Visiting Professional - Dan Saul Pilgrim

Saul Studio was set up in 2014 by Dan Saul Pilgrim and is based in Leeds. Dan studied at The University of Leeds where he met Matthew Logan. They both wanted to work with each other and having given a scholarship by the university, they set up a studio called Logan and Saul. They spent the scholarship money on a website and business cards for their studio. Shortly afterwards, Matthew and Dan parted ways as Matthew had his own reasons for quitting design however, Saul Studios is still running.

Dan did an internship with Joe Gilmore at Qubik as he said that he likes Joe's minimal, laid back lead typography. He then went on to work with film production company Left Eye Blind with artists such as the Kaiser Chiefs and Haim.

Dan collaborated with illustrator Elliot Kruszynski on the Yorkshire Boast which celebrates things about Yorkshire that people may/may not know.

Dan is well known mostly for his book 'Coffee Shop North', this came from the idea that he is passionate about coffee as well as Graphic Design. On doing this, he collaborated with a photographer called Justin Slee after seeing his work for the Northern Ballet and liked his style of photography. Dan had an idea to create a visual publication to showcase independent coffee shops in the North therefore he contacted Justin who agreed to collaborate with him.

To back the project, they needed funds so they set up a kickstarter page where it was active in August 2015 and was funded by October 2015.

After the they had enough funding, they started designing in December 2015 and had a launch event at Colours May Vary in May 2016.

They applied for an ISBN for some of the books and in 2016, Dan reached out to stockists where he wanted the book to be seen and sold such as independent coffee shops and book shops.

In November 2016, they were runners up of Architecture Photobook Award of the British Book Awards.

Dan also has other clients such as:

• The Hubbards where he created a record sleeve design and tour posters.
• Salvation which was a self initiated project of a photoessay of a fashion digital spread with the models dress as 1 of the 4 Evangelicals. 
• Colours May Vary where he created flyers and loyalty cards using primary colours and fundamental shapes.
• The Helpworth Wakefield Gallery which he didn't win but it was to celebrate UK sculptors.
• The Bear which is a coffee shop in Sheffield where he created an infograph of the drinks menu.
• King St. Social which is a members only dining experience using Cheltenham Bold type.

Dan focuses mainly on typeface, colour and materials when it comes to branding. He specialises in typography, print-based designs, art direction, identity, book design and film projects.

His advice:

• 'Your attitude is important to make it work'
• 'Get yourself in the right position'
• 'Find people that understand you'
• 'Collect Graphic Design'
• 'Find your niche'
• 'It's not as pretty as it looks'
• 'Do/don't move to London'

He expressed that you should connect with people on social media, especially Instagram because you can find people to collaborate as you can see their posts.

Marks and Spencer Archive

For the Leeds Public Spaces brief, I had decided to celebrate Marks & Spencer from how it originally began. Marks & Spencer a famous nationwide, British department shop that had gone from selling items for 1p to selling all sorts of items. The archive in Michael Marks Building at The University of Leeds holds the history of how Marks & Spencer started and it was inspiring to see how it went from being a small store, opened by an immigrant to a very British treasure. It was also inspiring to see how Michael Marks had advertised his stall in newspapers and how he hung up signs for the Penny Bazaar.

Creative Report Design Concept

The publication of the creative report will be both printed and digital so that people are able to access it online as Jess lives in New York however, I am also planning to send her a copy if she wishes therefore I would like to produce printed copies.

The publication will feature pattern designs of the elements that Jess mentions in the interview. The size of the publication will be the size of a Birchbox which is 196.85mm x 152.4mm. The reason why  I have chosen this is because Birchbox is a significant part of Jess' design career as she had been there for 4 years. The contents will be split into sections where it talks about a specific topic rather than have the questions on one whole page. This will make it more organised and easier to read and navigate. At the beginning of the publication, there will be a small introductions page that summarises Jess' design career.

Reflection - Interview with Jess Williams

Jess Williams is one of the main creatives that inspire me in my own practice. She creates digital design for websites and apps but I am more intrigued by her pattern and packaging design since it is something that I have always been interested in Birchbox because of the concept of the monthly box but also the different packaging design every month. In first year, I created my self branding where I was inspired by the Birchbox design and the concept. 

