This year, I felt like I have put myself out there in terms of attending events, workshops and speaking to people in the industry. I have actively looked at places and speak to people to better myself as a creative and try and get an insight of the design industry. The Glug vs. Ladies Wine and Design was inspiring to me. The main thing that puts me off getting a design job is how heavily male-dominated it is which makes me feel uncomfortable so it was empowering and exciting to see an all-female list of speakers that are doing well for themselves in design. Abbie Moaks, a graduate of LAU was also inspiring to listen to as she explained her journey and how she felt at university and what she did after she graduated. The main thing that stuck to me was that she was speaking about jobs after university and that we shouldn't have a job for the sake of one but instead, because we would see ourselves enjoying the job/studio.
Although I did attend events, I didn't contact many designers/studios but instead I have been contacting bloggers and influencers to collaborate with the Mei Mi Studio brand which we did manage to achieve. I am aware that I should have contacted industry professionals but I'm not sure that I want to be a designer after I graduate as I want to focus on the Mei Mi Studio brand and I don't feel I can dedicate my time to it if I had a full-time studio job.
The most stressful thing was trying to find a placement at a studio that was either in Leeds or in Manchester as I didn't want to be in an unfamiliar place whilst I had other work I had to do. Luckily, I had found one in Manchester and saw that it specialised in branding and web design and I wanted to try and further my web designing skills so I tried there. The actual placement itself was not what I expected, I was hoping it would be creatively-led but instead, I didn't end up making any creative decisions as the studio was very much about what the customer wanted rather than what looked good. Even though it was not what I hoped, it has given me an insight of what to look for when/if I find a design job in the future.
The final PPP presentation was a relief as I know I wouldn't have to put myself in that position in a long time. Every year, whenever I do any sort of crit or presentation, my anxiety always gets the better of me and while I have CBT sessions and when I thought I had control over my anxiety, my anxiety hadn't been as bad since first year. Something about the PPP presentation and the attention was very very overwhelming for me and I felt wholly uncomfortable but I knew I had to do it as I need to pass the module. My anxiety is something that I am working on have have continued working on from years.
Despite some stressful experiences, I am very pleased with the final outcome of my self-branding as I feel it really does reflect me as a designer and a person (minus the anxiety). I feel that the pattern design, colours, typeface and the contents of the box is very me and it was even better that I was able to emphasise the 'She' in my name which is supposed to sound empowering.
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Visiting professional - Abbie Moaks
Abbie Moaks is a LAU alumni who graduated 2 years ago. She currently works for We Are Vista is an events based company but are expanding to design and film.
Starting out, she tried to make her portfolio different and stand out so she would have a better chance of getting a job.
She got an internship by looking on LinkedIn which later, was able to get a job from. Abbie advised us to do freelance work and internships now as we have free time and would be able to do it instead of trying to do it extra work when we have jobs.
Abbie recommended that we take a break between graduating and having a full-time studio job as when she graduated, she wanted to find a job straight away. She got a design job at UYR which is a printing place and studio that specialises in dining design. Abbie told us to really think about what we want to do and what we want from a studio instead of rushing to get into a job.
When looking for design jobs, Abbie advised us to look at turn around times - how frequently people stay at the job for - that usually indicates if the studio is a good place or not and it also shows how frequently employees get promoted.
Recruitment agencies to look at: Craft, Type and Book.
Things to ask during an interview for design job:
Starting out, she tried to make her portfolio different and stand out so she would have a better chance of getting a job.
She got an internship by looking on LinkedIn which later, was able to get a job from. Abbie advised us to do freelance work and internships now as we have free time and would be able to do it instead of trying to do it extra work when we have jobs.
Abbie recommended that we take a break between graduating and having a full-time studio job as when she graduated, she wanted to find a job straight away. She got a design job at UYR which is a printing place and studio that specialises in dining design. Abbie told us to really think about what we want to do and what we want from a studio instead of rushing to get into a job.
When looking for design jobs, Abbie advised us to look at turn around times - how frequently people stay at the job for - that usually indicates if the studio is a good place or not and it also shows how frequently employees get promoted.
Recruitment agencies to look at: Craft, Type and Book.
Things to ask during an interview for design job:
- Progression opportunities
- Do they collaborate with other people or different media?
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Professional website development
Since re-creating my self-branding, I wanted my website to be cohesive with my self-branding design. I used my self-branding pattern as a background on all the pages of my website but made it subtle by turning the opacity down as I don't want to overwhelm the audience nor do I want to draw attention from my actual design work.
I prefer my website now than I did before as I felt previously, it was too stark and dreary and it did not give an indication of who I am but the development shows my character and it makes me look more like an actual designer.
I prefer my website now than I did before as I felt previously, it was too stark and dreary and it did not give an indication of who I am but the development shows my character and it makes me look more like an actual designer.
Monday, April 2, 2018
Self branding development
In the 1st year of university, I had created my self branding that was inspired by the Birchbox concept where you would be sent a box containing 5 surprise items. As I love surprises myself and like the enigmatic concept, I personalised it to me but over the years, the items in the box from 1st year didn't make any sense and I only did them as I didn't know what else to put inside of the box.
Now I am in my 3rd year, I have since developed in my design skills and decided to change the pattern. I still liked the idea of the 90s themed geometric pattern as I was born in the 90s. I developed the design by keeping it simple, using a white background colour but having a fun pattern that consisted of shapes to represent packaging or 3D design. I used mainly pastel colours as I wanted it to be easy on the eye but also use a range of colours to represent my personality.
