Evaluation

What is Industry...

What is Industrial experience?

1: Industry to me is something that i think has a real strong impulse on the way that we want to be educated and how we also want to create the work that we will when we work in "industry" (this links in to graphic design) it can range from knowledge about printers and special prints, all the way down the line to places such as illustration and DPS layouts


2: This could also be a development of your skills which we have created when it comes to the work load at university, but when you go into industry things will change very differently and this is a perfect way through going to work experience so that you can test the waters and see what you want to achieve overall. 


3. It can also perfect your portfolio, each time i go to a industry to get a placement and experience they will add more work to my portfolio and i can also achieve a higher balance of work which shows of my talents and skills to then get me the next experience, this is something which is vital to development of myself. 


4. To a certain degree it is also a confidence boost as someone has thought that your work is good enough to want to employ you and have you in there studio so that you can work with them, this can be the motivational boost that i need when it finally comes down to the final outlook and what i want to achieve. 


5. Finally it is something which relates to what you want to do for the rest of your creative career, experience in these areas are something which is crucial to getting the final design done and this will then make the final outlook on things work perfectly 






What can you learn from industrial experience?


1. You can always learn new skills and other things such as this from the overall outcome of industry based experience, these can help progress you along the lines of what you want to do and what you need to learn to then progress to the next step when you finally have the experience needed. 


2. You can learn the pace of work which is required for you to work at so you can get the most from the placement these all range from what you look at and what you are hoping for. They will then give you the needed time schedules for when a crit would be for a piece of work for a client. 


3. You can learn if thats really the type of work that you want to go on and do full time. This could be editorial or illustration but until you try it you will never know what the actual place is like when you come back to it and what you want to achieve from it all. 


4. You will learn the correct language that is needed when you speak to clients, this is something which i aint learnt yet cause i still speak really casually and not always using the correct lingo when it comes to actually speaking in person. 


5. You will also learn how to "network" this is so that you are able to really get a grip of things such as when you are needed to build a database of things that all the people that you may need to get in touch with again to get more work from or if you may need help from them such as printers or proof readers. 






What form/format could industrial experience take?

1. Work placements are the first way that i could gather industry experience, These come free and people want to look around for the free talent that is on display, although i think this could then range to a very strong and experienced designers that work there and i would then be trained alot faster and it would give me the design practice which i need and want.

2. Free lance work, creating work and selling them to people, this would then gather there attention and make them want to give me more. If i was to do some of this freelance work i could also have some extra money coming in whilst i did this and it gets my name out there at the same time. This is a risk however cause i don't know if i would be able to do this correct the first time round but its something i will have to do eventually.

3. Placements, this is a perfect way for me to get the experience that i need to achieve and want from the rest of the ways that i decide to work, these will be something that i look into and that will help me progress along the design way of working which i really need too.

4. I could create work for websites and other places such as Behance and then post the work up there. this will get my name out there and also let people judge my work and see what they think. This could get me some feedback which will help with what i am needing to progress as a creative.

5. I could work with other experienced designers to then get a taste of things and see how it all would work out and what to do when i get into things, this way i would avoid masking the mistakes myself and then be able to link these together to make the absolute way of looking into things.  

What areas of industry are you interested in?

1. Editorial, this is an area which has always caught my interest and wanted me too look into it alittle more, in first year i did a little project on it and it kind of put me off but i think if i was too stick at something then it could be alot more interesting towards me and i will then want to play this more and it would work better for me overall. 

2. Ive seen how the printers works when they have massive print runs to do, it would be good to see which other areas are also good to work with and what i could achieve from them. Special print workshops would be a good area to go and work with cause i would like to see how they create things such as the foil print and block printing, these could be interesting to learn about.

3. Branding and Identity is another area which i could look into, this is something which i have found that i have looked at with each project that i keep going for. this could link me into a whole range of things, although each time i get excited about doing this. This could be something that i look into. 

4. Typography in general is an area that will always interest me and something that makes the most sense from everything, i love how its so simple tow work with yet if done correctly you can make so much sense form it all and create something really spectacular. This links into so many different areas of graphic design, ranging from creating DPS designs and then across towards Promotion and Publishing.

5. Promotion is finally the something else that interests me but not as much as the rest of them cause i think they have a much more demanding and concrete brief which you need to stick too. This aint something that i want to do overall. Still something that ill look into but when it comes down to it i cant see this being the definitive outcome of it all.

What are your concerns about industrial experience?

1. Selling my creative soul, i don't like the thought of having to constantly work with designers who tell me how to design and how to create. This is something that im going to have to do if i want to make it in the creative world, but this is still something that i don't have a choice in doing anymore. If i want to do work for a creative company then this is something inbetween that i need to do.

