Professional Practice

Important factors to be professional

• The importance of learning and always learning something new.
• Organization and time management skills.
• Becoming more independent and on the path of discovery as to where you really want to go.
• Being professional.
• Becoming a better designer.
• Networking getting more work from real clients.
• Setting goals and milestones.
• Portfolio and presentation.

 

The P’s

Punctuality, process, pathways, portfolio, presentation, postgraduate, placement, professionalism.

 

 Squad

A meeting with Dave Barraclough at Squad Manchester. Shortly after returning to university after the Christmas break it is now essential that we begin to get some experience in the professional world whether that be a work placement or working for a live client. I began my professional practice with a visit to Squad in Manchester.

 

I was initially blown away with how lovely the studio is at Squad, it had a very relaxed atmosphere and design of the space was all open plan and very light and spacious with copious amounts of books to pick up and have a look at, at any time. The visit made me realize just how great it will be to get out into the design field working in a real live studio will definitely hold a lot of enjoyment, and may not be as scary as I thought. Squad pride tehmseleves as being an open studio and would be happy to spend time with anyone in the field. The space was a great open workspace and perfect for making great creative design.

 What was interesting about squad was the design thesis they had for their company. While Dave Barraclough is a very talented creative designer with years of great experience his business partner is more of a business man strategist planner but the balance seems to work for them and it definitely seemed that way. It is interesting to think that it is not just creativity that you need to succeed when planning design a strategy and valued thesis goes along way than just straight away hitting pen to paper. This is great advice that I gained from my visit.

Dave spent a considerable time with me overlooking what I had in my portfolio at the time. It was very interesting to speak to a professional about this. His opinion was different to what I am used to speaking to fellow students and tutors as I guess the change in design from university to reality is quite a difference I can only imagine. Whilst going through my portfolio Dave insisted on asking me lots of questions about my work looking for full explanations for my ideas and what my thoughts were behind the projects. This made me really think about my design choices and has done since the meeting. You really have to be able to justify what you are designing and for what reasons you have chose to make certain decisions. Dave was extremely helpful and has made me think strategically I suppose when it come to my work.

 Dave told me lots of great stories about his university experience and his journey since all of which sounded pretty inspiring to me and of which I cant wait to do myself. He took particular interest in a project I had one the previous year for the Liverpool Philharmonic hall by which I decoupage a body in British map to represent the landscape and the body. We ha d along chat about this and he challenged me to re work the design to try and channel into his way of thinking. I have since used the idea for another project, which involved projecting a map onto a nude body with an over head projector in photography session. The advice was impeccable and the absolutely correct idea to revisit the initial landscape and the body idea.

 

Morgans brew Live Client

 Tea is not just for drinking!!!! I have had a coupe of meetings with Morgan’s Brew with regard to the array of products he has on offer and recently decided to take part in designing a brand name and brand for their tea infused spiced wine. When being briefed by Morgan’s brew it is very interesting to see just how passionate he is about what he does and working with a client that is very passionate about what they are doing means that pitching ideas to them can be difficult as they want it to be just right for them.

 Working with Morgans brew made me open my eyes to think about just how many uses a product can have to make you think outside of the box when coming up with a brand. For instance tea can be used in food , alcohol, cooking, medicine, detox the list is endless.

The client wants a brand that is reasonably simple and cheap to produce in terms of labels as his current brand for his tea is a landscape image and includes too many colors and is expensive to produce. However he does not request a logo that is “too simple” either so the key is to find a balance. A local artist has drawn an illustration for Morgans Brew, which the client has issued as a form of inspiration.

 

It is essential in terms of packaging that is either eco friendly, highly recyclable or easily reused. If it is a sticker label that is produced it must be adaptable to go from glass to perspex. Morgans brew requires the new brand for their spiced wine to stand out on a shelf and be in the same category as enjoyed drinks such as pimms and fruit punch type drinks. To be enjoyed all year around with a little class if need be. The brand must not include tea leaves due to the company diversifying and a theme of pattern can be used.