After some research, I had found Jess Williams as the main point of contact for Birchbox as she was easy to find online. I had thought that Birchbox UK and US worked together to create similar designs however, found that they have different monthly themes. I had emailed Birchbox UK as I thought it would make more sense since I order from the UK version. However, I couldn't find any details of the Creative Director and when I asked Birchbox to pass on my details, the creative team didn't reply. 

During this, I also emailed Jess Williams thinking it was a long shot since she lives in New York and would be too busy to find time for me. Much to my surprise and excitement, she contacted me back and said she love to chat. I never would've thought Jess would reply, and if she would, she would prefer the interview questions in an email but instead she agreed to Skype and allowed me to record our voices during the interview. I felt relieved and happy that she took the time to read my email and so kindly reply to me and allow me to speak to her about her design career. When we agreed a time and date of the Skype call, I felt ecstatic that she would speak to me but also slightly nervous since she I was conscious of the questions to ask her and also how much time she had since she is a founder of her own studio, Communal Creative. 

When it came to the interview, I was nervous and I told her in the beginning of the Skype video call but she was kind and told me not to be and it made me feel a little at ease but still nervous. Even though it was an interview, I wanted it to be more relaxed and casual rather than a formal discussion. On her part, it felt more casual but I think my nerves were too much and I made it sound more serious than I meant it to be but she was sweet all thought the discussion. I tried to add questions on top of what she was saying to make it sound more like a discussion but I felt that my mind had a lot going on from the nerves, I was conscious about her time and I was thinking what to ask next. Towards the end of the interview, I felt more relaxed because she was smiling and laughing throughout the interview which made me feel less anxious and because I asked her more random, playful questions such as what her favourite mini succulent was and the breed of her dog. 

After the interview had finished, I felt relieved and happy with the outcome of the interview since she gave me a lot of information to work with and also because she was such a nice person to speak to, she even asked me some questions back. A few hours after the interview, I sent her an email, thanking her for allowing me to speak with her and that I would email her the final outcome of the Creative Report when I had finished it. Jess replied to me to saying that if I needed to ask her other questions or needed to repeat anything, she would be happy to email back. 

It felt slightly surreal to be speaking to Jess because I would consider her as a successful designer since she's gone from being Creative Director at Thrillist and Birchbox to the founder of Communal Creative. The overall experience very positive and inspiring since she is a vibrant person. At the end of it, I also felt less worried and stressed since I had found someone to interview for my Creative Report and even better that she answered every question in depth.

Creative Presence - An Interview with Jess Williams

Jess Williams studied Fine Art at University of Wisconsin-Madison where she graduated with a bachelors art degree. Jess was a former Graphic Design employee at an architecture firm, Bulter Rogers Baskett where she mainly did the digital designing work and photography work. She was a former Creative Director at Thrillist/JacksThreads where she created digital designs such as site design, emails and visual branding but left to join Birchbox over a year later. Jess was the Creative Director of Birchbox when the business had 12 employees and was at its start-up stage. She had been at Birchbox for a while; over four years until she opened her own studio, Creative Communal.

What got you into designing – is there a memory that you had that made you want to do design as a career?

Yeah, that’s a great question. I actually started on the creative side on the writing, I was a creative writer and journalist in middle school and high school and actually started my university degree as a journalism major. I really loved the idea of just telling stories and kind of creating these narratives that brought people into a new experience but, I was the editor and chief of my high school magazine and I realised I loved doing the layouts more than anything else. So, when I started at university as a journalism major, I loved the idea of telling stories but I liked telling them visually more than verbally. So, I switched to a fine art major with an emphasis in design and I found my calling because I think for me, it’s really about creative problem solving and that’s kind of how I started.

Have you always liked designing even though you did journalism?

Yeah, I was always art minded. I think you know, at the time, 15/20 years ago design was less at the forefront as it is today. I was always the kid that went to art supply stores and made clay pots, I did drawings and sketches. I didn’t think you could actually create an experience and career from that and once I saw the graphic design routes, I was obsessed.

