OUGD602 - Marketing & PR Workshop

Learning about Business
LAU workshop

As I have now begun to look into the types of MA courses that I would be most interested in, I have decided to focus on business, branding and marketing within the creative industries. To start developing my knowledge on the subject, I signed up to a workshop at uni labeled 'Marketing and PR'.

The session was constructed of the speaker showing us a powerpoint, and then giving us tasks throughout that we filled in on a supporting print out.

In summary, although the session was very much tailored to students who had either already started a business or that have an idea they want to make a reality in the near future which is not my personal position, it was still very beneficial to learn about starting a business as it is something I may very well consider further down the line.

The workshop has inspired me to carry on learning about the business side of design, I will be finding books to read on the subject as well as starting to think about applying for MAs.

Notes:

OUGD602 - Work Experience confirmed

Reply from
Wired Magazine

I am pleased to confirm that Andrew has emailed me back confirming that I have work experience with them starting on the 25th June. The email from him shown below.

As well as this, I am keeping in touch with Ray from Weiden + Kennedy as she has said that she is working on something on their end too.

OUGD602 - Exhibition - Anne Hardy

Anne Hardy at
Leeds Art Gallery

Anne Hardy is a British artist. Her art practice spans photography, sculptural installation and audio. She completed an MA in photography at the Royal College of Art in 2000, having graduated from Cheltenham School of Art in 1993 with a degree in painting. Hardy lives and works in London.

Anne Hardy uses photography, sculptural installation and audio works to create sensory landscapes. The theatrical space is a mix of reality and fiction: everything was tilting, propped up and on nearly falling over. It was described online as 'Nothing here is what it seems.'

I enjoyed the immersive element as it set it apart from viewing typical sculptures and instillations. The combination of bold colours, strange inanimate objects, flashing lights and eery sounds added to a multi-sensory experience that made me question my surroundings.

"the environments Anne Hardy constructs hover between depiction and abstraction - staging our encounters with these spaces through careful composition of physical and audio landscapes and precisely coordinated perspectives, which immerse us in a space that is at once functional and illusory."

Images from Instillation

The Sculpture Collections : 

Anne Hardy

In the next room, Anne presented a selection of her own drawings, watercolours and models.

I found it extremely interesting to see the process of a sculptor. This year, I have been focusing on refining my own design process as it is hugely important in the success of my projects. Seeing how an artist from a competely different discpline was interesting in terms of comparing and contrasting. It was made clear that showing out your workings is an efficient way of making people aware of how you end up at a final resolution. This is something I need to make obvious on my blog for when I submit my work.

OUGD602 - MA Research

Finding the right courses via
Findamasters

Having being focused on my work for an extended period of time, I thought I would research into the variety of MA courses that may interest me. The focus at the moment is on courses that expand and involve more than just producing deliverables. I would like a course that allows me to work with people from a vast range of disciplines, this not limited to creative ones. The business and industry side of things also interests me in terms of learning how to start and run a business as well as the rules and regulations that come with producing industry standard work.

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MA Graphic Branding and Identity
London College of Communication

"The aim is to produce versatile and creative practitioners who understand design within a business, social and cultural context"

Requirements:
Honours Degree in Graphic Design related subject.

MA Design for Communication

University of Westminster

Modules Include:

- Business for design

- Design research methods

Requirements:

First Degree in an area of art, design or visual media

MA Design for Art Direction

LCC

MA Design for Art Direction at London College of Communication enables visual communicators and designers develop the practical, conceptual and managerial skills to be at the forefront of their chosen professions.

Entry Requirements:

- Honours Degree 2:1 or First

MA Design Management

LCC

Develop high-level leadership, management, communication and analytical skills for a career in the creative and cultural industries.

MA Design Management and Cultures combines academic study with creative and professional practice in a project-led curriculum that draws on a range of interdisciplinary perspectives, from business and the arts.

Entry Requirements:

- Honours Degree

OUGD602 - Contacting Embroidery Service

No Rules

Embroidery Service

One of my clients contacted me asking if I could do some research into getting my designs embroidered. The aim was to embroider one of the logo revamps I produced for him originally as stickers.

Original Design printed on adhesive:

Embroidery on White T Shirt:

OUGD602 - Portfolio lab

CRAFT
Portfolio Lab

This morning I drove down to the Tetley at the other end of town to attend an appointment I made with Craft. They are running something called Portfolio Lab and is an opportunity to talk through my portfolio with professionals.

I decided to make the most of this opportunity as I recently put together a PDF containing my most successful briefs to date. The PDF allows me to send it via email to people who are interested in my work, whether this be a possible employer or someone helping me out.

The Portfolio Lab consisted of two half an hour slots with two different professionals. I sat down with each of them and discussed my portfolio and the work shown. It gave me a chance to talk through projects I haven't looked at in a while and allowed them to refresh in my mind. One thing I have been advised to do multiple times is, including from today, is to make sure that I can speak fluently and concisely about my work so that if or when I get the chance to, I can explain projects to people and sound convincing, passionate and interested.

I then spoke about possible paths I want to head in after I graduate. This gave me a chance to get two opinions on the decision to possibly do a masters, as well as hear about their own journeys. What I learned from today was that a masters isn't crucial, but at the same time it can be just as beneficial. Either way, I can either decide for or against the idea and both paths will allow me to get to where I want to go.

I also discussed what my interests are within the discipline which is something I have always struggled with. However I learned a lot about myself simply by talking over it today. I have come to realise that, although I am not specifically interested in one area of design, the part of the process that I am most interested by is the beginning of projects involving coming up with a concept, and idea and developing and growing it into something bigger. When I told this to one of the professionals, he gave me some guidance as to what studio would suit me best and where to look for these.

In all, this was an extremely valuable experience as I gained more than I thought I would out of simply talking through where I am at and where I want to head. I will be looking for other opportunities similar to this in the future.

OUGD602 - Conversations with Professionals

Reaching out &
Finding Work Experience

Over the past few weeks, I have been focusing on getting in touch with professionals within the creative industry. I asked around amongst friends, family and peers to source inspiring people that I could possibly talk to and hopefully find work experience through. Currently, I haven't made any decisions on what area of design I want to work in and so I am using this to my advantage by reaching out to anyone I can in order to get a wide scope on things.

In a conversation I had with a friend about my situation, he suggested that I emailed Ray from Wieden and Kennedy. He gave me her personal email and I went ahead and contacted her. She was extremely friendly from the get-go and we began to talk about my situation and how she could help me out.

Wieden + Kennedy

"Wieden + Kennedy exists to create strong and provocative relationships between good companies and their customers"

They recently worked on the well-known Nike campaign 'Nothing beats a Londoner'

String of Emails

Ray and I have been emailing back and forth for a while now, discussing what I am up to and who else I should contact etc. When having this discussing, she suggested I contact a friend of hers who works at Wired Magazine.

As I have a keen interest in editorial design and have previous experience at a magazine publishers, I jumped at the chance to get in touch with him.

Wired

Wired is a well established magazine publishers as well as an online website and blog. I have contacted Andrew about possible work experience and he has confirmed that they can have me in for a couple of weeks once I am finished up in Leeds.