As a collaborative effort a group of students decided to brainstorm some ideas for a brand name. Working with key words such as energy, fun, relaxing, versatile, chai, chai tea, wine, and me time we came up with Chaime. It can relate to chai me like try me or alternately it stands in good stead for tag lines such as “chaime time” overall the brand name works I think. In terms of my design I have come up woth a simple but effective design that I think meets the clients design brief. The labels consist of a two-color palette and should be relatively cheap for printing as they are a simple shape and size for print and application. What I have learnt mainly from this project is to design with client’s specifics in mind whether it is price, usability shape or size; it effects the way you design. You are no longer designing it purely how you would like it to look. This was great experience for the future.

 

1 week project briefing

Working for Setters – Health and Safety Company.

Setters aims to be a company based around the people rather than the industrious action i.e something too high, unsafe or dangerous. A double page spread is required for a useable health and safety manual. The format must be photography using Photoshop and strong typography. Type and illustrated photo is the main content brief and must relate to one of the following words.

Safety culture, choice, coaching, + people, zero harm, risk reward, believe, contribution.

 

Wrexham Heritage Trail

On behalf of Wrexham council and Martin Rees Jewelers a heritage trail map is required to be designed to showcase a number of unique heritage sites in the town. It was required within the design brief given to us from the clients that we would also have to do the copywriting for the textual content that was required within the leaflet. The client wants the leaflet to be modern and stylish however they fell content is of more importance, this is an important point to remember, as the pitch will not be won if the content is not of a good standard.

As a small design group we began to work on this project combining ideas and taking individual small jobs having regular meeting basis to catch up on the whereabouts of the project. However it soon became clear it as easier to work as a duo myself and fellow student Alex. Working collaboratively on this project worked out to be a huge success combining the workload equally and the ability to make decisions quickly and effectively. It has been great experience working as part of a team for the reality of real world projects when working on a studio with a number of people. We kept in close contact with the client at all time via email communications and phone calls to keep up to date with progress and decisions we were making. I have learnt that it is far more easier to keep the client up to date at all times rather than following through a concept without running it past them for them to not agree with the direction your are heading in. Communication is key between designer and client and more importantly through the multiple designers you may be working with.

 Presentation

A professional presentation was given to the clients today showcasing the final trail map ideas in three color ways that we had decided on. We also briefed the client with an idea for a interactive web application to run along side the trail map using geo location so that the user can use the application whilst taking part in the heritage trail and can access more required information about the specific locations. The presentation went really well and great practice and experience for future pitching of ideas. The map went down famously and the client has decided to go ahead with our design idea and aesthetic just wishing to make a few minor changes such as extra road names and the addition of the tourist information center to the map. We are also waiting to hear if we can get permission to use certain copywriter images from the local museum and archives which is holding up the final print job o this project.

However a quote on three colour way printing will determine if all colour versions of the map can be used. The online application was also very well received. Another meeting is to be arranged mid may with final execution and follow up session with regard to the future of the project and whether we can get the go ahead to develop the web application that we have designed.

 

Big Hand Brewing Co

A family run business, micro brewing company required a rebrand and design for beer clips and possible website.

 Values

Big Hand values themselves as being a fair company with fair prices for their product who do not cut any corners. As a local company they have a social responsibility to local issues for example some profit of certain brews go to local charities. They believe they produce quality, fresh, traditional product. It is all natural and consists of only 4 ingredients. As a company they want to be approachable by the public for instance open brewery tours.

 Objectives

They wish to raise their profile in Wrexham and north Wales as their current clientele is in Chester Shropshire Liverpool and Manchester. They wish to promote ownership of their brand a little like Wrexham Lager have. A means by which customers can interact with the brand is needed for example social networking and to feel involved with the beer making with regular updates. The customers need to be able to learn about the brand in terms of photos and the brewing process via form of a current newsfeed.

