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.