Do you know what go you into designing? Such as artists or inspirations?

I really do think it started with magazines – as simple as that. I always tore out – I had a lot of magazines that I would follow from art forums, communication arts – kind of the art in America. I was like obsessed – I would tear them out and put them on the wall and create collages – they were the Pinterest days. And so, for me it was bringing stories to life via print was my first inspiration. 

You’ve been a Birchbox for 4 years, how did that happen?

So, I graduated from college 10 years ago and I moved to New York. I went to school in Wisconsin and then I moved to New York and joined an architecture firm in the design department. It was very corporate; I wore suits and stuff which wasn’t really my vibe. And my boyfriend at the time, now husband was in a start-up in the technology side and I would love the idea of creating new brands and experiences that just don’t exist today. And so, I left the architecture firm and joined Thrillist which was a start-up at the time in the media space, which was much smaller and now is a much larger company. And I was there as the Creative Director but also designed all the digital experiences from the site designs, emails – kind of all those editorial moments. When I was there, they acquired a company called ‘JackThreads’ that is a men’s fashion company, and that was my first experience with digital and physical design and I was hooked. And so, I had my eye on even smaller companies and loved the idea of a company led by women and reached out to the Birchbox team when they were super small; and joined when they were about 12 people, 6 years ago. I loved the idea of creating this mini brand story on your doorstep every month and so that’s how - It’s kind of a fortunate series of events.

So what did a day-to-day entail as a Creative Director at Birchbox?

In the beginning, it was 12 people. I did everything. I was the Creative Director, I was the lead designer, I would illustrate, I would design emails, I would create the box designs but as the company got bigger, I was able to build a team and managed all the designers that were in-house. So, the design in-house were physical and digital so the box design moments were the print/packaging team and then the site - emails and marketing were the digital team. And then we had a third team which were the photography team because we had a studio in-house, and we got to photograph mascara and lipstick and all of that great stuff. And so, at the end of it, I was very much more like the manager - making sure that all the teams were creating their best work. I always say my number 1 role as a Creative Director is actually translation; it’s hearing the company objectives, knowing what the goals are and translating them into creativity. So how do you hear about sales numbers next year, how much we want to sell, how do we figure with those objectives creatively? So, that’s creating more exciting Instagram posts that people like more, that’s creating more exciting patterns on the box that people are really excited to sign up for. So, it’s kind of how to marry both the business and the creative together.

You also created the app. Did you prefer that over creating the monthly box designs?

I think what is interesting about the monthly design is that you’re telling a mini sub-story every month, which is interesting and more of a ‘how to keep it fresh’ every month. Which is the beauty of creating the app is you create this foundation where people can go to as a foundation resource which doesn’t have to change every month, the pieces inside can to keep it exciting but it’s meant to be a bit more permanent even though it’s an app. I think they’re very different and hard to compare.

How long do you usually have to create a monthly box and how long in advance do you have to design it?

The monthly boxes, we would make them, we would start them 3 months ahead of time and we work on the design probably like 4-6 weeks and then the actual production of the box will take the other 4-6 weeks.

I’m really intrigued by when brands collaborate with other designers. So, when Birchbox did a collaboration with Rifle Paper Co., was that any different to a standard monthly box design?

Yeah, it is very different because your working with other artists. Because Anna Rifle was the one we wrote emails with and we got to talk to her about colours and geek out about Pantones. It was a really fun experience so it is really different in terms of that process because you’re dealing with her brand and that’s her baby, but you’re also dealing with the Birchbox brand and that’s our baby and so, how do you combine those two visualisations into something we know our customers at Birchbox would like, but also keeps the elevation and polish that Rifle Paper kind of has in their brand? So, it’s just more collaborative and also is more creative because you have another mind thinking about it.

  

Did you ever do any freelance work outside of Birchbox?

I really didn’t do a lot of freelance work at Birchbox; we were very busy but I did do freelance world when I was at the architecture firm and Thrillist, which ranged from logos and print design to site designs.