Big hand want to be unforgettable and recognisable ad publicise when a beer is now in a local pub with promotional material such as beer mats, glass wear and marketing. The emphasis needs to be more on the brand than on the name. Their target audience is on average 24 – 47 and people drinking real ale, quite affluent, has disposable income, sensible drinkers, often food lover. They do not want to attract customers looking for a cheap pint as on average cost s £3.80 to £4.00. The consumer must be looking for quality, not dictated to they are an individual and do not drink a common brand.

An improvement on the big hand logo is required as well as designs for pump clips as they see this s as the most important part of their marketing, and feel that simpler pump clips work better they don’t need to be busy and complex and must have very few words. Other factors that require attention is van signage, beer mats, t-shirts, bottles , labels and glass wear. A strap line seems important to this client and they currently have “don’t you deserve a big hand” and “Big ales hand crafted”

 

 Trail Jesters ladies running holidays

This is an ongoing client who needs a brand for a ladies running holiday company as well as a personal website to go with it. A ladies running holiday will attract ladies from 25 – 50 who enjoy running in a group for fun friendship and fitness. The end aim is to feature the holidays at whole families to enjoy.

 

The Brand

• The brand must feature a jester’s hat in some way maybe resting on the textual aspects of the logo.
• It is essential that it represent fun and entertainment.
• With regard to color I have been advised that it is a must to use black and pink.
• The tag line the company has so far is “Run for the border” as the aim is to run throughout Shropshire and mid wales along rural idyllic trails this must reflect in the design.
• Maybe the idea of incorporating mountains and contours into the hat.

 

Creative Futures talk with Sid Madge 3/2/14

It is always important to have a great attitude and be creative in what ever you do. Four key points in a design career is attitude, creativity, relationships and organization. It is essential to keep good relationships in multiple areas.

 Brands

What is a brand? The consumer instantly perceives added value as soon as a logo is added to a product. The representation and recognizability of a logo is so high it can be recognized in a number of contexts for instance of you were to spell god with the Cadburys text you would still recognize it as Cadburys.

 Psychology of color

When thinking of the importance of color it is essential to think about what brands associate with certain colors. Red for instance, a red tablet is believed to help pain relief so people believe. Blue represents security, a safe solid color used in finance. Blue tables are supposed to help with anxiety and have a calming influence. Black represents up market brands, much more selective.

Do we perceive a brand by form or shape? Look at the Harley Davidson and jaguar logos for comparison for this. The Harley logo is perceived as a fuel tank as the jaguar an animal. Is it by size? Large broadsheet newspapers were seen as high-end intellectual, however all newspapers have now been reduced to tablet size so there is hardly any comparison. Is it by sound? For example Intel small jingle that features on their adverts we all know this sound. Or is it purely visual? Guinness for example have made an art form out of their advertising and communicating with their customers. Or Estelle free the joy for the Brit awards all you see is free the joy. 

 

Or do we determine a brand by how we feel? Channel number 5 has a luxury high end feel. Coca Cola bottle are designed to sit perfectly in your hand and we can always visualize the beads of water running down the neck of the bottle. A Rolex watch gives the feeling of importance and fortune just as iPod feels happy and full of energy and sound it can dance all by itself. Or is it how brands converse with us? Take innocent smoothie for example their advertising tell us the consumer “this is a juice” “this is an innocent smoothie” making a virtue out of the spoken word “innocent” you don’t need to feel guilty for drinking it as its innocent. Or it could be the environment of which a brand exists in, essentially the retail allows for a theater of brands to exist. The brand is able to entertain you while you purchase. The apple store has a huge retail footprint. The M and M store in London is a theatre experience of the brand. As you enter the environment you can smell chocolate that is piped through the air conditioning the brand wants to entertain you. There really is so much more to brands. So is it just physical attributes that attract us to brands? Our brains contain 85% emotion and 15% logic whereby brands are sold on 100% emotion in most cases.

