IDEAS BY MUSIC
NETWORKING + STUDIO VISIT
23RD APRIL 2015.
Today we went on our studio visit to Music, and it was a really positive and exciting day overall. As I was in the afternoon slot after the Q+A session Dan was holding I arrived 15 mins pre Q+A. We were warmly welcomed into the studio which is situated just off of Piccadilly Gardens. My first impressions of the studio is that it was really incredible and a real contrast to the visit that I had been on at the Archipelago. One of the reasons I wasn't so comfortable about the possibility of working with The Archipelago, was both the size of the studio (very small) and the size / social element (1 designer + 1 project manager/ wife + 1 intern). Music was completely different housing a team of about 25 designers in a really dynamic space that offered lots of different uses from social areas, to working, to meeting. On first impressions I felt a lot more at 'home' at Music.
Ideas by Music - Studio with long corridor and Multiple rooms.
Presentation:
The guys at Music laid out a really nice spread for us and we got on with the Q+A session where Dan taught us all about life at music, I took some notes (whilst eating the cookies):
- Music is ranked 6th in the UK for creativity.
- A set of designers that do all different kinds of jobs.
- Less like Graphic designers, More like all round creatives.
- Very concept based: The concept dictates the end product.
- Their methodology leans towards culture and heritage.
- Worked with London Fashion week and the British fashion awards.
- Produced pretty much all the marketing for Manchester city football club.
- They tend to, instead of working for the most successful brands, go for the underdogs and make them better than the original best.
- QUESTION THE BRIEF - They often question whether what they are being asked to do is the best outcome for the client, and if they think not they suggest doing something totally different.
e.g when being asked to rebrand the Brit awards, they turned around and instead asked that they redesign the award itself as this is the most memorable brand component. Once they had done this they redesigned the brand to suit the new award.
- Some clients when presenting to them want to see the journey of the design rather than just the end product.
Question and Answers at the end:
I asked more so about the practical elements such as the kind of working hours that people at the studio tend to do. The contracted hours are 9 - 5:30 which is pretty standard for a studio, however Dan said its not uncommon for people to stay until 7pm, especially newer designers who take a little longer to finish their work. I thought that this was understandable. He also said that he has stayed there until 9pm or even as far as 1am in the morning. Although its not always great to stay that late, the studio seems to have a great social circle that just enjoys hanging out together.
My portfolio review:
Whilst at music we were each given a 45 minute slot in which we had a portfolio review. Having spoken to a few of the others after they had theirs I got the general idea that although we would speak through our ideas, the majority of time who be spent talking about how the briefs could be extended, and as I like to call it more 'Music' (out of the box).
I really appreciated this time spent chatting as not only did I get feedback on my work, which is always valuable, it game me a chance to see my work through the eyes of 'Music' and it also inspired me as to how to take me work further to places I would have never thought of.
We finished up the day just chatting about general design life and other things over a drink. At Music they have a really cool astro turfed roof top, that people can use in their lunch hour, or go up there to work for some peace and quiet. On the day we went it was a really hot sunny day, so it was really nice to sit outside and relax with the guys at music, and get to know them more behind design.
Overall I really enjoyed the day at music and Dan said they would be in touch about any internships that they might have. I would love to go back and work there if given the opportunity, more because the idea is quite daunting to me, I think that I would learn a lot from working with Music, and the experience would really teach me a new way of thinking outside of my comfort zone that could prove invaluable in future practice.
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