Thursday 30 October 2014

PPP3 - TUTORIAL

Today we had group tutorials with John during which he talked about the specifics of the PPP module, the importance having a personality within the industry, making contacts and creating work that we love. Overall the session was very informative and inspirational. 


Notes taken during the session;



RELEVANT POINTS;
  • Start communicating with people we like and who inspire us, even if they are not based in the UK.
  • Start looking at things that intrigue us & could affect our future ambitions.
  • What interests us/inspires us - create weekly blog post.
  • Get in touch with students who have graduated from the course - what are they doing now? Where do they work? How did they get there.


Sunday 26 October 2014

PPP3 - MANCHETER PRINT FAIR & SCIENCE OF PLAY

Today, I traveled to Manchester with a group of friends from the college to visit two exhibitions; 'The Manchester Print Fair' and 'The science of play'. 



THE MANCHESTER PRINT FAIR - THE SCIENCE OF IMAGINATION

The Manchester Print Fair was based at the 'Peoples History Museum' around the open theme of 'The Science of Imagination'. The fair presented designers and illustrators from around England with the chance to display and sell their work while networking with students and members of the public.

Attending the fair was useful as it allowed me to network with designers and see a range of forward thinking, print based work that is relevant to both my personal interests and professional practice. 

Additionally, the fair was sponsored by G. F Smith and so I was able to get a free section of amazing paper.  




Some images from inside the event can be seen below;






There were also origami, screen print and letter press workshops at the fair, however, we could unfortunately not partake as the ques were big and we had to move on to the next exhibition.  




While walking round the stalls I collected a range of print collateral, most of which was business cards and promotional material for the designers and illustrators selling work there.

PRINT COLLATERAL COLLECTED;

(add image)



THE SCIENCE OF PLAY - EXHIBITION 

The Science of Play was based at 'Federation House' in central Manchester and tasked creative talent from around the city to explore the meaning and importance of play. The responses could utilize whatever media they felt appropriate as long as the final outcome was printed and A3 in size.

Attending the exhibition was useful as it allowed me to see a range of innovative, print based work from some of Manchesters finest creative studios and designers. Unfortunately, the exhibition was fairly empty, and so I did  not have the chance to meet any of the contributing designers. However, I was able to get the names of the creators of the pieces I found most inspirational.


Images from the exhibition can be seen below;




Print by OWT Creative;





Print by Si Scott;





Print by Mick Timpson;







Interactive piece by Mavis;







Thursday 23 October 2014

PPP3 - CONTACTING STUDIOS

Before contacting any of the studios previously outlined I first decided to reviewed the helpful material sent to us during last years PPP module. 




After reviewing the information I decided to go through each of the initially outlined studios and make bullet points for each of the five considerations listed on the sheet. In doing so I will have a list of points to refer to when composing my letter hopefully helping with the writing process. 

The studios I plant to contact are;


STUDIOS;
  • Robot Food.
  • Analogue.
  • Split studio.


ROBOT FOOD 

Person to contact.
  • Simon Forster.
  • Co-founder & Creative director. 

Why am I contacting them? Why do I want to know them?
  • Work placement.
  • Small studio – appeals to my future ambitions.
  • Inspiring work – Stephenson Personal Care + Roots & Bulbs.
  • Idea driven design - innovative outcomes. 
  • Relevant work – band identities, packaging.

What do I want to get out of this?
  • Experience with a forward thinking design agency - Practical experience. 
  • A result of agency experience is better job opportunities. 
  • Develop skills - communication, understanding of design process. 
  • New friends - Industry contacts. 
  • Gain an insight into the way a small studio works and the challenges they face. 

What will they get from knowing me?
  •  Passion & enthusiasm. 
  •  A fresh insight.

Method chosen to contact & Why;
  • Letter - in theme with my personal branding. 
  • Print based - relevant to interests.
  • More personal and interesting than an email.
  • Can include promotional material.



ANALOGUE

Why am I contacting them? Why do I want to know them?
  • Work placement.
  • Small studio – appeals to my future ambitions.
  • Inspiring work – Barrio Branding & Portobello Road No.171
  • Relevant work – band identities and packaging.  

What do I want to get out of this?
  • Industry experience with a progressive design studio. 
  • A result of agency experience is better job opportunities. 
  • Develop skills - communication, understanding of design process. 
  • New friends - Industry contacts. 
  • Gain an insight into the way a small studio works and the challenges they face. 

What will they get from knowing me?
  • Passion.
  • A fresh cultural insight.