My original self-branding design tried to use the 'She' part of my name so it seemed like an extension of who I am but it didn't work out too well. The branding looked confusing and it wasn't direct enough to make sense unless I explained the concept. So, I developed the idea by using a simple typeface that is a reflection of myself - I chose Six Caps, which is a sans serif typeface as I feel I am a sans serif person. The typeface isn't too bold but I felt it stood out enough to be easily legible as the stems are equally weighted throughout each letter. I had to readjust the tracking so it didn't look bunched together like it would without any changes. For the body text typeface, I have chosen Baskerville which is a serif as I thought it worked well against the Six Caps typeface and they balance each other out. I've always liked the Baskerville typeface as it is a classic serif type and it looks clean and is easily readable. I did use a serif typeface in my current website however, I don't feel that I am a serif person so this time, I have kept it for the body text instead.
I had chosen a yellow colour for my self-branding name as the name 'Huang' when pronounced in Chinese has a double meaning and is the same pronunciation as yellow. I feel that yellow is a lively and bold colour which again, would hopefully show my personality.
The 'She' in Shelley is more obvious than the previous branding design therefore it allows me to emphasise on who I am as a person and a designer for example, 'She is...', 'She can...', 'She will' etc...
As I've developed more as a person and a designer, choosing elements to be featured in the box was easier. Most of the items in the box have my pattern design or name included as it would hopefully allow the receiver to think of me whilst using my items.
My self-branding box includes:
Now I am in my 3rd year, I have since developed in my design skills and decided to change the pattern. I still liked the idea of the 90s themed geometric pattern as I was born in the 90s. I developed the design by keeping it simple, using a white background colour but having a fun pattern that consisted of shapes to represent packaging or 3D design. I used mainly pastel colours as I wanted it to be easy on the eye but also use a range of colours to represent my personality.
My original self-branding design tried to use the 'She' part of my name so it seemed like an extension of who I am but it didn't work out too well. The branding looked confusing and it wasn't direct enough to make sense unless I explained the concept. So, I developed the idea by using a simple typeface that is a reflection of myself - I chose Six Caps, which is a sans serif typeface as I feel I am a sans serif person. The typeface isn't too bold but I felt it stood out enough to be easily legible as the stems are equally weighted throughout each letter. I had to readjust the tracking so it didn't look bunched together like it would without any changes. For the body text typeface, I have chosen Baskerville which is a serif as I thought it worked well against the Six Caps typeface and they balance each other out. I've always liked the Baskerville typeface as it is a classic serif type and it looks clean and is easily readable. I did use a serif typeface in my current website however, I don't feel that I am a serif person so this time, I have kept it for the body text instead.
I had chosen a yellow colour for my self-branding name as the name 'Huang' when pronounced in Chinese has a double meaning and is the same pronunciation as yellow. I feel that yellow is a lively and bold colour which again, would hopefully show my personality.
The 'She' in Shelley is more obvious than the previous branding design therefore it allows me to emphasise on who I am as a person and a designer for example, 'She is...', 'She can...', 'She will' etc...
As I've developed more as a person and a designer, choosing elements to be featured in the box was easier. Most of the items in the box have my pattern design or name included as it would hopefully allow the receiver to think of me whilst using my items.
My self-branding box includes:
- An A6 plain notebook
- A pencil featuring my name
- Mini packaging design
- Teabag
- A card that shows the type of design I mainly do which also doubles up as a mini illustration poster.
Friday, March 30, 2018
Competition briefs
Since the competition briefs came out, I had chosen 4 to complete, 2 as collaborations and 2 by myself. I wanted to push myself and see if I was able to complete all 4 straight after my dissertation submission.
From going from intense academic writing to planning, developing, creating, researching and getting feedback - it was extreme. Even though the competition briefs were released late 2017/early 2018, I had only really begun the competition briefs after the dissertation submission which gave me around 2 months to complete 4 briefs which I was working daily at. I had done some initial ideas but it felt like I was just starting out on all the briefs.
The first brief I completed was the RSA Fair Play brief where I made a physical board game. This brief was bigger than I expected and more challenging as I hadn't considered how much time and elements it needed to make something work properly. As it is a new board game, I had to think of the rules, the concept, the design, the sustainability and I also created an app. I didn't expect that I would have to do product design as part of this brief but in considering the sustainability of the game, I decided to create the board game from wood which meant I had to go to the wood workshop to get completed.
The second competition brief was in collaboration with Stephen where we created tea tins for the Starpack awards. We both decided that Stephen should do ideas for tea tins and I would do some ideas for coffee and decide which direction we wanted to go from there. We decided to create tea tins as we both rarely are coffee drinkers ourselves so we form that perspective, we felt we had a better understanding of teas as we are more aware of tea. As Stephen had already researched into teas, we discussed the idea and he would create the tin shape and I would create the pattern. This brief was quite straight forward as easy enough to do so I did not feel too stressed whilst doing the Starpack brief.
The third completion was the Ohh Deer Papergang brief. This is the brief that I was able to complete the quickest. The brief was to create a design for their subscription box for the month of October. They did not specify what they wanted so it was a broad brief and allowed me to create whatever I wanted so I looked into trends, into the month of October and created a simple pattern design.
The final brief was another collaboration with Karolina, a 3rd year Graphic Designer at Northumbria University. We had chosen to do the YCN The Grown Up Chocolate Company brief. This brief was more difficult to do as Karolina had her own deadlines and work going on and it was difficult to communicate with her and find free time. We went back and fourth with ideas as we felt we couldn't really fully understand each other's ideas as we only used text as a way to communicate as we did not have the same sleeping habits. In the end, we did finally understand where we wanted to go with the brief and we both did some illustrations and she created the digital mock ups and website design whilst I created the layout and design of the chocolate bar itself.
