Design Strategy & Presentation

This next section needs to be completed as a group as "four heads are better than one" this should be something that you can create using a range of different answers and then picking the ones which you think best answer the brief.

You need to look at how you want things to turn out in the end for the 8 - 10 minute presentation, this is something that can be created using a range of variations but this will be decided later in the week. 

• What skills and services do you have to offer?
• Who is your target market?
• Who is your competition and how will you compete?
• What are your costs, charges and financial considerations?
• How will you structure your studio?
• Who will be responsible for what?
• How will you promote your services? To who? Using what media?

Below are the answers to the above statements and this will conclude how this is all going to be overall 

Enterprise Lecture 6 - Dont just get a job...

Disclaimer - for the expression "start a business" 


- Become a freelance designer
- Start a collective with other designers 


Johnny Cupcakes*


Issues: 


- If you start a business you have to be passionate about it!
- Do what you love
- Start a business when your a student or employed, that way you wont be left stranded and penny less
- Dont do it alone
- Write a business plan
- Do the research 
- Register the business name 
- Get professional Help 
- Get legal and tax issues right from the start, cause you don't want surprise costings getting you at the end




What is a business plan?


[insert image here]




In Short


What you going to do 
Value propersistion 
What resources are needed 
How much would it cost to get started
How will you pay for it 
Target consumers




Why do you need a target plan... 


- To focus your efforts 
- Set some clear objectives 
- Enable track growth
- To raise fianance awareness
- Attract collabratives 




Where to get a business plan


- A high street bank 
- The arts council

Enterprise group meeting 2...

This was the second of our meetings to then choose what we wanted to get done for the overall project. this consisted of talking about the task that was just set where we have to create a Press AD and how we want everything to look overall. 


We decided that before monday we needed to get the following completed...


- Get a few worksheets done for what we thought would be the best way possible to create a Press AD 
- Upload all the work that we have created so far to our blogs 
- Do more research into what we want to achieve and where we would like to be when we are professionals

PROPOSED POSITION STATEMENT

These are 10 short statements which i think for each of the sections which i have discussed over the previous 4 tasks...


Ambitions 

I have high ambitions for when i finish university, i would love to be able to get out of the UK and travel about and find some work which i think could really push my limits out in the big bad world, this would range from some placements maybe in New York to Austraillia, these could all be achieved if i am to get my head down and commit to the course with 200% and get the grades and the knowledge that i need to be able to do this 

This could be a big change for me and i think it could really set me out to be different from the rest of the designers. My work will increase at a dramatic rate and i hope this will always be the case as my work should only ever be changing to meet with the times and continue to be fresh and innovative so that i can get a real sense of what i need to do too keep up with the times. 


Skills
i can offer a range of skills to the creative world, this would range from a series of adobe based programs to the possible outcome of having a editorial or design based way of thinking about things. this could then be implemented in any way that is necessary so that the work can be created for the clients/employers 


Area of creative interest 
My main area of creative interest would have to be through the use of editorial and layout based work, this has always been what has caught my attention with its clean design style which communicates what it needs to and offers a bulk of text for the audience to read


Competition
There will be plenty of competition out there for me to compete with, this is what i am hoping will keep me on my feet and keep me striving to continue down the road of wanting to get this done and making the most of the work 


Collaborations
Colloaborations have always been a strong point of mine, i feel that when i have someone else working with me, i am able to bounce ideas and generate more ideas from using there ideas as key points along the way, this for me is something i enjoy and would like to improve upon


Location
Location is a strong factor for me at the current moment but when i am looking for a job i will be willing to move anywhere that the right job pops up so that i can get a head start without having to be fussy and messing the employers around


How am i Unique 
I think that ium unique in the style that my imagination is very vivid and i often think up of random stories in my head, this shows that im creative and have a varied way of thinking that not many people can do when it comes down to designing something that needs to be that slight part different


What ways is there to get myself known
I will use blogs, Internet sites, social networking, mail shots, anything that is needed to get my name out there and getting me meeting as many professionals as possible so that im able to really get to terms with how they work and let them know that i am here and i want to work in there industry along side them


How have i improved
I believe my work has improved alot since i started with the work load when i first came into university, if you were too look at my work from when i was in secondary school to now, you would see a clear understanding into what i can achieve in the time given, this can only increase as my designer career continues


What i plan to do next 
Once i leave university i plan to try get a job from the social networks that i have built up and continue to work for a company and develop my skills further and this will then lead to weather or not i am able to move up the ladder of command in that company or if i need to move onto the next one

How will I promote myself ?

To make sure that i am able to give the best possible view to my clients so that i am able to promote myself in the best possible light i will have to be able to talk to them in the tone of voice which i think they would talk in, this would require me to do some background check on there website and maybe even speak to them over the phone so that im able to get a grasp of there conversation.