You were really successful in both businesses as you were Creative Director at both. What made you want to open your own studio?

I’m not sure the start up scene is where you are but, it’s very obvious Silicon Valley in San Francisco is the number 1 spot, but New York is hot on its heels as a close second. So we have a lot of new kind of brands in New York and entrepreneurs and founders that are really passionate about what they looking to launch. Some of my favourite memories at Birchbox were in the early stages where we were creating something we don’t know if it’s going to work, and we love this idea of designing with thoughtfulness but in fresh ways. And so, I miss having that when I left Birchbox a year and a half ago, the company is 300 people and when I joined it was 12 so it was a very different landscape.

Was it more difficult towards the end as there were more employees?

Yeah, exactly, it was a little bit more – it has to scale because of that size of 300 people when you have more meetings, more structure to help the business move along but it also misses that scrappiness that I like and so when I left, I launched Communal Creative about a year and a half ago, the idea was to how to bring all that in-house creative direction design thinking, the idea that we can pop on a whiteboard, design live and design out of house for start-ups.

How big is your team at Communal Creative?

So, we are small. We are a 3 person team. But we would most likely get larger this year but we do use a lot of freelancers since there’s 3 people, we have copyrighters, UX designers and a couple others that help out like photographers, studios so it always feels bigger than we are.

Do you think working at your own studio is more difficult than working for someone else?

It has its ups and downs. Birchbox is so wonderful, the founders Hayley and Katia are so supportive and were instrumental in helping me grow and I think it allowed me the confidence to do this now. I wouldn’t have felt as capable without that experience and so it’s different. I really like the challenge of figuring things out so as a founder, I get to do that both visually but also business wise and being able to pitch our work to clients, and knowing we’re so proud of it, and by the end of the day, yes of course we care about the clients and we want them to feel great but we also want great work. And so what’s exciting is that we get to design for lots of different types of companies, and that’s something that is a little bit different and more unique than being in-house like Birchbox because you’re talking about the same products whereas, we get to balance between dog food and fashion design and light bulbs, so it keeps it fresh.

How do you get clients? Do you pitch to them or do they come to you?

So, when we launched, so fortunate to have many years in this space, that I emailed everyone that I knew and I was like “We’re starting this new idea, how can we help you create your design dreams?” So we started small and then as we were able to publish more work and get out there we’ve been so fortunate to have referrals from our clients and then we just have a lot of people finding us on the internet which is unique.

What is you company ethos at Communal Creative?

Like who are we as our spirit? It’s an interesting question. It’s something we work on all the time because part of it is creating brands for other people, but we also are a brand and so for us, designing for ourselves our differentiator really is our partnership and how we listen to clients. We act like an in-house team and so we kind of become obsessed with the products if we’re talking about fashion design, become obsessed with the bag or whatever it is. We have a client right now that’s in the food space so we just spent yesterday morning at the grocery store looking at the competitors and then we had a whole taste test in the afternoon before designing illustrations and packaging. So that’s kind of what our spirits all about, we are just passionate about creating great design and then they give us the content to create around.

What type of design do you like creating the most?

We really focus on brand identity so it’s everything from someone just raised some money and has an idea and then we bring them to live, to somebody who has just launched a couple years ago and never really able to focus on that experience, we help them refine it. There’s obviously an expertise in packaging because of Birchbox and so were able to provide that service. But really at the core, it’s about creating that brand story. I don’t know if you’ve seen on the site but there’s a company called ‘Ollie’ which is a dog company, we started with them before they had a name, they had raised some money to start a ‘natural food’ for dogs idea and then we helped them from the very beginning.

Did you help with their name?

So, we were part of that process, so what ended up happening is that they had 3 names, and we designed 3 different logos and identities for each one and they picked based off those visuals.

What would you say was your favourite project so far?

They’re all so different. That’s the beauty of having the different teams and the different projects to work on ‘Ollie’ is a great example because it was so holistic. It was the brand and the identity, it was the site design, it was the packaging system, we even helped them with their launch party so that is very top of the list but each client is very its own kind of exciting adventure.

