Things i have taken away from this task;
› Bold (considered) use of colour could help my promotional material more recognisable.
› There are 7000 others in the same position as me in the graphic design industry, i need to stand out.
Saturday 6 October 2012
Personal Promotion.
Another quick task set by our tutor in order to get us thinking creatively again and in order to push us into contacting studios and generally promoting our selves, i didn't spend too much time on this, but that has made me realise how i can improve what i did, i decided to run with the concept of 'unfolding concepts from creative angles' This allowed me to develop ideas with folds and angles within my promotional material and i was fairly happy with the result.
Things i have taken away from this task;
› Bold (considered) use of colour could help my promotional material more recognisable.
› There are 7000 others in the same position as me in the graphic design industry, i need to stand out.
Things i have taken away from this task;
› Bold (considered) use of colour could help my promotional material more recognisable.
› There are 7000 others in the same position as me in the graphic design industry, i need to stand out.
Friday 30 March 2012
Taks 5.
Proposed submission statements.
10 short statements summarising my distininct positioning as a graphic designer.
- I aim to create innovative and original graphic design for brand / identity, publication design and packaging over a range of media.
- I am driven by information and would like to continue creating graphic design based strongly around supply information.
- I would like to stay mostly print based as this is my strongest point, although i also enjoy creating design for motion graphics.
- I work well with collaboration weather it's me and one other person or a group of people.
- I would like to create work for clients that are passionate about their concepts.
- I can maintain a balance between developing concepts adhering to client needs and my own creating needs.
- I would like to develop relationships between both freelance designers and collaborative agencies.
- I am driven mostly by image work, although recently type has become a huge part of my design direction.
- I would like to develop a deeper understanding into colour theory throughout my practice.
- Over summer i want to visit as many studios as possible in order to gain relationships and a greater understanding of how they work.
10 short statements summarising my distininct positioning as a graphic designer.
- I aim to create innovative and original graphic design for brand / identity, publication design and packaging over a range of media.
- I am driven by information and would like to continue creating graphic design based strongly around supply information.
- I would like to stay mostly print based as this is my strongest point, although i also enjoy creating design for motion graphics.
- I work well with collaboration weather it's me and one other person or a group of people.
- I would like to create work for clients that are passionate about their concepts.
- I can maintain a balance between developing concepts adhering to client needs and my own creating needs.
- I would like to develop relationships between both freelance designers and collaborative agencies.
- I am driven mostly by image work, although recently type has become a huge part of my design direction.
- I would like to develop a deeper understanding into colour theory throughout my practice.
- Over summer i want to visit as many studios as possible in order to gain relationships and a greater understanding of how they work.
Friday 2 March 2012
Agencies SWOT.
Looking through a few agencies considering pro's and con's within their business focus, using the SWOT analysis to evaluate strengths and weaknesses.
The first agency i felt was a good start evaluate was Tappin Gofton this agency focuses on design for print for the music industry creating design mostly for artwork for albums.
Tappin Gofton.
Strengths.
Strengths that lie within this agency are:
- They will be well known in the industry for creating graphic design for artwork, thus giving them a reputation and bringing in more work.
- They will have many connections in their area due to working solely with artists.
- They are London based, being in a capital always has benefits for business as it will be the hottest market for most business in the country.
Weaknesses.
- Producing graphic design only for album artwork could be a bad choice, if anything happened to the music industry, they would be left with no other routes for graphic design.
- Only producing printed work, although print is making a come back it could be that in the near future digital will be the most dominant form of graphic design.
Opportunities.
- With the music industry growing as much as it is, especially with the digital age we are in now, people can communicate over the internet much faster than ever before, meaning new musical artists can be found very easily and any new artist will need new design, supplying Tappin with business.
Threats
- The main threat for this agency is piracy, the music industry or more so the people have taken piracy to a new level, and with this the industry has taken a blow millions of pounds are being lost due to illegally downloading music, this could pose a threat if the music industry ever went under.
Dan Blackman.
Second studio being a single man studio ran by Dan Blackman.
Strengths.
