OUGD502 - Study Task 2 - Manifesto

OUGD502

Manifesto and Professionalism

Professional - being creative for money
used to be called commercial arts

perceptions - 'arty farty'/slightly odd

problem solvers
produce a creative set of solutions


clients:
creativity is subjective. Open to likes and dislikes, personal tastes, colour preference, committee thinking, trend, cultural and ethical thinking, ethnic acceptance, personality clashes.

professionalism = client handling

what do you want to achieve?
- work recognised
- being recognised as a creative
- respect for your approach
- money

Downside
- not being able to get work
- poor quality clients
- clients who don't listen to good advise
- communication breakdown/problems
- not getting paid for work

Manifesto

Adjectives:
speak, think, feel, respond, interact
useful, lasting and democratic forms of communication


What I want to communicate through my work and self image:
adventure
passion
bravery 
excitement
stories
ambition
drive

Create work that inspires, excites and contibutes positively to those who experience it. Be brave, work hard.


Example:

James Bowden
Photographer, surfer and lover of adventure. He lives and breathes what he shoots, looking for stories to tell the grand children and photos to show them as well.



My Manifesto 
To tell inspiring stories and create exciting work. 
Remain ambitious and make a difference in any way possible.
To be brave in my execution of work and have the drive to take on new challenges. 
To make just enough money to fund my surfing addiction (and see the world while I'm at it)

OUGD502 - Study Task 1 - Summer Reflection

OUGD502

Summer Reflection .

My summer was varied, I did a little bit of travelling at the start and finish but the majority of my summer was spent working. I work in Tesco and hate every minute of it. I work with older women who have worked in the same store their whole working lives and complain about everything and do absolutely nothing about it. This experience did help me realise I have ambition and want to do a job I am excited about. 

At the start of summer my brother, my dad and I spent some time in Cornwall. We spent the majority of the time at the beach and in the sea. It made me consider doing design work for environmental change and I did some research about coral bleaching and the effect of climate change. From this I found a environmental activist called Finn Harris who studies architecture at the Parsons School in New York. I tried to get in contact with him but haven't received a reply. This is definitely something I am interested in pursuing further.

At the start of August I competed in my first triathlon. It was a sprint distance event with a 400m swim, 21k bike and 5k run. from this I learnt the importance of preparation as we did not give ourselves enough time to train. It was difficult but the second I finished I was already thinking about the next one and how to improve. 

At the end of summer my friend and I travelled to Madrid. We both had worked all summer and were ready to get away. We found the cheapest flight on Sky scanner and left the next week. The best places we found in Madrid were places suggested by people we met, rather than suggestions found online. Some of the people we met have staying in  contact using Whatsapp and Instagram. I also managed to pick up a little Spanish. It made me consider the possibilities of working abroad for a year or two, especially in Spain as I love the culture (and the food). Although, I do prefer Barcelona to Madrid.


I think the most influential part of the summer was working as I disliked it so much.  I found it really difficult to go back to the small town I live in and the boredom of it. Next summer I want to travel more and work more but doing something I enjoy. I am considering working at a summer camp in America next summer and then getting some work experience in a design studio while I am over there.

OUGD402 - Self Branding Production

OUGD402

Self Branding Production.

Business Cards

Tote bag

Studio Wall

OUGD402 - Studio Brief 3 - Design Strategy Presentation

OUGD402

PPP - Studio Brief 3 - Design Strategy Presentation

This was a 7 minute presentation in front of a small group.

I began my presentation by explaining my experience of university so far. I talked about moving away from home, joining a new swim team and meeting new friends.

I explained how I have learnt to use adobe, almost from scratch and how things that I didn't consider before, like grid systems, have really improved my work. I also learnt to do book binding which I enjoyed as It adds a professional touch to final products.

I talked about what I want to learn in the future, this included surface pattern design, 3D design and packaging design. As well as the mistakes that I have made: Leaving design boards till the last minute, using print slots to motivate and get work done and don't leave university to do work as there are too many distractions.

I talked about my strengths and how I will develop them (illustration) and my weaknesses and how I will adress them (mock-ups, prioritising)

Barcelona was something I really enjoyed and learnt a lot from, especially how professionals run their studios and business. another thing I enjoy is visiting professionals as I always leave their talks more motivated. Finally I enjoy lectures and learning about past movements as it informs my work.

