OUGD602 / PPP3 - Final year overview / evaluation.

OUGD602
OVERVIEW / EVALUATION 

A review of my studio contact:

Studios emailed: 12.
- The Archipelago 
- UNIT
- Robot Food 
- Turn Key 
- Something more 
- Ideas by Music 
- Contrast creative 
- AHOY
- BML Creative
- DUO 
- Creatively so
- Analogue

Studios whom replied: 6.
- The Archipelago. 
- UNIT.
- Robot Food.
- Turn Key.
- Something more. 
- Ideas by Music.

Studios visited: 2.
- The Archipelago. 
- Ideas by Music.

Studios worked with: 7.
- Arris Branding consultancy. 
- Thompson brand partners. 
- Something more. 
- Elmwood. 
- Ditto press. 
- DR ME
- Peter and Paul 


I feel as though my third year completing ppp is the year where I have benefited from and utilised opportunities the most. I now feel as though I have a very knowledgable understanding of my practice and my stance within Graphic design, and understand the next steps in which I need to take to start my career. When I first started the course I was not confident in myself at all, and never thought that I would make a motivated effort to start contacting design studios by myself. However with a studio visit offered from my first set of emails sent out, and a really positive trip to The Archipelago, I got the confidence boost I needed to contact more studios, which also led me to helping set up a portfolio review session for the course over at Ideas by Music in Manchester, which was also a really fun day and one in total contrast from my trip to the Archipelago. I have actively searched over the past year for as many studios in the North of england, from where I could travel from home to, to find a work placement in order to gain experience before the end of the year, that create the type of design in which I offer something towards. However for various reasons I have not been able to arrange or achieve a placement from the studios I have contacted, due to no replies, space or business of the studio. It is a shame that often, the possibility of placement is dependant on the chance of other people replying to you, but alas I feel that I have made a valiant effort to try to find something. As I was having trouble trying to find myself a placement I took it upon myself to collaborate with some studios on the in college briefs, in which I also got a 'mini' experience of working with some of the studios.  I am still in contact with Something more my favourite studio we got the chance to collaborate with during DBA, and will be visiting once they have finished their move to the tetley. There are also a few other studios Im preparing to contact including Gorilla (packaging and branding: Manchester, Equator (packaging and branding: Manchester), Thompson brand partners (branding:Leeds) and Preface (packaging: Manchester). 

Personal Branding:

I feel that I also really utilised PPP this year to discover what I personally need from my branding. In previous years I hadn't really put a lot of thought into it, which is most definitely why I didn't like the outcomes. I came up with a strategy this year of four things that I wanted my personal branding to do and i think this has really helped me to create branding that is both really personal and relevant to me. The work produced is simple and really supports my portfolio rather than fights it for attention, it is clear and readable, it is convenient and easy to be mailed and can be mass produced at a cost I can afford. The designs both subtly reference something personal about me and play upon this (my last name in gold foil) and the type of work I like to produce referenced in the content of the CV and the style having subtle illustrative elements. 


Confidence:

I think to improve my success across the module confidence to perhaps contact studios in other ways could have also been beneficial, however confidence comes with time. I feel that with a strong portfolio of work under my belt and after visiting studios I would definitely be able connect to studios by other means such as ringing up or even popping in. 

The next step:

My next step after finishing final year is to really use the first few weeks to my advantage and although I am slightly burned out from all the work, to try really hard to push towards the end of year show, as again this is going to be a great place to network, and possibly connect with some of the studios I have tried to make contact with. My end of year show piece will focus on branding and/or packaging to gain the interest of such employers and will be a contender for my portfolio which I will take to interviews. 


Overall:

Overall I've had a really positive experience on the course and within my individual practice, I have made sure no not only look towards where I am going, but also have taken the time to step back, realise where I am, and also what else matters as advised by John. 'Always consider your work, life balance as your life informs your practice and the reverse so enjoy and grow.' I am leaving the course confident in and proud of both my work I have produced and my abilities as a designer, which is a full 360 from the place where I began 3 years ago. With the realisation of the work I enjoy producing, the tools I am able to use, and my intentions with Graphic design and where I want to work, I am fully ready and extremely excited to experience and leave my mark on the industry. 

Next studios I want to email:
Gorilla Manchester. 

Equator Manchester. 

Preface Manchester:

OUGD602 / PPP3 - Full Portfolio.