He has a very broad range of work with completely different clients for each project, and a lot of it, this will help him bring in new customers, also by designing for various client groups he will expand his client base much more than most designers, his work is all kept to a similar style which if needed will get him a lot of work.
Weaknesses.
By using a similar style throughout his work he limits himself to clients, having a style means only people looking for that style will hire him, his work is very vector based and uses little imagery.
He creates work mostly for Identity and branding which again limits his client list.
Opportunities.
Brand and Identity will never die people will always need brand and Identity, it is one of the corner stones to a great business, if he enables himself to continue to work with a wide client list he could set up a larger studio employ others and continue to expand.
Threats.
- Only working to print he limits himself digitally, if print does eventually die he could be out of work or loose a lot of his clients.
- Working with a restrictive style all of the time means he may not be able to evolve with the industry, meaning if his approach towards graphic designs becomes ugly and nobody wants to use his style he could again loose many clients or his job.
The first agency i felt was a good start evaluate was Tappin Gofton this agency focuses on design for print for the music industry creating design mostly for artwork for albums.
Tappin Gofton.
Strengths.
Strengths that lie within this agency are:
- They will be well known in the industry for creating graphic design for artwork, thus giving them a reputation and bringing in more work.
- They will have many connections in their area due to working solely with artists.
- They are London based, being in a capital always has benefits for business as it will be the hottest market for most business in the country.
Weaknesses.
- Producing graphic design only for album artwork could be a bad choice, if anything happened to the music industry, they would be left with no other routes for graphic design.
- Only producing printed work, although print is making a come back it could be that in the near future digital will be the most dominant form of graphic design.
Opportunities.
- With the music industry growing as much as it is, especially with the digital age we are in now, people can communicate over the internet much faster than ever before, meaning new musical artists can be found very easily and any new artist will need new design, supplying Tappin with business.
Threats
- The main threat for this agency is piracy, the music industry or more so the people have taken piracy to a new level, and with this the industry has taken a blow millions of pounds are being lost due to illegally downloading music, this could pose a threat if the music industry ever went under.
Dan Blackman.
Second studio being a single man studio ran by Dan Blackman.
Strengths.
He has a very broad range of work with completely different clients for each project, and a lot of it, this will help him bring in new customers, also by designing for various client groups he will expand his client base much more than most designers, his work is all kept to a similar style which if needed will get him a lot of work.
Weaknesses.
By using a similar style throughout his work he limits himself to clients, having a style means only people looking for that style will hire him, his work is very vector based and uses little imagery.
He creates work mostly for Identity and branding which again limits his client list.
Opportunities.
Brand and Identity will never die people will always need brand and Identity, it is one of the corner stones to a great business, if he enables himself to continue to work with a wide client list he could set up a larger studio employ others and continue to expand.
Threats.
- Only working to print he limits himself digitally, if print does eventually die he could be out of work or loose a lot of his clients.
- Working with a restrictive style all of the time means he may not be able to evolve with the industry, meaning if his approach towards graphic designs becomes ugly and nobody wants to use his style he could again loose many clients or his job.
Monday 27 February 2012
Print Costings.
Looking for prices for the print costs of our magazine to be produced, starting with contacting TEAM, we felt that it would be cheaper for us to use a print company such as team as apposed to purchasing our own printer and materials, also because we wouldn't be using the print machines etc. much at all.
Advertising.
Again after re thinking our advertising rates, we decided to cut them quite a bit our initial idea was to charge 1000 pounds per full page spread, 600 for half and 350 for a quarter, but upon realising our magazine wasn't yet that popular we cut the charges in half, but after our first year of sales we upped them to 750 per full page spread 400 for half and 200 for a quarter, thus giving us more profit.
Studio.
After re-evaluating our situation, i felt it best we didn't use a studio at all, we won't be working all day every day for two months to design a magazine, although it will take a while, i feel the best thing to do is use the heart in Headingley for the hot desks, this way we can use the silver package offered by heart which gives us 50 hours per month to use the facilities, it is big enough to hold 20 people and offers a kitchenette which is perfect to hold meetings also for our illustrators.
Sunday 26 February 2012
Advertising rates. 2
This time looking at vice and there Advertising Rates obviously their rates will be a considerable ammount higher due to their audience, Vice have accumulated 90,000 readers over the years.
