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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Agencies. 3

Made by six

Philosophy.

Our clients work directly with our designers, benefitting from our studio culture of developing challenging ideas. Our design process is informed by clear strategic thinking and delivered with a vigorous attention to detail.

We see every project as an opportunity, and our best work is done when clients share our ambition for design. It’s an approach that has led to lasting, fruitful relationships valued as much by boutique businesses as it is by global brands.

Again relationships with clients is something i find extremely necessary, six has always appealed to me as Dropyx was one of the first pieces of graphic design that truly inspired me, one thing i appreciate in graphic design is when a designer can create a massively very effective piece of design as simple as they can, most of their projects reflect this attribute and it has always been something i try and incorporate into my design.

 

Agencies. 2

Tappin Goffin.
















A studio i found whilst browsing 'Collate', a close client relationship is something i am looking to find when working with a studio after university, i feel it helps develop a much better idea generation with projects, this being a small studio is another plus for me, i am not looking to go into anything to major just yet, i would like to explore a few smaller studios to begin with and move upwards from there.

The work featured on their website mostly in the music industry has a wonderfully wide range of approaches and finishes to projects.

---

Inventory Studio.


Our approach

Inventory studio is a place for serious and considered play. we take on projects we believe in, aiming to always produce well researched, intelligent, thoughtful and concept driven work that goes beyond expectations. - We make good things great.

A studio with a huge portfolio of wide variety in every industry related to graphic design showing innovative and creative approaches to projects i really like the way this studio works and whats created.

I am definitely looking for a studio that specilises in print as apposed to screen based work, in terms of the style of graphic design i would rather not have a style and go into a design agency that also doesn't specialise in any certain client groups, this way i will be able to develop a much broader portfolio.

Enterprise 3.

I like to think that personally i can change my approaches to design and feel i have a variety of different skills to put into practice in response to a brief and i know over the next year and a half i will develop these further along with more skills, i also try to vary my designs whilst working, in order to achieve a wide range of deliverables as to not be tied to having a 'style'.

Most design agencies look for certain properties within new designers, so when i am to begin searching for agencies i feel the best way to go about it would be to research in depth into the agencies, see what it is their looking for and create a suitable portfolio of my work.

I would like to collect together a good list of different agencies i like, along with reasons for liking them, this will help me approach each agency in a specific manor.

Again depending on the agency i'd be approaching would affect the way i went about speaking to them, i believe there will be some formal agencies and some more relaxed, so i would again research and put together a short interview practice in response to how i feel they would treat the situation, i would also look into detail in regards to what they promote themselves for instance if the were big on logo designs, i would show my projects i felt were strong in terms of brand identity etc.

In terms of creating media to promote myself i would use the basics to start off with such as business cards, other useful ways to promote myself i have not yet explored is online, i feel i should set up a website and a Behance account, Behance Network is an online portfolio platform for creative professionals across multiple industries, including photography, graphic design, illustration, and fashion. Organizations such as the AIGA, Adweek, ADC, and MTV have partnered with the Behance Network to create galleries of creative work. The company has also been vocal on the topic of crowdsourcing.

Another useful online site is LinkedIn this is another website used for linking different creatives together, a way to get myself out there.

Enterprise 2.

Based on the principles that have been introduced so far in the Enterprise module, as well as the previous tasks, investigate, analyse and critically evaluate where your potential clients are located. You will need to consider the following questions:

• Where are my potential clients/employers located?
• What media do my potential clients/employers use?
• What do you need to communicate and how does it match what your clients/employer need? 

Analyse and compare these examples in relation to the Political, Economic, Social and Technological

Starting my career in graphic design in the internet age will massively improve my chances to explore a much wider range of agencies not only in this country but across the world, although for now i would like to stay UK based, with music / fashion / publishing being such a global area for design i would say that my options are fairly limitless and my potential clients are all around me, my main thoughts currently are to move south to London and explore a range of design agencies there the only thing stopping me is the price of London, the prices down there are significantly higher than any where else in the country this could mean me staying up north for a few years. 

With my potential client groups the range of media goes from anything interactive on the internet to fully published books, CD / vinyl cases and everything in between, music still keeps a fairly good reproduction of Covers and poster art even though a high majority or album purchases are done online with websites such as iTunes, fashion is mostly published work / posters and brand and identity.

"Fashion is a high-impact, fast-paced industry that demands an aspirational visual message and requires constant reinvention. Graphic design for fashion must represent the core values of the brand while pushing boundaries and expectations" - Graphic Design for Fashion Jay Hess and Simone Pasztorek.

 

Enterprise 1

Possible Client Groups.

Leisure
Architecture
Education
Music
Food
Health
Construction
Tourism
Charity
Technology
Science
Medical/ Pharmaceutical
Retail
Fashion
Sales and Marketing
Publishing

The main client groups i could see myself working for and find most interesting are, Music, Fashion and publishing.


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

I am still unsure of what client group i see myself working with and also unaware of all possible client groups out there, i would be happy to work with most client groups so long as the client showed a true passion for their project.

I feel the skills i have accumulated since i began studying graphic design are working with image, Adobe Software, Idea generation, i also feel one of my main skills is my approach to problems set, i often try to take a brief apart to its basics and rebuild it using research found to best fit the needs of the problem.

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


There are two types of skills in graphic design, the personal side and the professional side, with the industry being as fast paced and changing as it is there will be many skills i will need to develop and find as i go along another important thing to keep in mind is that with being a graphic design and dealing with so many different clients this will bring more reason to learn a wide range of skills, these are the main skills i feel will benefit me throughout my career in graphic design. 

Proffesional.


- Communication, i.e. with printers, clients and anybody else in the industry.

- An understanding of business so that hopefully i will be able to set up my own later in life.

Personal.

- Develop further skills with more Adobe software.
- Look further into type and layout.
- Explore colour theory.


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

I would like to start my graphic design career in a small business to have closer group of peers to work with and get a better feel of working as a team, i would also like to move around a few different places and maybe look trying to work in a few different countries; the Netherlands, Spain, Canada and from their come back to England and eventually set up my own studio.

The 4 P's

Product


Price 


Place


Promotion