This would then lead me onto the next question of what would they want to me to say to them, this would be similar to the style above however i think that i would be able to make sure that communicate this message over the work and the meeting that i would have with the client, as they is currently being taught to me over the course of my university degree, this is what i would be prepared for when i come out of university 

My work would then communicate with them on a visual and mental level so that it sticks in there head enough for me to remember them and also enough for me to leave an impression so they do not forget me a soon as i leave the room. 

Conclusion

There are a range of ways which i could use to promote myself, these are a mix of web based mainly as this is the easiest way to share your work around as its simple for someone to copy a link of your blog to a fellow worker who can then also see your work.

This could be produced from a range of medias, this would be a perfect time for me to set up an online presence so that im able to make sure that the best possible impression when people ask to see the work which i have been able to create for the clients

i would be able to promote myself at a decent rate which wouldn't demand a high income so that i am able to make the most out of something which i can then really start to increase my rates as my work becomes stronger. but too start i think a rate of £12 an hour would lead me to be able to live comfortably and manage to have an income of work which can support the lifestyle that i currently live without unneeded pressure.


To get myself started i would have a blog and a website to get my online presence known but i would then also go to as many social networking events as possible to get myself known so i would then be able to display my talents and work to other professionals and this way would then lead to collaboration work and this is what would help me progress down the design career path.

Who else is out there - how good are they?

The Surgery, London. 

This is a design agency that really tickles my fancy, the problem with this one is that its based in london which is miles away from the area which i would like to work, this is good that these will not come as competition towards me, however there work could branch up this high as they are already a well established business

Strengths

-Already well established business

-Will already have a giant client base

-Have a strong team set with knowledge of editorial and layout to a high level

-Offer a range of illustration, editorial, branding and information graphics

Weaknesses

-Located down south so there business cant reach the north as easily

Lono, London

This is another design agency that creates work that i think could really change the way in which i work if i was to work with these, this would then help me to develop and increase the range of skills which i have and then how i could make these work alot better overall

Strengths

-A vast range of work

-A vast range of clients 

-A strong team which alot of knowledge on graphic design 

-Already established business

Weaknesses

-There work seems to be rather samey (similar style when it comes to business cards on website)

Nick Bell Designs 

This is a website which caught my attention ever since Nick Bell came and did a talk with our university since the day he came into our university, his work from him and his company are really strong and i think that this is something that has caught my attention. I don't feel like this is really my style of work but its still really creative and could lead to other design style work which can be linked into my work

Strengths

-Creative design work which can inspire 

-Original and fresh work by young designers

-They offer a vast range of work

Weaknesses

-Based in London

-Not really editorial work so not too much of a threat too me

Conclusion

 

 When i look at the above companies i feel that my work has the potential to go above and beyond this stlye of work and this then will lead me into believing that i am the better designer which i think i could be if i really knuckle down and get on with the work which will help me to become this.

They all seem to offer a range of processes to create the best and strongest pieces of work which really give the clients what they are wanting, this is something that i will have to compete with as i need to make sure that i am able to give the best possible solution to the brief and also beat them in any of the work which they can produce so that i am able to get the work in.

When they are compared against me then you see that our work is very different as it would be with alot of designers as we all have a varied base of work, this could then be a way to sell myself as i will have fresh creative ideas which they will not have on there team, it comes down to if i can fill the gaps with the qualities that i have

Where are they – How will they find me?

Where are my potential clients/employers located?

For the time being my main clients and employers would be mostly located in the northeast and west, this would be due to the fact that this are the only areas which are in a decent area for me to travel too and to make the most of the whole scenario, Anything down south is rather hard for me to get too and this would create some problems when it comes to travelling and completing what we would be expected to get done! 

Leeds and Middlesbrough would prove the best places for me to have business clients at the current time, this could also be more ranged if they were willing to communicate over email and skype as this would allow me to speak to them on a personal level but at the same time make sure that the work can still be produced to the standard that they would want. 

What media do my potential clients/employers use?

As i would be looking into doing things such as editorial then i would be using a mac based for design, this would be the same style of design for there work as well, so they would use digital media and web design, however they would still use print based work which could really show off the skills which i have and this would then mirror the work which they produce and make them more keen to view my work

What do you need to communicate and how does it match what your clients/employer need?

I would look into the range of work which my employer/client would like to achieve and what they actually want to get done, this could range from any of the political, economic or social views that they have so that i get straight into there good books when they look at my work, i would want to look to give a fresh new look of work which really gives off that new designer feel however i would want to have a attitude and work ethic which would fit in with the people that work in the industry there and see how things work out

My work is very type based so this would be the style of work which i would focus on to then communicate with what they would be looking for on a professional basis, this could only lead to one thing... EMPLOYMENT

my work would mirror there work and this would then inspire me to create more of there style design with my own creative flare in there as well.

How would there location effect my delivery?

i would have to consider which style of delivery i would have to use to get the message across to them in the best possible light so that i can show of my style and make sure that i think that the best possible outcome for my work was shown in the best light to give me the best opportunity of receiving the design brief

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.