'Describe yourself in 20 words'

In preparation for the upcoming collaborative brief and ppd sessions we have been asked to squeeze who we are as a designer/person into a short statement...hmm...

here's my attempt.... but i'll probably change it ...

... several times..

"Im a considerate and resourceful designer that loves to be informed and has a craze for quality printed media"

Raw - Placement Competition Brief

Raw design studio in Salford is somewhere I've had my eye on for a while now and are definitely going to make it onto my top 10 agencies to email in the next couple of weeks. I think it would be the perfect studio to gain a placement with and now they have released a competition brief to decide who gets one (the details of which are below). 

Im sure the standard of entries will be high and I also know that I'm in direct competition with several people from my course so I need to make sure I get this right and produce something that really reflects what I can do and what I'm about.

"Placements. You want one? Well, we can offer you one, but it’ll cost you… 1 creative project to be exact. Best case scenario, you’ll get a month-long placement and some recognition for your efforts. Worst case scenario, you’ll have a lovely new project to add to your portfolio.

As the origin of Raw Type is based on typographic experimentation, we thought we’d stick to our roots with an open brief encouraging the same process. We want you to create a typeface based on one of the following themes: time, sound, photography or light. As well as the typeface, we’d like you to create a poster promoting your creation.

Technical Spec
—
Themes: Time, Sound, Photography, Light
Typeface: A-Z and 0-9. Extra points for more glyphs, upper & lower-case etc.
Poster: A2 portrait/landscape
Deadline: 15th April 2011
How to Submit: PDFs, no larger than 5MB to submit@rawtype.co.uk. Must contain the typeface, poster and explanatory text about the idea and method.

We will pick our favourite from each theme and then open it up to the design community to select the overall best and winner of the placement. If you have any questions, use the comments below – that way, everyone can benefit. Have fun everyone!"

Enterprise - Forming a group...

Through discussing with fellow course-mates over the past couple of days, I am now part of a group for the Enterprise creative studio task. I am very happy to be working with:

- Steph Bourne
- Hazel Gage
- Jo Catlow

Im already excited about working with this group as I'm pretty sure that we will have similar aims in terms of what kind of graphic design agency we would want to be and what clients we would try to attract etc. We plan to hold an initial meeting soon to get things off the ground with this project.

Enterprise - Assessed Presentation

The Brief:
Working in groups of four, you will construct a business plan or business proposal for a creative design studio and present it to your peers and tutors in an assessed oral presentation. Your plan/proposal and presentation should be based on the analysis and content that you have been introduced to throughout the module.

Concept/Proposition:
Four heads are better than one as long as they communicate. Your will now have the luxury of four pairs of hands. How will you use them effectively?

Considerations:
What skills and services do you have to offer?
Who is your target market?
Who is your competition and how will you compete?
What are your costs, charges and financial considerations?

Mandatory Requirements:
It is essential that you make reference to a range of marketing models and recognise business 'start-up' principles in order to gain a pass. You must make reference to the course materials, books and websites to demonstrate your understanding.

Deliverables:
The presentation will be 8-10mins long. You should use appropriate visual aids and printed material to support your presentation. Your presentation will be assessed by two members of your course team.

Submission Deadline:
Tuesday 3rd May.

* Crit on the Wednesday before Easter to check progress.

Fridge Creative

Fridge Creative is a boutique design agency based in Hoxton, London. We provide a range of design solutions that range from branding to promotion, and from illustration to information design.
At Fridge, we believe that great design comes through knowing our clients - after all, no two products and no two companies are the same. So our team of designers work closely with our clients to ensure a bespoke design service that is tailored to your needs alone.
While we’ve been around the block (Fridge is over seven years old), we have deliberately chosen to stay small so that we can stay responsive. When you work with Fridge, you won’t be dealing with a nameless, faceless bunch who think they know best. You’ll just be getting passionate, professional and friendly designers who are willing to listen to what you need, and will come up with a creative design solution.


Fridge Creative
59 Charlotte Road, Hoxton
London EC2A 3QT

Phone 020 7729 8661
Email hello@fridgecreative.co.uk

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- Beautifully presented boutique design agency with a focus on print, web and branding.
- Fridge appeals to me because it sounds like a small and friendly company and the work they produce is  more personal and bespoke than many other agencies.
- It really looks to be a company that I can identify with as they look to create polished and professional design resolutions whilst making sure the client is thoroughly involved in the process and a solid concept is behind the work.
- It's based in Hoxton, London so I will need to think about what I would do for accommodation if a placement did come to fruition - got to contact them first though!
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Because Studio

Because Studio is an independent design studio established by Loz Ives in 2008. Offering a varied range of integrated services including branding, art direction, print and website design, the starting point for every project is an informed approach and an attention to detail, with the aim of creating engaging, well-crafted answers, whatever the brief.

Working predominantly with clients from the creative industries and not-for-profit sector, Because Studio takes pride in collaborating with a range of organisations producing everything from complete visual identities to bespoke marketing materials.

Unit 5
The Watermark Studios
9 — 15 Ribbleton Lane
Preston
PR1 5EZ

Studio— +44 (0)1772 821 460
Skype— because_studio

Just Saying Hello— hello(at)becausestudio.co.uk
Important Stuff— loz(at)becausestudio.co.uk
Placements & Jobs— work(at)becausestudio.co.uk

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- I really like the sound of this studio and the way in which they talk about themselves and what they do. Since they work with clients from creative industries and not-for-profit it would enable them to be a little more experimental in what they produce.