Advertising rates.
Looking into advertising rates for magazine around the country, advertising will be one of the biggest influences with our magazine for generating revenue, i have taken a look at a few lists of different magazines for advertising rates.
Straight away i came across this perfect example of an ad rate.
Taken from Marketing minefield.
-
Another bit of help from www.bauermedia.co.uk, gave us an idea of what the bigger branded newspaper and magazines charged for Ads.
-
And the most relevant, probably a more realistic value for ads in our magazine taken from 'Latest 7' a weekly magazine for Brighton, Hove and Sussex, although i magazine would be national and not restricted to 3 cities, so we would be able to charge more for Ads.
Straight away i came across this perfect example of an ad rate.
Taken from Marketing minefield.
-
Another bit of help from www.bauermedia.co.uk, gave us an idea of what the bigger branded newspaper and magazines charged for Ads.
-
And the most relevant, probably a more realistic value for ads in our magazine taken from 'Latest 7' a weekly magazine for Brighton, Hove and Sussex, although i magazine would be national and not restricted to 3 cities, so we would be able to charge more for Ads.
Thursday 23 February 2012
Exhibition.
Searching for some where we could hold an exhibition for as cheap as possible, looking at places such as Henry Moore Institute, Leeds Art Gallery and a few more, Leeds College of Art replied back really quick informing me that there are no charges for exhibitions giving us a best case scenario.
Friday 17 February 2012
Studio Space.
Looking around for studio space in leeds at places such as Roundfoundry, Heart in Headingley and a few others, originally we decided to go for Roundfoundry but after re-thinking the idea it was clear that we didn't need studio space any where near 9 - 5, 5 days a week and couldn't really afford it on our budget either, instead we researched into Heart in Headingley, this gave us the opportunities to rent hot desks and offices for a limited time per week, i feel initially we only need a couple of days a week to set up meetings and discuss the illustrators / advertisements and other information to go in the magazine.
Prices for 'Pulse' the largest of all rooms in Heart Headingley.
Prices for 'Pulse' the largest of all rooms in Heart Headingley.
Thursday 16 February 2012
Round foundry.
Looking at studio's to set up our practice for the magazine, up to now the Round Foundry in Headingley looks like the best bet, i emailed them earlier today to see about prices, the woman i spoke to was very helpful and gave me all the information i needed.
Wednesday 8 February 2012
Tuesday 7 February 2012
Top Ten Idents.
All idents finished and selected now, this being the final one, i am pleased with how they have all turned out, i could have tried some different techniques but with the time left i don't think i would have done much better.
Finally finished my 3rd Ident, had a little trouble as posted below but managed to fix everything, i particularly like the simplicity of this ident, especially with the music, with a lot of discovery science ident's there programmes don't have a great deal going on, so this one fits best of all in my opinion.
Finishing touches to my second ident, this time in keeping with the title sequence design i have kept flat colour and simple graphics, including one image of a lizard hand, i also included a numbers effect as the line draws from finger tip to finger tip, showing the length, again another very simple effect but used in the right context looks quite effective. i have happy with the way this one turned out, an will probably use it in my final 4 idents.
Starting with my first ident, i felt i needed to mix up the designs with some imagery, just to give a different feel to it, still including my timeline.
Finally finished my 3rd Ident, had a little trouble as posted below but managed to fix everything, i particularly like the simplicity of this ident, especially with the music, with a lot of discovery science ident's there programmes don't have a great deal going on, so this one fits best of all in my opinion.
Finishing touches to my second ident, this time in keeping with the title sequence design i have kept flat colour and simple graphics, including one image of a lizard hand, i also included a numbers effect as the line draws from finger tip to finger tip, showing the length, again another very simple effect but used in the right context looks quite effective. i have happy with the way this one turned out, an will probably use it in my final 4 idents.
Starting with my first ident, i felt i needed to mix up the designs with some imagery, just to give a different feel to it, still including my timeline.
Top Ten. Title sequence.
