OUGD602 PPP Task 1 - Final Outcome

Final Outcome:

Overall I am a lot happier with my final outcome compared to last years design. The coloured stock is bright and eye-catching which helps to bring an overall engagement with the design. I did encounter some problems along the way which affected the quality of the overall design, such as printing, cutting out, and mounting. The slits on the cards are also possibly to thin but they do hold the cards a lot better than before. I hope that presenting the interview (questions) in this way shows my ability to think outside the box and do something different. 

Message to Simon:

'Hi Simon,

Thanks again for getting back to me with the answers to my questions earlier this year, I really appreciate it. Using your answers I have created a set of cards, one side with a little doodle with elements from your work, and the other with your answers. These cards are intended to build together to create a structure which represents how you have built up your studio and the way in which you build strong brands. I wanted the colours to be bright and engaging similar to those in your work. I’ve sent you the outcome so you can have a build yourself!

Looking forward to seeing more work from RF!

Georgina'

OUGD602 PPP Task 1 - Design

Design:

I decided to edit the original net so that that gap isn't as wide, this way the cards should hopefully slot and hold together a lot better.

I sketched out the illustrations in pencil, scanned them in, and edited them on photoshop to make them stand out. Due to the time limit I feel like I have rushed some of the illustrations.

For the text I made the type size 10pt so that it could still be read but would fit better onto the card. Typeface - Cabin - clear, clean and legible.

I want to use a variation of bright coloured stock similar to the colours used in their work. Unfortunately it was hard as I couldn't find any packs of different coloured card. I have had to buy coloured paper which I am going to mount onto card so that it is sturdy enough.

OUGD602 PPP Task 1

Task 1:
Send something physical to a studio by next week - need proof of postage.

I have decided to send something to Robot Food as it is a studio that I really admire. I contacted Simon Forster the founder last year for my creative report but I never sent him the outcome. I want to improve on the design to refine it and make it look more professional and something I would be proud to send to him. I want to focus on making it memorable and interactive.

Old design:

Last year I broke the 10 questions that I asked Simon down into 10 cards. The idea of the cards was that they could slot together to form some sort of structure. This represents how Simon has built up his studio as well as showing how strong brands are built through Robot Food. Unfortunately the gaps on the cards were too wide which only allowed a tower to be built. On one side of the card would be a full scale image of either work Robot Food have done or members of the studio. On the other side Simons responses which stand alone without the question.

What I want to change:

I still want to work with the card idea as this is flat and will be able to be posted easily. I also like the interactive element, this structure could then be placed on a shelf somewhere, where it would be seen by others. After talking to a couple of people they felt that it would show my personality and creativity more if I illustrated some of their work. I don't want to do full scale designs but rather take elements from the packaging. Although I am not so confident with my drawing abilities I want to give it a go as it adds a more personal touch. 

The type also needed work, as some of the text was too long and needed to be edited down to fit more appropriately and clearly on the card. It was felt that the speech marks weren't appropriate and should be taken off the new design.

I was also suggested to use brightly coloured stock to make the design more eye-catching as well as reflecting the strong colour that is within Robot Food's work.

OUGD602 Contact List

Task 1:
Draw up a list of 12 studios, agencies, professionals or potential collaborators who you would like to contact or work with.

I have found 12 studios which specialise in packaging design and branding. This is because it is the area of design I am most interested and passionate about. The ones that I have found are all UK based and have strong portfolios that reflect the type of work that I like.

Robot Food

Robot Food are an independent strategic branding agency specialising in consumer insight, brand positioning, communication and cut-through design. Robot Food is a reasonably small studio consisting of about 19 people. The work they produce is bright, bold and engaging packaging design. I previously contacted the founder Simon last year.

R Design

R Design are a compact and proudly independent branding and packaging agency. They have worked with some big clients such as Tesco, Boots, Millie's Cookies and M&S.

Mayday London

A packaging design agency consisting of 10 people, keeping simplicity and clarity at the heart of what they do.

Design Happy

Design Happy are a hands on, independent branding & packaging design agency consisting of 10.

Together Design

Together Design brings energy and personality to brands, helping them better connect with people.

Springetts

An award-winning, independent brand design consultancy. From their home in London they work for brands around the world, from the big and global to the small and local.

Family and Friends

Family (and friends) uses strategic thinking and crafted design to create real joy and affection for everyday brands.

Chilli UK

A specialist strategic brand and packaging agency that’s dedicated just to food.

BrandMe

BrandMe is a privately owned strategic brand development, design and innovation consultancy. 

Design Activity

Branded packaging and shopper marketing creative specialists.

Digital Creative Packaging

Manchester based studio specialising in branding and packaging design.

OUGD602 Design Manchester 17 - Conference: Design City Reframed

Design Manchester 17 - Conference: Design City Reframed

On Friday the 13th of October I went to a day-long conference in Manchester as part of Design Manchester. The conference featured internationally celebrated and influential speakers presenting and discussing their creative work spanning brand, architecture, film, typography and service design.

