TASK 3

HOW WILL I PROMOTE MYSELF?



In terms of promoting myself in this industry, the first thing to do would be to define my target audience. I need my mission statement or personal ethos to communicate clearly and without knowing precisely who I'm aiming it at, it wont be clear. In my case I think that my target audience at this point would be graphic design agencies more than anything, which work with a lot of image based design, such as ilovedust, or Tiger print. 

My mission statement would be the most important element of my self promotion. This would be something that would remain the same through all areas of communication with the company. In this statement I would need to explain my overall aims. At this point I would say that my aims lie with creating imaginative and innovative image based design. I want my design to improve and enhance peoples lives by enforcing the value and necessity of beauty within all areas of our life. This is a very loose idea for the lines in which I want my mission statement to lie, but its a start. 
Another way of promoting myself in this industry would be through my identity as a brand. Coming up with some kind of logo/brand identity for myself helps companies and other potential employers to understand what it is I am about. A logo/brand says a lot about what it's representing, it might just be this that gets the attention of the potential employer. It also provides a tiny glance into what kind of work it is that you do.


The situation of this branding is just as essential as the brand itself. Business cards, post cards, headed paper, blogs, PDFs and websites are all situations in which you would display it. These are also often the first point of contact between you and your potential employer, therefore they speak for you in many ways and must be well thought out. Considerations I would need to make are things like stock; a good quality stock with a weight will give the impression of high quality, where a handmade or lightweight environmentally considered stock, perhaps embossed rather than printed in ink will give the impression of a designer concerned with sustainable design. Like with our projects, every decision in terms of design is important as it could say something significant as us as designers, like it would about a product we are designing for.


These are some examples of different designers website branding and the way that they have chosen to present themselves as designers:

Current splash sheet for my blog:

In terms of actually getting in touch with the employer, post or e-mail would be the first port of call. Most design companies that I have looked into provide e-mail addresses and some even encourage communication from new designers. In terms of what to send, a lot of companies are not particularly confident with opening PDF portfolios they could potentially contain a virus. The best way to send my portfolio would be through a blog or website. I think in terms of content for my portfolio, it would be best to select perhaps only 5 key pieces of work that I feel best express my aims and style as a designer. This is partly because most likely they simply do not have the time to look through lots and lots of work and also there is always the possibility that they will ask to see some more; if I have shown them everything at this point, I will be a bit stuck. With this link to my blog or website I would send a well designed CV and perhaps a cover letter. In terms of what I should directly communicate with them, I think it would be important to show a willingless to learn, demonstrate a good knowledge of the company and show a keen interest in what the company does. I should handle regection gracefully and politely ask for some formative feedback, should they not have any positions available at that moment in time, or simply see me as unsuitable for them in some way. Feedback is invaluable and could help me with my next efforts. 

BBC COMPETITION : "SHOW ME THE MONET"

The Show:

BBC 2 has commissioned a new 10-part art series called 'Show Me The Monet' (working title).

We would like artists from across the nation to submit their art to us - whether you have publicly displayed any of your work before or not, whether you have ever sold any of your work before or not, we want to see it! This could be your chance to get your art seen not just by some very prominent members of the art world but also by the nation… and it could be the first step on the road to recognition and success for you.

Our Hanging Committee (a panel of three renowned art experts) is searching for great art from both amateurs and professionals alike. Anyone can enter as long as you submit your own personal work of art. It could be a painting, a sculpture, a photograph, a drawing, a ceramic - as long as you have created it yourself, you can enter it (see terms and conditions).

The Hanging Committee needs great art to put into a new exhibition where members of the art establishment, together with members of the public, can view and buy the work that is selected. All the work at the exhibition will have a guide price attached but will be offered for sale by 'blind bid' - meaning that potential buyers will not know what anyone else has bid until the sale is over!

How to enter: take a photo of your best piece of work (see terms and conditions of entry), download the application form and fill it in, find a photo of yourself and send the photos and application form to the email address.

Submission opening date: 4th November 2010

Submission closing date: 5th December 2010 

This is the piece that I have submitted:

LIVE BRIEF FOR 'THE HUSH HOUSE'

After submitting my initial designs, they have asked for some reindeer heads to be printed on t-shirts and possibly sweaters. After a discussion we decided that this might be a more suited design for t-shirts. I have sent them the files - just awaiting feedback!

GROUP TUTORIAL NOTES

TUTORIAL FEEDBACK

END OF MODULE SELF EVALUATION

BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN LEVEL 05 Module Code OUGD201 Module Title 'What is god?'