Doing the 4 briefs in a few months was definitely the most stressful thing I have done in my entire few years on the course. It was very intense and at (many) time, I felt I was going to burn out and give up because it was making my anxiety worse. When everything was submitted and completed, I relaxed a little more but was also very conscious of the other briefs I had to do. Overall, I'm glad that I experienced the turn-over time of each brief and how I pushed myself to submit all the work on time.
From going from intense academic writing to planning, developing, creating, researching and getting feedback - it was extreme. Even though the competition briefs were released late 2017/early 2018, I had only really begun the competition briefs after the dissertation submission which gave me around 2 months to complete 4 briefs which I was working daily at. I had done some initial ideas but it felt like I was just starting out on all the briefs.
The first brief I completed was the RSA Fair Play brief where I made a physical board game. This brief was bigger than I expected and more challenging as I hadn't considered how much time and elements it needed to make something work properly. As it is a new board game, I had to think of the rules, the concept, the design, the sustainability and I also created an app. I didn't expect that I would have to do product design as part of this brief but in considering the sustainability of the game, I decided to create the board game from wood which meant I had to go to the wood workshop to get completed.
The second competition brief was in collaboration with Stephen where we created tea tins for the Starpack awards. We both decided that Stephen should do ideas for tea tins and I would do some ideas for coffee and decide which direction we wanted to go from there. We decided to create tea tins as we both rarely are coffee drinkers ourselves so we form that perspective, we felt we had a better understanding of teas as we are more aware of tea. As Stephen had already researched into teas, we discussed the idea and he would create the tin shape and I would create the pattern. This brief was quite straight forward as easy enough to do so I did not feel too stressed whilst doing the Starpack brief.
The third completion was the Ohh Deer Papergang brief. This is the brief that I was able to complete the quickest. The brief was to create a design for their subscription box for the month of October. They did not specify what they wanted so it was a broad brief and allowed me to create whatever I wanted so I looked into trends, into the month of October and created a simple pattern design.
The final brief was another collaboration with Karolina, a 3rd year Graphic Designer at Northumbria University. We had chosen to do the YCN The Grown Up Chocolate Company brief. This brief was more difficult to do as Karolina had her own deadlines and work going on and it was difficult to communicate with her and find free time. We went back and fourth with ideas as we felt we couldn't really fully understand each other's ideas as we only used text as a way to communicate as we did not have the same sleeping habits. In the end, we did finally understand where we wanted to go with the brief and we both did some illustrations and she created the digital mock ups and website design whilst I created the layout and design of the chocolate bar itself.
Doing the 4 briefs in a few months was definitely the most stressful thing I have done in my entire few years on the course. It was very intense and at (many) time, I felt I was going to burn out and give up because it was making my anxiety worse. When everything was submitted and completed, I relaxed a little more but was also very conscious of the other briefs I had to do. Overall, I'm glad that I experienced the turn-over time of each brief and how I pushed myself to submit all the work on time.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Self branding ideas
Since I am going to be developing my self-branding this year, I've had to think of things that reflect me as a designer and as a person so that I can put it into my self branding box.
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Glug vs. Ladies Wine and Design
Marlin Persson is the Glug HQ coordinator. She is originally from Sweden and graduated there. In 2010, Malin in 2010, she attended Billy Blue College of Design in Sydney and studied Communication Design as a foundation degree.
After she was done with her foundation degree, she attended London Ravensbourne, studying Graphic design
After she finished her degree, she didn't know what to do. She saw on Facebook that a friend of hers had spoken about a Glug event. Malin attended the Glug event and liked the content, speakers and the concept of Glug which had then led her to work at Glug and has been there for 2.5 years.
In the design industry she gave us some advice which were to dare to ask about business, money, projects that you aren’t involved in and extra curricular opportunities. She believes that context leads to confidence and that you should be your own cheerleader. Change routine - say yes more than no. Go to events.
Cari Kirby is a marketing manager at Team Cooper in Sheffield. She studied Media and Politics at university.
Cari got into her current job at Team Cooper after having her child, she wanted flexibility - a balance between work life and being a mum.
She went back to work for 4 days a week as account executive - after 11 months after having child but she no longer felt that she liked the job she was doing and as it didn't allow her to be as flexible as she wanted so she handed in notice and did freelancing.
Whilst Cari was freelancing, she saw an advertisement aimed at women who were on maternity and wanted to get back into work. Team Cooper is a place where it has allowed Cari to be flexible in her work and she enjoys what she does. Her advice was to surround yourself with people in the same position and speak about it so that way, you don't feel alone.
Olivia Downing is a copywriter for a advertising agency. She created 'Chicks in Advertising' which is all about female empowerment in the design industry and is a space that allows women to support one another. She helps to advertise for other people.
Olivia said that it’s important to adapt and have empathy to a lot of different people and relate to people from a small frame of time and the more places that you go on your own, the more opportunities you will have.
Ellen Ling grew up in Harrow on the Hill and used to work at D&AD New Blood but now is a creative copywriter at LOVE Manchester. She has worked on the designs for Simply B and Peri A. which she and Tess collaborated on to create the branding.
She originally went to Drama school as wanted to be an actress - she did performance art for 4 years.
After doing unpaid internships for sometime, she got a job as an admin for Damian Hurst which she said she was working with hipsters for 4 months but then was been made redundant.
She later got a job at D&AD New Blood as an admin worker but it inspired her to want to be a copywriter instead so after a while, she got a job at LOVE Manchester as a copywriter.
She said she was inspired by Alec's (Intern) quote “If you’re not hearing different points of view, then it’s alarm bells you should be hearing instead".
The advice that she had given us was:
- when you are given a brief, solve it, figure it out - be a detective.
- Work out who you are. Be that.
- Don’t hope. Do.
- Be the dumbest person in the room.