Have you ever experienced any difficulties in being a designer? How did you overcome them?

Yeah absolutely! Yeah, this is something I think you probably have encountered as you continue on with your career. It’s really hard to explain – so there are two things,

One - It’s challenging to explain design and creative to someone who isn’t in that world and so the faster you figure out how to explain your work in a way that can translate to someone like marketing or someone in sales or someone on the editorial team, the more you’ll gain from each others knowledge and so that’s something that’s always helped.

But the stickiest point I’ve found when designing or creatively thinking is that it’s not a light switch, it’s not “Oh! Tomorrow I’ll have the best idea ever! And I’ll design it and it’ll be perfect”, you kind of have to let it – or at least for me – you have to let it find me. Of course you can make an email, make a box design I can go to my go-to design expertise and be able to execute on that however, if you’re looking for something totally fresh and new, you’re going to fail and you’re going to have these terrible ideas and they’re all going to be outside the artboard and then finally you’ll find the one that hits but that’s something that is trusting that’ll come. I have hit that wall a few times and knowing that as long as I go for a walk or go into a museum or I try get out of my head a little bit and then all of a sudden it appears and comes to me.

What do you think motivates you in designing?

I am motivated – there are a few things. I love working with teams and so the team here at Communal is highly motivating, we are all creative, we care so much about creating the work we are most proud of and so that is motivational. I think that it is also I love just kind of creating stuff that don’t exist today and so going back to ‘Ollie’ dog food, there are tonnes of dog food brands, but how do we create something that looks different and feels different? Kind of jumps off the shelf or sticks in someone’s mind and so that is the constant motivator. Even if were working on a product that potentially feels boring, we can make it so not boring purely because of design.

Do you think living in a bigger city such as New York has helped you in your design career as opposed to Ohio?

Yes, absolutely. I would 100% agree with that, I think part of it you’re just exposed to so much more. Not that’s there’s not much creativity – there’s actually an amazing industry in Columbus Ohio where I’m from but it’s less prevalent and so I’ve found that New York is my perfect hub.

Is there as specific reason as to why you moved to New York?

It was between here and San Francisco. I knew I wanted to move to a larger city, I’ve always loved New York and the idea of it. But it was if I moved here and it didn’t work, I’d move somewhere else but I’ve been here ever since.

What made you choose New York over San Francisco?

I visited both and there was something about the energy in New York that just clicked with me more. San Francisco is beautiful and it’s lovely and it has the California vibe which I love but New York, there’s something about it that has that crazy chaotic-ness that I thrive off.

You’re a very successful business woman and creative. At what point do you think you had succeeded?

Oh never! I think it’s that we always have other aspirations. I think for me is that I’m excited to make the team larger, I’m excited to have clients that are in different spaces. I think it’s exciting and it’s kind for you to feel that way and I feel that way for many friends and people in my life and I’m like “Oh my God you’re so successful” but they say the same thing, you’re always chipping away at the next thing.

Do you think you’re happy in the place you are now in your design career?

Very happy with it. I would never have pictured this 10 years ago when I graduated. The idea that I would find my niche here and be able to support designers and their endeavours and create a reputation for design that feels authentic and genuine; to me that is an amazing feat and I’m very happy with the adventure I’m currently in.

Going back to clients, how many do you have on average at the same time?

We normally have 3-4 clients at once, we are as I said a 3 person team so it’s just balancing that work flow that’s part of the challenge and none of those clients are at the same phase. So we never kick off at the same time, so when we kick off one we’re probably wrapping up another and on average they last 3-4 months from start to finish in terms of having that kick of meeting where we talk about their values and their missions, to their ethos like the same question you’re asking me. And then all the way through to iterations, the rounds of reviews and the final hand off.

What are words you live by?

Oh man! Oh I don’t know. I really just believe in - there has been some meetings or some unlikely situations I’ve been in where there’s something about the gut – it doesn’t feel like the work is right and I can’t put my finger on it and so something I trust or lean harder on is that gut feeling of pride and I always ask the designers when I show them something “Is this something you would put in your portfolio?”, “Would you put this on Pinterest?”, “Would you show this to your boyfriend/girlfriend/parent?”, “Look what I made!” because that’s what you want every single time, you want to put it out into the world and be like “I had my hands on this”, “I feel great about this” and so that’s something I try to keep on top of my mind, the moment you don’t want someone to see something that you made, means it’s not quite there.