2. Getting work abroad has always been a big worry of mine. I wouldn't know where to start and how i would approach them. I suppose you would start by email as this would be the most efficient way but still it would panic me when coming to do this. 

3. The difference between a university brief and a professional brief, there could be a vast of subtle change. hopefully it wont be as bad as i think it is because i already have a high demanding course so that i think i could handle it. 

4. How much work would i need to produce when it comes down to applying for an internship or something such as these, they could be a range of things that they look for, or very specific! It would depend on the company but still this is something which ill have to learn to work around and be open to consider. 

5. What sort of work load i will be working with, as we work now we currently have bout seven briefs on the go at any one time but then maybe in a professional you concentrate on one per week or maybe you will then change across to something which is alittle more subtle yet demanding and this would be twelve in a week. 

John and Jane Workshop 1

This was a workshop where we got into groups and then wrote down the task basically which we had to do individually but this time we had to link them together and make it so we had a group collective for the whole lot and then this allowed us to see how each of our piers also wish to work when it comes  down to the final outcome of the whole thing. Below are the sheets which we created when we were looking into them and picking which we through fit best and which didn't...

The top sheet is based on how we feel when it comes to industry experience, for example when we come to picking up what we expect from it and how we plan to approach industry in a way so we can be confident and also know what to expect when it comes down to it. 

The second sheet is why we chose to select to do this course and what we intend to complete from it all in the end. This is something which will make a vast change to the way we see and personally for me it help me refocus on what i want to achieve from the end of this course.

Concept Crit.

This is the area which was there to help give feedback on what we already had created and what we then needed to get done on everything. This will prove rather helpful when looking back over the progress and  development of my work. 


Strengths.
Good timing because of the olympics.

Area's for Improvement.
Look at both genders
Look at where to promote 

Student Group Crit.

This was for the concept crit, this was when we were in a group of six people and then i really liked this cause i got some strong feedback and really helped me with how i want to look at my finals that i plan to create...


Extent of initial research and development of my concept.
Broad range of stats, video etc...
from activity 
concepts excelled well 


Overall: Very Good




Concept proposal and the exploit of practical and conceptual investigation.
Think about the promotional aspect of it - how its different and what makes it special.


Overall: Very Good 




Range of products to be produced to identify the problem.
Branding on the laces, the colour logo is effective, maybe mix it up with the sports, rope-laces skipping? Fine lines between things. 


Overall: Very Good




Additional Comments.
The logo could also be a running track. 




Action Plan


Action:   To sport athletes to find out there opinion
Reason:  To improve the concept and prove that to the product doesnt already exists


Action:   Look at olympics legacy in Britain related with your british brand
Reason:  To promote athletics in the UK

Lecture 1 Quiz

This is the first quiz from the series of enterprise lectures which we will have to go over and do, i achieved a 6 out of 10 which i dont think is that bad really when it comes down to this subject, as to me it seems to be a whole new language all together, but hopefully i will start to understand it more and this will allow me to then learn more how to get myself out there and then in turn become an expert at being known. 

I am unable to test this one again as when i finished it said im not allowed to try it again, however i might try again when i have forgot what the answers where so i can see if i can progress when i have revised my answers and then taught myself what they all mean. 

Enterprise - Lecture 2 (Ideas and opportunities)

The battle of the brains - Perfectly formed and individually owned... the human brain is overpowering the traditional methods of production, raw materials hard labour and capital.

Ideas dont mean anything, they have to be backed up with hard evidence. 

what is the difference between an idea and an opportunity

anyone can have an idea while doing the most stupid task, you need to be able to find out if its just hair brained scheme or a real opportunity. this lecture will help us find out if these are an opportunity or a waste of time.

two types of idea. 

for an idea to become a opportunity you need to think of the background checks on everything to do with it all, for example if the idea was "lets run a fund raising event in millennium square in Leeds"

straight away there are some problems that come with this, these being...

who's permission do we need
how much will it cost

what other events are on that night or will compete with it

what time of year

whats the weather

what kind of utilities will it be

will we have toilets

will we have electricity 
supply and demand 

all of these then need to be answered so that you can see how much of an opportunity this really is, or is it more of a weak idea which really wont take off. this can then be answered by the PEST theory.

PEST stands for... 

Politics

Economics

Sociological Factors

Technology

Politics - who owns this space and what permission do we need

Economics - how much will it cost and what kind of price will people pay or should it be free

Sociological Factors - what kind of facilities can we offer, what do we need to offer for people to come, they will probably want, good weather, good music, toilet facilities and be able to park. 

Technology - what utilities will be available and what electrical can be received and what lighting will be available.

you can apply a PEST analysis to any project that you do, the best way in which you can do this is to apply the PEST analysis to a customers or B2B supply and demand. To be able to do this you need to find out 

Which other company's are supplying this service, then you are able to judge if you are able to to do this for a better price and which other services you can provide to make your demand become higher and thus creating a better service for the general public.