In terms of entering into your design career and branding yourself you must ask yourself the question to describe yourself in one word. Values are up most important for your career you must think strategically for example the thought that Facebook and social networking gets more traffic in a day than any of the search engines. 40 hours of video is uploaded to you tube every minute. Buying power stands on 14% advertising and 78% from peer recommendation so you must get yourself noticed do a good job so the message gets passed on.

With regards to branding yourself and for future jobs it is important to remember that good brands tell great stories like Nike gives a lifestyle and a story as well as a pair of trainers. Think about what makes you different think of an interesting story, but remember never to completely tell the whole story.

 

National Trust

To be given such a great opportunity to work on a project on behalf of the national trust is absolutely brilliant. I was initially briefed with this project by Liz Edwards’s on 4^th February. The initial briefing showed a huge number of opportunities in the walled kitchen garden and open to a range of ideas.

The Walled Kitchen Garden is home to a ¼ mile glass house and orchard that led to tem having regional apple status for such a huge variety. The glass house was a huge status symbol years ago compromising of a palm house that has vines and displays. The building is designed purely to grow the fruit i.e the mechanisms used to lower and heighten the vines depending on growth.

The walled kitchen garden want to refresh their methods an sell what they stand for like regional apple status and the great stories and experiences that can be told by the staff and gardeners. Clumber park requires place making we need to get an emotional connection with the site to carry on returning. Maybe the visitors need to take a part of the park home with them whether that be knowledge or a story.

 Events

Apple day: An annual event consisting of showcasing the huge variety of apples grown within the garden as well as apple tasting, cooking, talks and recipe booklets all on offer. They do not advertise this event very well and don’t pride themselves on the huge varieties of apples they have. I think this needs to be targeted in some promotional material for this event. After all its what makes them special and unique. Apple day sounds quite light and fun a great family day, I just need to get this across In the material.

 A visit to Clumber Park 13/2/14

It was very important to visit the site itself to get a real feeling of what the garden is like and also to interact with staff members on site to get a realistic insight into what needs to be done in order to improve the publicity of the walled kitchen garden. We had a 3 hour guided tour of the grounds by member of staff Hazel Roberts. What was instantly apparent was how organic the garden was and the hidden parts of history throughout in the walls and the stones that visitor wouldn’t even know were there. This hidden history needs unveiling. It is these little hidden stories that make the visit to the park so interesting.

When speaking to Hazel her main goal seemed to be making the connection that exists between the produce and the café more aware. All produce grown on site is cooked on site in the café for the visitors to eat. At the moment visitors wouldn’t even know this unless they were told. She was also concerned with the idea of showing visitors the excellence of Clumber and self-growing plants and vegetables and wanted this issue to be resolved. How can we design something to make this happen, get people to grow theory own, be sustainable and connect to the walled kitchen garden.

 Objectives

• Quality matters, whatever is designed must fit into the aesthetics of the garden. Luxury, Unique, Relaxing and Status.
• Interpretation must be of a high standard and fit into the site and not be obstructive.
• Design solutions must be subtle not in your face.

After visiting clumber and having a little time to think I have decided to design event material for Apple day and to make it fun and exciting for all the family. I have also come up with an idea that represents the problem with connecting the produce to the café and the customer. A seasonal set of recipe card, garden markers and seeds that can be purchased depending on what is seasonal and what produce is being cropped and cooked at the time. Recipes made on sit can be featured for visitors to buy in order for them to take a little a clumber home with them and recreate what they experienced there. With light persuasion to grow your own in a non-obstructive way as requested.

I am very happy with my recipe themed products for the walled kitchen garden and really enjoyed working on the live project for the National Trust. What I have learnt in a professional sense is that the importance of going for a sight visit talking to real people the staff who know what the customers need and want. Although I know this isn’t always possible with all design briefs, in this circumstance I really felt it helped me connect with the site in order to design aesthetically to it in with the location successfully.