Do you ever feel nervous about presenting work to clients or other people?

Always.

How do you overcome that?

I think part of it is practice. There have been some meetings that have gone better than others and also it’s trusting your expertise that you went to school for this, that you spent so many years making this, knowing that – something that’s really been really helpful to me to is that the people in the room never really get to talk about design and this is fun for them. They are stuck with numbers or whatever they’re stuck with, whatever they’re great at and this is the first time they get to sit in a room and talk about colour or talk about logo. And although it’s our world everyday, reminding yourself that can help ease the pressure in terms of the discussion. You still want to be the expert and tell the right story and present in a way that feels really powerful for the client and knowing that this is truly unique experience for them and that can calm some of those jitters.

You said you love the Pantone swatches – what is your favourite colour?

Oh man! It’s a great question. I love – I don’t know the exact Pantone colours but I love the oranges and reds. I love the fiery coral, the idea that the slight blue/red you can get with a Pantone. Which is funny because I don’t wear any of that in my life. I don’t wear red, I don’t wear orange. I’m much more in the cool tones such as the blues and greens but something about that in design pops for me. What’s interesting about red though is that it’s really hard to print if you’re not using a Pantone. Obviously with Pantone it’ll match perfect but some people cannot afford Pantone or it’s not the right red like in your office printer and so it’s a challenging colour to get right and that’s kind of why I love it.

What is your favourite mini succulent?

Oh man! These are really great questions. My favourite mini succulent is this one that I have on my desk. It’s in a little red planter and it’s in the shape of a heart, the actual plant is in the shape of a heart naturally. My husband sent it me last year. 

What is your favourite typeface and why?

Oh great question another one. Can I give you two? Well do I really like ‘Brown’, it’s a really classic, geometric sans-serif it’s very popular at the moment that’s why I hesitate to say it but it’s a great, great font. We used it a Birchbox, we use it for clients here. We use this similar font for Communal called ‘Sofia’ but Brown is definitely my favourite. And my newest one that I’m obsessed with is ‘Haptic’, the actual letterforms are interesting, what’s cool is that they have this version of italics called rotalics where instead of the letters rotating italic-wise, they all rotate. And so it’s different we’ve been trying to find ways to use it for one of our clients. I don’t think it’ll stick for any of our current ones but we’ll find one who’d love it.

What is the breed of your dog?

Aw, he’s a Australian Shephard but a toy size. He’s so cute. Good research.

How long have you had him for?

He’s almost 8, we’ve had him for 7 and a half years. I would recommend – they’re great.

What are your inspirations in life in general?

The latest one, the one at Communal, we’ve been doing this thing every month where we’ve been going to a museum – another benefit from living in New York. And so that’s been really inspirational to get out of the Pinterest and screen reviews and that to me is really inspirational. Seeing fresh colour schemes, seeing how painters from the 1950s put colours together, being inspired by those fresh pairings. So that for me has been my latest inspiration which has been great.

Is that what you like doing in your spare time?

Yeah, we read a lot of design blogs and we have tonnes of private Pinterest boards that have all sorts of different inspirations. My primary inspiration comes from Pinterest and in my spare time, definitely do a lot of consuming on the internet from articles and witnessing and saving different visualisations but I am a big reader.

What is your favourite book so far?

This is so hard. Last year, I really liked Fates and Furies, it’s this really cool blue cover. I really like when they have great covers it always helps. It’s a good one.

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading The People in the Trees which is good but weird, I’m not obsessed with it yet but I’m half way. Yeah, I don’t know yet but it’s good so far.

 

Visiting Professional - Footprint

James and Claire are two of a small group that work at Footprint. James studied and graduated at Leeds College of Art in 2010 and has been working at Footprint since 2012.

Footprint was first set up in the 90s by activists that used the printing facility to print posters for protests and demos.

