Tuesday, 5 December 2017
OUG602 - Glug Leeds Does A Christmas Carol - Creatives, Past, Present and Future
I recently attended a Glug event which featured DixonBaxi, Home Agency and Joe Boyd. As it was a Christmas special the event embraced a festive theme, showcasing where the creative industry has come from, where we're at now and the future of the industry. I had a real interest in the first talk of the night from DixonBaxi who introduced us to the work they did for the Pyeongchang winter olympics. They aimed to inspire and engage a younger audience through the injection of K-Pop with hyper neon colours and vibrancy through the brand. I really liked how they transferred a piece of Korean culture such as K-Pop into winter sports, and in turn achieving a new visual spin on the winter olympics which is always rather basic.
Tuesday, 7 November 2017
OUGD602 - What, how & why? task
This task made me reconsider how to effectively communicate my work in a more precise and professional manner. Although I believe I have improved considerably in terms of communicating my ideas verbally, this task made me realise how I can continue to improve by applying the simple rules of What, How and Why? to each project. Therefore for the task we had to select one of our favourite briefs thus far and apply the rules. To date my favourite briefs on the course have been the BALTIC web app and Anywhere but Pryzm, subsequently for the later I haven't actually wrote any copy explaining the brief so this task enabled me to create fresh copy to explain it.
What is the core idea?
Seeing art in physical form can be engaging but with digital technologies advancing, art galleries and technology must coexist. The outcome is a free web app for the BALTIC to create a digital presence in the gallery and to actively enhance the visitors experience.
How does it work?
By blending art, technology, design, and user experience, it is intended to be educational, inspirational, personal to the visitor and create a direct link between gallery and visitors.
Why does it work?
With a stripped back approach to the UI, icons and layout in mind it is designed with the audience in mind and for it to be welcoming, useable and understanding for all ages.
What is the core idea?
Seeing art in physical form can be engaging but with digital technologies advancing, art galleries and technology must coexist. The outcome is a free web app for the BALTIC to create a digital presence in the gallery and to actively enhance the visitors experience.
How does it work?
By blending art, technology, design, and user experience, it is intended to be educational, inspirational, personal to the visitor and create a direct link between gallery and visitors.
Why does it work?
With a stripped back approach to the UI, icons and layout in mind it is designed with the audience in mind and for it to be welcoming, useable and understanding for all ages.
What is the core idea?
‘Anywhere but Pryzm’ which is a Leeds freshers guide focusing on a select number of event spaces which are outside of the typical image of a student night, within the vibrant student city.
How does it work?
The guide is small in size and selective in content but straight to point and aims to uncover Leeds best spots, for students looking outside the box.
Why does it work?
The guide is informative and gives an open insight into each event space, therefore the viewer is able depict as they please.
Monday, 6 November 2017
OUGD602 - You've got mail task
For one of the PPP tasks we were asked to identify a practitioner who's work we admire, then to follow up on this interest and send them something physical in the post. Therefore I noted down twelve practitioners who's work Ive always admired from a far, then selected Jack Featherstone. The particular reasoning for this is because at this moment in time, contacting him would benefit me profoundly as his interest and involvement in electronic music relates to my context of practice essay. He works for Studio Crême who work for a number of cultural clients but with Dekmantel, Bleed Records and Simian Mobile Disco being his freelance clients, I believe his input for research would invaluable.
So my concept for this task was to send Jack an invitation to help me with my dissertation research, with the message being transported in a 'poster-velope'. If not obvious by the name, the object is an envelope which enfolds into a A3 poster. When brainstorming ideas for this I believe people of prints posterzine influenced my thoughts on how to include two aspects in one. And when looking back on this task the poster-velope having two functions in one benefited costs such as printing and postage.
The content within the envelope was the invitation along with contact details. Then on the flip side a wireframe illustration of a modular synth.
Overall I am pleased with the outcome although if I am to do a task similar to this again, I wont rush the final outcome as I feel I could have spent more time designing the actual poster-velope. But this task definitely pushed me to contact a practitioner, in a different form of communication as most times an email can get lost within a bundle of others.
So my concept for this task was to send Jack an invitation to help me with my dissertation research, with the message being transported in a 'poster-velope'. If not obvious by the name, the object is an envelope which enfolds into a A3 poster. When brainstorming ideas for this I believe people of prints posterzine influenced my thoughts on how to include two aspects in one. And when looking back on this task the poster-velope having two functions in one benefited costs such as printing and postage.
The content within the envelope was the invitation along with contact details. Then on the flip side a wireframe illustration of a modular synth.
Overall I am pleased with the outcome although if I am to do a task similar to this again, I wont rush the final outcome as I feel I could have spent more time designing the actual poster-velope. But this task definitely pushed me to contact a practitioner, in a different form of communication as most times an email can get lost within a bundle of others.
Monday, 9 October 2017
OUGD602 - SP-AN Newcastle
Recently I attended Google's design and technology conference SP-AN, and each year the event is normally hosted in big metropolises such as Tokyo or L.A but this year Google decided to visit three cities where art and industry intersect in new and intriguing ways. And I wad lucky enough to venture back home to Newcastle to see one of them, for this particular event Google teamed up with ItsNiceThat to spend the day exploring the city’s rich creative tech scene through a series of inspiring conversations and a hands-on workshop.
The evening began with a introductory talk from managing director of ItsNiceThat, Alex Bec who introduced ItsNiceThat's involvement with the event and why they helped bring SP-AN to Newcastle but to move onto the talks which aimed to raise the questions of the intersecting of design, art, science and technology. None were better than the first talk of the evening, Ed Carter. His work creates context-specific, musical compositions and interdisciplinary artworks, with a focus on process and the translation of shared architectonic principles across art forms.
At times during his talk my mind was baffled as he talked about architecture and our environment having such an effect on the way we live our lives, and how he looks at structures and shapes in a slightly musical way. Nevertheless I made a connection between his work and my context of practice research, as my research aims to touch critically on the the label of 'postmodernism' in electronic music, but my main concern is to suggest that electronic music represents ’noise’ in an aesthetic, identity and experience form. Ed visually represents rhythm within structures so I couldn't not relate this to potential context of practice practical ideas.
Another aspect of the night that influenced my thoughts about context of practice were projected visuals mapped on the conference halls side walls. The visuals depicted a journey through Newcastle which interprets the city both thorough ambient city sound and airborne microscopic pollution in ways that cant necessarily be seen. Again it was inspiring to see how sound can potentially be visualised but this time through 3D abstract shapes and not architecture like Ed specialises in.
Although I gained valuable potential research for context of practice, it wasn't the highlight of the night for me. It was a fellow geordie, Jimmy Turrell who stole the show for me due to his natural charisma and confidence while presenting. I was familiar with Jimmy's work prior to the event as I researched his font FS Erskin for a project last year. And luckily enough he touched upon his influences and process for designing it in the talk, and I found it rather impelling that he looked at retro kids games to influence the design.
OUGD602 - Unit 44 internship
Towards the end of the second year I applied for a three month internship back in Newcastle working at Unit 44, a three man cross disciplinary studio who curate exhibitions, food events, nightclub events, as well as numerous commissions for the cultural sector in Newcastle but also worldwide. And after visiting them for a interview back in May, I was offered the role to work alongside them for the summer duration.
During the interview they couldn't stress enough that this internship was unlike others in which I'd have to fetch coffees and pick up from the printers. Sticking to their word within the first day I was introduced to all the current briefs and assigned briefs of my own to work on. They really allowed to be a part of the briefs and to see the process behind each one, whether that be working on little amends on menus to window designs and concepts for events.
