As I already have a strong interest at possibly working in this studio, I was really looking forward to hearing from the LAU alumni on how they have got to where they are and what it is like working for Robot Food.
Chris Shuttleworth:
- Graduated 2014
- Work placement at Big Fish
- Final year work placement at Robot Food
Personal Branding - Business cards
Screen Printed Gig Posters
Why Bother? Publication
Eve Warren:
- Graduated 2014
- Placement at Fieldwork, Golden, Vast, Rabbit Hole etc.
- Freelanced for a bit
Secret 7 Submission
Native American Symbol Book
Jamies Food Revolution
- Want their projects to disrupt the norm of branding and packaging design.
- Start a project with brand workshops, to work out the personality and the values of the brand.
Seabrook crisps
- Focus on colour
- Add a tone of voice to bring personality
- Keep it simple and memorable
- Think about a range and how it can be developed - premium design
Electric Ink
- Referencing old school tattoos, sailor jerry style - created a pattern - worked with an illustrator to produce the design.
- Brand has expanded - gift boxes - selling in urban outfitters in America - think about the possibilities of design expansion and the collateral needed.
- Pushing the brand online
- Helping launch a product (kickstarter)
- Identify a consumer who is not being catered for
- Design for consumer and category
- Introduce unexpected visuals
CO-OP Packaging
- They work on a range for co-op
- Most recent work on nappies
- Noticed that all nappies looked the same, with a picture of a baby on
- Commissioned Jim Field (illustrator) to do the illustration on the packaging
- Simple design
- Icon system to make it easier
- See what people are doing and do it differently
- Messaging keep it minimal
- Design for the audience in mind
Project Disrupt - 3 days, 3 briefs, 5 days.
Laundry - Load
- Mundane choice
- Copywriting is important to elevate the design
A tailored online subscription service for laundry detergent that ensures you never run out, never have too much and makes dealing with laundry a doddle.
Cheese
- Bright and bold
- Thinking beyond packaging
A cheese brand that’s bold, brave and beats the bland.
Air freshner
- Product design orientated thinking more about the shape of the product.
- Inspiration from Google home, Alexa etc.
A new home fragrance system that elevates expectation, creates demand and awakens the fifth sense.
Jobs:
- martin@robotfood.com
- Now hiring graduate/junior designers
- Internships over the summer
As Im interested in working for Robot Food and studios similar to this with a focus on packaging and branding I think that it is really important to start tailoring my portfolio with these studios in mind. After the talk I went up to Eve to talk to her more in depth about Robot Food and what kind of things that they look for in portfolios. What I learned from her is that although competition briefs can be good, everyone is doing them. This means that it gets tedious and unoriginal looking at the same brief over and over. She suggested doing projects based on packaging design but either using fictional clients or creating a brief for a client. I mentioned whether doing a project in the same style as their 'Project Disrupt', if I identified an area in the market with little variation and tackling it in the same way that they did. Eve thought that this would definitely be a good idea and would help to make my portfolio stand out. I also asked her how proficient I would need to be on the design programs - she said that as long as I had good knowledge of photoshop and illustrator I should be okay as I would learn a lot from working. It is more important to have creative ideas and concepts than be the best at 'design'. This helped me to feel a lot more at ease, and I am now more determined to really try and work my hardest and push my design practice to get the job I want. Eve also advised good time management as she mentioned at uni that she took a lot on and started to get confused and was losing track of all the different briefs. This has highlighted the importance of planning and organisation which is something that I need to work on.
Overall I found the talk really beneficial, I have gained lots of advice and insights into what I need to do to give me the best chance of getting a career.
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