OUGD602
FULL PORTFOLIO


Part one:

Part two:

OUGD602 / PPP3 - Final Presentation (March)

OUGD602
FINAL PRESENTATION (MARCH)


I decided that for my final PPP presentation in March that I would create an animation in Adobe effects over a PDF. Since I first used the program for my dissertation in January I have been practising even more in the program creating animations for two other projects. Therefore I decided that it would now be more relevant to me and my practice to produce a presentation in After effects rather than as a PDF.

Firstly I split the information for my presentation into sections and made notes, before creating a simple line based illustrated animation.  
Intro:

Three years earlier I arrived at Leeds college of Art with only one explanation I could really pin down as to why I was here. 

LUCK. I literally thought I was some kind of wild card that had managed to sneak in unnoticed.

I remember coming to college on the first week and thinking mann my parents have already paid £3000 for my first term at university and for my halls. I’ve wasted their money because I’m not even going to make it past the first week. 

But it seems that after 42 projects.  

3 holidays. 

274 lunch times spent at the smoothie company. 

and countless breakdowns. 

Ive made it here. (Almost graduate graphic design student) point dropper thing. 

I’ve not only made it here. 

But I’ve really made something of myself and for myself. 

Being on the course has made me:

More confident. 

More passionate. 

More determined. 

More decisive. 

More fearless. 

More headstrong. 

More considerate. - Cost - Factory - Recyclable. 


Looking back at blogs in first year I said - compared to my thoughts now:

I want to find my style. 

I want to create bespoke and successful designs for every client. 

I want to design work like Kate forrestor:

I want to design to the best of my ability. 

I want to be experimental. 

I try all different avenues before coming to my final design.

I’m not sure i’ll make it through the first few months. 

I can make it through whatever. 

I have to do design in order to pass. 

I want to do design because thats what I love to do.

Show the kind of work that I have loved doing:

pick 3.

Bradley Sykes - Branding / live brief. 

Heavenly - Branding + Packaging.

John Lewis - Branding / competition brief.

Found that the more I have progressed through the course, The more I have began to like my work, which I think is good as it shows I am improving. 

But I’ve also learned that I know the kind of projects I don’t want to take on. 

Publication?

Print and web? 

At the end Answer these questions:

1. Who am I as a designer?

Then: I am a designer who creates work mostly by hand, and uses photoshop and illustrator occasionally. 

2nd year: Branding or Children’s design / illustration. 

Now: I am a graphic designer who specialises in branding and packaging, whom creates work with a focus on illustration. 

2. Where will I be in three years time?

Then: Hopefully on the third year of the course if I am successful. I will have an established style and will understand what kind of work I want to undertake in my career. 

Now: I am a third year Graphic design student at Leeds college of art who has definite interests within Graphic design and is ready to enter into employment.

1. Where do I want to work?

Then: not sure if I want to freelance or work in a studio, I’d like to work in a large city with lots of opportunities like London or even abroad.

Now: I definitely don’t want to work freelance, after being a student for so long with an unreliable source of money, I just want some consistency. Year 2 taught me that starting my own business is not for me - at least not as soon as I leave university. 

Year 3 has taught me that by visiting studios and talking to industry professionals that working in a studio within a modest sized team of creatives in which I can create great design, working relationships and a social circle is best for me.

What do I want to do over the next 8 weeks to ensure that this happens?

               

• Keep on contacting as many studios as possible - spreading my name around. 
• Perfect my portfolio.
• Submit a winning project for D&AD.
• Represent myself well at the end of year show. 

but also:

• Enjoy the last couple of months of university. 

What are the next milestones?

• Graduate.
• Branding and packaging. 
• Gain employment at a fairly large northern based Graphic design studio. 
• Move out of the family home. 
• Help change the world. 

PPP Animation:

OUGD602 / PPP3 - Manifesto presentation (February)

OUGD602 
Manifesto presentation

OUGD602 / PPP3 - Self Branding: Online presence.

OUGD602
SELF BRANDING 
ONLINE PRESENCE


I currently have a Behance which I have been handing out to clients and updating when I finish a project, however before the end of year show rolls around, I want to have my online presence ready just incase any visitors take away my business cards and want to view my website. 

I have began preparing to build my website, I want it to be as professional as possible so I have bought the domain name 'sarahgoldthorpe.co.uk' for the next two years. I felt that having my full name by itself made a statement and would have impact allowing me to appear confident and strong as a designer.

