Module Evaluation

Throughout this module I have been able to build on professional relationships, skills in communication and design as well as produce an identity that reflects myself and my practice. Through engaging with creatives such as Michael Lewis my practice has felt even more passionate and considered. Through engaging with creatives my understnaindg and commitment to design has come through. This has reassured previous concerns that I had as to whether design is the direction I would like to continue in. From applying to a Psychology MsC and turning the offer down, I have filtered this subject area into my practice where appropriate. This is something that I would like to continue doing to add another dimension to my work and to really consider the impact it can have. 

Producing an identity was an area in previous years that I have struggled with after not being aware of the direction that I would like to take. This year I came to the realisation that this is not needed when producing an identity. The design chosen and that has been applied across print and digital media is open to my practice changing as I continue to learn and develop as a creative. 

Timetable

Keeping a calendar throughout the academic year ensured that internal deadlines and university/live brief deadlines were met. Using this technique provided structure to my working week. This has allowed me to use my time effectively and is an important part of my professional development. When working on freelance projects in the future I hope to be able to follow a similar structure as it benefits my practice to have date goals to work towards. 

LinkedIn - Recruitment

LinkedIn features allow for other members to be aware of my activity in looking for a job. This helps identify jobs that I may not have come across myself. To find out more about the role that Tom is recruiting for, I have asked for further information. 

Having received the job description, there are still questions that have not been answered. The role reflects similar aspects as to the work that I complete at LeedsBID. This job would offer a secure contract completing work in a variety of areas. This is something that I have identified as important in the progression of my practice and in my preferred job role. 

In response to Ross's email, I will ask more details as to whom the employer is and the size of the company. This will hopefully provide me with the appropriate information to conduct research into whether the role is appropriate to me.

Brief 06, Evaluation. Exhibition.

Exhibition, Point Of View

Strenghts 
This brief allowed me to explore my interest in identity based design, with the outcomes of this brief being used in the real world. Although reservations were made at first towards producing the branding for the exhibition, this is an area that my confidence has increased in and allowed for creative freedom. It was also a positive experience working with an individual whose work ethic reflects my own and provides constructive, supportive feedback. The collaboration process increased my learning in the area of exhibition curation as I was able to learn layout and hanging techniques from Hilda. 


Weaknesses
Due to the last minute date change of the exhibition, there was less of a turn out in terms of the creatives we invitied. This could partially be due to the opening event having to be heald on a bank holiday. In the future, this could be overcome by securing a space through a contract to ensure that no last minute changes could be made. 


Time Management
A penciled in time frame that we wanted to hold the exhibition in aided the development of the exhibition. This meant that we could set an appropriate deadline to the submission of the exhibition brief as well as take the time to develop the identity. Once the date had been confirmed, the extra aspects could be scheduled in. Keeping to this schedule meant that everything was ready ahead of the exhibiton opening night. 


Final Outcome

The exhbition opening night was a great success. It was reassuring to recieve positive feedback from those who attened the exhibition. The handout provided many areas of discussion, with visitors discussing their perception and the artists. This brief has encouraged me to explore the organisation role further through future projects. 

Presentation

Level 6 started with a talk by Frankie Ratford. This opened me up to other career options rather than just graphic design and has structured many of the briefs that I have worked on this year. Freelance; graphic design, illustration, copy writer, organising. 

Throughout this year I have completed briefs that have helped me explore the different career options. This means that my portfolio will feature a variety of briefs, reflecting the practice that I would like to continue in a freelance or employed role. This is a YCN LIVE BRIEF which is a brief that covered all the career areas.

It was a collaboration brief with a third year animation student. This brief taught me the characteristics to look out for in the future when finding someone to collaborate with. It is important to work with someone who has the same work mentality as mine otherwise I have found the work is not complete to its fullest potential.

To build on my exploration of various job directions I attended a number of career track Tuesday...

and start-up Wednesday talks. The talks covered areas such as freelancing, finances, networking skills, how to use LinkedIn, etc.  

One talk that was particularly influential was, freelancing for agencies and organisations. At this talk I met...

Martin Dickson who is head of marketing at LeedsBID. Martin spoke very highly of their in house graphic designer and this led me to speak to him at the end of his talk. We discussed Jordan (the graphic designers) role a little more and Martin also asked about my own practice. This led to me arranging a meeting to speak to martin and meet Jordan. 