- You learn nothing when you try to know everything.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Career Track Tuesday - Recruiting Creative Graduates
Asda Home and George
Clare Gillen is the design manager of Asda Home and George. She graduated with a 3D design degree and went on to do freelance in textiles in places such as Next and Marks & Spencer.
For Asda Home and George, the design team does four trend presentations from all four seasons each year.
It is important to do research on competitors as the retail sector is a hard sell and you most make sure that the idea will sell and therefore you will have to sell them to senior team.
The design team usually have to sign off samples and give feedback of the item to then present it to the senior team.
There are 9 designers on the design team and is fast paced and there is a lot that is expected of you.
There is usually 4 stage recruitment process at Asda.
A design graduate would to apply for the design assistant role. Asda Home and George designers usually go to design exhibitions to find new recruiters or if they know of you and your work or if you have interned there before, they are more likely to give you a job.
Zeal
Ross is the Head of Development in Zeal and had graduated 15 years ago with a New Media Production Degree.
It's not a bad thing to say that you are still learning.
Clients can be wrong but so can you - you sometimes have to be resilient and diplomat.
Portfolio - quality over quantity - submit your best work and don't try to fill it up with work that you don't particularly like.
You will be Googled by employers.
Clare Gillen is the design manager of Asda Home and George. She graduated with a 3D design degree and went on to do freelance in textiles in places such as Next and Marks & Spencer.
For Asda Home and George, the design team does four trend presentations from all four seasons each year.
It is important to do research on competitors as the retail sector is a hard sell and you most make sure that the idea will sell and therefore you will have to sell them to senior team.
The design team usually have to sign off samples and give feedback of the item to then present it to the senior team.
There are 9 designers on the design team and is fast paced and there is a lot that is expected of you.
There is usually 4 stage recruitment process at Asda.
A design graduate would to apply for the design assistant role. Asda Home and George designers usually go to design exhibitions to find new recruiters or if they know of you and your work or if you have interned there before, they are more likely to give you a job.
Zeal
Ross is the Head of Development in Zeal and had graduated 15 years ago with a New Media Production Degree.
It's not a bad thing to say that you are still learning.
Clients can be wrong but so can you - you sometimes have to be resilient and diplomat.
Portfolio - quality over quantity - submit your best work and don't try to fill it up with work that you don't particularly like.
You will be Googled by employers.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Career Track Tuesday: Professional Awareness
Cliff Sewell
He has been in the recruitment industry for 20 years and at 27 years old, he had started his own business and more recently, had founded '15ten15' which is a recruitment agency.
Recruitment application process
He has been in the recruitment industry for 20 years and at 27 years old, he had started his own business and more recently, had founded '15ten15' which is a recruitment agency.
Recruitment application process
- Ring them
- Find more about the recruiter
- Ask Receptionists name and/or email and ask to send a message to the employer
- Practice speaking to employer
- Plan yes/no answers to prepare for potential outcomes
- Write a follow up email to everybody to thank them and to ask more questions to show interest
Question examples
- "As an art director, what are you looking for in an intern?"
- " What is your key client base?"
- "What are your sector goals?"
Interview prep
- Go and look at the place and people that work there
- Check the weather
- Make sure that you turn up early and prepared - at least an hour before it starts
- Research the recruiter and the business
Take notes - show them that you are interested and want to learn. Have questions.
Learn the account side of business - shows interest.
Dress smart.
Employers ask receptionists on how you act/appear walking into the building - have good manners.
Say/reiterate their name - shows that you have acknowledged them.
People like nice people.
If you do not know an answer, don't pretend to know the answer - just say you don't know.
Recruit agencies - ask confirm salary but do not ask employer.
Ask questions all the way through as if it was like a business meeting
- "Tell me a bit about you"
- "What is great about the business?"
- "What are your goals for the business?"
- "What I expected to do on day one/what does the first day look like?"
- "Why is this job position open?"
Find out about the customers and competitors of the business.
The end of the interview process
Be relaxed when leaving the interview, take your time. Don't rush. Ask for contact details - make sure you do a follow-up.
Say something such as "Thank you very much. You offer me the job, I'll take it."
As you leave the building, remember to say bye to the receptionist.
Think, act and look like a professional.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Career Track Tuesday: Networking
Where to network:
- Online or through your friends/colleagues
- Event hosts such as Eventbrite - Glug
- Junior Chamber of Commerce
- Yorkshire Mafia
- Leeds Arts University events
Pre-networking prep
- See where the event is and plan how long it would take to get there.
- Get an invite list of people that are attending if possible and research a little about them and set yourself a goal e.g. talk to 5 people.
Be curious - display this by thinking about your body language and look approachable.
A simple conversation opener would be "What brings you here tonight?"
Elevator pitch
- Who do you work with? What do you do? What particular skills do you possess?
Visualise the topics that they have been talking about on their body to make it easier to remember. Find connections and similar values. Ask questions and as them to elaborate what they are talking about.
Have filler questions and make hem open-ended
- What clients are you working with at the moment?
- What do you love the most about your job?
- What other networking events have you been to/recommend?
Moving to other groups
- "I'm going to get another drink"
- "Do you have a business card so that we can connect?"
- "Sorry, I've just seen something that I really need to speak to. Do you mind if I go to speak to them?"
- "Do you know anyone from this event?"
Follow up (email, LinkedIn etc...):
'Hi. It was nice meeting you last night, I hope you don't mind if we connect and stay in touch.'
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Evolution Print
Evolution Print is based in Sheffield and are printing specialists with clients such as individuals and larger, well known companies. They are able to print simple designs but also can produce publications with their range of equipment.
They use a range of litho and digital print methods depending on the stock and the outcome of the product. They use machinery to bind, cut and fold the design outcome which was the most interesting to me as I usually forget about that part although it is equally as important as the print.