Footprint originally used a Heidelberger which is an offset lithograph but was not as efficient and  ethical as they believed they wanted to be perceived.

They took the opportunity to invent in a Riso which is what they print 90% of work on. Riso is a digital screen print where it prints one colour at a time but they have two drums so it allows them to print two colours at the same time. Riso is much more environmentally friendly as it requires less electricity. With their beliefs of being environmentally friendly, they use 100% post consumer waste/recycled paper. They will only ship within the UK to reduce their carbon footprint.

Footprint have a partnership with Bradford Wastepaper so they recycle all their materials efficiently. The also recycle their Riso ink and cartridges. Riso ink is made of soya oil and pigment mixed together and the masters (plates/paper) are made from banana leaf which reduces waste but is from Japan.

Footprint is part of a Co-Op which allows them to work ethically and sustainably. They do not have a boss or a higher person that instructs them in what to do, they all work together as they are all equal shareholders. They do however, elect an owner/management committee but they are still workers like the rest of the employees. All decisions are made on a consensual basis such as not printing work they do not believe in or if it upsets them so they will turn work away. They print things because they know it's right rather than for the money.

The profit they make, they will donate 1% turnover to tree companies to give back to the environment.

They will offer 10% discount to the remembers of a Co-Op. Their ethos is to be affordable for everyone.

They have regular customers which are Co-Ops, political campaigners, small companies, artists and self-publishers.

They have printed publications for Leeds Zine fairs, Leeds No Boarders, Leeds Trans Health, Black Lives Matter etc... They produce work for nice people.

They also host websites aside from printing.

They use social media such as Facebook to set events and promote Leeds Zine fair, Instagram to show the work they have printed and Twitter. This is how they also get customers.

The Interview

Step 1
Contact them and give them a reason as to why you have emailed them - why them in particular.

Step 2
Arrange a mutual method of connection

Preparation 
Make a list of what you want to achieve

Questions
Follow up questions - 'Why did you?'
Probing questions - 'Do you have examples?'
Specifying questions - 'What did he say?'
Direct questions
Indirect questions
Structuring questions - 'Moving on to...'
Interpreting questions - 'Do you mean that...?'

Visiting Professional - Buttercrumble

Buttercrumble are based in Leeds and was set up in 2012 by twin sisters from Scarborough, Abigail and Chloe. Their core values is to smile and make people smile, collaborate, and build foundations. They create Graphic Design and Illustration work, they graduated at The University of Leeds studying Graphic and Communication Design.

They are passionate about collaborating with people who want to create good design and especially love illustration. As well as collaboration, they help designers with their portfolios, designs, contacts, exposure to prepare them for the design industry.

They worked in creating the volumes 4, 5 and 6 of Independent Leeds issue. As part of the Indie Food Festival, they showcased their work as part of Exhibition and Design Series alongside 8 other Leeds' and the North's "superwoman" of art and food. They actively do talks, visits and workshops to help other creatives or just making them known to other people in the industry.

Visiting Professional - Studio12

Studio12 is a free recording studio that offer support to creative disadvantaged people living in Leeds, aged 16-30 years old the opportunity to record voiceovers/record music. Studio12 provides free access to production studios, training, qualifications and contacts to industry professionals. Studio12 educates young people in the production of recording, photography, video, multimedia, music and software training - it allows them to create a new learning experience using new technology and non-digital resources.  The studio is part of and located in Leeds Central Library and has funding from the European Union Pavillion for people who don't go to uni or are disadvantaged. They also receive funding from partnerships and from work that the young creatives produce and get commissioned for.  The studio was first set up in 2002 by Jamie.

Aside from the recording studio, they also have a green screen and whitespace for photoshoots and video production. The whole concept of the studio is to enable young people to become producers of new media content and empower young people to further develop their skills.

Studio 12 encourages people to express issues in society such Zodwa when she talks about Black Lives Matter called 'Black Bodies'.

'Writing Britain' is an inspiring project that Studio 12 and Left Eye Blind developed in which the film shows different youngsters reflecting on their hopes and dreams in the future, belonging and sense of place in society.