Enterprise Seminar (part 1)

Today we are going to work out how much we need to earn to make a living...




Basics


Rent - monthly x12 

Council tax is based on the property, so the more desirable the property is the more you pay, typical council tax for a nice area on average would be £1200, (however students don't pay council tax) 


Electricity and gas are monthly then x12, this ranges on which supplier you come from and also how much you actually use, eg. if you go over your limit etc
Your looking at around £1000 for the year


Water an be payed on a monthly basis or on a yearly basis, the average payment cost for the year of water is around £500 


repairs - if you rent out a flat then you need to be able to pay for damages which are your fault.


management fee's - this is if you buy the apartment so you have to pay to help with the up keep of your area that you live in, e.g. hovering the stairs, mowing the lawn, basically the simple jobs and your the one who's money pays for the cleaners. 


Furnishings - this is if you buy general items just to make your apartment  seem fresh and keep it looking clean, such as if you made a trip to ikea so that you can refurbish the look on the inside 


Food Shopping


Supermarket - this is the basic shop which makes the meals for you, this is your weekly cost of food then x52 so you can work out your monthly cost for the whole year


Corner shop - this is how much you generally go to the shop to pick up some milk or daft bits and bobs which you need to make the main meals work.


Dinner Snack - how often you go out for a sandwich or a pasty which you can then have over dinner or something which you just fancy


Takeaway - How often do you get a takeaway in and then work out a weekly price then x52




Health Plan


health cost - this is your general well being, this covers everything for about an average of £12 pounds a month 


Safety and security needs


home contents insurance - this is something which covers everything that you own and this isn't that much for the year, but it will cover everything in your house and this will then make sure that your covered and if you get robbed or any damage is done then you have everything covered and made sure its all safe and ok. 


pension contribution - this is normally about 3% of your annual costs






This below is the form in which i filled out below and this then worked out the full cost of how much i will need to live and how much i need to cover my basic overheads, it shows up here that i need around £22,000 a year to live on average, this then can be rounded up to £25,000 to play it say, so any job which pays out for me on a average around £25,000 to £30,000 a year would cover the costs rather nicely and make sure i have a comfortable way of living.

Who am I ... Who are they?

This list below is of all the possible client groups who create graphic design ranging from production to communication, out of this list i will then select one group that reflects my ambitions as a designer and then i will identify a few points on this group...

Music Industry

Retail

Web Design

Print Designer

Editorial

Press Advertising 

Illustration 

Photography

Packaging Design

Business Branding

Publishing

Education

Marketing 

New Media 

Promotions

Corporate ID and Branding

The group in which my 'current' ambitions lay has to be 'Editorial' I've then been asked these questions

What skills / interests do you have and how they relate to the needs of your client group?

I have a very OCD way of living, everything in my life has to be organised and it always has to be perfectly neat, my room is always spotless and everything has a place to be kept, this relates to the way in which editorial has to have a cleanly placed, the windows have to be removed and also the text and images have to look right otherwise it can turn out to be a massive mess, these aspects of editorial design greatly effect promotion and the price at which the piece of editorial can be sold at. 

Other Sections of editorial that are similar to my skills and interests is what is created at the end of it all, Ive always been a massive collector of magazines and books and this product is what is created most likely when it comes down to the editorial aspect of things, this can be drawn right back to when i was being taught graphic design in secondary school as i had to create a front cover for a magazine and instead i ended up creating a 15 page magazine with a front and back cover, i also created a stand in which this could all be stood. 

What skills are needed and what skills do you want to develop?

Some of the skills that are needed for editorial designers have to be precision, an eye for accuracy and defiantly a love for technology and media, these have to be crucial to being able to create some decent editorial design. To be able to go about and create strong design you must have skills when it comes to placement of text and image on the page and also where you are going to promote or how you plan to promote for that reason. All these little sections add up and create a excellent graphic / editorial designer.

The skills which i would want to be able to increase cant really be specified down to a certain one as i want to progress in all areas, however there are some which are more important to me in this general area. First being Layout, there are things which people create that can be really simple such as some simple helvetica text in the centre of a black circle and it looks really good, where when i try to do things like that it looks rubbish and doesn't work as well as others, maybe this is down to the way that i place the text in the centre of the circle, but more likely as it wasnt my fresh idea myself.

The second skill which id love to improve on would be to learn how to create all the styles of booklets made so that i am able to create things such as magazines and booklets to a high standard so that i can use this method to create a strong outlet to get my name out there into the design industry. This could then lead to the perfect way to promote myself hence getting me more work and creating the circle which will lead and boost my future career. This would then lead to me learning the best way to promote myself and also where to place and sell my designs to get the best known from this. 