- They also work in a variety of ways such as print, illustration, web, branding/identity which is attractive to me.

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Studio MIKMIK

Studio MIKMIK is a graphic design and illustration studio established in 2006 by Michael Lewis.

We create well crafted solutions for print, identity, illustration and online projects.

By working with Studio MIKMIK you'll receive a friendly design service where every project is handled with care and attention to detail is paramount. From first meeting to final delivery, no matter how small or large a project, you can be assured that every question will be answered and cups of tea will never be far away.

Address
Studio MIKMIK
65 George Street
Saltaire
Shipley
West Yorkshire
BD18 4PL
United Kingdom

Email
hello@studiomikmik.co.uk

Telephone
+44 (0)7545 867493

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- MIKMIK looks to be a really honest and friendly design studio producing carefully crafted and well resolved work.

- They are located in Saltaire which is within easy reach of me whether I'm at home or at Uni.

- The studio has a clear focus on print, illustration and identity which is exactly the kind of area I want to place myself within as well.

- They also have strong ethical/environmental values which is attractive to me and just the overall 'feel' of studio MIKMIK is very appealing.
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Enterprise Lecture 7 : Don't get ripped off

Enterprise Lecture 6 : Don't just get a job

OUGD202 Evaluation

The OUGD202 module brought with it many new exciting and enjoyable experiences as well as a valuable learning curve in terms of my knowledge of software and project management.

The first few steps into the world of After Effects through the Silent Movie brief was the first time I had dealt with moving image and I was eager but also a little daunted when faced with getting to grips with it. During the first few weeks of After Effects workshops it took quite a while for me to understand things like key framing and co-ordinating even simple movements. Over the course of the Silent Movie brief however, when given tight restrictions on the length of composition, content, colour and theme etc of the videos, it enabled me to purely focus on the software itself and specific technical aspects which really helped me to start and understand it. I was pleased with my resolutions to the Silent Movie brief and got positive feedback but as soon as that project came to a close, I was eager to get started on the next thing and see how far I could push my developing knowledge of the software.

When beginning the Top 10 brief my initial thought was to produce a title sequence and idents of top cities to visit. But I had covered a similar theme in an earlier project and so decided to focus on Tokyo, which was the first city I had begun illustrating in accordance with the initial theme. Quite quickly I had style developing which then became a firm vision that I could see clearly working in the proposed animation. Having had to learn the software from scratch and then apply my existing design skills to it I think has proved successful and by having detailed storyboards and hand rendered, and then digitised assets in place, it meant that I didn't have to design anything within the After Effects programme and I could get on and play around with the assets at my disposal which helped greatly. Furthermore, the Top 10 brief helped me to work on my time management and organisation through developing a structured process in the way in which I work, also, due to the regular nature of crits and a consistent flow of feedback, I seemed to become more able to take on board any suggestions and found myself acting upon what I was told promptly. When looking back over the course of producing my title sequence and subsequent idents I now find it surprising to see how far I have come in such a short space of time. If someone told me to produce what turned out to be my finished piece back in December, I would of seriously doubted that I could have achieved it. Thus, Im very satisfied with the final resolutions to the Top 10 brief as they turned out very closely to what I had in mind when first sketching out my storyboards.

Attendance : 5

Punctuality : 5

Motivation : 4

Commitment : 5

Quantity of work produced : 4

Quality of work produced : 4

Contribution to the group : 4

Music Talk

Attended a really interesting and helpful talk today by a guy from Music design agency in Manchester. I thought i'd write up the notes...

- Graphic design will never rise above it's content.
- Content & Form = Communication.
- Be interested, not interesting.
- Designers are split into two categories: Bunch A & Bunch B.
- Bunch A (Swiss Design, everything looks good, perfectly kerned)
- Bunch B (More message driven, humour, 'soul')
- Design is a joke! Introduce humour and emotion.
- There's no such thing as a bad brief.
- The solution is always in the brief.
- Redact a brief down - Select key words.
- Don't be precious with ideas, try other things.
- Challenge people.
- If something has no meaning - get rid of it!
- Find faults not friends.
- Share your ideas and eat with your eyes.
- Look & ask! Look at what is going on around you.
- Never be a professional!
- Every job requires a different response.
- Be prepared to take things on board.
- Doubt is better than certainty.
- If it's certain - it's boring.
- If it's scary/exciting - it's likely not to have been done before.
- Be honest.
- Van Gogh describing his painting - It's a bridge, river and people etc.
- It's emotional, it's about people.
- Value freedom, not genius.
- If you have to describe the image - it's not working.
- Talk to people like they are human beings!
- Don't talk about graphic design!

Design By Day

We enjoy making things look nice for our clients so they can get the right message to the right people… printed things, webby things, animated things, logo and branding type things.
We avoid using confusing language and don't hide behind buzzwords, we just design things that look great and work.
We've made lots of people happy, from record labels to health organisations, charities to recruitment companies. If you want, we can make you happy too!
We are a friendly and approachable design team, and we think you'll enjoy working with us!

Design By Day
Studio 304
Islington Mill
James Street
Salford

0161 832 4471
hello@designbyday.co.uk

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- A good looking all round design studio based in Salford. I like the fact they keep things plain and simple both in terms of how they present themselves and the language they use.

- They work with all different areas within graphic design but may be a little to web and moving image based for me. However I have enjoyed the more technical aspects at Uni once I have got into them so it may not be as off putting as I currently think.

- The website does have a nice feel to it but I can't see as much print based work as I have on other design agency websites and that is the area I'm most interested in.

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