As I don't usually work with web and it is not one of my interests within Graphic design I signed up for a WIX account as I felt for the space of time I have to build the site along doing my end of year show and my abilities within web were more suited towards this web service. By using wix I can pay a small monthly fee to host my site with no wix advertisements, therefore subtracting any trace that I have used a simple web builder to produce my site. I am also able to easily build the website by uploading images and dropping them into place not having to play around with any code. 

I want my website to have the same simplicity and minimalism that my printed branding has, with a simple column row and portfolio on the front page so that my work instantly captures the attention of any visitors.
I will use the home page to introduce myself just like I use my folder front cover and I will support this with the caption describing myself and my practice that is used on my CV. 

I also want my individual project pages to be very simple, with white backdrops, large images and smaller amounts of text. 
I want to use the website as an online portfolio that I can direct people to through email etc and so I will upload the full 8 projects onto the website that are included in my printed portfolio. 

OUGD602 / PPP3 - Working with DBA (5 studios)

OUGD602
WORKING WITH DBA
CAPITAL NORTH

Working with the DBA Panel was a really great experience, as not only did we get the chance to work with one studio, but we were able to work with 5 different ones together. it was a great way to see how different studios would work with the same brief, but to also understand which studio I work most alike to. From the studios we met I feel that I connected most with Thomson brand partners and Something more as they do a lot of branding work, of which a lot is print based. 

We worked with Ian from Arris, a brand consultancy in Whetherby, and he was one of the nicest, kindest and easy going people I had met within the design industry and I felt that he really gave his all to our group... especially when emailing us with personal feedback, even after the DBA panel had left. Ian also opened my eyes to the world of brand consultancy, and although it might not be up my street because I love 'making the brand happen' and come to life, he showed us some really interest skills including his how to make a successful brand diagram that they use at Arris, which I will take with me and apply to my own work.

Our outcomes:

My Thoughts over the whole project:

Working with the group:

I think the group worked well together, with most of the progress and success coming towards the end of the project. I found it quite frustrating in the beginning as I seemed to be taking on most of the work, creating a set of logos and coming up with the brand/illustration style by myself. I felt that the work we presented to the 5 different studios could have been a lot better if there was a lot more differentiation and input in the beginning from the rest of the group members. However I feel that in terms of hard work, my group were prepared to put the work in where it counts, towards the end of the project where other peoples work schedules freed up. There were members which I thought were more frustrating with others, in which I had to fix work they had sent, not formatting it in the way that had been asked, aswell as minimal work and input being given.   

Our outcomes:

In the end I was quite happy with the outcomes and know that I have given as much as I could towards the project. I feel that the work produced ticked the boxes of what DBA were looking for. I think the results were engaging and thoughtful, and really tried to bring something new and refreshing to the table. I really liked our campaign idea of 'less is more, less is North' and felt that this really helped to set us apart from the other projects, communicating what the North is less of, but in a positive way. I also think that our range of outcomes was really appropriate for the brief and the design team I was working within. Together we created 5 posters (4 were required) which we then also animated to display in cities that had opportunities for moving posters - I think this really helped to distinguish us as a team and also allowed myself and a couple of other members of the group the opportunity to developed our Adobe After effects skills. I was also really pleased with the mock ups that I created for each of the printed posters and felt that these really helped to relate the posters which we had created back to the cities in Capital North. A panelist from DBA commented that at first they thought the illustrated mock ups were part of the poster and that, that was somewhat charming. I also think looking back at the designs that I created for the mock ups that they would have worked well as part of the posters, and if I could redo the project I would probably include the backgrounds as part of the poster designs. 

What could we improve on?

I think as a group we could have definitely worked on timing a lot better as this was off towards the start with everyone having different things to tend to. I also think that although our 'campaign' was very strong and successful, backing this with a more concrete brand would have taken the outcomes even further. Whereas I feel other groups had more of a branding focus, our work was more so centred around marketing. I think that with more research we could have established a strong brand to go alongside our campaign, but I also understand it was very difficult working on a project with such a vague subject, to brand the whole North of England together when all the locations are extremely different. I also think we could have improved a bit more on planning, as previously mentioned I felt like a carried a lot of the project at the start, whereas looking back on hindsight, I could have probably dedicated myself to other projects and we could have tackled Capital North from the beginning as a group. But overall although we did a lot of research into what makes the North a great place, I feel that more research into the North as a whole would have provided us with a base for a 'North' brand which would have boosted our campaign.  

