Business Proposal / Roz

Been meaning to post this up here for a while now but I've had a few interesting chats with Roz over the past couple of weeks regarding us setting up our own studio once we have graduated...

We've been working together recently on the Photography Yearbook brief and kind of discovered that we work well together and pretty much like exactly the same style of work which is cool — and then Roz asked me whether I'd consider setting up with her. I had personally been thinking about setting up before this depending on if I could find someone suitable to work with, so when Roz asked me I was really pleased to have the offer. I'd feel much more confident starting up when working alongside somebody such as Roz, as I really like the work she has produced to date.

We're going to start some initial research and try and speak to a few people who can give us some direction in terms of where to start.... exciting times!

Manchester Design Symposium

Had another day out in Manchester attending another design event, this time at the Manchester Design Symposium. They had an impressive line up of speakers scheduled so I had been really looking forward it — and I wasn't disappointed. There aren't many events like this outside of London so it was great to see and hear the opinions of people within the design field but all of whom represented totally different areas. Morag Myerscough was definitely one of the highlights — she was really engaging to listen to and obviously really enthusiastic about what she does. It was very interesting to hear her views on her work and everything else and it was remarkable to see the unusual types of projects she works on. She does a lot of design for use within architectural spaces utilising colourful environmental graphics with a primary aim to improve the feeling of people that interact with the spaces. The other talk that I particularly enjoyed was that of Vera-Maria Glahn fro digital design agency, Field. Even though their work is totally different to my own I actually found what she had to say the most interesting. The inventive processes and techniques that they employ to create their digital illustrations were fascinating - so much so that I'll do a post specifically on them shortly. All in all a great day out — photos and notes from the day are below...

Note To Self

Last week Hazel, Naomi, Gemma and I headed over to Manchester for an evening of speakers from within the design industry at the Note To Self event. It was only the 3rd instalment of the event and the first time we had all attended — after finding out about it recently through Twitter.

Some great pizza and wine in Manchester got things off to a good start and it kept going at the event itself through a highly enjoyable and interesting evening. Before attending, it was only the typographer Bruno Maag that I had actually heard of but, I thought it would be useful to see/hear about the approach from creatives in different fields to myself. 

All of the speakers on the night were really engaging and interesting and they all interpreted the theme of the evening 'passion' in entirely different ways. The digital agency Retrofuzz talked about a core set of values they are passionate about as a company and how staying true to these shaped their day to day lives. Andrew Brooks talked about a number of different influences he was passionate about and how they impacted upon his practice. Trevor Johnson looked at the definition of passion and went through wide range of topics/things and the simple reasons of why he liked them or was passionate about them. Finally Bruno Maag plain and simply talked passionately. Initially about his suit — which he used as an analogy in reference to attention to detail, crafting and quality but then went on to cover a variety of things and issues affecting young graphic designers today. 

Notes taken during the evening:

Oh, and I picked up some awesome (and free!) Dalton Maag type specimen pieces whilst I was there. All in all, the evening was really thought-provoking and motivational — a bargain too at just £10 per ticket so I'll definitely be looking out for future Note To Self events.

Studio Visit: Golden

Managed to get in touch with Golden — an awesome studio based in Leeds that I've followed the work of for a while now. They told me to come along and bring my portfolio to show them and talk through my work etc. The visit went pretty well and was largely positive, they gave me some really useful advice on the types of projects I should be looking to have within my developing portfolio which has come in very handy when planning the projects I'm doing for my FMP. I've also asked them to set me a brief — which they agreed to, so that I can work on it as soon as possible, incorporating it into my FMP. They were suggesting something more campaign led so it'll be interesting to see what they send me. Furthermore, depending on how well I get on with the brief, there may be a chance of a placement, so we'll have to see how it goes and make sure that I give it my best. After the visit I wrote down a few notes whilst I still remembered what we had discussed.

PDF Portfolio

Open publication - Free publishing - More pdf

After applying to Homework, I've now put together a more general PDF portfolio to send out to studios that I like...

Design Presence Crit

Today we had group tutorials to give feedback on the current state of our personal design presence. This was based on our printed folio's, personal logos, business cards and websites. I received largely positive feedback - particularly on the logotype I designed for myself over Christmas. The only issues raised were minimal things such as the outline around the edge of my business cards which people didn't seem to like and some slight alterations to my portfolio spreads.

Revised Portfolio

Open publication - Free publishing - More pdf

After the portfolio surgeries from last week I've revised my portfolio a little. The 'Mast' project has been extended over an extra DPS and my 'Urban Oasis' project from second year is now included. The overall layout didn't need much altering which was good so I can now get on with printing it out properly so its ready to take to show people.