on some is too distorted and needs fixing.
• Account-ants- use of wording and tag line works well. Make more emphasis of interiors and idea of ants/larger than life objects. Ants propping up doors/tables etc. 
• Notepads- show off better. Direct images of all four different notepads. Show more of the variety talked about. Look at expanding even further onto more products. Interesting idea that is different. 
• Be careful about spacing on Flashback logo
• Eyt all- great theme by using dialect. Interesting to see where this ends up when applied to products. Something to show off when more time after submission. 

Also feedback about contacting studios:

• Look at work first and tailor portfolio to suit.
• Do a range of placements to try out everything- don't settle too soon 
• Show samples in email then full and more complex portfolio in person 
• Chat through ideas more in person

Final portfolio.

Before my visit to True North I have again re done my portfolio adding some of the work which I have been currently working on in order to get feedback on these brand identities. Also a good opportunity for me to talk more about my conceptual thinking whilst developing.
Changes which have been made have been based on a collation of feedback received from other studio visits and portfolio surgeries.

Studio visit- DS Emotion.

Today I had the opportunity to go down and visit DS Emotion for a studio visit and portfolio surgery with Matt Button. Whilst I was there one of the creative directors also sat down and talked about my portfolio and gave me some feedback on this too.

Feedback received:

• Clear presented portfolio- good at talking through it
• Send work off to charity because the brand is strong and would be a good gesture to them
• Logo first then expansion of the type next- would be a nice link and start as this shows my personality and craft approach from the start
• Shows thinking behind identity 
• Tone of voice of each brand bring this out and make a statement of it as there are some good concepts being missed
• Expand some of the projects further especially notepads as this is a strong concept with a different theme which most students wouldn't consider. They would do the obvious and that isn't
• Account-ants words need to be bigger than the visual to add more impact as this is more important as part of the brand
• Re order the portfolio 

Towards the end of the visit they said to keep in touch and in a few months a possible internship maybe available when there is space, so this is encouraging and makes me keep trying to find something. 

Time management.

Kate Moross.

On the back of visiting Design Manchester last year I made sure to buy Kate Moross' new book. I found her speech very motivational and this attitude is also reflected within this book. Love her style and her work and this is becoming a great source of inspiration for my own practice and the direction which I hope to head in. 

Self-branding- Screen printing.

The screen printing process was quite stressful as I had decided to do this at Vernon Street at the busiest time for them. Because of this I had limited number of screens to put my separations onto resulting in some different outcomes to what I initially planned but managed to work myself around this limitation with some trail and error. It also took a long time because the amount which I wanted to create. With better time management I could have gone at a quieter period and not wasted valuable time which I should have being spending on the other module as I had thought of this concept a number of weeks ago. In this instance I was slow to react which I was disappointed with. 

Overall though I am very pleased with the outcome because the colours have printed strongly against one another creating the contrast and legibility between elements and stock. The concept which I wanted to portray has also printed well and understandable because of this colour contrast. The brand logo and visual is strong and consistent across the range too. 

Self branding- Screen separations.

Screen separations have been easy to work out because I have had a clear thought of which colour will be which from the very start and point of design. Although I have realised I have a high number in which to expose and this could result in a large volume of screens and a great deal of time to print with all the washing needed.

Self branding- CV.

Studio visit- Thompson brand partners.

Above is the portfolio which I presented to Jimmy and Ash at Thompson Brand Partners. 

I had changed it slightly compared to the final portfolio I had developed at the end of the holidays based on some feedback I received at my last studio visit, so the one which I presented now I was relatively happy with it. 

• I received some good feedback from both of them which included:
• Account-ants one of strongest pieces in there
• Loved the tag line and name of the brand created- clever and fun
• Also liked the strong use of only two colours in the brand- distinctive and bold
• Would have been nice to see some ideas and the production of the logo
• Get some nice shots of design sheets to include- good at this stage to show companies are abilities as juniors
• Include photos within the ants brief- add real life photos of accountants within visuals to make more believable and create a brand story 
• Could push this brief further with more products- ant shaped notepads/sticky notes, larger than life objects around office, create halftone images with ant visual as replacement to dots, use two colour scheme throughout expansion and photos 
• Leeds Cat Rescue brand strong- again because of limited colour palette
• Shape of logo and concept works well to suggest re-homing
• Layout of 78violet does justice to project- explained it well 
• Notepads looks lost and different to other projects- could possibly remove or replace with better in a few weeks  
• Pull illustrations and important elements out of design to highlight and show in more detail

Overall the experience was good and found it useful seeing some of the others portfolios and listening to the feedback which they received. Something that I noticed was the layout of the pages and preferred some of the others which were presented that used a column based layout for the concept explanations, so may look at changing this slightly to see how it works for my own projects. 

We got a chance to see the work which they have both done since graduating and a quick tour around the studio and the work which they are currently doing. Also managed to gain contacts within the industry from doing this because they were impressed with us all and our presentation skills. 

Self branding- New concept.

Although I was happy at the beginning of the year with the brand logo that I created I was unsure on the overall visuals of my brand identity. As my practice has begun to develop and my conceptual skills have begun to grow I feel now is the time to focus on my self branding. This is also a growing need and concern as I want to start taking on more studio visits and getting myself known ready for a placement.