Finishing touches to my title sequence now, i am fairly happy with the result, most things went really smoothly with a few minor hick ups, will be making a few alterations before hand in to make sure everything's in time and flowing swimmingly, my favourite part of the motion graphic is the transition from the gecko's hand to the full half list of lizards, i feel the timing with the sound works really well and it's nicely noticeable, through putting these ideas into animation i feel i have learnt a hell of a lot this module, this is probably the most beneficial module so far, although i do not wish to be fully committed to motion graphics, i could happily take another module doing this, i would like to dedicate one of the open briefs from 3rd year to motion graphics.
Using techniques such as easy ease / write on / brush reveal / Offset type have aided this project immensely and through spending hours sat learning these has been extremely beneficial.
Using techniques such as easy ease / write on / brush reveal / Offset type have aided this project immensely and through spending hours sat learning these has been extremely beneficial.
Silent Movies.
My final selected Silent movie projects.
Having revisited this brief after learning much more with after effects, i came to realise that with simple definitions of words, should come simple concepts and designs, minimalism within after effects can be very effective, given that what your doing is well considered and you make the movements needed as realistic and as well thought through as possible, I decided to make them as simple as possible in order to not distract the viewer with too much going on.
Snap.
1 / A redesigned version of my initial ideas, using larger letters to give a clearer design, and making a few minor adjustments such as, the letters snapping as each letter hits it, and using colour in a more specific way.
2 / A newly developed idea, using the letters in half entering either side of the screen quite fast and connecting in the middle whilst transforming to italics due to the speed, i have fiddled with this design quite a few times making minor changes with colour and composition, deciding weather or not to use black, i feel the white alone gives enough impact.
3 / Another new idea, this time working with the P as though it is attached to a hinge an whilst the letter comes to a sudden stop the P i snapped and left to swing underneath the letter, i am particularly happy with the pace and movement with the swing in this motion graphic, again using simple flat colours to gives the best impact possible.
Bounce.
1 / One of my very first ideas for bounce re - created with a more crisp feel to it, including the easy ease technique which benefitted this project more than other, the easy ease, gave the O the perfect effect of somebody on a trampoline gaining momentum, and slowing down as they reach their peak, only to speed up again when approaching the bottom.
2 / Perhaps my favourite silent movie, due to the really animated feel to it, this video reminds me of the pixar ident with the lamp shade jumping on the 'I', again using easy and another warping technique for the 'B UNCE'.
Having revisited this brief after learning much more with after effects, i came to realise that with simple definitions of words, should come simple concepts and designs, minimalism within after effects can be very effective, given that what your doing is well considered and you make the movements needed as realistic and as well thought through as possible, I decided to make them as simple as possible in order to not distract the viewer with too much going on.
Snap.
1 / A redesigned version of my initial ideas, using larger letters to give a clearer design, and making a few minor adjustments such as, the letters snapping as each letter hits it, and using colour in a more specific way.
2 / A newly developed idea, using the letters in half entering either side of the screen quite fast and connecting in the middle whilst transforming to italics due to the speed, i have fiddled with this design quite a few times making minor changes with colour and composition, deciding weather or not to use black, i feel the white alone gives enough impact.
3 / Another new idea, this time working with the P as though it is attached to a hinge an whilst the letter comes to a sudden stop the P i snapped and left to swing underneath the letter, i am particularly happy with the pace and movement with the swing in this motion graphic, again using simple flat colours to gives the best impact possible.
Bounce.
1 / One of my very first ideas for bounce re - created with a more crisp feel to it, including the easy ease technique which benefitted this project more than other, the easy ease, gave the O the perfect effect of somebody on a trampoline gaining momentum, and slowing down as they reach their peak, only to speed up again when approaching the bottom.
2 / Perhaps my favourite silent movie, due to the really animated feel to it, this video reminds me of the pixar ident with the lamp shade jumping on the 'I', again using easy and another warping technique for the 'B UNCE'.
Thursday 2 February 2012
Final crit
Final crit.
Today in pairs we went round our table of 6 and assessed everyones work, i received some helpful feedback which will benefit my project from here onwards, things like including sound, furthering story boards and finalising videos.
I also created a short action plan from now until next week.
- Add sound to video
- Further storyboards
- Create an additional 10s.