 I went to the LeedsBID office and during the chat I was offered a job...

This role is flexible around my studies and I have so far been typically going in 1 day a week. This has helped me identify what I would like in a job as well as receiving advice from Jordan.

A job role that I am suited to would allow me to do something different each day. When I am at LeedsBID I can be working on a number of different projects. 

I can be editing imagery, producing copy for the design I am working on as well as setting documents up for print. 

I can also be putting content into previous templates that I have built and producing quick flyers to be approved and sent to print in the same day. This has meant that my time management of producing an outcome has to be very efficient and is an area I have built on throughout this year. 

Another job quality is being able to work with and around other creatives. From this job role I have been able to identify that I value the in-put of other creatives within my work. I have found that when completing a project singularly I often get stuck in the creative process. It is good to have other opinions and in-puts. 

The third desired quality is being in a job role that allows me to progress. 

At LeedsBID I get given more and more responsibility each time that I am in. It is nice to hear that I can do something if Jordan is busy. 

Jordan has also given me a lot of advice, with his main point being not to panic. 

He also mentioned the importance of keeping up to date with social media and having a website. This is something that supports what Dines spoke about in his talk during the employability week. 

This is a visual progression of how my professional practice has developed. The work that I post reflects my practice and people get an idea of the type of person I am.

Spot the difference - I changed all my social media handles to ensure that they were consistent with my website domain and email. This makes it easier for people to find my profile when searching. I also recognised the importance of having a headshot as an image. When attending events I found that I recognised individuals who I follow and/or interact with through social media however they did not recognise me - I hope that now this won't happen. 

I have also applied my branding to my LinkedIn profile. It is something that represents me as a person and as a designer. From attending a workshop about LinkedIn, I feel I have been able to use it to the best of it's abilities. I have found it good to have an online CV in this format. 

I connected with Fionn Andrews who is the freelance recruiter at craft, A creative and digital recruitment company. She posts jobs each day and its good to stay in the loop with the opportunities that are out there. I have been able to identify what requirements are needed for an applicant and ensure that I would meet these in the future. 

I have been able to direct Fionn to my website so that she could get an idea of the type of creative that I am and hopefully remember me if an appropriate opportunity arises.

Moving from digital, I have also recognised the importance of having business cards when attending events and having discussions with other creatives. 

This year I attended a Glug event and...

The Hepworth Christmas and print fair. 

At the Christmas fair I met  Mike from Archipelago, a studio I was previously in touch with. Didn’t have business cards at this time but recognised the importance of them. 

I previously contacted The Archipelago after reading this very inviting sentence on their website. 

Unfortunately they were very busy at the time and asked me to get in touch in a couple of weeks. But then, I met them at the Christmas Fair and reiterated my interest and arranged to go into the studio. 

At the studio visit I chatted to Mike and Zoshia who are the two person team of the Archipelago. They gave me lots of advice on how to present work to clients and we also discussed some of my projects. It was great to receive compliments on my practice and for being so active in the networking scene. 

So i'd now say we're pals as we keep bumping into each other and having good chats. It's good to have a professional relationship with them and their support. 

Their support is especially important in the exhibition that I am organising. The theme is perception which explores my interest in psychology. This is an area I do outside reading on and attend talks. I actually went to one on Wednesday which was delivered by Professor Anna Abraham and explored the topic of the imagination. 

So far with the exhibition I have hd to deal with problem solving issues such as having an unexpected and disruptive date change to the exhibition opening. This was difficult to manage however I feel like it was managed professionally and I kept my cool. 

For the exhibition I have done the branding, advertising, distribution of invitations etc. I have been able to invite those I have built relationships with throughout second and third year. 

This is a collaboration project and is therefore developing my communication skills with a colleague and with those who are featured in the exhibition. It has also shown me that when working with the right person, a collaboration can be a great thing to be a part of. 

My current plan is to do some volunteering at...

The Great Exhibition of The North. With this I will b leading art trails, managing exhibitions as well as just being in and around Newcastle to assist visitors. When I was at the training there was a talk about the wayfinding app they are going to be using. I approached the speaker afterwards and he’s going to get me some experience with the studios. This is good as its widening my contact field

 I would also like to continue my freelance role at LeedsBID and develop into a junior designer.