I always the knew that working here would entitle a mix of work each day as the studio was set up from overlapping backgrounds, like contemporary printmaking, street murals and paintings. Nevertheless this is one of the reasons I applied because working for a studio that covers so much at this stage of my practice, would only benefit me as it'll help me realise what I want to focus more on. Working the three months at Unit 44 also taught me to have the willingness and an open mind to do whatever job is thrown my way, which led to improvement in decision making as each brief required different timescales and development.
When compared to university when you normally have a number of months on each brief and you are aloud a buffer zone to collate research and ideas. In comparison to the internship at times I had to think quick and deliver something within a morning, and by doing it has enabled me to realise what to cut out of my process of working while at university. Other things I learnt, which I don't necessarily do at all is asset building. Normally I discard assets during a brief but during my time at Unit 44 I was encouraged to build assets as they help piece work together when time isn't on your side. Another learning curve and a piece of advise from the guys at the studio was to not get bogged down on the fine details at first but to focus on the raw idea. As at times I would jump straight into the Adode suite, when maybe I should have took time to collect my thoughts and sketch ideas down.
During my time their I worked on a handful of projects but Ive decided to include some of the ones which I had creative lead on and the biggest project of the summer which was 'Lets travel the world' which was a international street food festival hosted by the studio.
To the left is a event poster for one of Apartment Groups event spaces. The group is one the studio biggest and frequent clients so a majority of time would be spent working on work for them such as event posters, menus, supergraphics and business cards. But this event poster is one I had most fun doing as it allowed me to be more DIY with the design as it was promoting a Libertines afterparty.
To the right is a concept proposal for another one of the studios food and drink events, Newcastle Upon Wine. I was tasked to work on the identity to propose to the venue partner for the event, the aim of the this event poster was to get the venue partners excited by showing them visuals. Luckily enough they were and the event is scheduled in for early December.
Another one for the Apartment Group was window designs for the club 'House of Smith', they wanted something clean and fresh but still aligning with the current brand. I designed many variations then presented the final ideas mocked up to the client, they approved the above design but are now awaiting a new club night brand to promote as a part of the design.
And lastly the biggest and most time consuming brief I worked on, 'Lets travel the world' which was a three day food festival at Sage Gateshead in September. The food festival required numerous little and large things ranging from wristbands, guides, banners, social media graphics, flyers etc.
Overall I really enjoyed my time at Unit 44 and now that Ive got one internship under my belt, I feel as though I am shaping a direction in which I know which studios I'd like to work with. Although I throughly enjoyed working their and have been welcomed back next year, I think a branding and creative studio would suit me best as its more design led unlike at Unit 44 as at times it had a clear marketing focus.
Monday, 8 May 2017
OUGD502 - Module evaluation
To begin my end of module evaluation with my aims from PPP in first year and how I've built on them in second year. Upon finishing PPP last year I set the aim of improving my online presence which would allow me to connect with the professional world more. And towards the end of last year and throughout this year I have increased my online presence through my design only Instagram account. From this I have been able to present my day to practice only and offer a scope into my work, but it also offers a way of communication which has lent itself to studio brief 02.
Throughout the module we were encouraged to seek out new ways of contacting professionals for studio brief 02 and although I did find success through email, Instagram was mainly used to put my foot in the door. Through my account I can message practitioners in a more laid back manner and allow them to know a little bit more about me by checking my feed out. To touch more upon studio brief 02 itself, which has taught me a lot since it being briefed. At first I was eager to contact my favourite studios without taking into consideration their time but also what I want to gain from the creative report. I reevaluated my aims to think more about what concerns I have about industry, and thought about how I could solve these issues through the help of practitioners. In the end the report was a success in my opinion as I identified Leeds graduates who have been in the same shoes as me to help ease concerns about industry.
As ever for PPP we had to have an end of year presentation talking about our evolving practice. I informed my peers of my current whereabouts and my involvement with industry. But I feel one of main improvements this year has been due to PPP because of presentations. Throughout the module we had the opportunity to have practice presentations that would help us be prepared for the end of module presentation. As i've learnt this year that selling your idea from talking about it and presenting it goes along way, therefore the improvement in presentations has been a big impact on my practice.
To move onto my involvement outside of university this year, Ive attended a number of events but non more inspiring than Michael C Places talk at Glug. The influential designer gave an insight into his journey to this point and it was real eye opener for me. He talked about the reality of graphic design, from the days he was at The Designers Republic to almost burning out and hating design. He also talked a lot about being 'obsessed with design' and I feel since this talk and other moments in the year it has encouraged me to be more immersed in graphic design.
To move forward into third year I have highlighted a number of aims such as more collaborations as in second year my collaborative project for D&AD was the most beneficial brief for me, therefore I want to continue this way of working. Another aim would be more face to face contact with professionals but aims which have developed due to briefs in PPP this year. In the interview the practitioners informed me of things that have changed since them graduating. And one frequent answer was adapting process to someone else's idea, as in industry you normally work to someone else's ideas. Therefore next year I aim to work to maybe a collaborators idea as it only prepare me for industry.
To begin my end of module evaluation with my aims from PPP in first year and how I've built on them in second year. Upon finishing PPP last year I set the aim of improving my online presence which would allow me to connect with the professional world more. And towards the end of last year and throughout this year I have increased my online presence through my design only Instagram account. From this I have been able to present my day to practice only and offer a scope into my work, but it also offers a way of communication which has lent itself to studio brief 02.
Throughout the module we were encouraged to seek out new ways of contacting professionals for studio brief 02 and although I did find success through email, Instagram was mainly used to put my foot in the door. Through my account I can message practitioners in a more laid back manner and allow them to know a little bit more about me by checking my feed out. To touch more upon studio brief 02 itself, which has taught me a lot since it being briefed. At first I was eager to contact my favourite studios without taking into consideration their time but also what I want to gain from the creative report. I reevaluated my aims to think more about what concerns I have about industry, and thought about how I could solve these issues through the help of practitioners. In the end the report was a success in my opinion as I identified Leeds graduates who have been in the same shoes as me to help ease concerns about industry.
As ever for PPP we had to have an end of year presentation talking about our evolving practice. I informed my peers of my current whereabouts and my involvement with industry. But I feel one of main improvements this year has been due to PPP because of presentations. Throughout the module we had the opportunity to have practice presentations that would help us be prepared for the end of module presentation. As i've learnt this year that selling your idea from talking about it and presenting it goes along way, therefore the improvement in presentations has been a big impact on my practice.
To move onto my involvement outside of university this year, Ive attended a number of events but non more inspiring than Michael C Places talk at Glug. The influential designer gave an insight into his journey to this point and it was real eye opener for me. He talked about the reality of graphic design, from the days he was at The Designers Republic to almost burning out and hating design. He also talked a lot about being 'obsessed with design' and I feel since this talk and other moments in the year it has encouraged me to be more immersed in graphic design.
To move forward into third year I have highlighted a number of aims such as more collaborations as in second year my collaborative project for D&AD was the most beneficial brief for me, therefore I want to continue this way of working. Another aim would be more face to face contact with professionals but aims which have developed due to briefs in PPP this year. In the interview the practitioners informed me of things that have changed since them graduating. And one frequent answer was adapting process to someone else's idea, as in industry you normally work to someone else's ideas. Therefore next year I aim to work to maybe a collaborators idea as it only prepare me for industry.
Sunday, 7 May 2017
OUGD502 - Studio brief 01 - Lecture In Progress
Only recently Lecture in Progress has set up which is an online resource offering advice about and insight into working in the creative industry. It was set up by the founder of ItsNiceThat, Will Hudson as he had an aim is to inspire, inform and empower emerging talent with information and first-hand accounts of the day-to-day workings of the creative world.