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION

NAME

Polly Williams

BLOG. ADDRESS

http://pa-williams0912.blogspot.com/

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

Throughout this module I have considerably developed my software skills. Due to the length of the project I have allowed myself to experiment with the programs, particularly InDesign and Photoshop, where normally I would have avoided for feeling worried that I would not have been able to achieve good results. After spending hours and hours working with it I feel far more competent and now fee like it really will aid my future work. I also feel that my research skills have developed; I think having such a long brief allowed me to become more thorough with my research and ask more questions.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

I think my research has been a lot more thorough this module, and a lot more broad. Being more open minded has allowed me to be more adventurous with my designs.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I feel I have developed a good understanding of the industrial print process from my independent research and now feel fairly confident with preparing a document for print, and designing it with this in mind. I also feel that from a combination of the typography workshops and my hours of battling with InDesign, I feel that my understanding and ability to produce better layout has improved to the point where I feel it's and are that I want to experiment with more. I think that the strongest elements of this project were my boards and magazine layouts. I have also become much more capable with photoshop, for example the shop window display. I'd like to work with it more in the future, particularly with image, pattern and illustrative type.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

In my opinion, the main weaknesses in my work this module were some of my design descisions; from being ill for only a matter of days I hastilly made descisions about the design of my packaging that I now see fault in. I designed the artwork before finalizing what net I wanted to use, rather than designing with that in mind. I also feel that I rushed the packaging of the torch and the gloves. In hindsight I think that I had enough time to think these elements through more carefully. I feel that I stepped into my comfort zone in terms of the style of the artwork because I was ill and I panicked about not having enough time. I don't think I investigated a wide enough variety of stock possiblities; I found the most appropriate stock for what I had designed, but in the future I think I should have explored a range of stocks before starting the design process.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
1)Explore a broader range of stocks earlier on in the design process.

2)Design throughout the entirety of the project, rather than starting halfway through.

3)Explore a broader range of packaging solutions before making descisions.

4)Be more adventurous with the term 'packaging' - it doesn't mean 'nets'.

5)Don't make irational descisions based on fear; the possibilites are almost endless if you manage your time well and use what you have to its full potential.

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas:

5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
Attendance 5

Punctuality   5

Motivation   5

Commitment  5

Quantity of work produced 4

Quality of work produced 3

Contribution to the group 3

Enterprise task 2

WHO ARE THEY?

//NATIONAL//
ILOVEDUST
LONDON, ENGLAND

PEST ANAYLSIS
ilovedust are a 

multi-disciplinary design boutique based in Shoreditch and Hampshire in two contrasting studio spaces. They believe that 't

he blend of both environments provides us with a unique and inspiring perspective'. I love this perspective on design, as I too feel inspired by the calm countryside of my hometown as much as I do the busy city. 

They specialise in creative solutions from graphic design and illustration to animation and trend prediction. 

They collaborate both in-house and with global brands, working together to create fresh, innovative design which makes up their award-winning portfolio.

As part of the United Kingdom, the basic political system in England is a constitutional monarchy and parlimentary system. Earlier this year the conservative party won the UK general election, voting the head of the party David Cameron as prime minister.

London generates approximately 20% of the UK's GDP; while the economy of the London Metropolitan area (the largest in Europe) generates approximately 30% of the UK's GDP London is one of the pre-eminent financial centres of the world and vies with New York City as the most important location for international finance. This makes if a fantastic place for designers and other industries such as this.

London is a city becoming increasingly conscienscious about raising awareness about environmental sustainability. A notable example of this being the rental bike service being introduced to lower carbon emmisions.  From what I have learned, 'ilovedust' seem to be a company not dissinterested with sustainable and environmentally friendly design, but the main focus is making it exciting and innovative.

London is a fast moving city in terms of trends in fashion, music and technology. Although not a technological manufacturing epicentre, due to the wealth of the city, new technology will always arrive here, probably before a lot of other areas in the country.

/LOCAL//

TIGER PRINT

BRADFORD, ENGLAND

PEST ANALYSIS

Tiger Print was formed in 1996 to supply exclusive cards and wrapping to Marks and Spenser. I like their work becasue it is very much image and illustration driven which is at this point the area of design that I want to go into. Over time, Tiger Print have developed a unique partnership with Marks and Spencer becoming the sole supplier to the card shop and most recently, taking on full responsibility from design through to allocation and displays in store. They now design and manufacture over 1500 new products created every year. They have studios in both Bradford and London.

Politcally, the situation will be the same as my analysis for 'ilovedust' in London....

Economically,  Marks and Spencers were hit hard by the recession, having to close 27 stores and a shocking 40% drop in annual profits. This inevitably resulted in Tiger Print suffering along side them. Despite this, and thanks to the success of Tiger products, Marks and Spenser are now the forth biggest retailer of cards in the UK. Although they are very much back on their feet, the economic climate is ever unsteady. I think that Tiger Print would be interested in a designer who was aware of economic design. Socially, Marks and Spenser suffered for their previous fuddy duddy reputation and lack of innovation in terms of fashion and trends. With the introduction of some new brands, unforgettable new campaigns and a new image they clawed their way back to the top of their game. Tiger Print are constantly taking on new challenges and continuing to expand into new and growing areas like toys, games and stationery. In terms of environmental awareness, I found a FSC case study into M&S cards. I discovered that Tigerprint uses paper made from FSC certified Eucalyptus to make the greetings cards suggesting a conscious political and ecological awareness within the company. However most of the paper industries use FSC certified papers now. There is nothing else obviously environmentaly friendly about their company that I can find, so I think that as a designer, an awareness of sustainable would be good, but not something that they seem particularly concerend about at this stage in time. In terms of technology, all card companies have to compete with the constant improvements in social networking such as facebook, and worry that less and less people will  physically send a card when the internet allows us to be so lazy. I think that this means that Tiger Print would look for designers who are innovative in their designs, making people look differently at greetings cards making them want to buy one. The other recent technological advance is online personalized greetings cards from sites such as Moonpig where customers can design elements of their greetings cards online at competative prices. This is something that M&S now offer.