Evolution Print was a facilitating and valuable trip and very similar to the Pressision but more informative and felt more lively. When I think design, whether they are leaflets, posters or in a supermarket, I always forget that there is a lot going on with print itself and I have taken advantage of mass printing as I am only a designer/consumer. The trip had made me become more aware of the design process as a whole, especially if something is to be physically produced.
They use a range of litho and digital print methods depending on the stock and the outcome of the product. They use machinery to bind, cut and fold the design outcome which was the most interesting to me as I usually forget about that part although it is equally as important as the print.
Evolution Print was a facilitating and valuable trip and very similar to the Pressision but more informative and felt more lively. When I think design, whether they are leaflets, posters or in a supermarket, I always forget that there is a lot going on with print itself and I have taken advantage of mass printing as I am only a designer/consumer. The trip had made me become more aware of the design process as a whole, especially if something is to be physically produced.
Friday, February 2, 2018
Creative Convos: The Pop Up Agency
Abraham Asefaw
Abraham Asefaw is the co-founder of The Pop Up Agency. He was born in Saudi Arabia but moved around to different countries as he was growing up. He currently lives in London, where he has been for the last 5 years.
He went to a school called 'Hyper Island' in Scandinavia where he studied design and later, founded The Pop Up Agency with 5 other fellow designers.
The Pop Up Agency
The agency is known for setting and completing briefs within 48 hours. They have been to 40 countries; completing briefs and giving talks. They created their own needs and values and applied it to The Pop Up Agency.
During their time at Hyper Island, the 6 designers proposed an idea to a school to fund their mission which was 'The Pop Up Tour'. This consisted of 15 (clients):15 (weeks):15 (countries). The take away from this experience was that Abraham felt naive and stubborn enough to see it through. It was a big challenge and stressful but they did manage to eventually achieve it.
The reason why they give 48 hours per brief is because at school, their only spare time was during the weekends (48 hours) so they felt that they could dedicate a small amount of time to a brief. The idea stuck as it made them unique and efficient in what they do. After they left school, they had completed 26 briefs.
There are no roles in the agency, they want to constantly grow and revolve so they all have an open mindset and a valuable input.
After they moved to London to start the agency, they we not getting paid and they didn't understand why. They asked 2 well-know advisors that they had met or have heard of to help them with their problem. They told them to focus on the creative process and training as that is their strength and is what they are known for.
The advisors also told them that they should charge higher for their service as they haven't considered their own time and work which is their: salary, expenses and savings. They had to see what was sustainable for them and if the fee was reasonable for the clients. They now charge a flat-fee where it is reasonable for them to earn profit and reasonable for the client to pay for their services.
Balance sales, development and execution.
The take aways that they had from the 2 advisors implementing in the business was that they understood their value - the value of people, guidance, feedback and mentors etc.
The team also re-evaluated their needs and values to see if the agency is what they wanted it to be. They gave everyone 2 days off to figure out if they wanted to stay or leave. By the end of the 2 days, only Abraham and another designer stayed at the agency and carried on. They are the only co-founders left but still have a good relationship with the other former founders.
Intention of The Pop Up Agency
Before and after each day begins, they like to check in. They like to check in the state of mind of others, work that they are currently doing and what is happening. This helps so that they all know what and how each person are doing so they know how to help/allocate to that.
They like to be transparent, reflect an have feedback.
Clients
Most of their clients approach them from word of mouth and transparency when they do talks around the world.
Abraham especially finds clients that are not the stereotypical creative clients and apply the creative process to their business the most inspiring.
Have clear expectations. Set goals and expectations but don't forget to go over them.
Creative principles
"We are a reaction to our time".
Workshop brief
How can we create a business based on our needs and values?
In the task, we were teamed up with a group of 5 people where we 'empty y[our] brains' and write down business ideas that fit in with our needs and values. We then we around to each person and added onto their list, expanding the business idea.
Our business idea
A creative library where all designers and artists are welcome to use and experiment with facilities. The open-space allows designers to collaborate, work and explore the wide range of facilites where they would have to pay a one-off entry fee and bring/buy their own materials and stock. The library is open 24-hours and is a safe space for talks, design work and renting space.
My take aways from the talk
I've learnt how to generate ideas in a fast pace manner and see the business side of design and how to valuate myself reasonably in the design industry.
Abraham Asefaw is the co-founder of The Pop Up Agency. He was born in Saudi Arabia but moved around to different countries as he was growing up. He currently lives in London, where he has been for the last 5 years.
He went to a school called 'Hyper Island' in Scandinavia where he studied design and later, founded The Pop Up Agency with 5 other fellow designers.
The Pop Up Agency
The agency is known for setting and completing briefs within 48 hours. They have been to 40 countries; completing briefs and giving talks. They created their own needs and values and applied it to The Pop Up Agency.
During their time at Hyper Island, the 6 designers proposed an idea to a school to fund their mission which was 'The Pop Up Tour'. This consisted of 15 (clients):15 (weeks):15 (countries). The take away from this experience was that Abraham felt naive and stubborn enough to see it through. It was a big challenge and stressful but they did manage to eventually achieve it.
The reason why they give 48 hours per brief is because at school, their only spare time was during the weekends (48 hours) so they felt that they could dedicate a small amount of time to a brief. The idea stuck as it made them unique and efficient in what they do. After they left school, they had completed 26 briefs.
There are no roles in the agency, they want to constantly grow and revolve so they all have an open mindset and a valuable input.
After they moved to London to start the agency, they we not getting paid and they didn't understand why. They asked 2 well-know advisors that they had met or have heard of to help them with their problem. They told them to focus on the creative process and training as that is their strength and is what they are known for.
