Ian Anderson Workshop - Visiting Professional

Ian Anderson came in and I was lucky to be one of the few that got to attend the workshop.

I didn't know what to expect really but it was very straight forward. He first got us to each tell a joke (no matter how good or bad) and then discussed how a joke functions. The basis of a joke is that it has a narrative, it tells a story. After this he spoke about the importance of answering a brief, you need to give the client what they want and make sure the design communicates the story to its fullest potential. At the same time there is the idea of 'breaking the brief' which is a tricky thing to pull off and should only be done with confidence and reassurance that it will be better done that way.

So here was the task for the workshop.

   - design an A3 poster
   - you can use any colour you want but as long as it is black and white
   - you can use any font you want but as long as its Helvetica
   - and it has to use only the words 'You' and 'Me'

These were my responses.

http://issuu.com/charliecrosby/docs/me_you?mode=window

PPD Presentation - self evaluation

Having done the presentation and gotten it out of the way I feel relieved and it was actually quite relaxed. Once you get over the idea that your having to deliver the presentation you can really understand that its about you, your experience and your practice and it doesn't have anything to do with anyone else, with the exception of the people you want to work with.

I discussed most of what I planned to talk about but I never rehearse presentations because they come across to formal and wooden and usually I'll get flustered so doing it on the day is the best way for me personally.

I enjoyed everyone else's presentations too and noticed a few things that I could have mentioned. I could have reflected more on the previous 2 years and maybe even further before that to show the development on a grander scale. Also I could have used more slides to illustrate what I'm talking about instead of having 10 uniform slides. Its a consideration for future presentations that I may have to make in the industry.

Si Scott - Visiting Professional

I'm a big fan of Si Scotts work and I really appreciate that he's always stuck with drawing and and made a career from a fundamental skill that all creatives should have. His talk was quite interesting in terms of the clients he's worked for and he was a very genuine person which is great to see. I find it slightly unsettling or off putting if someone is too uptight about their work or tries to deliver an overly professional lecture.

The key thing that I took away from the lecture was that if you don't do work for yourself and put yourself out there then people wont notice you. Self initiated projects and work can really kickstart and/or refresh the interest in your skills and services as a designer.

PPD3 Presentation slides

This is my final edit of my presentation boards for OUPD301.

http://issuu.com/charliecrosby/docs/ppd3presetation1?mode=window

Cargo Collective - online portfolio

I've at last got round to give some more thought and effort to my online portfolio. With the presentations coming up I want to actually have it up and running properly. To begin with it only have one page with 4 projects on and they were not up to a professional standard. I've made a list of things that can be improved.

   - needs an about page
   - needs a contact page
   - needs an up to date logo
   - apply a favicon symbol if possible
   - upload more recent work
   - make work look more professional
   - adjust the layout of the pages/thumbnails/artwork etc
   - maybe revamp the personal branding

There's a lot to do on the face of things but its just a case of tackling one thing at a time. Firstly I added more pages and set up editing windows for each project that I will have up. The pages are now titled ABOUT, PORTFOLIO and CONTACT. Very straight forward and easy for viewers to understand. The about page will have a bit about my practice and my views and so on so they can get a feel for who I am. The portfolio will house any project based stuff or jobs etc and finally contact will have my details and possibly in the future I can added a client list so people wanting to know more about what I was like to work with can go a contact them.

Three pages is the maximum I can have at the moment. I'd have to pay to get a few extra privileges which I wont be able to afford alongside a lot of other expenses that will be coming up.

Secondly I wanted to edit the thumbnails of the page because they were too big and in your face. It's not great to look at on screen.

These are the new thumbnails.

Making the Favicon was quite easy as Cargo as and uploader for it. Using the dimensions given it was a simple matter of finding a favicon generator on Google that would reformat it for me. This is the favicon on a large scale.

And here it is to scale.

I've replaced the CPJC logo with a simpler letter C in Gotham Bold. I'm contemplating phasing out cpjcdesign and rebranding myself with something thats more personal, current and to the point. At the moment I'm going to stick with the Letter C whilst I work on a some more concept development.

I still need to add a lot of content to the projects and work on a better layout to display the work but Its a very long winded process working with Cargo so I'll come back to it. But for now there is a massive improvement.

Professional Opportunities

OTTO

Since starting the brand as a project purely to make some of my own screen printed shirts, its really progressed and their is potential for it to become a fully functioning business that will allow me to explore and practice my creativity through screen printing and eventually clothing design.