Naresh Ramchandani (Pentagram)
- Spoke about creating an LP as he wanted to do something different and music is powerful to tell a story.
- Make mistakes
- Be vulnerable
- Always try new stuff
- Be experimental
I didn't particularly enjoy this talk as he was just telling us about creating this LP which we didn't get to hear any of the songs. There was little to take away from this talk other than the encouragement to push yourself out of your comfort zone and do something different.

Jane Murison (Head of User Experience & Design at the BBC)
- Spoke about designing the right thing on the internet.
- Worried about the effects of using phone / laptop.
- The internet is driving us mad
- The internet / social media is distracting
- More decisions are being asked - choice making is harder.
- People aren't able to make informed choices
- Repetition of articles - propaganda - leading to fake news.
- Where is the design for - solace, critical thinking, forgiveness, informed choices etc.
- The BBC Reality Check - helps to filter fake news and how to recognise it.
I found this talk to be really engaging and interesting as it is something I have thought about. Jane raised many points that I think are important for a designer to be aware of and maybe how I could tackle this issue.

Louis Mikolay (North)
- Spoke about recent project on the Science Museum group branding.
- 15 people studio
- Works on brand identity
- Science museum got negative comments - normalising judgement.
- They wanted to create an identity that fits together fluidly across the museums, this way funding for the smaller museums is more likely.
- Strong consistency
- They did thorough research into successful / non successful museum branding.
- They wanted something that would reach / appeal to a diverse audience.
- They did site visits and visual audits
- The current branding had no consistency, different typefaces which meant that internationals struggled.
- 'Groupness' wasn't there
- Did lot's of meetings / interviews
- Criteria for success - Representative - Inspirational - A measure - Simple
- Emotional process
- Create for longevity 
- Generally shorter name = greater potential for brand.
- Brand name and title can be used separately
- Evaluating the current identities - where can we improve?
-  Consistent typographic voice
- SMG SANS - 6 weights - always takes up the same amount of space - rules of application.
- A system that can grow and evolve - way-finding with pictures (map).
I really enjoyed this talk, Louis took us through the whole thorough process of how they came to the final design for the branding. It was a very in depth process and we were shown lots of designs that didn't make the cut for the final outcome. It was sad that in a way he had to explain all of this so meticulously to the people that disliked the outcome, but it was a way to prove that this design was thought out and considered. I really want to look into this studio more as the work that is produced is really strong and successful. 

Tash Wilcocks (Hyper Island)
- Spoke about what she was doing and encouraging you to do more.
- Do things that scare you
- Hyper Island - Manchester based
- This American Life - The Gap (radio podcast)
- She started mundane a day (drawing type) - 1 hour a day - active - gained client
Tash delivered a really interactive and engaging talk which unfortunately was very short in comparison to some of the others. She was very confident, bouncy and chatty and helped to encourage us to be more creatively active.

Lawrence Kitson (CoopDigital)
- Service design - provide mutual benefit - team.
Lawrence Kitson spoke about what service design is and how it can help people. The only downfall of this talk, and the reason I lost interest it because it wasn't engaging enough. He spoke a lot about the history of Manchester and took a very long winded approach to what service design was. For this reason I didn't engage properly with what he was saying and therefore didn't take much away from his talk.

Alex McDowell (RDI)
- Narrative designer and creative director working at the intersection of emergent technologies and experiential media.
- Spoke about Disruptive Narratives - world building for change @worldbldg
- Came up with the world in Minority Report 2002 - script came second.
- Seeing trends and imaging - building on what is there
- Design visualisation to test ideas 
- Thinking about economic, political, cultural influences etc.
- Man of Steel 2012 - why the 's' on his chest - created a language
- Augmented Reality: CES 2014 - whale flew over crowd
- Emotional and haptic interventions: Sundance New Frontier 2016
Alex's talk was really amazing showing all the projects that he's working on and how he's trying to work with new technologies such as VR to create more dynamic experiences. I really like how creative his job is, visual storytelling has so much depth to it and you can be creative with no limits.

Emily Forgot
- 12 years as an Illustrator
- Time off from commercial endeavours 
- Time off from environment
- Architecture influences
- Time off from your own proffession
- Time off from the internet
- Look into your past for inspiration
- Allow for brief distractions
- Muse and maker blog
Emily showed us lots of her work which I really liked as we could sort of gauge the type of things she designs. She was a very down to earth person with a likeable personality which made her presentation seem more genuine. She also emphasised taking time out and sourcing inspiration from your other interests.

Ellen Van Loon (OMA)
- Talked about the projects she has worked on.
- Architect
- Worked with very high profile clients
- Fashion collabs
It was really interesting to see Ellen's work and have a bit of an insight into the world of Architecture, she has worked with some really big clients and I particularly liked her runway designs.

Overall I really enjoyed the conference as I felt like I got a lot out of it and it was interesting to see how different creatives worked in a professional environment. The overall theme seemed to be to push your boundaries and do something different to get inspired.