The advisors also told them that they should charge higher for their service as they haven't considered their own time and work which is their: salary, expenses and savings. They had to see what was sustainable for them and if the fee was reasonable for the clients. They now charge a flat-fee where it is reasonable for them to earn profit and reasonable for the client to pay for their services.
Balance sales, development and execution.
The take aways that they had from the 2 advisors implementing in the business was that they understood their value - the value of people, guidance, feedback and mentors etc.
The team also re-evaluated their needs and values to see if the agency is what they wanted it to be. They gave everyone 2 days off to figure out if they wanted to stay or leave. By the end of the 2 days, only Abraham and another designer stayed at the agency and carried on. They are the only co-founders left but still have a good relationship with the other former founders.
Intention of The Pop Up Agency
Before and after each day begins, they like to check in. They like to check in the state of mind of others, work that they are currently doing and what is happening. This helps so that they all know what and how each person are doing so they know how to help/allocate to that.
They like to be transparent, reflect an have feedback.
Clients
Most of their clients approach them from word of mouth and transparency when they do talks around the world.
Abraham especially finds clients that are not the stereotypical creative clients and apply the creative process to their business the most inspiring.
Have clear expectations. Set goals and expectations but don't forget to go over them.
Creative principles
- Have an open mind
- Collaborate
- Focus
"We are a reaction to our time".
Workshop brief
How can we create a business based on our needs and values?
In the task, we were teamed up with a group of 5 people where we 'empty y[our] brains' and write down business ideas that fit in with our needs and values. We then we around to each person and added onto their list, expanding the business idea.
Our business idea
A creative library where all designers and artists are welcome to use and experiment with facilities. The open-space allows designers to collaborate, work and explore the wide range of facilites where they would have to pay a one-off entry fee and bring/buy their own materials and stock. The library is open 24-hours and is a safe space for talks, design work and renting space.
My take aways from the talk
I've learnt how to generate ideas in a fast pace manner and see the business side of design and how to valuate myself reasonably in the design industry.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Creative Convos: The Elephant Room
The Elephant Room
Will and Shannie are the co-founders of an advertising agency, The Elephant Room. The agency is based in London and has been running for less than a year, they started in June 2017 but had been getting everything else sorted before that. They are currently a team of 5 and hire freelancers, artists, models, designers etc. when they need to. Everyone in the studio have their own roles/titles but they all chip in when they feel they can add to a design/concept/situation as they are a small agency so they can be more flexible.
The agency wants to focus on diversity on a broad spectrum such as cultures, bodies, disabilities, sexualities etc.
Clients
Shannie used to live in Birmingham but now lives in London. She was a dancer but wanted to do a different type of art but not dancing. She graduated university in 2015. She got a job as a brand manager for Underground Magazine in London.
She was featured in 'She Says' which is an advertising agency that supports and empowers women in the creative industry.
Will de Groot
Will was originally from York and studied English Literature at Brighton University. He graduated in 2010 but didn't know what to do. He moved to live in Japan for a while to teach and when he flew back to the UK, he moved to live in London. In London, he did unpaid internships at PR/media firms for experience and later went on to work at a brand consultancy called 'Flamingo'. He said that although it was good experience, the agencies that he's been to lacked diversity and culture and that everything was very much one-dimensional.
Their advice
Will and Shannie are the co-founders of an advertising agency, The Elephant Room. The agency is based in London and has been running for less than a year, they started in June 2017 but had been getting everything else sorted before that. They are currently a team of 5 and hire freelancers, artists, models, designers etc. when they need to. Everyone in the studio have their own roles/titles but they all chip in when they feel they can add to a design/concept/situation as they are a small agency so they can be more flexible.
The agency wants to focus on diversity on a broad spectrum such as cultures, bodies, disabilities, sexualities etc.
Clients
- Dyson
- Wileyfox
Shannie used to live in Birmingham but now lives in London. She was a dancer but wanted to do a different type of art but not dancing. She graduated university in 2015. She got a job as a brand manager for Underground Magazine in London.
She was featured in 'She Says' which is an advertising agency that supports and empowers women in the creative industry.
Will de Groot
Will was originally from York and studied English Literature at Brighton University. He graduated in 2010 but didn't know what to do. He moved to live in Japan for a while to teach and when he flew back to the UK, he moved to live in London. In London, he did unpaid internships at PR/media firms for experience and later went on to work at a brand consultancy called 'Flamingo'. He said that although it was good experience, the agencies that he's been to lacked diversity and culture and that everything was very much one-dimensional.
Their advice
- It's not always about experience, it's about potential
- Own what you're about and your title
- Be persistent
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Creative Convos: Robot Food
Chris and Eve are both graduates of Leeds College of Art, from 2014.
Chris Shuttleworth
Chris did a placement at 'Big Fish' in London, 'The Chase' in Preston and in his final year at university, he did a placement at Robot Food and eventually, ended up with a full-time job there and has been at Robot Food for 4 years.
When he did his placement at Robot Food, it was a studio of 6, but now it has grown into a larger studio of 14 people.
Eve Warren
Eve did a placement at 'Field Work' in Manchester and a few other design studios in the North. She had been a freelance Graphic Designer up until last year when she found a job at Robot Food and is now working full-time as a designer. She has currently been at Robot Food for a year.
Robot Food
They mainly specialise in branding and packaging design.
Their brand strategy is to simplify and amplify. Before getting straight onto designing, they do a brand workshop where they first: identify and define the brands personality, find their competitors, look at trends and how their products/brand look against existing products/brands.
They have worked with clients such as Seabrook and The Co-Op.
Electric Ink
Simon, the founder and creative director of Robot Food is a fan of tattoos and tattoo designs. He wanted to create an tattoo aftercare range for people with tattoos to buy as in shops, tattoo aftercare products seemed to be too silver or more about the brand than the product itself.