By focusing on the people, projects and places that make the industry thrive, the platform is an amazingly inspiring website for anyone in creative education. As soon as I found out about the website I jumped on it as it gives an insight into the industry like no other platform does. It bridges the gap between education and work which is one worry of mine, so by looking at journals, feeds, videos and the directory every week it eases concerns about the industry for me.
The website has one aim but explains everything from the huge range of jobs that exist, to how people got into the industry and how much they are paid, right through to how a project comes together and taking a look into the studios and workplaces in which they happen. And one feature of the blog had me interested for sure, as they have an in depth article on Studio Build who are a huge inspiration of mine.
Ive read numerous articles and interviews on Michael and Nicky Place but this time Lecture in Progress has an over arching article on Build but also individual insights with Ellie Polston the other graphic designer alongside Michael and the marketing manager Elena Dransfield. The most useful for me for sure is the one on Ellie who graduated from Leeds Beckett in 2015 and it focuses on interning, life as a designer and why leaving home turned out to be the best move.
Its inspiring to see how she landed her current job at Build as previously she was the sole graphic designer at The Tetley. This comes with a certain level of freedom and responsibility as I found out in my creative presence interview as I interviewed the current designer at The Tetley, Joey Barritt. The job proved to be a real advantage because she had real-life examples of marketing campaigns in her portfolio that were solely her own and this shows that she wasn't simply just art working somebody else’s ideas. I find this especially useful as it gives a thought for third year and maybe jobs to pursue once I graduate and how they will benefit my portfolio. Ellie only graduated two years ago and now she is working at Build, so I think it shows you that the ability to execute your own ideas in a real life campaign goes along way.
Also in the article she discusses what skills she's picked up since graduating but another useful piece of advice I would take from this would be her suggestion to intern as much as you can as internships not only teach you invaluable technical and creative skills but also make it clear what kind of studio you are best suited to. And also to not take on projects purely for financial gain, and to ask yourself whether it would be an asset to your portfolio.
Only recently Lecture in Progress has set up which is an online resource offering advice about and insight into working in the creative industry. It was set up by the founder of ItsNiceThat, Will Hudson as he had an aim is to inspire, inform and empower emerging talent with information and first-hand accounts of the day-to-day workings of the creative world.
By focusing on the people, projects and places that make the industry thrive, the platform is an amazingly inspiring website for anyone in creative education. As soon as I found out about the website I jumped on it as it gives an insight into the industry like no other platform does. It bridges the gap between education and work which is one worry of mine, so by looking at journals, feeds, videos and the directory every week it eases concerns about the industry for me.
The website has one aim but explains everything from the huge range of jobs that exist, to how people got into the industry and how much they are paid, right through to how a project comes together and taking a look into the studios and workplaces in which they happen. And one feature of the blog had me interested for sure, as they have an in depth article on Studio Build who are a huge inspiration of mine.
Ive read numerous articles and interviews on Michael and Nicky Place but this time Lecture in Progress has an over arching article on Build but also individual insights with Ellie Polston the other graphic designer alongside Michael and the marketing manager Elena Dransfield. The most useful for me for sure is the one on Ellie who graduated from Leeds Beckett in 2015 and it focuses on interning, life as a designer and why leaving home turned out to be the best move.
Its inspiring to see how she landed her current job at Build as previously she was the sole graphic designer at The Tetley. This comes with a certain level of freedom and responsibility as I found out in my creative presence interview as I interviewed the current designer at The Tetley, Joey Barritt. The job proved to be a real advantage because she had real-life examples of marketing campaigns in her portfolio that were solely her own and this shows that she wasn't simply just art working somebody else’s ideas. I find this especially useful as it gives a thought for third year and maybe jobs to pursue once I graduate and how they will benefit my portfolio. Ellie only graduated two years ago and now she is working at Build, so I think it shows you that the ability to execute your own ideas in a real life campaign goes along way.
Also in the article she discusses what skills she's picked up since graduating but another useful piece of advice I would take from this would be her suggestion to intern as much as you can as internships not only teach you invaluable technical and creative skills but also make it clear what kind of studio you are best suited to. And also to not take on projects purely for financial gain, and to ask yourself whether it would be an asset to your portfolio.
OUGD502 - Studio brief 01 - Art of Modern Beer opening night
I recently attended the opening night of Art of Modern Beer which is a collaboration between Superfreindz and Colours May Vary for the Leeds Indie Food Fest. The exhibition aims to celebrate the art of the beer bottle with artwork from independent breweries such as Cloudwater, North, Beavertown and my personal favourite brewery for its visual output, Omnipollo.
It was a really nice to enjoy a cold beer in sun basked exhibition space, while admiring the beer related graphic design and illustration on show. With designers and artists such as DR.ME, Aliyah Hussain, Karl Grandin and Kasper Ledet all exhibiting work in this exhibition that shouts out to any beer/design fan. And on a personal note what I got from this exhibition other than the free beer, was finding out new and cool breweries such as Toøl, but also eventually discovering the designer who designs Omnipollo's bottles.
Ive always been curious to who creates the weird and wonderful illustrations for the Swedish brewery. And I discovered the brewery about a year ago and I will confess I did buy a bottle solely because of the design, as many designers do I assume. Now I know that purchase was down to Karl Grandin who is illustrator based in Stockholm and from further research finding out he actually runs the brewery along with Henok Fentie.
I would describe his style as minimal psychedelic as each bottle has a surreal ambiguous message. And as I looked more into the brewery after the exhibition, I was fascinated to find out the brewery is nomadic. As they conceive the recipes at home and travel to different breweries across the globe to craft the ales.
The Omnipollo at Kuvva Gallery in Amsterdam, 2014.
Thinking back on the exhibition and what I really enjoyed about it, is that today many exhibitions use free beer to entice people to come along to the opening night. And this time around I found something rather satisfying about drinking beer while talking and taking in the work on show. It made for a really good experience, and one in which I could take further with research about certain brewers and artists.
I recently attended the opening night of Art of Modern Beer which is a collaboration between Superfreindz and Colours May Vary for the Leeds Indie Food Fest. The exhibition aims to celebrate the art of the beer bottle with artwork from independent breweries such as Cloudwater, North, Beavertown and my personal favourite brewery for its visual output, Omnipollo.
It was a really nice to enjoy a cold beer in sun basked exhibition space, while admiring the beer related graphic design and illustration on show. With designers and artists such as DR.ME, Aliyah Hussain, Karl Grandin and Kasper Ledet all exhibiting work in this exhibition that shouts out to any beer/design fan. And on a personal note what I got from this exhibition other than the free beer, was finding out new and cool breweries such as Toøl, but also eventually discovering the designer who designs Omnipollo's bottles.
Ive always been curious to who creates the weird and wonderful illustrations for the Swedish brewery. And I discovered the brewery about a year ago and I will confess I did buy a bottle solely because of the design, as many designers do I assume. Now I know that purchase was down to Karl Grandin who is illustrator based in Stockholm and from further research finding out he actually runs the brewery along with Henok Fentie.
I would describe his style as minimal psychedelic as each bottle has a surreal ambiguous message. And as I looked more into the brewery after the exhibition, I was fascinated to find out the brewery is nomadic. As they conceive the recipes at home and travel to different breweries across the globe to craft the ales.
The Omnipollo at Kuvva Gallery in Amsterdam, 2014.
Thinking back on the exhibition and what I really enjoyed about it, is that today many exhibitions use free beer to entice people to come along to the opening night. And this time around I found something rather satisfying about drinking beer while talking and taking in the work on show. It made for a really good experience, and one in which I could take further with research about certain brewers and artists.