OUGD602 The Design Kids (Frankie Ratford)

Frankie Ratford TDK director came to talk to us about what TDK is, and her journey as a creative. She has worked as a print designer, a lecturer, an intern, a blogger, a freelancer, a book binder and a bunch of other design related stuff. She spoke to us about how being in a studio surrounding, even with one of her idols, didn't suit her and wasn't something that she enjoyed. Frankie enjoys travelling and being on the move, it was really inspiring how she has managed to balance work, life and travel so well. She is an extremely motivated person and her passion for creativity and wanting to help others find that, really came through.

What is TDK?
An online resource for student and graduate Graphic Designers, to help you get a job in the design industry that's right for you.

How?
- Industry interviews
- Latest industry standard work from local creatives
- Suggested blogs
- Design directories
- TDK Tuesdays (monthly design meet up in host cities)
- Job and internship listings

Website
The design kids website has really important information so you begin to understand the industry that you're going in to.

Frankie also did a workshop with us which started to get us thinking about ourselves as creatives, our likes, dislikes, ares of interests, personality type etc, while also helping by giving us a plan for graduating.

A plan for graduating:
- Attending design events (1 per week)
- Applying for internships
- Starting a personal project
- Entering design competitions (1 per month)
- Becoming friends with your lecturer
- Telling everyone you know what you do
- Designing a business card for NOW
- Researching my top ten studios globally

OUDG602 Start Up Wednesday - Client Negotiation - Lou Bones

Start Up Wednesday - Client Negotiation - Lou Bones

The workshop on client negotiation was facilitated by Lou Bones from the Association of Illustrators.

The Association of Illustrators:

A support service for illustrators which aims to help give:
- Pricing advice
- Contract advice
- Negotiation support
- Member's helpline
- Online fact sheets
- Portfolio consultation
- Exclusive industry opportunities 
- Protecting rights 
- Promoting illustration
- Rewarding excellence

Lou Bones Talk:

Self Promotion
- It needs to connect with the type of client that you want to work with.
- You need to communicate who you are as a creative and what is it that you want to get across.
- Websites need to be clear and to the point, mainly imaged base so your work is easy to see. Connect social media to your website.
- Work out who is your dream client and what they would want to see.
- Study the industry and work out your niche.
- Research client lists (bikinilists.com)
- When replying or writing emails avoid 'Dear Sir/Madam' - use their name.
- Personal projects are important, keep in mind the client that you would want, the delivery and keep it concept driven.
- Twitter can be used as a creative dialogue, follow designers, businesses, studios, art directors etc.
- If a client approaches you through social media, move it to email as its more professional and it covers your back.
- On Instagram you can push the boundaries of how to show off your work through close ups, sketchbook pages, videos, time lapses etc.

Accounts (freelance)
- You are the book keeper.
- Register for income tax within 3 months of starting.
- Keep up to date with accounts.
- Retain all claimable receipts.
- Keep paperwork
- Keep record of your licence.
- Tax return will change to 4 times a year.
- Accounting apps - xero Quickbooks and FreeAgent.

Copyright (the right to copy)
- You are licensing to the client.
- Lasts for 70 years after the creators death.
- Reference
- If employed by client it is their work.
- Licence your work
- Copyright infringement
- Copyright can be assigned by you to a client - rarely advise that this should occur.
- Money, must cover all costs of future use.
- Loss of control, it could be used for anything without your control.

Moral Rights (automatic, can be waived)
- Right of paternity - identified as creator
- Right of integrity - work not to be subjected to any derogatory treatment (cropping, editing etc.)

Rights Online
- Protect online so you can always be identified.
- Low res images.

Contracts
- Can be written or verbal
- Accept any commission in writing
- Paid for cancellation of jobs

Licensing / Accepting commission
- Don't give anything until this is drawn up
- Don't work for free
- Delivery dates need to be realistic at the onset.
- Exclusivity
- Makes an agreement binding
- Gives clarity and certainty 
- Demonstrates professionalism and confidence
- Evidence for any disputes

Client Negotiation
- Don't work for free, you are being paid for an output.
- Quote accurately, don't ball park as that will be binding.
- Don't day fee, you could produce more work = more money.
- Ask questions

Fees
- Size of the client - regional / national / global
- Stipulations for the licence
- Where are they using it?
- How long are they using it?
- What size and purpose are they using it?
- Don't quote without information

Fees - Advertising
Above the line
- Publicity material appearing within paid space ads
Print
- Magazine / Newspaper ads, posters, billboards etc 'Out of Home'.
Digital
- Banner adverts

Below the line
- Publicity that is not paid for

Buyout
- Copyright assignment
- Confirm if it is time specific

Additional Fees
- Amendments (more that 3 rounds)
- Rush fees

Overall I found the talk to be very beneficial as there was a lot of information that I was unaware of. Even though I don't necessarily want to go into freelance work, there is a lot of information you should know generally as a designer. I am now going to be more conscious if asked to do any freelance work, and I feel it has prepared me for the future.