Visiting Bristol. OUD502

A few weeks ago I went o visit my sister down in bristol where she was having an exhibition. This was a really interesting and exciting exhibition where the whole city seemed to be involved.

This kind of exhibition has many different venues involved and the whole city was busy and alive.

This got me to thinking that Leeds should be like this, for us designers. Obviously there are things such as the print festival and other exhibitions going on, but nothing on the scale of Bristol. In leeds it sometimes feels like there is only a small community of artists and designers, and you have to be in this group to know about and attend these exhibitions.

This made me think that I would love to hold my own exhibition, for Leeds college of art or Graphic Designers as a whole that is very public, and everyone can come and visit. I think it could be really exciting to open up the world of design as art to the general public as these people are our potential clients. Over the summer I think that I am going to look into creating this and making it happen for Leeds so that our work can get out there and is available to everyone. 

Self Evaluation. PPP. OUGD502

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN		LEVEL	05
Module Code	OUGD502
Module Title	PPP

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION

NAME	Laura Tomlinson

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? I have developed my skills in presentation extremely more as I am much better at talking in front of a group of people. This means that it will be easier for me to present my work to clients as well as this is a very important aspect of designing. I have also developed my skills in branding and presenting myself, as I have found the quite difficult in the past. I think that both of these developments have been effectively applied throughout this module.
2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? I have definitely developed my skills in talking to people such as clients and other designers that inspire me. For the branding and self promotion aspect of this module I have definitely developed my skills in layout design.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? I think that the ‘Lifes a pitch’ part of this module was really interesting and very beneficial to me. I found it really exciting to learn about all the aspects of a business you need to think about before starting up, and also we had the opportunity to visit duke studios which was really interesting to see how real design agencies and other creative’s work together in one harmonious place. I will capitalise on these experiences by using what I’ve learnt to improve my work.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future? I can identify a weakness in the research I have done into other studios. I feel like I should have done more of this over the year and although I have been, I should have blogged it at the time. In the future I will just make sure that I blog things at the time and keep vigilant about other designers and studios that I like.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these? 1. I will blog more efficiently so that my time is more well managed 2. I will make a conscious effort to look at designers and studios that I like so that my work is more well informed. 3. I will continue to contact designers and studios and continue finding out about the industry and gain experience. 4. I will manage my time better when it comes to individual work so that I don’t leave some things until the last minute
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance				x
Punctuality					x
Motivation				x
Commitment				x
Quantity of work produced			x
Quality of work produced				x
Contribution to the group				x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.

My Design Presence. OUGD502.

For my own personal brand I want to keep it true to myself and the work that I love to create. Much of my work is print based and uses the simple use of layout and colour to create a well thought out and streamlined piece of design.

To begin this I wanted to create a logo for myself, as if I'm branding myself, that can be used over many different mediums to show my work and my style.

The idea behind this logo was to create something that could be used in black and white, so that when it comes to printing the costs can be kept low. However, the logo can be used on all kinds of stocks, including colour so that it can be kept interesting.

From here I wanted to create a business card with all of my information on, so that clients can easily find me when they need to. 

I really like the use of black and white in branding as I think it keeps it timeless, and it looks clean and professional.

From here I needed to create a letterhead, something that could be used when printing out invoices and letters and even emails to clients and potential clients so that the letter stands out against other pieces. This is shown at the bottom of the page.

For the website I want to keep it in the same kind of style as this so that the rest of the brand so that it all works as one. The front page will come up as my work, with a side scrolling gallery of all of my work that I want to show, and the other pages will be about and contact.

When it comes to my creative cv, I wanted to create something a little more interesting and visual, and so I decided that a poster type thing would be more appropriate, so that whoever it is sent to can see my work first hand and straight away which I feel has more impact than just a cv.

I think that this way of contacting studios and sending out my cv is much more friendly and personal, and I can easily attach a letter to it using my letterhead so that it can be individualised to the studio or potential client. 

Emailing a few studios. OUGD502.

Over the course of this year I have been emailing a few studios in the hope that I can visit them at some point and ask them some questions about working in a studio and find out how they came to be there. 