- Apply scanned Images.
Today in pairs we went round our table of 6 and assessed everyones work, i received some helpful feedback which will benefit my project from here onwards, things like including sound, furthering story boards and finalising videos.
I also created a short action plan from now until next week.
- Add sound to video
- Further storyboards
- Create an additional 10s.
- Apply scanned Images.
Thursday 26 January 2012
Feedback.
Missing out on a little bit of work was vital this week, i missed out on crited work, although i had a couple of videos completed i still had no story board therefore people couldn't really understand what would happen.
Here is my feedback sheet nevertheless, by the end of the week i will have completed all of my story boards a few times over to make sure i catch up.
Next task is finding some music to fit.
Here is my feedback sheet nevertheless, by the end of the week i will have completed all of my story boards a few times over to make sure i catch up.
Next task is finding some music to fit.
Thursday 19 January 2012
IF.
Itchy fingers.
Enterprise, in our enterprise group we have decided to set up an illustration magazine, promoting and showcasing the most innovative and creative illustrators in the world, we had been asked to design a logo and create an Advertisment to go into Creative review taking into consideration prices and budget.
We decided to use a quarter sized ad due to costings, we felt it was far too expensive for a full page, also i designed my Ad's before We decided on being an illustration magazine as apposed to a studio, the prices we found for a quarter page is £1400.
Enterprise, in our enterprise group we have decided to set up an illustration magazine, promoting and showcasing the most innovative and creative illustrators in the world, we had been asked to design a logo and create an Advertisment to go into Creative review taking into consideration prices and budget.
We decided to use a quarter sized ad due to costings, we felt it was far too expensive for a full page, also i designed my Ad's before We decided on being an illustration magazine as apposed to a studio, the prices we found for a quarter page is £1400.
Monday 16 January 2012
How will i promote myself.
Business Cards.
Some interesting an creative business card designs and ideas i have found, using different and innovative ways of thinking.
Mikey Burton
A very clever idea from Mikey Burton, a graphic designer / illustrator, this enables him to create business cards with what ever he pleases, meaning he doesn't have to carry round a wad of cards all the time, also i feel employers would see something like this and appreciate the thinking out of the box.
Some interesting an creative business card designs and ideas i have found, using different and innovative ways of thinking.
Mikey Burton
A very clever idea from Mikey Burton, a graphic designer / illustrator, this enables him to create business cards with what ever he pleases, meaning he doesn't have to carry round a wad of cards all the time, also i feel employers would see something like this and appreciate the thinking out of the box.
Saturday 14 January 2012
AMMO.
About AMMO.
Ressearching into different Illustration magazines to help us specify our tone of voice and see how we can better the already thriving illustration industry
At Ammo we're addicted to illustration. In fact we can't get enough of the stuff so we decided to create a printed magazine and website dedicated to finding and exposing the best illustrators in the world!
-
We don't care whether the artwork's been created using the humble pencil, mighty fineliner, Mouse, felt tip pen, crayon, Wacom pen, paint brush, fingers or any other method - we want to see it!
We're also proud to be independent. There's no large publishing corporation providing funding, dictating the content of our products or influencing the work we decide to showcase. Ammo's been created out of a love for art with the hope that people will be able to use the publication and website as a platform to showcase their skills and gain recognition.
So that's us. That's Ammo.
-
How we work?
We have a slightly different approach to publishing than other magazines. We don't do limited edition.
-
There have been numerous times when we've discovered a great looking magazine and then been dissapointed to find that the back issues are all sold out. So we try to keep our editions available for as long as possible with no set print-run. The art in our publications is outstanding and we want to share it with as many people as possible.
The costs of printing our first edition, setting up a website and running the magazine were paid for out of our personal savings. From that starting point each new issue has been financed by the previous issue. We also use money raised from sales to re-print older issues as and when needed. We think we're pretty unique in that sense and hope to keep all of our titles available online for as long as possible.
These are images of their Illustrators selection for 3 different Issues, they seem to have a nice wide range of designers for each issue, something we should consider.
Open publication - Free publishing - More ammo
Prices.