OUGD502 - Studio brief 01 - Real Review meets magCulture
I recently listened to one of the latest magCulture meets on Jack Self, editor of Real Review and art director Rory McGrath of OK-RM. magCulture meets are great hour long talks from the magculture shop in London, with practitioners from their respective backgrounds giving insights into contemporary publishing and publications. I try to listen to them as often as possible but the latest addition particularly attracted me. Its because Real Review for the last year I'd say has caught my eye, with its unorthodox form and its fascinating cover art.
The talk goes into depth about what the quarterly published magazine is all about and I was rather surprised yet intrigued by the content which is all about exploring what it means to live today through engaging analysis, evaluation and enquiry. As the talk went on Jack describes the form of writing as under-appreciated and more a review of ideas and disciplines, that allows the reader to look back to allow them to look forward.
Therefore after listening to the talk I wanted to almost review what I learnt from this insightful talk about OK-RM design input and how Real Review functions but also how it interacts with audiences.
To start with the design of the magazine and the input OK-RM have in this project. I often wonder what its like for a design studio to step in and depict a book or magazine, in the same way the creator thinks about their content. In the talk Rory from OK-RM talks about how they came into the project from a different scope but aimed to echo the foundations of the magazine. I think this scope is defiantly reflected as the editorial and overall creative direction of the publication has a certain OK-RM aesthetic to it. But for me the form of the publication is more effective than the aesthetic and its interesting to see why the magazine is made like it is.
In the talk they delve into why the magazine is unique in its small size which I thought was an aesthetic choice but its down to budget and time. The smaller size allows less wastage in production and the paper used is amazingly 50gsm. However the paper choice has a reasoning behind it, as the low gsm means the publication is impractical after only a number months. Jack and Rory stated that the magazine is only meant to serve a purpose for a certain time period, then the next issue comes out. I found this really cool as today, independent books and publications are more cherished objects as people take pride in their printed matter. However Real Review doesn't aim to be a beautiful piece of tangible design that people cherish on a bookshelf, but a review that is dispensable.
As many independent magazines almost function like books now I wondered what other function Real Review may offer as its dispensable. Jack states that print allows people to do what they like and without anyone knowing. And this is to do with online newspapers and ebooks and how people constantly know what your up to via social media. I personally liked this point as it gave another perspective to the role of print in design, which is an aspect I consider a part of my practice.
I recently listened to one of the latest magCulture meets on Jack Self, editor of Real Review and art director Rory McGrath of OK-RM. magCulture meets are great hour long talks from the magculture shop in London, with practitioners from their respective backgrounds giving insights into contemporary publishing and publications. I try to listen to them as often as possible but the latest addition particularly attracted me. Its because Real Review for the last year I'd say has caught my eye, with its unorthodox form and its fascinating cover art.
The talk goes into depth about what the quarterly published magazine is all about and I was rather surprised yet intrigued by the content which is all about exploring what it means to live today through engaging analysis, evaluation and enquiry. As the talk went on Jack describes the form of writing as under-appreciated and more a review of ideas and disciplines, that allows the reader to look back to allow them to look forward.
Therefore after listening to the talk I wanted to almost review what I learnt from this insightful talk about OK-RM design input and how Real Review functions but also how it interacts with audiences.
To start with the design of the magazine and the input OK-RM have in this project. I often wonder what its like for a design studio to step in and depict a book or magazine, in the same way the creator thinks about their content. In the talk Rory from OK-RM talks about how they came into the project from a different scope but aimed to echo the foundations of the magazine. I think this scope is defiantly reflected as the editorial and overall creative direction of the publication has a certain OK-RM aesthetic to it. But for me the form of the publication is more effective than the aesthetic and its interesting to see why the magazine is made like it is.
In the talk they delve into why the magazine is unique in its small size which I thought was an aesthetic choice but its down to budget and time. The smaller size allows less wastage in production and the paper used is amazingly 50gsm. However the paper choice has a reasoning behind it, as the low gsm means the publication is impractical after only a number months. Jack and Rory stated that the magazine is only meant to serve a purpose for a certain time period, then the next issue comes out. I found this really cool as today, independent books and publications are more cherished objects as people take pride in their printed matter. However Real Review doesn't aim to be a beautiful piece of tangible design that people cherish on a bookshelf, but a review that is dispensable.
As many independent magazines almost function like books now I wondered what other function Real Review may offer as its dispensable. Jack states that print allows people to do what they like and without anyone knowing. And this is to do with online newspapers and ebooks and how people constantly know what your up to via social media. I personally liked this point as it gave another perspective to the role of print in design, which is an aspect I consider a part of my practice.
Saturday, 6 May 2017
OUGD502 - Studio brief 01 - Unit 44 internship application
Over the last few weeks Ive been considering my plans for the summer and whether or not to stay in Leeds or back home in Newcastle. And as I discussed in my presentation I potentially may have a placement lined up at Decide in Newcastle, but as its not certain yet I've had more thought about whether or not to pursue other options.
Only within the last week I come across an internship from Unit 44 in Newcastle. I'm more than familiar with them as they cover a broad spectrum of disciplines up in the north east. As they host art exhibitions, food events, nightclub events, as well as numerous commissions for the cultural sector in Newcastle but also worldwide. Its a real mix from what I've seen from the outside as it was born from overlapping professional business backgrounds colliding via mutual appreciation of contemporary printmaking, street murals and paintings.
Working as an intern at a studio that covers so much would benefit me at this stage of my practice, as to this point I'm not entirely sure what I want to specialize with. Therefore I jumped on this opportunity and gave the studio an email regarding the internship.
In the email I aimed to keep it short and sweet but also laid back and now its just whether or not they get back in touch regarding the internship.
Tuesday, 2 May 2017
OUGD502 - Studio brief 03 - Lifes a pitch development
During the process of thinking about our collective before and after the life's a pitch presentation, myself and Luke kept developing ideas for the blog and the potential it may have. Ideas such as a curated playlist on the blog, that is constantly evolving based on our current music interests. A number of blogs have playlists but they are so accustomed to their blog, that they are unique in their own right. Myself and Luke both have varied taste in music so the playlist would be very non-linear yet unique to us.
The opportunity to expand the blog to exist within an environment has also been discussed as we have took advantage of having Andy the librarian (Owner of Colours May Vary) working within the same building as us. Luke briefly ran the idea past him and wondered if the exhibition space would be available for an exhibition. Andy was more than helpful and informed us that the space is available in December and free of charge.
Having the opportunity to host and exhibit our own exhibition gives the collective a real determination and goal to work towards I believe. And this allows us to further the collective as a part of university, as we have floated the idea of including this as one of our self identified briefs for third year. We could work on the branding of the blog and the exhibition itself as a brief so this also gives us more determination to continue our ideas.
But until then we need to continue developing the idea for the blog and find a suitable name for it, but I'm sure that will come in time. We have the entire summer to work on this and will hopefully have it ready for once were back in September.
During the process of thinking about our collective before and after the life's a pitch presentation, myself and Luke kept developing ideas for the blog and the potential it may have. Ideas such as a curated playlist on the blog, that is constantly evolving based on our current music interests. A number of blogs have playlists but they are so accustomed to their blog, that they are unique in their own right. Myself and Luke both have varied taste in music so the playlist would be very non-linear yet unique to us.
The opportunity to expand the blog to exist within an environment has also been discussed as we have took advantage of having Andy the librarian (Owner of Colours May Vary) working within the same building as us. Luke briefly ran the idea past him and wondered if the exhibition space would be available for an exhibition. Andy was more than helpful and informed us that the space is available in December and free of charge.
Having the opportunity to host and exhibit our own exhibition gives the collective a real determination and goal to work towards I believe. And this allows us to further the collective as a part of university, as we have floated the idea of including this as one of our self identified briefs for third year. We could work on the branding of the blog and the exhibition itself as a brief so this also gives us more determination to continue our ideas.
