OUGD602 / PPP3: Leeds print festival.

OUGD602
LEEDS PRINT FESTIVAL
DAY VISIT


Today I went to Leeds Print festival, I had never been to the festival before, however with my growing interests in print and the realisation that print dominates my practice and what I liked to do, I headed down to Munroe house just to have a little explore, see some amazing print work, with the hopes of talking to a few people. 

There were some really amazing pieces on show at the festival and it was a great experience looking around and getting to talk to different designers about how they had created their unique prints. I picked up some ideas which I could feed through into my work in future projects. It was also great to see print processes such as screen print being used in ways different to how I would use them, and it against gave me ideas on how I could expand my abilities with traditional print processes. 

I had read that Leeds college of art born studio Hungry Sandwich were going to be at the festival and this was also another one of the things that pushed me to go. I thought it would be a really great opportunity to speak to a couple of people who were previously in my shoes and have spent the last 6 months in industry. 

They also create work that is similar to my own interests completing branding and other adventurous projects with a distinct illustrative style, and so I think learning a bit more about their process and how they work on projects would have been even more beneficial. 

Unfortunately when I got to Munroe house I learnt that Hungry Sandwich were not at the print festival that day and had only been there for the opening night. So I would be unable to speak to them, however I did catch their prints hanging around at the festival. I still want to make contact with them as I feel any information they could give me would be invaluable at this point.  

However it was a great experience to show up and support what I love and gain some more knowledge about print. It was also good that I was able to learn where Munroe house and Duke studios is as one of my favourite Leeds based Graphic design studios 'Design Something More' is based here, and I am planning on trying to meet up with them and visit during the year. 

OUGD602 / PPP3: Contacting design studios.

PPP3.
Contacting design studios. 

Now that I have updated my Behance with my most recent and strongest work, now feel ready to start contacting design studios for visits. Out of the studios I have looked at, I have picked 5 to contact based upon similar interests, work produced and distance.

The 5 studios that I emailed are:

DUO (Leeds)

DUO are an agency based in Leeds completing both print and web projects. Although web is not where my strengths lie, I found that the print projects were heavily illustration based much like my own style of work. A project that has always stuck with me from the studio is the brief completed for Jeffery Wests shoe brand which used a distinct illustrative style to combine both image and type.

Robot Food (Leeds)

Robot food are a great food based branding agency based in Leeds, and are quite possibly one of my favourite studios EVER. Although I find that the design studio would be quite intimidating to visit, I know that If I wish to work in a studio such as Robot Food some day I must break down that barrier. Again a lot of the work completed by Robot Food is illustration based. 

One of my favoured projects by them is the christmas 'card' they sent out from the studio, featuring a traditional nut cracker with a robotic twist.

I had also visited York one weekend and came across a really great sandwhich shop in which you were actually able to have all different kinds of Yorkshire roasts inside a sandwhich. Enjoying my experience there I also really loved the traditional yet contemporary branding, little did I know it had been done by Robot Food.

Creatively so (Huddersfield)

Creatively so is a design studio based out of Huddersfield completing projects that are almost totally illustration based for a wide range of clients. Projects that took my particular interest include the illustrative typographic alphabet which is ongoing, the bumps and beyond project and the en route coffee shop branding. 

Music (Manchester)

Ideas by music are an amazing studio that not only capture my attention for their amazing work, but their work ethic and the way in which they represent themselves. I always feel that Music are two steps ahead in everything, and that a great focus of theirs is not only communicating the work they do but themselves as a studio. The new website update speaks for itself in which we are able to see how energetic Music has and how much energy they put into their work. 

I originally discovered Ideas by Music after visiting Chester zoo and seeing the rebrand, which when I researched, I found out it was created by Music. 

MIKMIK (Saltaire)

Studio MIKMIK are based in Saltaire, Bradford not far from where I live. They specialise in both graphic design and illustration based projects, which is reflected in their self branding, one of my favourite projects. Other projects that I enjoy from studio MIKMIK are the YoYo cafe bar branding that takes on influence from traditional print, The magic number three postcard and The Yorkshire dales hay time festival flyer in which lovely fluid type is the focus. 

When contacting the studios I tried to keep in mind what John had said about standing out and making your personality known. When contacting studios I wanted them to know that I was very passionate about creating great design, and excited to get out into the industry, I also tried to speak to them in a more conversational way, and as one of their current employees rather than putting them on a pedestal. Below is the email that I send out to all 5 studios, I included my email for replies, and my Behance portfolio link in case they wanted to check out my work prior to any visit invites I may receive.

Unfortunately I haven't had a reply from Robotfood, Duo or creatively so. Out of the Three Robotfood is my favourite studio and so I am considering leaving a bit of time and trying to contact them again as I would really love to visit there. 

However I did have some success as The owner of studio MikMik who now runs The Archipelago down at Tower works sent me an email back and invited me down. 

OUGD601 / PP3: New temporary business card design.

PPP3.
New Temporary business card.

As I am planning to visit studios soon and attend events such as the Leeds print festival, I thought it would be valuable to update my business cards so that I have something with my contact details on to leave behind, which would give them links to my online portfolio (Behance) and my email. 

Previously when creating business cards from my last two personal identity briefs I had tried to create something with a complex concept and lots of detail. However, now as I have progressed I feel that my business card should be quite simple and personal instead, allowing my portfolio of work to do the talking. It will be clear from my portfolio the type of projects I succeed at and take interest in, and so I want my business cards to support this, rather than draw all of the attention. 

John had suggested when previously speaking to us, that it is important when networking to show personality. Personality is what makes a person very memorable. I decided to take this advice and inject it into my business cards.

My simple business card design hopes to capture something personal about me and my whit. 

The front of the business card is simple and personal using my nick name in a script hand written font. However the business card also uses a pun as 'Sassy' is also an adjective to mean something quite wise, out there and bold, something a little extra.

Therefore this simple little description carried over onto the back of my business cards.

It is assumed when something has a little extra sass it is bolder, more noticeable and it stands out. 

I feel that my business cards help to support my portfolio without subtracting from its aesthetic, communicate something about me personally, nod towards my sense of humour and also help to sell myself. The details on the back are also simple to locate through the minimal design and monochrome colour pallet. I have decided to print these back due to the large volumes of black. 

OUGD602 / PPP3: Behance update.

PPP3.
Behance update.

Today I put some time aside to update my behance as I plan to visit studios within the next two weeks, from which I will be trying to seek out a placement oppurtunity. I also think my most current work, Including my recent COP submission practicals is one of my strongest pieces of work. 

I have also found that I have started to receive positive feedback on some of the work I have uploaded, more so from industry professionals around the world. As I am quite nervous about networking this has been a great confidence boost! and as a result, I have actually began contacting studios.