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.