But until then we need to continue developing the idea for the blog and find a suitable name for it, but I'm sure that will come in time. We have the entire summer to work on this and will hopefully have it ready for once were back in September.
OUGD502 - Studio brief 01 - Updating Behance
As I highlighted in my presentation for this year I will be spending time over the summer updating my Behance. To this date I only have a select number of projects up on the platform but I have numerous pieces of work to upload. And i'd rather spend time during the summer furthering the work by improving on how to present it online, as I have the time to do so unlike during term time. Furthermore once third year arrives i'll have an online portfolio with up to date work to showcase, but it will also push my online presence which is an aim.
As I highlighted in my presentation for this year I will be spending time over the summer updating my Behance. To this date I only have a select number of projects up on the platform but I have numerous pieces of work to upload. And i'd rather spend time during the summer furthering the work by improving on how to present it online, as I have the time to do so unlike during term time. Furthermore once third year arrives i'll have an online portfolio with up to date work to showcase, but it will also push my online presence which is an aim.
OUGD502 - Studio brief 03 - Life's a pitch research
Looking at similar blogs and collectives that we like made us think more about the potential of our blog being niche. Hawlin, Kiosk feed, Ligature.ch, Collate, Visuelle and many personal blogs from studios and practitioners such as Catalogue and Joshia Craven are all are great examples of blogs we enjoy but we looked at them to seek what we could change in our approach to our blog.
Kiosk feed is full of weird and wonderful visuals and is always rotating its content which makes it current and reliable, but it only exist as a blog who don't exactly credit the work. The need to credit work is essential for a blog as it allows people to further discover new work and artists. In contrast to Kiosk feed is Catalogues blog which goes into so much more depth. It offers references, news and research which makes this blog more personal, as it gives an insight into the studio which is based in New York and Leeds. The blog also has two parts, Articles and Daily and this is what separates it from other blogs as it has the feel of a day to day visual blog but offers a scope into the creative industries in articles.
Looking at similar blogs and collectives that we like made us think more about the potential of our blog being niche. Hawlin, Kiosk feed, Ligature.ch, Collate, Visuelle and many personal blogs from studios and practitioners such as Catalogue and Joshia Craven are all are great examples of blogs we enjoy but we looked at them to seek what we could change in our approach to our blog.
Kiosk feed is full of weird and wonderful visuals and is always rotating its content which makes it current and reliable, but it only exist as a blog who don't exactly credit the work. The need to credit work is essential for a blog as it allows people to further discover new work and artists. In contrast to Kiosk feed is Catalogues blog which goes into so much more depth. It offers references, news and research which makes this blog more personal, as it gives an insight into the studio which is based in New York and Leeds. The blog also has two parts, Articles and Daily and this is what separates it from other blogs as it has the feel of a day to day visual blog but offers a scope into the creative industries in articles.
OUGD502 - Studio brief 01 - Copy of presentation
My presentation for this year reflected on my experiences and responses to the PPP and Responsive modules but I also reflected on myself as a learner. Furthermore what I have experienced over the past nine months and how they have affected my current aims and ambitions. In the presentation I also identified creative concerns, personal aims and professional ambitions I intend to explore further over the Summer and during Level 6 of the course. In my opinion I feel as though the presentation was a success as I was confident before presenting in front of my peers, and I feel this is down to continued presentation practice in the prior weeks to the presentation. In terms of the content I presented I hope it best represented me best and my peers understood my practice at this stage.
My presentation for this year reflected on my experiences and responses to the PPP and Responsive modules but I also reflected on myself as a learner. Furthermore what I have experienced over the past nine months and how they have affected my current aims and ambitions. In the presentation I also identified creative concerns, personal aims and professional ambitions I intend to explore further over the Summer and during Level 6 of the course. In my opinion I feel as though the presentation was a success as I was confident before presenting in front of my peers, and I feel this is down to continued presentation practice in the prior weeks to the presentation. In terms of the content I presented I hope it best represented me best and my peers understood my practice at this stage.
Tuesday, 25 April 2017
OUGD502 - Studio brief 01 - Display Wizard entry
As a part of responsive I entered a competition brief in which I had to portray the social and cultural benefits of studying at Leeds College of Art through two display banners. I feel as though the brief was a success as I am pleased with the final outcome, and I believe it sums up what life is like at Leeds College of Art. In terms of undertaking the brief, it tasked me with working with bigger scale design and working with restrictions for print so this was a new experience for me.
As a part of responsive I entered a competition brief in which I had to portray the social and cultural benefits of studying at Leeds College of Art through two display banners. I feel as though the brief was a success as I am pleased with the final outcome, and I believe it sums up what life is like at Leeds College of Art. In terms of undertaking the brief, it tasked me with working with bigger scale design and working with restrictions for print so this was a new experience for me.
Saturday, 22 April 2017
OUGD502 - Studio brief 03 - Introducing collective
When we were briefed as a class for this brief it almost felt like a motivational reasoning to push forward an idea / collective that has been brewing for a while with myself and Luke. Furthermore this brief has allowed myself and Luke an opportunity to work on particular idea, but in more academic form and by allowing time for research and more development and consideration of our idea for a collective. In recent months we had briefly been talking about the possibility of collaborating on smaller things such as posters, but on the other hand bigger scale such as a blog.
We share a similar style and appreciation of design so we felt we could combine to create something but as I mentioned before, it was just finding the time and structure to do so. Life's a pitch allows us to rethink our idea like what skills and services we offer, target market, form and promotion.
Idea
Our idea is broad in a sense that we can could cover a number things as collective but the main form of our collective is a blog. Initially we discussed just making things together as a collective but as time passed we thought why not a blog to visually showcase not just own work as a collective but our influences. These influences don't just have to exist in the realm of graphic design but every discipline, so that could be fashion, architecture or photography.
By engaging with all creative disciplines through a blog it allows us forge relationships and dialects through common interests. This is similar to how the collective was formed, through mine and Lukes similar interest in design. By engaging with all creative disciplines it not only benefits us but whoever visits the blog, it allows people to connect with similar minds. This ticks off the target audience of the blog, as we feel the audience is open but constricted to people who simply appreciate the work.
As we pushed the idea further we had to truly consider why were considering a blog, and its simply to immerse ourselves in industry but through interests and influences and not our own work. The blog acts as a starting point for conversation and will be relevant in terms of design news but also world news and allows not only us but whoever visits to almost visual matchmake with people.
When we were briefed as a class for this brief it almost felt like a motivational reasoning to push forward an idea / collective that has been brewing for a while with myself and Luke. Furthermore this brief has allowed myself and Luke an opportunity to work on particular idea, but in more academic form and by allowing time for research and more development and consideration of our idea for a collective. In recent months we had briefly been talking about the possibility of collaborating on smaller things such as posters, but on the other hand bigger scale such as a blog.
We share a similar style and appreciation of design so we felt we could combine to create something but as I mentioned before, it was just finding the time and structure to do so. Life's a pitch allows us to rethink our idea like what skills and services we offer, target market, form and promotion.
Idea
Our idea is broad in a sense that we can could cover a number things as collective but the main form of our collective is a blog. Initially we discussed just making things together as a collective but as time passed we thought why not a blog to visually showcase not just own work as a collective but our influences. These influences don't just have to exist in the realm of graphic design but every discipline, so that could be fashion, architecture or photography.
By engaging with all creative disciplines through a blog it allows us forge relationships and dialects through common interests. This is similar to how the collective was formed, through mine and Lukes similar interest in design. By engaging with all creative disciplines it not only benefits us but whoever visits the blog, it allows people to connect with similar minds. This ticks off the target audience of the blog, as we feel the audience is open but constricted to people who simply appreciate the work.