I have disliked self branding (although I enjoyed the design side) as I found it really difficult to pin point what kind of designer I want to be. I have also disliked managing my time as it is something I really struggle with but will continue to work on. Like everyone else, I also dislike deadlines as they are stressful.

My future ambitions include working for someone else, freelancing and setting up my own collective. I want to try all of these and see which method of working I prefer. Currently I would also like to start taking on freelance work to get more experience and broaden my portfolio. I would also like to start bringing outside interests into my work such as physics, architecture and engineering. My personal aims for the future are to develop my individual style and do a triathlon.

Feedback from my presentation:
from the feedback I received it is clear my confidence has improved since the last presentation. My tutors found my interest in physics interesting and encouraged my to include this in my work. They also gave me artists and photographers to look at which also incorporate science into their work, including Luke Evens and his photography series called XERO. They also thought I should be more confident about the things I am interested in outside of university such as triathlons as it shows I have a different mind set. I should also keep my presentation s positive as possible.

Notes for presentation:

OUGD402 - Barcelona

OUGD402

Barcelona Studio Visits

TwoPoints

TwoPoints is a studio run by Lupi Asensio and Martin Lorenz.

They spoke to us about how they deal with clients as well as the work they produce. They explained that there is no visual communication if there is no communication. there are a lot of to-ing and fro-ing when you work with larger companies. 

They are very particular about the stock they use. They know how to present and format imagery to make it look its best. The worse the picture, the worse the paper, this lessens the importance of the image. The aesthetic is better if the photo isn't the focus point. Importance is also lessened if its in black and white.

form and content is war. It needs to influence each other in order to be successful. 

you have to think of everything in parallel - everything should influence everything.

'think with your hands, make with your head.'

read the news, you need context in your work. current affairs effect how people interpret your work, it can change the method.

Its important to have a string relationship with your printer.

Hey Studios

Hey studios like to do commercial work, they do personal projects when they have spare time. (everyhey)

They explained some of the work they produced

The cccb 2 month brochure had a consistent square design using different illustrations to represent different exhibitions.

Arles Barcelona shoes
each design of the book is handmade (ripped paper) gives a more personal touch . The idea of the shoes came from the design of the box which they loved.

ArtFad
identity of the award - invitation.
art and crafts, creating something by hand. the first year was a stamp that they physically would do for each invite. The second year they created the invites they still worked with the hand made element. they used ribbon to make the A shape of each invite different. The 3rd year they worked on the invite they used cut out paper to create an A.

When companies grow there is a higher risk of losing identity and style. Smaller design companies are easier to control.

Both studios produce interesting work. However I feel like Twopoints had much more time for us as a group and they seemed to be much more passionate about their work. 

OUGD402 - Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding

OUGD402

Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding

The presentation show cased my personal brand.

There are 2 key pieces of information that help communicate the final outcome of my design. The first is that I am a triplet, I tried to show this by using triangles within my design. The second is that I am a swimmer, this is something I enjoy and spend a lot of time doing so I wanted to include in my brand.

I wanted my brand to be a clear representation of myself and my interest so I can draw the attention of people I want to work with.

Initial thoughts and Ideas:

• clean design, uses negative space
• shows aspects of my personality 
• communicates love for swimming
• simple but friendly
• illustratie
• energetic but not garish or overpowering
• natural colour scheme
• appreciation for the outdoors, shown in colour scheme

Brainstorm Research:

• subtle details 
• illustrative title
• letterpress style title/ hand written
• wave over top of name
• everything in three's (triplet)
• mailers
• message in a bottle - sea themed
• letters over mail
• swim cap mailers
• surf wax branding (Mr Zogs sex wax)
• logo based on chemical formula for water (H2O)

inspiration from the se;f branding of Melanie Daveid and Gareth Strange (Strangelove) and the work of Joshua Noom.

Ideas:

• logo based on water
• name inside of raindrop, illustrated or only using typography. May only work with first name or initials
• name on a wave
• name partially blocked out because of a wave shape at the foot of the letters
• name obscured with water over the top of it.
• rain drops act as magnifiers
• name causes ripples
• name on the bottom of a swimming poll - distorted by the water - if looking from above. could become a filter throughout the whole design
• mailers
• message in a bottle
• water guns
• swim hat

I developed 2 ideas, with the intention of picking the strongest design outcome.