AMMO, is a particularly cheap magazine costing only £5.00 which i think is brilliant considering the amount of illustration inside and with such a broad range, our magazine should be cheap if not free to be one better than this, i also think we should include goody bags etc.
Submissions.
A pretty much essential idea for our magazine, submissions, something to get our readers involved and to also create new opportunities for us and our readers.
Prices.
AMMO, is a particularly cheap magazine costing only £5.00 which i think is brilliant considering the amount of illustration inside and with such a broad range, our magazine should be cheap if not free to be one better than this, i also think we should include goody bags etc.
Submissions.
A pretty much essential idea for our magazine, submissions, something to get our readers involved and to also create new opportunities for us and our readers.
Creative Review.
Here are screen shots of all Advertising prices for Creative Review, something our group will need to consider when designing the advert for our next project.
Wednesday 11 January 2012
Boards.
Today in our crit we presented our ideas and boards to our groups and
discussed any changes that need to be made and ensured we had considered
all areas that needed to be, unfortunately my idea had changed around
11 o clock last night, making it difficult for me to redesign my boards
in time, i explained fully my idea change and answered any questions
that were asked.
Monday 9 January 2012
Agencies. 4
Here.
Here Design is a small team of multi-disciplinary designers based in East London. The studio was set up in December 2005, by Kate Marlow, Caz Hildebrand and Mark Paton.
Since then we have been crafting quietly powerful design for a client list of individuals, brands, charities and institutions that we believe in wholeheartedly.
Our collective experience includes design and strategic thinking for branding, packaging, print, publishing, point-of-sale, products and websites. This scope allows us to create effective and original solutions to work across any media.
Design Project.
Design project have a history of creating distinctive visual communications that deliver outstanding results for clients in industry, the service sector, media and the arts.
Across brand identity, print and digital media, our multi-disciplinary approach ensures that every project, regardless of scale or budget, results in a functional, effective and crafted solution that fulfils the communication objectives of the client.
Our philosophy is simple: to create succinct, innovative, beautiful solutions. Solutions that last, that inspire and that enable our clients to realise their ambitions.
A studio i really like the look of, probably one of the widest range of projects and outcomes for briefs, a beautiful selection of work for all areas of client groups, London based again which is perfect for me with it being the city i'd prefer to work in.
Here Design is a small team of multi-disciplinary designers based in East London. The studio was set up in December 2005, by Kate Marlow, Caz Hildebrand and Mark Paton.
Since then we have been crafting quietly powerful design for a client list of individuals, brands, charities and institutions that we believe in wholeheartedly.
Our collective experience includes design and strategic thinking for branding, packaging, print, publishing, point-of-sale, products and websites. This scope allows us to create effective and original solutions to work across any media.
Just what i'm looking for in a design studio really, i love the idea that they are multidisciplinary, it gives all designers a chance to hear ideas from a slightly different perspective and I'm really liking the wide range and quality of the work produced, there isn't many pieces of work i don't like and since researching agencies I've found that to be a rarity i really hope to be able to work with this agency. The only let down i have found in their lack in print, although they have a lot of editorial print and products there isn't much posters, leaflets etc.
Design Project.
Design project have a history of creating distinctive visual communications that deliver outstanding results for clients in industry, the service sector, media and the arts.
Across brand identity, print and digital media, our multi-disciplinary approach ensures that every project, regardless of scale or budget, results in a functional, effective and crafted solution that fulfils the communication objectives of the client.
This studio appeals to me in every way, their innovative design work, their close to home, they have an unbelievably wide range of work and it is mostly print, i find this agency really interesting and i love the work they have produced, again with a small based multidisciplinary studio.
Studio Mackgill.
StudioMakgill is an independent design studio. We work with businesses and cultural organisations, large and small. Our focus is on the creation of brand identities and visual communication for a broad and discerning clientele.
Our philosophy is simple: to create succinct, innovative, beautiful solutions. Solutions that last, that inspire and that enable our clients to realise their ambitions.
A studio i really like the look of, probably one of the widest range of projects and outcomes for briefs, a beautiful selection of work for all areas of client groups, London based again which is perfect for me with it being the city i'd prefer to work in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)