As we pushed the idea further we had to truly consider why were considering a blog, and its simply to immerse ourselves in industry but through interests and influences and not our own work. The blog acts as a starting point for conversation and will be relevant in terms of design news but also world news and allows not only us but whoever visits to almost visual matchmake with people.
Thursday, 20 April 2017
OUGD501 - Studio brief 02 - Creative report evaluation / reflection
To reflect upon a small but highly beneficial brief which I have enjoyed from start to finish. Although at first I wasn't sure which path to take as I contacted a number of big studios I admire but sadly they didn't get back in touch. Obviously I took into account that people get busy in this industry but I also had a change of plan, I started to reconsider what I wanted to gain from this brief and how I could personally relate to the practitioners I contacted.
Every practitioner has been a design student at one point and been in the same situation as me and this is where I found the answer to this brief and my concerns about the industry, the answer was Leeds. I focused on graphic design graduates, who graduated from the three Leeds universities and from this I gained so much more from their advice and experiences such as processes in the industry, changes to lifestyle and the current design scene in the north of England.
Getting in contact and conducting interviews with practitioners such as Eve Warren, Joey Barritt and Alex Dyson was an enjoyable process as it was confidence boost when emailing each individual. All were happy to help and provided some really insightful stories, but I'm keen to continue this contact so I've sent each practitioner a copy of the report.
Building on this brief, it has made me realise a number of things including:
To reflect upon a small but highly beneficial brief which I have enjoyed from start to finish. Although at first I wasn't sure which path to take as I contacted a number of big studios I admire but sadly they didn't get back in touch. Obviously I took into account that people get busy in this industry but I also had a change of plan, I started to reconsider what I wanted to gain from this brief and how I could personally relate to the practitioners I contacted.
Every practitioner has been a design student at one point and been in the same situation as me and this is where I found the answer to this brief and my concerns about the industry, the answer was Leeds. I focused on graphic design graduates, who graduated from the three Leeds universities and from this I gained so much more from their advice and experiences such as processes in the industry, changes to lifestyle and the current design scene in the north of England.
Getting in contact and conducting interviews with practitioners such as Eve Warren, Joey Barritt and Alex Dyson was an enjoyable process as it was confidence boost when emailing each individual. All were happy to help and provided some really insightful stories, but I'm keen to continue this contact so I've sent each practitioner a copy of the report.
Building on this brief, it has made me realise a number of things including:
- People get busy but are always open to help, therefore it is simply finding the time and being patient which is key.
- Contacting professionals isn't all that bad. This brief has given me such a boost in confidence for contacting professionals.
- Aim to relate to whoever your contacting, for example have something in common to start a conversation.
- Put yourself in their shoes
OUGD502 - Studio brief 02 - Final printed creative report
Below are images of my final creative report based on graphic design graduates from Leeds within the last five years. In terms of the design of the report, I wanted something basic, that didn't represent any of the three practitioners styles. Although I was inspired by printed business reports which were aesthetically pleasing so I feel like the cover revealing the title in the second page is slightly inspired by this. The small book is A5 with twelve pages, and the stock is Arjowiggins with the spine being staple bound. In terms of the layout of the book, its clear, minimal and legible with the use of both Work Sans and Space Mono giving character to the basic layout design. One of the notable characteristics of the book is the index after each interview which gives lists of names and subjects related to graphic design which were mentioned in the interview.
Below are images of my final creative report based on graphic design graduates from Leeds within the last five years. In terms of the design of the report, I wanted something basic, that didn't represent any of the three practitioners styles. Although I was inspired by printed business reports which were aesthetically pleasing so I feel like the cover revealing the title in the second page is slightly inspired by this. The small book is A5 with twelve pages, and the stock is Arjowiggins with the spine being staple bound. In terms of the layout of the book, its clear, minimal and legible with the use of both Work Sans and Space Mono giving character to the basic layout design. One of the notable characteristics of the book is the index after each interview which gives lists of names and subjects related to graphic design which were mentioned in the interview.
Tuesday, 18 April 2017
OUGD502 - Studio brief 03 - Life’s A Pitch
Studio brief
An important part of my professional growth is to develop an ability to work collaboratively and productively with others. Working in small mixed groups drawn from a number of LCA creative degree programme’s I will develop fully and pitch a professional proposal for a public facing venture to best showcase and promote individual works of the collective . This could take the form of ( but certainly is not limited to) an exhibition, publication or online presence , or perhaps a combination of these. Through research and planning I will explore the basics of how to identify an appropriate venue, audience and market, structure your team to optimize my individual and group skills and knowledge, investigate the legal and financial obligations of developing and launching a creative initiative, seek appropriate professional support & advice, plan and control finances and effectively promote, brand and communicate your presence to external parties and partners.
My team will pitch a fully developed proposal describing and visualising the showcase with appropriate visual aids.
My individual presentation should be based on the analysis and content that I have been introduced to throughout the module and my experience of working in a collaborative partnership.
Background / Considerations
I will need to consider the following:
You must make reference to the module resources materials, books and web sites to demonstrate your understanding of basic marketing and business principles.
Mandatory Requirements
Responses to this brief should be recorded on my PPP Blog and should be labeled with the module code and appropriate 'Studio Brief Number'.I should ensure that any material, discussions and reflections generated during taught sessions, workshop and group critiques are evidenced for assessment.
Deliverables
Studio brief
An important part of my professional growth is to develop an ability to work collaboratively and productively with others. Working in small mixed groups drawn from a number of LCA creative degree programme’s I will develop fully and pitch a professional proposal for a public facing venture to best showcase and promote individual works of the collective . This could take the form of ( but certainly is not limited to) an exhibition, publication or online presence , or perhaps a combination of these. Through research and planning I will explore the basics of how to identify an appropriate venue, audience and market, structure your team to optimize my individual and group skills and knowledge, investigate the legal and financial obligations of developing and launching a creative initiative, seek appropriate professional support & advice, plan and control finances and effectively promote, brand and communicate your presence to external parties and partners.
My team will pitch a fully developed proposal describing and visualising the showcase with appropriate visual aids.
My individual presentation should be based on the analysis and content that I have been introduced to throughout the module and my experience of working in a collaborative partnership.
Background / Considerations
I will need to consider the following:
- What skills and services do you have to offer individually and as a group?
- Who is your target market?
- What form will your showcase take?
- What are your costs, charges and financial considerations?
- How will you structure your collective?
- Who will be responsible for what?
- How will you promote your showcase? To who? Using what media?
- Is it set in a physical location ? then where?
- How will you manage communication through the group?
You must make reference to the module resources materials, books and web sites to demonstrate your understanding of basic marketing and business principles.
Mandatory Requirements
Responses to this brief should be recorded on my PPP Blog and should be labeled with the module code and appropriate 'Studio Brief Number'.I should ensure that any material, discussions and reflections generated during taught sessions, workshop and group critiques are evidenced for assessment.
Deliverables
- TA 10 minute Powerpoint/pdf or similar presentation
- Appropriate visual aids and printed material to support your presentation.
- Evidence of the research and development of your presentation and visual material should be posted to your PPP blog and labelled with the module code. You should also post pdf versons of your presentation, notes and handouts to your PPP blog.
Sunday, 9 April 2017
OUGD502 - Studio brief 01 - Contact with Caterina Bianchini
I recently got in touch with Caterina Bianchini who is a freelance designer specialising in branding, editorial and art direction. Although she is now freelance, she has worked for studios such as DixonBaxi but also is the senior designer at Boiler Room. And this how I came across Caterina's work, she produced a 10 year anniversary posterzine for the music streaming platform which caught my eye and since then Ive kept up to date with her work.