These are two magazines based in Bristol which I am really interested in seeing. I love magazines and editorial publications, and so visiting these studios would give me a real insight into how a magazine is created from start to finish. I did receive an email back from cereal magazine, but they told me that they were too busy at the moment and so I should email them again in the summer to see if they can arrange a visit. I think it would be incredibly beneficial to me to visit one of these studios just to see what it is like to work for a magazine and also find out some more about how I would go about getting myself into this area.

I have also emailed about a few internships, mainly in London for larger magazines such as Elle and The Fly, but I haven't heard anything back from these so far. Hopefully over the summer I will be able to visit one or two studios and perhaps find myself a placement so that I can see what it is like working within a magazine. 

Creating a Business. OUGD502

Working with Kirsty Shaw, Alex Dyson, Sophie Abell, Abilgail Nelson.

The Independent Design Co.

Private Limited Company.

We are working towards creating a small and independent studio based in Leeds at Duke Studios that would focus on creating branding, packaging, editorial and web design for independent companies throughout the UK and the world. 

Duke Studios costs £425 a month to rent out. £5100 a year.
Roughly to start we would be earning £65 and hour as a start up studio.
There are currently no screen printing facilities at Duke Studios and so we will have to pay £40 a year each for a membership at another location. Or we could send the printing to be done elsewhere as each job requires.

Taxes do not need to be paid in the first year but this will all be recorded. Our spendings and earnings records will be sent out to an accountant. This will cost around £750 per year.

Website
Doman name would cost £30 per year.
Hosting would cost £30 per month.
Altogether £390 per year.

Start up will take approximately 6 months, and so we will need to take out a bank loan for these months for the website, the rent and setting up the studio.
Bank Loan - For setting up the studio with laptops etc.

• What skills and services do you have to offer?

We are a studio that specialises in working with small companies and start ups in Leeds, as we believe keeping things local within the community is important. Each of us within the company have specialised design skills which we can use both individually and together to create the most effective design solution to each brief.

• Who is your target market?

Our target market is small companies and start ups within Leeds and the surrounding area because the community is an important aspect to our design studio.

• Who is your competition and how will you compete?

Our direct competition is other studios within Leeds, especially those within Duke Studios, but we believe that working alongside these studios will be beneficial to us as a start up studio. To compete with these studios we will simply do the best work possible with the best quality and so the businesses that we work with will be happy.

• What are your costs, charges and financial considerations?

The costs of the start up are shown above, but when it comes to charging clients we will have to earn approximately £65 per hour as a studio. This information wouldn't be told to clients, and so at the beginning of every brief we will discuss with the client how much the project will cost and then sign the contract. Any extra costs or changes made to the brief will be discussed and agreed with the client. We will ask for 50% of the cost upfront for materials etc. and then the other 50% plus any extras on completion. 

• How will you structure your studio?

Our studio will be in Duke Studios, which is situated in the centre of leeds alongside many other creative businesses. Within the studio we are all responsible for a certain part of the design process or speciality, but where it is necessary we will collaborate and work together for the best possible outcome. 

• Who will be responsible for what?

Within the studio we all have our own specialities. I am specialising in the Information and way finding aspect of projects, for example working with events and exhibitions to find the best solution. Abi is in charge of web design, Alex is in charge of branding and identity, Sophie is in charge of promotion (including the promotion of our own studio) and Kirsty is in charge of

As well as these responsibilities, Alex is in charge of keeping the books up to date and talking with the accountant to make sure that everything is kept on track, and 

• How will you promote your services? To who? Using what media?

Sophies responsibility within the studio is to do promotion, and so as part of this she will be in charge of promoting us as a business. However, as I am in charge of information and wayfinding, we may choose to hold an exhibition of some of our work within Leeds to show off the kind of things we are capable of, and so here I will be needed to create the atmosphere and information materials for this exhibition.

From here we decided that it would be a good idea to go an visit Duke Studios to see what the working environment was like and also to see all of the facilities they have so that we can factor this into our finances.
I emailed Duke Studios asking if we could have a tour of the studios and they were very accommodating, and so on the 21st of March we were able to take a tour.