My concept looks at branding myself as a 'Blooming Creative'. This is something which I have thought about since screen printing my 78violet work for the other module. This was a project I really enjoyed and a great opportunity to recycle some of my old screen separations, as my practice has now evolved into a print based practice my chosen format for my branding is screen printed material to show off my techniques and skills. Something which at Textbook studio they also said is really nice to receive within a promo pack, more individual and special.
I also want to continue to look at the use of patterns and geometric shapes, similar to my idea before, as this is something which I am still influenced by. The concept behind this is slightly different in that the shapes from my branding logo will be connected together to suggest the idea of this material being used to make connections and a series of networks between individuals.
I hope to make this stand out on the design by using a cyan background halftone with complimentary orange icons. Hopefully this will create enough contrast for the copy to be legible but also each element of the concept/design stand out from one another.

Possible internship.

The other day I received a reply about an internship I had applied to on the off chance the other week. This was encouraging to hear and a much needed confidence boost. I was asked to do some design work as part of a sample before an interview. Unfortunately though the drop box containing the files didn't work and this was for a full time internship to start immediately so being realistically this wouldn't be possible with it being so close to module submission and too far away. I replied back explaining this but I am yet to have contact back which is a little disappointing because it seemed so positive and urgent when first received. This is something to follow up after I have graduated though. 

Inspirational studio list.

After recent studio visit to Textbook studio one of the recommendations which they suggested was to compile a list of favourite studios across the country ready to target with promo packs and emails in the coming weeks. Each of those on my list have influences in my new change in direction with my practice towards print and type or branding.

Raw Studio
Studio Output
True North
Magpie
Dalton Maag
Sawdust

Studio visit- Textbook studio.

I had the opportunity to go to Textbook studio in Salford today which again is another small studio but is more design focussed compared to Media 21a even though a lot of their work comes from riso graph printing. The studio consists of three people based in a small room within Islington Mill and I loved the cosy environment which was created. Unfortunately because of its size it wasn't appropriate for them to offer placements but they talk in detail about their process after graduation and becoming freelance based. This was interesting to hear others experiences and gave me some confidence of what to do in the future. Good to hear that it is possible from someone else outside of the course. To begin with I was nervous but this soon settled down as positive feedback and discussion began. I also had the opportunity to look at promo packs which people had sent them and this is something I am going to leave and consider about my own self promotion.

Shortly after returning home I received an email from Vicky which gave me a list of contacts to look at for other studios and agencies. From this I have selected a few from Manchester which I am interested in contacting.

Update

With the help of the list which Vicky provided me with I have managed to get in contact with a brand communication studio in Manchester called True North and set up a studio visit with them. 

This is something which I am excited about because it is within an industry which I am now enthused about. At the beginning of the year I was unsure about branding but my practice has changed and developed towards this so by visiting them hopefully I will make sure that this is definitely the right direction for my practice moving on after this course.

Jaypee x BAGD- Experience.

Photos thanks to Tani and Hannah

The experience of working with Jaypee is something which I am very grateful because it was so enjoyable and I have learnt many techniques of working on large format from this. It also gave my an opportunity to express my love of typography and work collaboratively which are both growing themes and influences within my practice. At first I was a little apprehensive because of the scale and type of work it was but welcomed it as a nice change from my regular work on the 603 module. With it being experience within our own environment this helped with me being more forward and proving I am capable of embracing the unknown. It has also given me more confidence just to jump in and experiment with different techniques without worrying too much about the outcomes. Also a life lesson which will help my confidence in general which will help when meeting and working with others in the future. 

Yearbook submission.

Dialogue exhibition.

Recently I took part in the Dialogue exhibition and below is the work which I produced for it and some photos of the event on the last board.  I was happy with my submission and how the final piece was presented. It was good to see my work collaborated with someone else's and a great opportunity to network whilst there.

Self branding- Web development.

Today I have began to develop my own personal website ready to make this live within the next few days. I feel like I am currently on a massive push to get myself out there properly before I contact more studios. Hopefully this will help my success rate. 

I began like every other coding by creating the two main areas which my content would go in. By setting up the foundations correctly this would make the rest of the design simple and filling content even easier. 

The web scamps and ideas which I have developed use a simplistic style that reflects the cleanness of my portfolio which has been done to allow the projects to stand out and speak for themselves. This is merely a platform to do so. Because of this simplistic visual the development of the codes was quick and easy, they also could easily be copied each time from a template as each page within the iframe is exactly the same to keep a consistent visual throughout. To begin with I had some alignment issues with the navigation and logo but after trail and error increasing the pixel width and adding breaks I managed to solve this. 

The final website is a clean and simple platform which allows each project to speak for itself, a reflection of the style within my printed portfolio. I have made the navigation clear so that each project and about section can be accessed on every page making user ability quicker and easier. The order which I have chosen is based on my printed version and is a reflection of those which, at this time, I believe are stronger. I have also chosen to add a work in progress section to show potential employees that I am still working on projects and shows an insight into my conceptual stage.