Finally the third skill which i would like to learn would be how to make all the layouts that i create look different and interesting, there are some designers work which is strong in every piece they do, this will come down to practice but it can still be made from other reasons and other ways of getting around it, there has to be some way of looking at work and just feeling what looks good and what doesn't, ill use my context blog to look into this style of work and how i can progress as a designer.

What are your professional/creative aims and how do they relate to the needs of the client group?

My current professional and creative aims would be too make sure that i make it in a large design agency which can be found to do massive brief which will be seen publicly around the world. This would be excellent to get my name out there, this clearly relates to the needs of the client group through there whole industry would be my passion, me wanting to get my name out there would be the way in which i would create the best work i possibly could handle and then they would be able to use this to get there publications and editorial designs seen around the world. 

There products which they would want to create would hopefully stretch my limits and make me really struggle and progress as a designer, the only way i will be able to do this is to make sure that i put in the hard effort now and this will open up so many more possibilities for me in the near future. 

Summerising...

Editorial is currently my ideal job, as i love type and how it can be used on its own without image to make the a piece of design which really links into the whole way of look at what goes on out in the current world, it can be used to show a political value, portray a message or simply look pretty. 

There are so many possibilities that are still yet to be created, the slightest change in kerning on a world of the leading between lines and this will change the whole outlook on what your trying to create. Not only does the design look right however, if you are doing this free lance you then need to start to look into the way in which you are going to Promote your design, where will you place it too make it seen and finally the product itself will clearly effect all of these but so will the price, If the price is too large no one will pay this. 

These are all challenging parts of a career which really interest me and make me want to learn more about it, Hopefully through second year we will get more chances to experiment with this and see what goes on in that sort of industry. I will even try to get industry work and freelance briefs in this line of work as well to really see what i think of it and how i would suit that industry as a quick brief in a university studio does not give me a real insight into how much i would enjoy it out in the real world. 

Enterprise - Lecture 1 (How to get yourself "out there")

Design Council 

They carry out all major research for their local areas so that they can then display what effects that area the most so they can make a change and adjust to fix these problems. 

(These above are created to show the stats, these are basically info-graphics) 

What is marketing? ... It is the process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers requirements profitability. 

What are the marketing roles?

1. Identify customers needs to develop new products. 

2. Develop a pricing strategy, work out your rate and try to make them beat your opponents whilst still covering your overheads and costings and leaving you money to play with 

3. Promote to a target market, to do this pick three things your best at and specialise in these so that people can find you and then be able to find you easiest.

4. Identify the distribution returns, find where to promote yourself to be the best found and make it so its not hard work for someone to find you or you may lose out on business.

5. Add Value, always offer more than the customers expects, even something as simple as flowers makes them feel special and can get you the customer services again. 

6. Monitor your performance, this allows you to see where you went good and what you did bad, it also lets you track to make sure your beating your competitors.

Value Proposition

- Short

- Be specific 

- Use your customers language 

- Pass the "gut feeling test"

(make them feel excited to work with you and make them feel like it was a great experience that they want to do again)

ALWAYS COLLECT TESTIMONIALS FROM WORK YOU DO FOR OTHER PEOPLE, THIS WAY IT GIVES PEOPLE THE CHANCE TO TELL YOU WHAT YOU DID WELL AND WHAT YOU DID BADLY AND IT LETS YOU IMPROVE ON YOURSELF.




make sure you work out how much a job is going to cost before you start doing the work, so that you can see if the money that they are paying you is actually worth what you think it is, you don't want to think your getting payed 50 quid to do something to then find out that you need to spend 40 quid on travelling. 




NEGOTIATE, and close the deal 


confidence and getting a contract come hand in hand, if you ask someone to increase there rates and your still cheaper then real professionals then you will easy get the money you ask for, if not then they will give you a chance to increase if slightly ... every little helps. 




THE FOUR P'S 


Product
Place
Price
Promotion 


(these are crucial to being a successful graphic designer) 






ACTION 1 - sell something unique 
make sure you look different, point of differentiation so something that no one else with have, thus making that customer have to come to you for the work. 


ACTION 2 - Promote, promote, promote
Get your name out there, if no one knows of you and haven't heard of your name you wont be used, make sure they can find you and get in touch with you. 


ACTION 3 - Showcase yourself
people buy from people they know about, on your blog put a background story about yourself so people feel like they personally know you and feel comfortable in your presence. 








P.T BARNUM

This is P.T. Barnum, this guy is someone who moulded the way that you can see and think about the publishing and how he got his name out there so that you can se what you want to see. The three points above are all related back to this very moment and how he changed the way in which it was known.