OUGD502 - ONLY Studio Talk

Branding agency, originally from Leeds, now based in Manchester, identifying new ways for brands to connect with people. Their approach to design takes inspiration from real people, resulting in a better understanding of their clients and the value of creative experiences. Although working with various different clients, the agency has a more predominant focus on working for entertainment, education and non-profit organisations, both nationally and internationally.

Design Process (Design for Screen):

- Research (competitors, audience, personas, principles).
- Wireframing (ideation, test assumptions, client buy-ins) - this helps to map out the functionality of a product - usually a collaborative process with art directors, etc.
- Design (including prototypes).
- Front end.

University of Suffolk:

Since gaining university status, University Campus Suffolk became The University of Suffolk and so commissioned ONLY to rebrand their logo. The section cut away from the right hand corner of the square is said to represent the geographical location of the university, but also shows change in the university's status. It is clear throughout ONLY's branding that these ideas have been kept consistent throughout the branding and across platforms, which includes web and mobile, as well as physical content such as prospectus design.

Things to consider in personal projects when designing for screen:
(How do they keep the branding consistent across platforms, including screen-based, and how these work on different scales/formats, e.g. the difference between web and mobile).

(Printworks, Goldsmiths University, University of Suffolk, Lost Village).

OUGD502 - Manifesto / Mission Statement

Mission Statement:
A short paragraph used by businesses to explain in simple and concise terms its purpose(s) for being. They can have a dual purpose by helping employees to also stay focused on tasks to achieve this mission by employing innovation toward increasing productive achievement. Externally it sets out the specific image and direction that drives your practice as a 'brand'.

Manifesto:

A published verbal declaration of the intentions, motives or views of the issuer.

Personal Manifesto:

One of my aims for this year and for the future is to work more collaboratively with people not only from my course or university, but other creatives from different courses and other institutions. The first studio brief has taught me the importance of working collaboratively with other designers, creatives and even clients (for instance, working with an author’s ideas and content on a publication), and I feel this would be valuable experience to have, as well as helping to inform and broaden my design practice. To do this I will utilise the networking site LinkedIn in order to make important connections, which may help now and in my future design practice.

Another aim for this year is to utilise the studio space and facilities at university more often in order to make better use of the space. This will also benefit my own work in becoming more productive and working in a suitable design environment amongst fellow designers, where I can receive feedback if needed and have many other resources to hand. This would also allow me to keep on top of my work so that other time can be spent working on more personal and self-led briefs, which is another aim of mine, in order to build a large portfolio of work based on my own personal interests and creative aspirations, rather than consisting only of set university briefs. As part of this I will also aim to work on more competition briefs to gain more experience working with a set of strict guidelines which can help when in a professional creative career, as this is often what it would be like.

For a long time, my main career aspiration has been to work within the print industry, specifically working with methods of traditional print, such as screen printing. This is one skill which I especially enjoy and have had the opportunity to further develop on the course last year. In order to become closer to this aspiration, I will make sure to utilise the print room more often in continuing to better my skills and understanding of traditional print. I will also make more effort to apply this to other briefs, as this would make them particularly more enjoyable as well as playing to one of my strengths in hand-made methods of design production.
In addition to this, the first studio brief of this year was also enjoyable, working with design for print in terms of layout and publications. This creative process can also be applied to traditional printing methods, and therefore I will aim to make more of a conscious effort to use these methods of design production together as well as separately.

OUGD502 - Personal Reflection on Summer

Over the summer, a large majority of my time was spent working. Although nothing related to the career I wish to pursue in the future, and at a place I am familiar with since I have been working there for two years, experiences gained from my time spent there can still help in future careers. My role was as a play assistant and party host at a children’s indoor soft play centre. This meant that a lot of contact and conversation with the public was necessary and unavoidable. Such experiences, over this summer and throughout the time I have been working there, have continuously helped me to develop skills working with customers, which can be useful in a future career within the graphic design industry when dealing with clients. This designer-client relationship is probably the most important one therefore it is essential that you know how to deal with certain situations and can clearly communicate ideas and intentions. Working with a team of people in this job could also be applied to situations where working in a collaborative team is needed, such as working in a studio, for the same reasons regarding communication, as well as showing the importance of collaboration in certain situations and for certain briefs.

More related to the graphic design and arts industry, in my spare time over the summer I worked on a couple of commissions for people, using both digital and hand-drawn methods. Alternatively, to working as part of a team in my part-time job, this experience was freelance, allowing me to work more freely. This experience held more personal responsibility, and so taught me how to better manage my time and work more closely with an individual client.

Towards the end of the summer, I celebrated my 21^st birthday. This is the next big milestone within my life in terms of birthdays and it made me reflect on what I have already achieved in my life so far and think more carefully about what I wish to pursue after graduating from university. Reflecting on this made me realise of how much importance this is, and as a result I have started this year feeling much more motivated to work in order to push myself closer to where I want to be in life.

In order to help me step closer to a career within the creative industry, a couple of contacts have been made through word-of-mouth, for instance close relatives and friends taking about my future aspirations and current education. One contact works for the marketing department at York University, whereby the department holds a small graphic design team. Another contact works as part of a graphic design team for the company Autoglym. Both have offered work experience if needed, which would be a valuable experience to have during this year, experiencing first hand what it would be like to work professionally as part of a graphic design team.