They hired Tom Gilmore, a illustrator to create a playful pattern design for their packaging.
Electric Ink launched in Urban Outfitters in the US and in Topman. They are also looking towards creating a mailing/subscription service of their tattoo products for consumers. They use Instagram to engage with consumers and find brand ambassadors for their products.
Advice
Chris Shuttleworth
Chris did a placement at 'Big Fish' in London, 'The Chase' in Preston and in his final year at university, he did a placement at Robot Food and eventually, ended up with a full-time job there and has been at Robot Food for 4 years.
When he did his placement at Robot Food, it was a studio of 6, but now it has grown into a larger studio of 14 people.
Eve Warren
Eve did a placement at 'Field Work' in Manchester and a few other design studios in the North. She had been a freelance Graphic Designer up until last year when she found a job at Robot Food and is now working full-time as a designer. She has currently been at Robot Food for a year.
Robot Food
They mainly specialise in branding and packaging design.
Their brand strategy is to simplify and amplify. Before getting straight onto designing, they do a brand workshop where they first: identify and define the brands personality, find their competitors, look at trends and how their products/brand look against existing products/brands.
They have worked with clients such as Seabrook and The Co-Op.
Electric Ink
Simon, the founder and creative director of Robot Food is a fan of tattoos and tattoo designs. He wanted to create an tattoo aftercare range for people with tattoos to buy as in shops, tattoo aftercare products seemed to be too silver or more about the brand than the product itself.
They hired Tom Gilmore, a illustrator to create a playful pattern design for their packaging.
Electric Ink launched in Urban Outfitters in the US and in Topman. They are also looking towards creating a mailing/subscription service of their tattoo products for consumers. They use Instagram to engage with consumers and find brand ambassadors for their products.
Advice
- Add personality to brands to make it seem more playful and fun in their tone of voice
- Shout about the USP of each brand to draw out their unique characteristics that may make it stand out from its consumers
- Identify what the consumer is missing and create something unique to make it stand out
- Introduce and unexpected stand-out style.
1-2-1 Careers Advice at Leeds Arts University
As I am currently in my final year of university, I need to start thinking now about what I want to do after university finishes and what to do after I graduate. I do have a CV but I have not updated it since college and I was unsure if it was correctly laid out.
I had booked a 1-2-1 careers advice session with Sue, she had helped and advised me with what to do after university and how to create a CV depending on who I wanted to give it to e.g. a design agency or for a retailer.
I had initially told her that I wanted to create a CV for a retail job as I am not sure if I would immediately start working for a design agency. By the end of the session, she said that with the skills I have, she doesn't understand why I wouldn't get a design job as I do have the experience and skills necessary. Sue said that I would be too good to work for a retail job and I shouldn't settle and I should indeed, look for jobs in the design industry.
The session with Sue was very uplifting and positive as I went into the situation feeling slightly disappointed in my skill set and CV but by discussing it with Sue, she helped me draw out and find that I do have quite a lot of experience and organisation skills in things I've done. Before I went to the session, I didn't think I had any work experience at all but when talking to Sue, she had made me realise that I do have more skills and experience than I give myself credit for.
I had booked a 1-2-1 careers advice session with Sue, she had helped and advised me with what to do after university and how to create a CV depending on who I wanted to give it to e.g. a design agency or for a retailer.
I had initially told her that I wanted to create a CV for a retail job as I am not sure if I would immediately start working for a design agency. By the end of the session, she said that with the skills I have, she doesn't understand why I wouldn't get a design job as I do have the experience and skills necessary. Sue said that I would be too good to work for a retail job and I shouldn't settle and I should indeed, look for jobs in the design industry.
The session with Sue was very uplifting and positive as I went into the situation feeling slightly disappointed in my skill set and CV but by discussing it with Sue, she helped me draw out and find that I do have quite a lot of experience and organisation skills in things I've done. Before I went to the session, I didn't think I had any work experience at all but when talking to Sue, she had made me realise that I do have more skills and experience than I give myself credit for.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Creative Convos: Rose Nordin
Rose Nordin
Rose Nordin is a freelance Graphic Designer and works with an art collective, 'OOMK' with 2 other designers.
OOMK is bi-annual zine which mainly discusses the representation of women in the creative industry and activism.
Her work is very much self-directed projects and she has an artist residency in London.
OOMK founded and run a Risograph printing press in London called 'Rabbits Road Press' that is open every Wednesday where people can learn how to print and produce designs.
Rose's website inspirations
Artfund.org
ArtistNetwork - AN
She did a 6-week trip in Malaysia which was funded by the British Council where she spoke to fellow local designers and found inspiration in another country.
Her advice is to avoid doing any work for free - don't be afraid to ask about what you feel is worth your time.
We had created zines at the end of the session, that were an A-Z of what we associate with Graphic Design in which the whole course pitched in with designing.
Although it was a fun and different task to do, Zines and editorial design in general is not particularly something I want to get into but am happy to experiment just to make sure.
Rose Nordin is a freelance Graphic Designer and works with an art collective, 'OOMK' with 2 other designers.
OOMK is bi-annual zine which mainly discusses the representation of women in the creative industry and activism.
Her work is very much self-directed projects and she has an artist residency in London.
OOMK founded and run a Risograph printing press in London called 'Rabbits Road Press' that is open every Wednesday where people can learn how to print and produce designs.
Rose's website inspirations
Artfund.org
ArtistNetwork - AN
She did a 6-week trip in Malaysia which was funded by the British Council where she spoke to fellow local designers and found inspiration in another country.
Her advice is to avoid doing any work for free - don't be afraid to ask about what you feel is worth your time.
We had created zines at the end of the session, that were an A-Z of what we associate with Graphic Design in which the whole course pitched in with designing.