A lot of her clients are music based such as Boiler Room but also Truth Radio, L'atmonie and many other music event nights not just in the Uk but worldwide. Her involvement in the music industry triggered me to get in contact with Caterina over Instagram as I believed she could offer some valuable research for my context of practice essay which is titled 'What is the role of graphic design in the underground electronic music scene?' Not only was I looking for research but also a real insight into her practice and graphic design within the music industry. After we exchanged messages through Instagram I sent some questions over to her email and the response is as follows:
I recently got in touch with Caterina Bianchini who is a freelance designer specialising in branding, editorial and art direction. Although she is now freelance, she has worked for studios such as DixonBaxi but also is the senior designer at Boiler Room. And this how I came across Caterina's work, she produced a 10 year anniversary posterzine for the music streaming platform which caught my eye and since then Ive kept up to date with her work.
A lot of her clients are music based such as Boiler Room but also Truth Radio, L'atmonie and many other music event nights not just in the Uk but worldwide. Her involvement in the music industry triggered me to get in contact with Caterina over Instagram as I believed she could offer some valuable research for my context of practice essay which is titled 'What is the role of graphic design in the underground electronic music scene?' Not only was I looking for research but also a real insight into her practice and graphic design within the music industry. After we exchanged messages through Instagram I sent some questions over to her email and the response is as follows:
Her replies were just what I was after for context of practice, but I feel I got a lot more out of this personally for myself than for my essay research. She gives some advice and opinions which are inspiring but I could also relate to a number of points she makes such as having the time to continuously develop work and also the point of acceptance in your own work.
OUGD502 - Studio brief 02 - Alex Dyson contact
The third and final practitioner I contacted was Alex Dyson who graduated from Leeds College of Art in 2014 and now works at The Lift Agency in Harrogate. He has a more illustrative background in design as his portfolio seems to push flat design illustration more than anything, but I've always admired the work he did for Tokyo fixed gear and vaguely knew of his love for fixed gear cycling.
The third and final practitioner I contacted was Alex Dyson who graduated from Leeds College of Art in 2014 and now works at The Lift Agency in Harrogate. He has a more illustrative background in design as his portfolio seems to push flat design illustration more than anything, but I've always admired the work he did for Tokyo fixed gear and vaguely knew of his love for fixed gear cycling.
Monday, 3 April 2017
OUGD502 - Studio brief 01 - Leeds Print Festival
I recently attended Leeds Print Festival which celebrates traditional and contemporary print process through type and image. The one day event which was held at Leeds College of Music had a programme of exhibitions and talks covering all print disciplines. The talks especially delivered a dose of inspiration whilst drawing attention to print and it’s importance in contemporary design culture.
To start with the first guest of the festival, DR.ME. Both Mark and Ryan of DR.ME were cool and laid back guys but was I fully expecting that due to they’re style and practice of collage. Their talk was funny as it included some anecdotes from their past adventures such as landing an internship with mike perry in New York and hosting an exhibition in which they had make friends stay in a 4 man tent on site of the show, as mike perry refused to let them stay with him. The main focus of the talk was about curation even though its a small part of their practice but I could see how much they developed from early curation. Such as ones they set in university compared to ones in New York and Manchester. This was encouraging to see how they started off and improved upon each time of hosting an event.
Ali Hanson of ItsNiceThat was next up and seeing the process of Printed Pages was great. Finding out that idea process only takes 2 days and they aim to relate the cover to world affairs. He talked about the design process which takes 2 weeks which was surprising and its all seems very hands on. During the talk ali talked about how printed pages is now requested in Japan and Taiwan and he hopes to push the readership into European cities outside the major metropolitan areas. Then during the panel he talked about how he looks for especially graphic design work to feature that is elsewhere than the Uk and named Gent in Belgium for an example. Personally I think he must be looking in more niche places such as Gent to potentially further ItsNiceThat’s reach in Europe. Yes interesting work is happening in Uk but ItsNiceThat readership is most likely the biggest in the UK so featuring more diverse work from across Europe may entice people in the smaller cities to follow itsNiceThat more and potentially buy Printed Pages.
Pat Bradbury was after Ali and Pats talk was really interesting as he focused on education more than anything and how print can be used to teach and provoke. He delved into his adventures and how he used his collage style to help a school in Vietnam and and a town at crossroads in Iceland. His advice was to look at schemes abroad to broader your horizons after university and you never know where you might end up. The last talk of the day was from Macroy Smith, the founder of People of Print. Macroy talked a lot about the business side of print and how he set up People of Print, it was interesting to have an insight into the posterzines that People of Print make as they've become more popular than Print isnt dead (People of Print magazine).
I then went along to Colours May Vary to check out the exhibition curated by DR.ME which has some excellent designs from a range of creatives. My personal favourite was from Guy Featherstone who I researched as a part of context of practice as his work is mainly in the electronic music scene for Diagonal records.
I recently attended Leeds Print Festival which celebrates traditional and contemporary print process through type and image. The one day event which was held at Leeds College of Music had a programme of exhibitions and talks covering all print disciplines. The talks especially delivered a dose of inspiration whilst drawing attention to print and it’s importance in contemporary design culture.
To start with the first guest of the festival, DR.ME. Both Mark and Ryan of DR.ME were cool and laid back guys but was I fully expecting that due to they’re style and practice of collage. Their talk was funny as it included some anecdotes from their past adventures such as landing an internship with mike perry in New York and hosting an exhibition in which they had make friends stay in a 4 man tent on site of the show, as mike perry refused to let them stay with him. The main focus of the talk was about curation even though its a small part of their practice but I could see how much they developed from early curation. Such as ones they set in university compared to ones in New York and Manchester. This was encouraging to see how they started off and improved upon each time of hosting an event.
Ali Hanson of ItsNiceThat was next up and seeing the process of Printed Pages was great. Finding out that idea process only takes 2 days and they aim to relate the cover to world affairs. He talked about the design process which takes 2 weeks which was surprising and its all seems very hands on. During the talk ali talked about how printed pages is now requested in Japan and Taiwan and he hopes to push the readership into European cities outside the major metropolitan areas. Then during the panel he talked about how he looks for especially graphic design work to feature that is elsewhere than the Uk and named Gent in Belgium for an example. Personally I think he must be looking in more niche places such as Gent to potentially further ItsNiceThat’s reach in Europe. Yes interesting work is happening in Uk but ItsNiceThat readership is most likely the biggest in the UK so featuring more diverse work from across Europe may entice people in the smaller cities to follow itsNiceThat more and potentially buy Printed Pages.
Pat Bradbury was after Ali and Pats talk was really interesting as he focused on education more than anything and how print can be used to teach and provoke. He delved into his adventures and how he used his collage style to help a school in Vietnam and and a town at crossroads in Iceland. His advice was to look at schemes abroad to broader your horizons after university and you never know where you might end up. The last talk of the day was from Macroy Smith, the founder of People of Print. Macroy talked a lot about the business side of print and how he set up People of Print, it was interesting to have an insight into the posterzines that People of Print make as they've become more popular than Print isnt dead (People of Print magazine).
I then went along to Colours May Vary to check out the exhibition curated by DR.ME which has some excellent designs from a range of creatives. My personal favourite was from Guy Featherstone who I researched as a part of context of practice as his work is mainly in the electronic music scene for Diagonal records.
Friday, 24 March 2017
OUGD502 - Studio brief 02 - Eve Warren contact
The second professional I contacted was Eve Warren, who is a graduate from Leeds College of Art who focuses on colourful and expressive work which I personally admire. Ive known of her work for while studying here at LCA but we also follow each other on Instagram so I took the opportunity to contact Eve through Instagram. She was more than happy to help as she's been in the same situation as me before with the creative report.