//EUROPEAN//
BUNCH
ZAGREB, CROATIA 

PEST ANALYSIS
Bunch was established in 2002 by Denis Kovac and Paulo Silva. It has since spread to London and Singapore. Talented friends joined, and they formed the multi-disciplinary design agency that is the Bunch of today. Bunch's focus is on the creation of intelligent and consistent brands for a diverse range of international clients. One of their cool side projects was inviting 100 graphic designers to re-invent and mess with their logo in a side-site called Made in Bunch.

The politics of Croatia takes place in a framework of a parlimentary repreesntative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Croatia is the head of government, and of a multi-party system.

One of the more recent trends in Croatian politics is deep alienation of Croatian public from Croatian political establishment. It manifested itself on the latest presidential and local elections through record low turnouts and support for candidates and options that represented alternative to Croatian political mainstream.

The alienation from Croatian political mainstream has also manifested itself in the dramatic rise of Euroscepticism among general public. 

Croatian economy suffered as result of de-industrialization, war destruction as well as losing the markets of Yugoslavia and the SEV. Persistent economic problems still remain: a rather elevated unemployement of 9.6% in 2007, as well as slow progress of economic reforms. The country has since experienced faster ecomomic growth and has been preparing for membership in the European Union, its most important trading partner. Bunch is a relatively young company which is presumably a result of this growth. The country expects serious positive economic impulses and high growth rates in the coming years which is good for the graphic design industries. In Bunch's company ethos they mention the importance of money. They state that they are not materialisitc in essance, but Bunch is a buisness. This leads me to believe that despite Croatia being a fairly environmentally conscious country in terms of protecting their oceans, Bunch is not a company concernec by sustainable or environmentally friendly design. In terms of technology, like the economy, it's on the rise. Most people are now able to afford internet as a result of new lower cost internet providers. 

//TRANSNATIONAL//
MOPA
BRASILLIA, BRAZIL

PEST ANALYSIS
Mopa is a relatively new illustration and graphic design studio from Brasilia, Brazil, Mopa has a great flair for color, illustration, print and graphic design. I especially love their collage work right now, and taking that concept one step further... I really feel like the collective work of the artists in this studio; working on everything from t-shirts to posters, cd sleeves and magazines. 

In the politics of Brazil, 'The Brazilian Federation' is the "indissoluble union" of three distinct political entities: the States, the Municipalities and the Federal District. The Union, the states and the Federal District, and the municipalities, are the "spheres of government". The form of government is that of a democratic republic, with a presidential system The president is both head of state and head of government  of the Union and is elected for a four-year term, with the possibility of re-election for a second successive term. The current president is Luiz Inacio Lula da Silver  who was elected on October 27, 2002 and re-elected on October 29, 2006. The President appoints the Ministers of state, who assist the government.

The Brazillian economy is the world's eighth largest economy by nominal GDP and the ninth largest by purchasing power parity. Brazil is one of the world's fastest growing major economies. Economic reforms have given the country new international recognition. 'Mopa' is a relatively new company which probably arrose as a result of economic improveent.

The natural heritage of Brazil is severely threatened. In many areas of the country, the natural environment is threatened by development. Unfortunately not a lot is being put into place in Brazil to help with these issues.

//HOW WILL THEY FIND ME?//


The example I have chosen to focus on after this anaysis is 'Bunch'. Although this company is base in Croatia, it has since spread to London making it not so far from home. Even though they are not looking for any interns at the moment, nor do they have any vacant job positions, they are happy to look at any designers work for future reference and for some formative feedback. They request the a covering letter, a CV and a PDF portfolio no larger than 5mb and/or a link to your website/showreel. This would be the most obvious method of communicaiton with the company. However, they do not have someone dedicated to just answering emails so this could take time or even be overlooked.  I think seeing as they are such an interesting and exciting company, I probably need to make more of an effort to grab their attention. Perhaps designing a postcard, business card or even mailshot might be a more innovative idea. Rather than throw a load of work at them and demand a response, I could just select my best work, maybe even one piece at a time, include my blog address and request feedback? Or even include a handwritten feedback section on the mailshot and design it stamped and addressed so that it sould easilly be mailed back to me. I could even send them monthly, a different design each month untill they saw something that caught their eye.