What did I learn?

Personally and practise I learnt that in order to try and lead a group in projects I need to change my approach and attitude. I have learnt that as of right now, I do not like to take on leadership roles and much prefer working as an equal within the team.  However I was also able to pick up some really great skills throughout the project, one of them being talking to industry professionals. This was something I really enjoyed throughout the project, and helped to make the brief seem that little bit more real. We worked with Ian from Arris, and he provided us with some great help and advice, and allowed me to realised that Industry designers are people just like me. I was also able to better my technical skills involving Adobe after effects where I produced my own animation. Animation is something I would like to work with, within my design career and so having the opportunity to work on bettering these skills is always useful. Again I learnt about how to work on and apply critique especially within this project working with a large group of designers and the DBA panel. 

OUGD602 / PPP3 - Working with Peter and Paul (Sheffield)

OUGD602
PETER AND PAUL 
WHITE WALL





The experience working with Peter and Paul was very different to working with the DBA panel as it was a lot more independent. When working with DBA the 5 designers from the studios WENT in and out of the groups offering advice whilst we were in the process of creating work. They came over for 2 days. For Peter and Paul we have one meeting where we were briefed and then a second meeting where we were able to gain feedback on our ideas. Peter and paul created the timeline piece in the reception area and the moment I saw it I was amazed and fell in love. When Danielle asked to work with me on the project I was really excited to work with the studio and Danielle. From doing the project I learnt that I definitely like to work in the presence of others especially those I feel I can trust such as Danielle. I also learnt that although I haven't done much, I do quite enjoy environmental/spatial design and would like to do it again If I was offered the chance. 
Although our design wasn't overly a success, it was really nice to gain feedback from Peter and Paul, whom disclosed that our idea was a bit too experimental, literal and might not be too appropriate for people such as potential visiting students. However I think myself and Danielle both learnt that it is great to test the waters from time to time. 

Our resolutions:

My Thoughts over the whole project:

Working with the Danielle:

Working with Danielle was a really positive experience, we both have a similar work ethic and so neither of us were ever waiting for the other to get work done. She was also really easy to communicate with, and neither of us would hold back on our opinions which made it a very professional and easy working relationship. I also found Danielle's positive attitude motivated me and was one of the reasons I was excited to partake in the live brief. 

Our outcomes:

In the end at final mock ups I was really happy with our resolution, however throughout the project I did question my ability to produce my side of the design. However, the more progress I made throughout the project the more confident I became in my side of the design. I also think that the designs work really well together and are simple but strong. In addition I think the designs were really well considered, as well as bringing something new to the table, we really considered the surrounding environment the designs would be housed in and drew direct inspiration from this. Although they could be considered a bit controversial I think our designs represented something students need to be reminded of. Overall I think our outcomes worked really well for only a few days work from research to end product. 

What could we improve on?

In terms of improvement based upon the feedback given by Peter and Paul, they said that we should not be so obvious and direct with our message, which I understand, but thought the concept worked really well anyway. Another simple addition which I thinking could have helped to improve our work was just more time. I don't usually work with a focus on just type, however I have done a few bits and pieces before in different projects, but this is what Danielle approached me for. I know that if I had more time I would have been able to refine the design a lot more and produce something I was really happy with. On the other hand also, if I had the chance to re-do the project I would consider producing a typographic piece that is not so stylised and complex, but still withholds impact and the light heartedness of the script font.  

  

What did I learn?

I learnt a lot about working relationships in this project, mostly that working with someone who you trust and who has a similar work ethic to you will not only make a successful project, but an enjoyable one. I also learnt a lot about concepts, the controversial message may not be seen as appropriate by everyone, but sometimes taking a risk can be rewarding, maybe not in success but in enjoying your design practice, and from time to time you should test the waters and do something that excites you. I also learnt that type is not one of my most lucrative skills and although I managed to get there in the end and complete something I was fairly happy with, if I ever plan on on doing a typography focused piece again, I'm going to need to work on timing and planning to leave enough time to develop something I'm happy with. I spent the 2-3 full days we have just working on the one piece of type by hand before spending time working with it digitally and so It would be nice in future to work on my skills and perhaps practice typography outside of design so I can become more efficient.