Friday 27 April 2018

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.

Presentation reflection

Before attending the allocated presentation time, I ensured that the presentation was on the desktop and that the imagery was displayed to a high quality. Practising the presentation beforehand ensured that I was confident in my presenting and meant that all aspects that I had outlined were spoke about. The feedback that I received also made me more confident in my presenting abilities, something that will be prominent in my continuing practice. 

Thursday 19 April 2018

Brief 04 Evaluation

Strenghts 
This brief allowed for me to explore my interest in psychology and apply theory to design which has strengthened my practice and added another dimension to my work. This brief has allowed me to expand my practice and apply the outside reading that I do in the subject area. This brief has given me the confidence to continue completing my own reading after making the decision to not accept the MSc Psychology offer at Northumbria.

Weaknesses
Due to having to adjust the method of collecting data, the outcome felt rushed and therefore not completed to the highest standard. The outcome would have benefited from further research into academic lab reports to demonstrate its credibility. Due to my interest towards this brief, it is something that I would like to continue working on after my studies. This will encourage my practice to continue to apply my psychology knowledge.

Time Management
Recognising the need for effective time management meant that a body of research was collected. The outcome would have benefited from more time to experiment with content.

Final Outcome
The final outcome has references of a lab report and a zine. The link between a creative and academic outcome was informed by the lack of connectivity between the written document and the audience. This has been bridged through the use of a simple yet informative layout, engaging the audience through interacting with each page.

Monday 9 April 2018

Brief 08. Evaluation.

Strengths 
Due to the openness of style in this brief, I was able to explore a range of different directions and apply my own creative interests to the outcomes. As this was a client based brief, feedback was received throughout the process. This was beneficial to the development of the outcomes and it was constructive to my practice to be able to process and apply this feedback. 

This brief has demonstrated the workload of being a freelancer, a role I have been exploring throughout this year. Luckily, this brief allowed for my own style and creative in-put to be applied. This meant that I was really able to engage with the outcomes and confidently discuss them with the client. These are qualities that I hope to be able to apply to future briefs that may display similar or more difficult qualities. 


Time Management
Due to the period when this brief was completed, full commitment was able to be provided. Having a time schedule for this brief ensured that feedback was received by the client and therefore meant it could be applied to the development of the outcomes.


Friday 6 April 2018

Presentation Organisation

Personal BrandingWhat genre am I interested in?- Graphic design- Illustration- Organiser

What has informed my genre(s)- Frankie's talk at the begining of the year made me realised that its ok not to be a graphic designer just because i'm on a graphic design course- I'd like to have a varied practice this has been informed by the range of briefs that I have worked on throughout L3 and through my work experience role.


Evidence of talking to practitioners, attending events, workshops- Attended the Hepworth christmas fair where I met Mike (The Archipelago) and reiterated wanting to visit studio. Visited studio. Valuable information- Workshop, Freelancing for agencies & organisation (met Martin Dickson, LeedsBID)- Workshop, Everything legal. Learnt the legal and logistic side of being a freelancer. This is a role that will be a possible route after graduating 


Communication Methods

- LinkedIn
- Email
- Website

Online Appearance- Engaging with creatives through social media- LinkedIn acts as an online portfolio

Work Experience- LeedsBid, Freelance Graphic Designer- Met Martin at a workshop. Emailed, arranged meeting. Got offered a position to work alongside their graphic designer. Have been going in weekly. 

Applying for Jobs
- The Cafeteria, Sheffield. Junior/graduate designer
- Part-time Graphic Designer Leeds, Buttercrumble

Future Plans
- Volunteering for the Great Exhibition of The North, June - September
- Applying for jobs
- Continue to Freelance at LeedsBID