Her in depth responses were exactly what I was after as I particularly got a lot from learning how a studio such as Koto works as i'm a big fan of Koto's bold work. Learning how she also contacted studios and kept the momentum up from third year into the industry was inspiring but also assuring to see how other graduates have done it in such a competitive industry.
The second professional I contacted was Eve Warren, who is a graduate from Leeds College of Art who focuses on colourful and expressive work which I personally admire. Ive known of her work for while studying here at LCA but we also follow each other on Instagram so I took the opportunity to contact Eve through Instagram. She was more than happy to help as she's been in the same situation as me before with the creative report.
Her in depth responses were exactly what I was after as I particularly got a lot from learning how a studio such as Koto works as i'm a big fan of Koto's bold work. Learning how she also contacted studios and kept the momentum up from third year into the industry was inspiring but also assuring to see how other graduates have done it in such a competitive industry.
Saturday, 18 March 2017
OUGD502 - Studio brief 02 - Joey Barritt contact
The first professional I contacted for the creative report about graduates in Leeds was Joey Barritt, Joey is the resident designer at the Tetley who only recently graduated from Leeds Beckett University. His work has a infatuation for typography and he thrives for well informed and conceptual work that enables him to communicate with purpose and clarity. He works within print, web, spatial design and books so he has a multifaceted approach in his practice. Below is an example of his promotional work while at The Tetley, and it clearly shows his infatuation for typography.

For initial contact with Joey I messaged him through instagram and simply introduced my plan to conduct interviews on graduates from Leeds, then compiling them into a creative report. He replied soon enough and was happy to help with him providing me with his personal email.
The interview over email went well with later expansion of the questions leading onto more of a conversation about his practice. I felt confident from this first interview and was pleased about the expansion of the questions, but what I got from this interview personally was learning about how his process didn't change much after graduation. The hours and amount of work he was undertaking at university allowed him to easily adjust to industry.
The first professional I contacted for the creative report about graduates in Leeds was Joey Barritt, Joey is the resident designer at the Tetley who only recently graduated from Leeds Beckett University. His work has a infatuation for typography and he thrives for well informed and conceptual work that enables him to communicate with purpose and clarity. He works within print, web, spatial design and books so he has a multifaceted approach in his practice. Below is an example of his promotional work while at The Tetley, and it clearly shows his infatuation for typography.

For initial contact with Joey I messaged him through instagram and simply introduced my plan to conduct interviews on graduates from Leeds, then compiling them into a creative report. He replied soon enough and was happy to help with him providing me with his personal email.
The interview over email went well with later expansion of the questions leading onto more of a conversation about his practice. I felt confident from this first interview and was pleased about the expansion of the questions, but what I got from this interview personally was learning about how his process didn't change much after graduation. The hours and amount of work he was undertaking at university allowed him to easily adjust to industry.
OUGD502 - Studio brief 02 - Creative report questions
The questions I sent to all the practitioners would all be the same as I felt it'll give different perspectives on subject points. With all the practitioners being graphic design graduates from Leeds, I wanted the responses to relate yet be completely diverse and I believed this would be accomplished through the questions. The main aims of the questions were to learn more about the transition after graduation and the comparable differences between university and industry. The questions are below:
What was your transition from university to industry like?
Can you tell me what you’re currently doing within the industry?
Could you tell me your working process?
Have you made any big adjustments to the way you work since graduating?
How have you found studio life compared to working within a university studio?
How did you approach studios before or after graduation?
Whats the best advice you would give to a graphic design graduate?
What do you think of the current graphic design scene in the north?
The questions I sent to all the practitioners would all be the same as I felt it'll give different perspectives on subject points. With all the practitioners being graphic design graduates from Leeds, I wanted the responses to relate yet be completely diverse and I believed this would be accomplished through the questions. The main aims of the questions were to learn more about the transition after graduation and the comparable differences between university and industry. The questions are below:
What was your transition from university to industry like?
Can you tell me what you’re currently doing within the industry?
Could you tell me your working process?
Have you made any big adjustments to the way you work since graduating?
How have you found studio life compared to working within a university studio?
How did you approach studios before or after graduation?
Whats the best advice you would give to a graphic design graduate?
What do you think of the current graphic design scene in the north?
Sunday, 12 March 2017
OUGD502 - Studio brief 02 - Change of direction for creative report
After mulling over what to do concerning the creative report, I started to think what I genuinely wanted to gain from undertaking an interview. Its great to know the ins and outs of studios or practitioners practices in which I admire, but what will personally help me and what I'm doing now.
I started to think about less of what I'm interested but more of what I'm concerned and intrigued about, examples of these include the transition from university to industry, studio life and the working process in the industry.
When it came to who to contact then I wanted the professionals I'm contacting to relate to me in some way. Every practitioner has been a design student at one point and been in the same situation as me but if I focused on graphic design graduates, who graduated from the three Leeds universities then I can gain so much more from their advice and experiences. Furthermore instead of just focusing on one professional, I wanted to cover a wider variety to get different perspectives which will benefit me more.
I decided that a complete different approach in contact was required too, instead of emailing I would privately message professionals through Instagram. Using my design related account I would message people in a more laid back way, being brief and concise and through this more relaxed contact method I believe people are more inclined to message back. Firstly because I believe its more personal, this is because whoever I contact will be able to view my feed and learn a little bit more about me as a designer before they decide to message back. Secondly because most people and especially designers are constantly on Instagram, they are more likely to view a message through private message as most the time you will receive a message request.
After mulling over what to do concerning the creative report, I started to think what I genuinely wanted to gain from undertaking an interview. Its great to know the ins and outs of studios or practitioners practices in which I admire, but what will personally help me and what I'm doing now.
I started to think about less of what I'm interested but more of what I'm concerned and intrigued about, examples of these include the transition from university to industry, studio life and the working process in the industry.
When it came to who to contact then I wanted the professionals I'm contacting to relate to me in some way. Every practitioner has been a design student at one point and been in the same situation as me but if I focused on graphic design graduates, who graduated from the three Leeds universities then I can gain so much more from their advice and experiences. Furthermore instead of just focusing on one professional, I wanted to cover a wider variety to get different perspectives which will benefit me more.
I decided that a complete different approach in contact was required too, instead of emailing I would privately message professionals through Instagram. Using my design related account I would message people in a more laid back way, being brief and concise and through this more relaxed contact method I believe people are more inclined to message back. Firstly because I believe its more personal, this is because whoever I contact will be able to view my feed and learn a little bit more about me as a designer before they decide to message back. Secondly because most people and especially designers are constantly on Instagram, they are more likely to view a message through private message as most the time you will receive a message request.
OUGD502 - Studio brief 02 - Studio creme contact
My first steps for the creative report were contacting Studio Creme, the reasoning behind contacting them first was because I felt I had a better chance of conducting an email on one of the smaller studios I highlighted. Previous to this I contacted both Build and Founded but I didn't receive a response from either, I took into account that they both must be incredibly busy so from this I went forward and contacted Studio Creme.
James from Studio Creme replied within a day which was encouraging but as we exchanged emails it was apparent that even though he was open to answer some questions, it was finding the time to answer my questions which was the problem. I knew that relying on others wasn't the best idea for the creative report so I needed to change my approach and possibly who I was contacting.
My first steps for the creative report were contacting Studio Creme, the reasoning behind contacting them first was because I felt I had a better chance of conducting an email on one of the smaller studios I highlighted. Previous to this I contacted both Build and Founded but I didn't receive a response from either, I took into account that they both must be incredibly busy so from this I went forward and contacted Studio Creme.
James from Studio Creme replied within a day which was encouraging but as we exchanged emails it was apparent that even though he was open to answer some questions, it was finding the time to answer my questions which was the problem. I knew that relying on others wasn't the best idea for the creative report so I needed to change my approach and possibly who I was contacting.
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