WH ARE YOU TALKING TO?

We were discussing how important networking is for our area of work. We need to network to create an interesting discussion with people who interest us. You need to not just get in touch with graphic designers but anyone in the business who you find interesting in order to expand and inform your practice. It is all about who interests you and you have to have confidence in your own thoughts and opinions otherwise you will not get too far. 

POSTER STUDIO BRIEF 1

I thought about the categories involved in this brief and what they mean to me and how I've changed since starting this university.

Things I've Learnt:
- don't leave design boards until the last minute
- not to be so stubborn/reluctant to try new things
- failure is good
- crits are very useful, go to them all

Things that have Engaged Me:
- industry talks
- learning new techniques
- sharing ideas with others
- gallery visits

Things I've Disliked:
- blogging
- juggling different briefs at once
- essays
- workload

Ambitions (level 5 and beyond):
- make time management skills better
- continue to progress and improve my skills
- make my blogging more frequent

When making my poster I wanted to represent myself. As I have said my time management skills need improvement so my thoughts in my head are normally all over the place which is represented by all the different triangles showing my thoughts are going in all different directions. 

STUDIO BUILD

This was a lecture given by Michael C Place, he told us his own story of how he became a graphic designer and not just his current work. 'Build is an award-winning creative agency with an international reputation for creating strong visual narratives. Utilising art direction and graphic design, we create brand identities, websites, packaging and books for design-led clients around the world.'

Michael Place spoke to us about his journey as a Graphic Designer, where he came from and how he got to where he was today. I always find these really interesting as they are a reminder that you need to work for where you want to be and get in the world but also that it can happen.   

Iron Maiden, Motörhead and Saxon wheels of steel were all music artists with album covers and visual identities that he took a lot of inspiration from. He can now appreciate that with time they have become very dated and some of the type does not work as well. This made me think that I should be very open minded with my work and know that it is always going to change from year to year. 

"Let your interests feed into your work. It makes it richer"

Another piece of advice that he gave was that rules and constraints are important. The constraints will give you a purpose and something to focus all of the energy into.  This can help you to build a more complex concept, making the design work much richer and more valuable.

just breathe!!!!  HE told us that it is important to take a break so that you can come back feeling reenergised and motivated again. Michael said that is likely that the long hours and intense deadlines may make you burn out. To solve this problem when he faced it, he went travelling for a year and came back with a fresh headspace and feeling inspired. 

DR.ME

- making good shit - 

DR.ME spoke to us about their journeys and where they came from to where they are now. The main gist I got from them was that you dont have to just live in London to be successful. The most valuable tool to the creative industry is asking. DR.ME organised a meeting with Mike Perry Studio when they were going to New York and they received a 2 month internship the following summer.

365 days of collage -

They started this project as it being personal, they used this to source imagery and personal photography that they had collected over the years and to also promote themselves as designers. The aim was to change peropls perceptions, they sold the images they created online each day at a small price. As they say "Do it for the love and then you'' get good shit at the end."

Advice I got from DR.ME - 

- make good shit

- collaboration is where opportunities are made

- go out and see stuff in galleries, new cities and countries

- be brave

- just ask

- dont follow trends, just be yourself

INSPIRATION

What inspires you...

For inspiration I often refer to Instagram, Pinterest, online magazines and blogs online. However I find I get the most amount of inspiration from stepping away from the screen. The best thing to do is to go for a walk and take in all your surroundings. Getting a breath of fresh air whilst looking at the surroundings really helps me. I believe that inspiration is truly everywhere around us. You just need to open your eyes and look for it. Another aspect of my life that I gain inspiration from is music, I love to listen to music whilst I am designing I believe that it enhances and relaxes me to produce better work. 

PERSONAL BRANDING

As a group we helped each other write a mind map about our personalities. We had a lot of fun with this and had a laugh about our personalities and traits. Examples of this include; a bit of a perfectionist, a little stubborn and hard worker. We had such fun we started relating each other to a breed of dog based on out personalities. 

I am a determined student who likes to have fun, I am well informed an am inspired by the world around me. I am known to my peers as feisty but fun and apparently I am much like a Chihuahua. I am small, feisty and strong minded. I love the researching and idea generation part of graphic design as I think it is one of the most important aspects as you cant produce the final outcome without the ideas and research.

IDENTITY

From this lesson i received an insight into different ways to communicate with professionals and those which are best to gain a response from. It showed the need to be creative and unique with how I interact with professional in order to be noticed. Something as small as an e-mail won't really show who you are or what you have to say. There are multiple ways to interact with people including sending a letter or a document or sending little gifts such as a drawing it adds a more personal side to the experience.