Visiting Professional - Build

Michael C. Place is the co-founder of Build which has been established for 15 years, alongside his wife Nicky Place and a team of 2 other designers. He has been a Graphic Designer for 26 years; he did his Foundation course in Scarborough, then received his OND in York for Graphic Design. Later on, he studied for a HND Graphic Design degree at Newcastle but left since he thought it wasn't the type of Graphic Design he wanted to produce, he wanted to create record sleeve designs. Micheal is passionate about music and said that when he first saw the Iron Maiden poster, he thought it was really interesting and inspired him to want to do similar designs. He talked about other music he liked such as Saxon Wheels of Steel and Black Sabbath and people used to ask him to paint Saxon Wheels on their leather jackets/clothing which he did.

Before Michael knew about Graphic Design, during the early-mid 80s, he was interested in technical drawing and fascinated in architecture; he said if he wasn't a Graphic Designer now, he would be an architect. During high school, his art teacher introduced him to a Graphic Design book in which was the first time he had ever heard of Graphic Design. He said when he was younger, he loved the the Rotring Pens and Letrasets as he said they were quick and easy to rub type onto a design and were used for punk fan zines. He still collects Letraset catalogues and his favourite typeface was Calypso.

Michael as a Graphic Designer is passionate about typography and said that Neville Broody was one of his inspirations when he first started doing Graphic Design as he said they were tidy. During his HND, he had internships at ID magazine where he worked on the Chaos Culture magazines. He also had an extended placement at Design Republic and later got offered a job by Ian Anderson in 1992.

Michael met his wife Nicky when they both worked on a Sony video game, Wipeout. They travelled the world together to get away from Design but then Nicky went back to work for Sony and Michael established his own business, Build in London. Nicky later quit her job to work at Build where they do not specialise in a specific area of design but are open-minded. They have recently relocated back up North.

Michael said that we should work for someone else before setting up our own business straight away as there are things to learn.

Film Synopsis Presentation and Feedback

The movie that I had chosen is called Hachi and is about a mans best friend and his loyalty to his owner.

Hachi is an Akita dog on transit from Japan to the US when his cage falls out of the train. Parker Wilson is a college professor who happened to be on the same train as Hachi and finds him. Parker tries to find his owner but fails so he tries to find him somewhere to stay for the night but without luck, decides to take him back to his home.

Parker tries to find Hachis owner but is unsuccessful and instead decides to keep him. 

Parker and Hachi grow fond of each other and Hachi begins to follow Parker on the commute to the train station even morning when he goes to work and meets Parker in the evening after work, outside the station.

While lecturing, Parker suddenly dies after a heart attack but Hachi doesn't know what happened and still continues to have hope and waits for him even evening.

Parker Wilson's family decide to sell the house and his daughter tries to adopt Hachi but he runs away and finds home in an old train carriage at the station. He is fed by locals and people that have heard about his story.

Hachi continues on to wait for Parker in the same spot every evening hoping that he will arrive. Hachi waits everyday for parker 9 years after Parkers death until he dies.

Hachi is based on a true story of the dog Hachiko and has a statue dedicated to him outside the train station in Japan where he waited for his owner.

Feedback

The first 2 slides of the presentation were on for slightly too long but as soon as you got into the synopsis, the pace picked up and progressed well.

The ending to the presentation was good because you gradually dragged it out so you know it was the end rather than having to awkwardly end it.

It was a good idea to say it was based on a true story at the end since it is a sad film but it makes it more emotional to know that it was based on something that actually happened.

The visuals were great alongside what was talked about as the images represented the scene you were talking about.

Reflection

Before the presentation began, I was nervous as per every presentation and it gradually got worse as it was coming to the time where it was my turn.

During the presentation, I was slightly more relaxed since I knew I had to compose myself and act normal as I was already standing in front of everyone.

The first part of the presentation was daunting but I gradually felt less tense and at the end I felt all of my anxiety drain away.

During the feedback as per, I usually don't remember what people say/feedback as presentations generally overwhelming and my mind switches off until I feel completely comfortable.