Although it was a fun and different task to do, Zines and editorial design in general is not particularly something I want to get into but am happy to experiment just to make sure.
Monday, January 29, 2018
Creative Convos: Dines
Dines
Dines is a graphic designer and creative director who graduated with a 2:1 at a university in Southampton, 8 years ago.
In the beginning, Dines was inspired by cartoons and manga that he used to watch when he was younger as he saw it as being playful and not too serious in which is his design approach.
He likes to draw and his unique design style is to mix illustrations with other forms of creative outputs such as photography. He likes to mix cultures - renaissance painting and his own style together to create something unique and different which people like.
His first ever gig was to create a poster for a nightclub in London called 'Orange Rooms'. His work got printed into leaflets and posters. For Dines, he really felt the impact of his design when he saw his poster in a stranger's wall at a house party and thought that design is about making people feel happier through visuals.
Dines advice is to get rid of @ emails that contain hotmail, gmail, outlook etc... It is not as professional and people/brands are less likely to respond to your email as opposed your own email mailbox name.
Studio BLUP
Him and his best friend from the same course from university are 50/50 partners at BLUP Studio in which they had founded and are now a team of 7. 'BLUP' has no meaning in particular, it is just a simple and easy word to say and use.
The studio is about being in the culture and going to gigs and fashion shows. They have clients such as Adidas, Nike, P&G, Universal Music, Sony and BBC.
Soccerbible
Dines had contacted Soccerbible serval times to ask if he could design the front page for their magazine which was France-themed. Soccerbible agreed and he then persisted on asking them if he could also create the cover design for the magazine, in which they already had a bunch of people asking to do it. They allowed Dines to create the cover design as well as the front page and he had sent them videos of the cover being designed behind the scenes so Soccerbible had free content for their social media.
Personal goals and visions
- Win awards
- Inspire millions
- Provide for his family
- Live like a G.
Drunk nightclub
Dines was the creative director for the designs at Drunk nightclub in Southampton. His work was recognised by other nightclubs - especially ones that played house music in their clubs and his designs were known to other nightclubs all over Europe.
From the Drunk nightclub design recognition, Adidas reached out to BLUP to create invite designs for the Olympics in which they did. He added that they almost lost their money as they did not read the small print of the brief where it told them to package each invite in a black envelope.
"Commit first, figure it out later."
Cadbury
Cadbury had asked Dines if he knew how to use Cinema 4D and he said he did. He had to watch YouTube tutorials all night to see how to use it. Luckily, he did successfully create the Cadbury Olympics design.
P&G
Dines created a website for Lacoste and that's what got him into designing for Protector & Gamble and has made more of their designs ever since.
International dominance
They created a design featuring the England football team for Singapore which got them recognised by G.E.M, a Hong Kong singer and created all designs for her.
BLUP
Blue have launched their own clothing in which they have their logo and other designs printed onto.
Dines advice is to learn as much skills in design as possible.
Friday, January 5, 2018
Made By Bespoke Placement Experience
In my last PPP presentation, I had said that I would want to gain industry experience and hopefully do a placement at a design studio during the summer. I had found the Made By Bespoke studio during the final few months of 2nd year and had reached out to them to see if I could do a placement with them during the summer. They had asked me to show them my portfolio. I told them that I wanted to show them my physical work but I was still at uni and was unable to take it as it needed assessing, so I sent them my Behance website in which they liked and asked me to see them in person to discuss my work and the placement.
I wasn't able to meet them in time to get a placement as they are closed on weekends. So after the 2nd year of university had finished, the opportunity had gone for the summer placement.
I emailed them again at the end of November asking if I could do a placement over the Christmas break. I spoke to them in their studio about my work and their design work in which they agreed to let me start the placement on the 15th December.
The placement at Made By Bespoke lasted a total of 14 days (15th December 2017 - 5th January 2018) but stretched out within 3 weeks since it was the holidays.
Made By Bespoke is a small design studio, made up of designers and web developers. They specialise in web design, branding, advertising and packaging. Most of their clients have requested for web designs and so that is why I initially wanted to do the placement, so that I could develop my web design skills to see if I wanted to specialise in the area.
Experience
On the first day of the placement, I was briefed on some of their current clients, client work and previous designs that they had produced. I was also introduced to the team and their specialities. They said they are not as busy during the Christmas/New Year period so it was easier for me to learn more about how studios work.
Since I told them that I wanted to expand my digital design skills and knowledge, they assigned me to help the design team to create a website and come up with ideas and solutions for the client.
Throughout the 14 days, I had been helping with the design of a website and other designs as well as doing some printing and office work.
As I was helping design a website for their client, it was difficult sometimes to input my design knowledge and skills into the website as the client knew what they wanted and didn't want. It was a little frustrating as my design skills felt very limited and I felt like I had to do what they wanted rather than compromise and suggest ideas as a designer. The experience has made me realise that I do not want to design because I have to, I want to design because I want to help others make good, informed design decisions where I am also able to negotiate and have a voice.
Overall, the experience was beneficial and helpful however, the 10-day placement over the 3 week period made it seem like I was there for longer and gaps in-between made it difficult to stay motivated.
Walsh Solicitors website design
The only creative experience that I did to re-create some of Walsh Solicitor's website which consisted of replacing images, adding type boxes and I had to copy and paste it from a computer webpage, to a tablet device webpage and also a smartphone webpage. The experience was quite inflexible and a little mundane for me as a designer. I'd like it if I had more creative control and would appreciate if clients would trust designers as they know what they are doing rather than the client thinking they would know what's best as they shouldn't hire a designer if so. Made By Bespoke offered me a job after I finish university but based on the placement, that particular design studio is not going to work for me.
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