I've been having conversations with my parents and their is the possibility for me to do a kickstarter funding scheme and buy my own printing carousel along with a few other bits to set up a small studio.

Dots Printhaus - internship screen printing

I've been in touch with Johnny and Joe at Dots a few times over the year and last time we spoke Joe mentioned they were considering taking on interns and doing workshops in screen printing. This would be a great opportunity to really learn more about screen printing and whats possible. So far I've been working on my technique and developing the skill purely to have practiced the method, however my knowledge and creativity through screen print has so much more potential.

Creative Director/ designer VHL

View Holographics Ltd is in need of people to create artwork and designs to promote their products and services. This would be a convenient and paid opportunity to work with new technology and methods of communication. As to whether it's what I want to be doing as a major part of my career I'm unsure.

Freelance C2 studio

I've already had a few people come to me through friends looking for some design work to be done so I want to keep the creativity going and get more projects under my belt/help out some friends by taking the briefs on as freelance work. This will be a good chance to push my new personal brand C2 further.

OTTO - the business

Following the success of the OTTO launch event at Outlaws Yacht Club, it has had a great response and I feel that all the effort that went into it was worthwhile.

I feel more confident now that this is something that I would like to pursue as a business venture. Other clothing companies such and Hype, Abandon Ship Apparel and Represent started off in similar fashion and thats the kinda of success and potential OTTO has. It will have to be a steady development which will need to have some financial backing and help from others who have more of a business orientated mind.

Rough plan:-

   - 2013/14 - work part time for living costs and spend the rest of my time on the business. Running it mostly online and through popup events and collaborations.

   - 2014/15 - improve quality of the clothing and work on new collections, getting manufactures to create the clothing more than myself having to order and print them all the time. Get clothes into boutiques and shops in Leeds.

   - 2015/16 - leave part time work by the end of the year and focus on the business. Push the clothes out to shops and boutiques in Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Possibly London. Get a proper website.

   - 2016/17 - open flagship store in either Leeds or Manchester (depending on the success up to this point and the state of the economy) with in house screen printing facility.

   - 2017/18 - launch brand campaign to promote the label and reach out to more places across the country.


This is all an ideal plan which can be realised but there is still a lot of things to sort out before any of it can go ahead. With local interest from boutiques such as The Allotment, Bo Carter and Audere Couture there is a lot of hope and potential for the brand.

Modern Designers Studio Placement

Similarly to Creative Concern It was two years ago and I failed to keep in touch with them. However, a can recap the experience nonetheless. It was much different to Creative Concern as the size of the studio, the amount of people I was working with and the kind of work/jobs they were doing were much different. Going from a big studio at the top of a cotton mill with a great view and lots of books and interesting things on the walls to a small white studio with 2 windows and a dog was quite a transition. I didn't fall in love with it like I did at Creative Concern but I appreciate the experience more now as it was a more hard working environment. And I spent less time following people around and observing and more time getting involved with some of their work and doing a lot of research.

I only spent a week at Modern Designers but it was a long week and I wanted a rest at the end. Now I would say it was a good week and it gave me a good taste of whats to come from the industry. If I could have done anything differently, again I would have prepared some questions and tried to get more out of them instead of getting on with the tasks they set me. I suppose that is part of a learning curve and a development of my understanding of how to get the most out of placement or studio visit.

I'll be sending them a thank you soon.

Creative Concern Studio Placement

Although my placement at Creative Concern was two years ago now I feel its a good idea to recap on my experience and how its informed my practice and my views on the design industry.

Firstly, my taste in design and my design approach was much different then to what it is now as well as my skills having come on leaps and bounds. I would be very narrow with my design approach and only  aim for one thing when given a task or a brief to respond to. Now I'm more open and I let as much of my surroundings, findings and experimentation direct my response.

Working in a big studio was really nice because I got to meet a lot of people that all have different roles and experience. Some were more business lead and worked with organising things, and others were the designers that worked on the projects. For a few days they had a programmer/coding freelancer come in to code a website.

By the end of the placement I was pleased to have done it because I learnt a lot about how studios operated. If I could have done it differently I would have asked more questions, got more contacts and kept in touch more after completing the placement. But at that point I didn't think ahead enough to do anything.