I developed the water droplet typography idea and the distorted water idea.

Water droplet typography:

Distorted Water:

The Distorted type is much more interesting. This is the design I used for my branding. 

I continued the water theme throughout by putting imagery of water into triangles.

This would work as a logo with interchanging textures. 

Pay off and description:

Pay off 1:

Lorna Milligan 

Graphic Designer

A competitive creative passionate about colour, illustration and swimming.

Pay off 2:

Lorna Milligan

Graphic Designer & Illustrator

'Just because you think you can use Photoshop, Doesn't mean you should'

I am still undecided what Pay off I want to carry forward. The first one is more professional but I like the wit of the second one, although, I don't want to come across as obnoxious. 

Logo

The logo I designed uses the triangle as well as the type. The triangle will change with different imagery as previously discussed. However, I think the triangle looks a bit awkward because to is so sharp in comparison to the type. I might also have the triangle distorted by water but this might look strange as it will loose some of its geometric characteristics. 

Fonts used

Aviner (roman) in Caps. Kerning: 300 - title font

Kohinoor Devanagari (Light). Kerning: 100 - body text

Colours

Imagery 

Application

OUGD402 - Studio Brief 1 - Reflective Practice Poster

OUGD402

Studio Brief 1 - Reflective Practice Poster.

The poster is in the style of a map with a key showing 

- 2 key things you have learnt

- 2 key things that have really engaged you

- aims and ambitions for level 5 (and beyond...)

- 2 key things that you have not enjoyed

Key things I have learnt:
Its important to produce good work and work that fulfils your creativity.
The 'I'll slow when Im dead' method is probably not the way forward.
Burning out is a real thing.
Self branding is important, personality helps sell work.

Things I have engaged with:
I have really enjoyed learning new practice techniques such as boo binding and letterpress, as I can use these methods in briefs. By implementing them into my design I am improving the work I am producing.
I find visiting professionals very engaging. They give a sense of what the industry is like and it's diversity.

My aims and ambitions for level 5 are:
to increase my confidence in all of the Adobe suite programmes. I would like to improve my photography skills and bring more photography into my work. I would like to develop my personal style. I want to improve my time management skills as this will reduce my stress levels, especially near deadlines. I want to find more time to read and draw for myself.

Key things I have not enjoyed:
I have found it very difficult to create a brand for myself as this is the first time I have studied Graphic Design and I am still learning about what disciplines I enjoy. To create a brand for myself as a graphic designer has been very difficult as I still have so much to learn.

I have also found that I do not enjoy cooking. I cannot cook to save my life.

OUGD402 - BUILD Studios

OUGD402

Visting Lecture 

BUILD Studios

influenced by music - iron maiden, motorhead

more interested in technical drawings rather than the arts

letraset - anyone could use it

studied a foundation course - graphic design came most naturally

Nevel Brody - typography - face magazine 

‘the graphic language of Nevel Brody”

Rod Clarke - Underground magazine

newcastle college wasn’t the right course.

Von Oliver - still works - 4AD Records - college

Not fashionable - maverick

Trevor Jackson 

Ian Anderson (design republic)

Passion feeds into work

Build - Started in London (15 years ago)

Work for someone first, make your mistakes under them

OUGD402 - Title, Payoff and Description

OUGD402

Title, Payoff and Description.

We are currently working on a self branding project in PPP. The aim of this session was to come up with a title, a catchy payoff and a description for our personal brand. I found it very difficult to summarise myself in just one sentence and explain what I specialise in when Im not sure myself. However, I do realise that I can change my branding at any point in my career.

by the end of the session I came up with:

'Lorna Milligan

Designer with a passion for illustration, colour and swimming,

I'll probably be in the pool. '

I don't like my final outcome. I think it could be funnier and more interesting. I will research other designers to get a better understanding of what works and what doesn't. 

Looking at what my course mates had produced was very helpful. 

OUGD402 - Setting up a LinkedIn Profile

OUGD402


Setting up a LinkedIn Profile,

In response to John's lecture: 'Who are you talking to?' I have set up a LinkedIn profile as a method of expanding my personal network as LinkedIn is a form of professional networking. Using this site will be a good way of getting in touch with people in the industry without using email. 
My aim is to make 'useful friends' on this site. I will join groups that I am interested in and start talking to creatives.