Method chosen to contact & Why;
  • Letter.
  • Print based & more personal than an email.
  • Can include promotional material.




SPLIT 

Why am I contacting them? Why do I want to know them?
  • Small studio – appeals to my future ambitions.
  • Inspiring work – .
  • Relevant work – band identities and packaging.  

What do I want to get out of this?
  • Experience with one of the leading/progressive design agencies.
  • An understanding of the inner workings of a small studio.

What will they get from knowing me?
  • Passion.
  • A fresh cultural insight.

Method chosen to contact & Why;
  • Letter.
  • Print based & more personal than an email.
  • Can include promotional material.



COMPOSING THE LETTERS

After analysing a range of Leeds based studios, forming a selection of ones relevant to my practice and using the considerations on the PPD sheet to form a list of pertinent bullet points, I started composing the body copy for the letters that will be sent out to hopefully secure me a placement. Although the responses will have a similar structure, each letter will be individually tailored to the specified studio and detail the information listed above.


THE LETTERS;

ROBOT FOOD;





REFINING THE LETTER 

Before printing and sending the letter I decided to let John read through it to see if he had any further advice to help me improve my communication. Despite covering all the relevant points, John suggested that I should try cutting down the letter to make it more concise and less text heavy. 

Working professionals are often vert busy people, so to get the best results it is better to make any communication simple, clear and straight to the point. 

Additionally, after speaking with John I decided to rethink my chosen form of contact, changing from a printed letter, which will take a number of days to even reach the desk of Simon, to a concise email. 


Evidence of my communications with Simon from Robot Food can be found here; 

Link - http://j-harrisonreader1215-ppp.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/robot-food-studio-visit-organisation.html


PPP3 - START UP WEDNESDAYS - INITIAL SESSION

Today I attended an extra curricular session called 'Start Up Wednesdays' which is a programme that is designed for students who want to work for themselves or have an idea or a business they want to develop as an enterprise. 

As I am currently unsure what career direction I want to take after after university I decided to attend the sessions to help me get a better idea of what I want to do and how to achieve it. Another reason I decided to attend the session is because I have a rough concept for a small business that I want to develop and analyse to see if it is a viable idea worthy of focusing time and effort on. 

The session was very enlightening and relevant and will therefore be something that I attend throughout the programms duration.

Notes taken and sheets received within the session are documented below;






One of the tasks completed as part of the session was the Business Model sheet which we completed as if we were going to set ourselves up as freelancers, the sheet and its contents can be seen in the image below;




Finally, at the end of the session we were given two useful sheets, one containing a list of useful resources and the other details twenty ways to find an idea;



Thursday 9 October 2014

PPP3 - RETURNING PRESENTATION

Images below document my returning PPP presentation. 
































FEEDBACK 

After finishing the presentation  I received some feedback from the class regarding the presentations success and areas I could look into to help me progress from my current stage.
  • Good cohesive presentation.
  • Aspects of my practice are relevant in both the briefs, context of practice and placement plans.
  • Look at design related festivals and events & start attending.



NOTES
Additionally, while watching the rest of the group presentations I took notes of any important aspects that bore relevance to 
  •  Headingly - Print & Binding workshops - review. 
  •  Manchester print fare - 25th October.
  •  Ornamental Conifer - hand painted typography - inspiration.
  •  Review briefs and define timescales - Organisation & Time management. 



CONCLUSION 

First of all, I felt that I delivered the presentation in a clear and confident manner which I was really content with. When presenting in previous years I felt that my confidence was lacking while speaking in front of the class which consequently effected the delivery of information. After success of the presentation I hope to continue building upon this confidence until I am no longer apprehensive of public speaking. 

Additionally, definitive aspects of my practice such as my focus on sustainability are relevant and well established cross all level six modules. I believe this is a direct consequence of the PPP module completed at level 5 that allowed me to assess my core interests and apply them to my practice. 

An area for improvement lies with my interaction with various aspects of the design industry. At this moment in time I have yet to collect any research into up-and-coming design festivals and events. Therefore, I need to start collecting research to define the events that have relevance to my personal and professional interests and organise time to attend. Moreover, while attending such events I need to immerse myself in the culture, start networking, talking to other designers and making industry contacts.   

Finally, now I have defined a set of Leeds based studios I would like to complete an internship at I need to start composing and emails to try and arrange a placement. It is imperative that I do this as soon as possible as I will stand a better chance of securing a placement.

Moreover, I also need to start emailing studios that have relevance to my practice outside of Leeds. Although I may not be able to attend a placement at such studios forming industry links is important and will allow me to make connections.