I want to get back in touch and thank the studio so I'm going to make them a customised print/gift that they will hopefully appreciate.

Ian Anderson Lecture - Visiting Professional

Ian Andersons lecture, following his workshop, was interesting. His work is nothing like what would catch my eye today. But with that said, he is a very good designer and his ways of thinking are what really gripped me.

It was also interesting that he'd had success with Designers Republic and then it failed and has been revived. Gives young designers like myself a reassurance that you can come back and pick yourself up if something goes wrong. This is one of my main concerns as a professional. I just don't want to be a disappointment.

GFSmith Paper Stockists - Visiting professional

GFSmith came to college to showcase their Colorplan paper stocks. It was really interesting especially for myself as I've always had a keen interest in paper and print. I never knew their was so much that could go into creating paper. The quality of the samples was amazing as well which really made me want to use some high standard stocks.

I've already got in touch with GFSmith and asked for the Colorplan swatch pack so I can reference possible stock choice for my briefs and studio projects in the future.

These are a few of the samples that I had the pleasure of looking at. I particularly enjoyed the bicycle magazine as I was doing a bike anatomy based brief at the time.

http://www.gfsmith.com

Team Impression - Visiting Professional

Team Impression came in to talk little about the business and the services they can provide. Basically there is a lot that they can offer and the turn around time is very good. It's a perfect connection to have if I were to start a studio or in need of a specialist print job.

http://www.team-impression.com

Dots Printhaus Visit

Dots was a great visit, the guys were really friendly and even though they were very busy they took the time to talk to me and answer my questions. I've been dying to go back and get some experience screen printing their and really improve my knowledge and and technique. These guys are perfect as a contact as well for what I'm doing with OTTO and they may become a key part of the businesses productivity in the future.

Furthermore, they do a lot of collaborative work and creative events with I think is always a good thing to do to keep up the fun and variation in a job and lifestyle.

They also have dogs...studios with dogs are a good thing.

http://dotsprint.co.uk

Craig Oldham - Visiting Professional

The Democratic Lecture was great, it was a really refreshing and innovative way of delivering it because as an audience we had some say in what we wanted to hear about and you didn't go into the lecture with the expectation of sitting through slides of someone else's work. In a sense the lecture, the process and the publication are part of Craig's work which paradoxically means we are looking at slides of someone else's work. But more importantly I took away a lot from this lecture.

It was more of a pep talk and an encouraging lecture on how to get yourself out their and be a part of 'the real world' which is different to spending an hour and a half listening to another designers career and success story.

I was inspired enough at the end to purchase the book which I've not started reading yet but If the content is as engaging as the lecture then It'll be a good buy.

Portfolio surgery sign up.

I signed up for my portfolio surgery and I'm having mine with Aidan Nolan from AND studio in Huddersfield. I've been looking at his work and he seems like he'd be a good professional to talk to as the studio does a lot of branding work like myself. I've spoken to some people who have already had their surgeries with other professionals and they all said that they were very useful. I've not changed my portfolio based on what I've heard from them however as I want to get feedback on my first idea of my portfolio should look like.
http://www.aidannolan.co.uk

Portfolio final draft before surgery.

Portfolio 2nd draft.

Portfolio first draft.

Portfolio considerations.

After purchasing my portfolio folder it became apparent that I need to consider a number of things and make some choices. With the portfolio surgeries approaching I want to have as much done so I don't have to make too many big changes to it.


Things to consider:

   - landscape or portrait?
   - layout - images of deliverables? development? ideas?
   - font choice?
   - which briefs include?
   - what kind of work?
   - what to write about the briefs/whats appropriate?
   - what details about myself should I include?

Decisions:

   - landscape
   - layout - images of deliverables on a double page spread for each brief. Images on the first page then more images and a bit about the brief on the second aligned to the right in a column.
   - Minion pro - for its neutral aesthetic across the entire portfolio and because I don't want to use Helvetica.
   - include briefs from OUGD301
   - briefs should all be based on branding and identity
   - an overview of each brief roughly 100-150 words long explaining the purpose and the design choices. Maybe include some print and production specifications.
   - my logo, my contact details and a short about me paragraph

LinkedIn - Finally signed up

So after the most recent PPD session with John I decided it's definitely time to find out whats so good about LinkedIn and sign up. 

I'm now officially on the site and i've requested to join a few of the design orientated networks and already begun making connections. Mostly to people on the course but its a start.