OUGD502 - SB01 - My view on this years personal and professional practice

This will be the second attempt at the personal and professional practice module for my SEO cons year on the Graphic design course. 

Regarding my inability to complete the module last year, I feel on a personal level had a lot to with not fully engaging with the course, information and help which was available to me, which then did result in my failing of the module. 

However, I like to look at my retake of my second year of the course as a journey which I I am learning from. After attempting the module once and failing, I gained a lot of insight into the module and what to expect, it also provided me with the knowledge to understand the level of commitment and work which is needed to successfully pass the module.

Leading on from that, I feel very confident that my second attempt at 502 will be a lot more successful. 

Firstly, I plan to be much more focused on writing about my experiences throughout the year. Starting with this post. 

I am very excited to work through the modules and discover new things about myself as a designer and my abilities. 

OUGD502 - PPP Self presentation

Below is my 10 personal presentation where I talk about my Personal branding, strengths, weaknesses and ambitions.

Updated Social Media

Over the past few months I have wanted to increase range of social media, meaning I want spread my brand and my work online. This way I will be able to connect with other creatives and possible clients from all over the world. It also provides mw with growing confidence to share my work on a multi platform basis. 

I first began with a Linkedin account because I knew that this is the best online social platform for business people or people who want to share work with other professional people and creatives. I have yet to make more connections on linkedin as I am still building a strong starting portfolio.

I then wanted to create a Behance account along side my linkedin, I found out that Behance was the perfect social platform for desingers to connect and I have for a few years wanted my own Behance account. I am hoping that when my portfolio becomes stronger my level and social connection will also grow, but I am happy that I now have other places to share my work alongside my current blog.

I really now want to begin building my social connection level with facebook, My next stage is to create a facebook page where I can present my brand and work to people and creatives that I already know. This way I will be able to instantly get my brand known to the creatives I have already built connections with from the past few years.

OUGD502 - My Creative Report - The Engine Room/Robot Food

For My second year I wanted to really think about and find out who I am as a designer. Even though I am not totally sure about what direction I want to work in, I feel that branding is currently my most enjoyable and strongest method of design. I want to peruse this interest and begin by researching more into the creative industry that deals with branding, at the same time I want to contact creative branding studios to find out more about what It is like to work for a successful business and what it it like balancing personal work with the personal expectations of clients together. Since I someday want to start my own business (possibly in branding) I have felt that now is the time to become a more professional individual and become more familiar with the industry.

I first started with contacting a creative branding studio from my hometown, I had previously visited the studio and met the team to get a feel of what it was like in a more creative/professional environment.

I first approached the engine room by explaining who I am as a designer currently and what my purpose/interest is. I then moved on to asking a few various question, things I wanted to know about The Engine Room. Since I have contacted and visited the studio in the past it gave me more confidence to now ask them a few interview questions.

Why the name ‘The engine room’?, What inspired you to make a career in branding?, What is it like working with well clients?, Are there any companies that you would like to create branding for?, Who is your favourite artist/designer?, What is it like working in a professional studio?, Is the overall mood of the business laid back or serious?, What qualities do you look for in new designers possibly wanting to work with engine room?,

Can you describe your studio in one word?

I have not yet heard back from the studio which is a little disappointing however it is early days and I will continue to wait for a response so I can go ahead with my interview.

I have also contacted a second studio based in Leeds called Robot Food, a studio that I am unfamiliar with, again the business is a creative branding studio, I wanted to approach this studio because the work that was presented had been designed for very well known brands such as Cadbury chocolate and others similar. I approached the studio in a similar way to that of The Engine Room as I felt that approaching such a successful company will give me a lot information and inspiration especially when it comes to perusing my own interests in branding in a professional way.

I have yet to hear back from Robot Food but I am excited to use similar questions from The engine room for this studio, to gain more knowledge and connections within the industry.

The Engine Room Huddersfield

A couple of years ago when I was studying graphic design at the creative and media studio school in Huddersfield. I got a chance to visit a local creative branding studio, this was my first ever visit to a successful creative branding business and it was a real eye opener at the time. 

I was really excited to come into contact with graphic designers that had were successful in the industry. The point of my visit to The Engine Room was to get a feel for the environment and to meet the team. I really enjoyed my bit of time there and I gained a lot of knowledge at that point in time as a younger designer.

Now a few years on I have grown as a graphic designer it is nice to look back and appreciate how much of an experience that was at the time. I am now in the position in the second year of my degree where I want to begin growing my network and contacting creative design studios, to possibly arrange some interviews and learn more about the industry and what it's like to work within such an environment. I want to find out more about what it's like to work with clients and how to deal and met their expectations.

However I want to concentrate on creative businesses that specialise in branding since at this moment in time is the type of design I find most interesting, what I enjoy most so far in my career.

When it comes to contacting creative design studios, or branding studios, The Engine Room will definitely be the first business I speak to.

My Interest in Branding

After my first year at leeds college of art I realised that I have found a lot of interest in branding.

I like the idea of a being given something new and fresh and creating an amazing, modern and professional design. I like being able to look at an idea for what it is and then expressing that through a series of designs that all come together as a brand.

I particularly like the creativity process of making a logo, expressing a business through a single design which is the most challenging but it's something I get a lot enjoyment from.

Whenever I am researching or creating designs, I definitely have the most interest and enthusiasm when that work process has something to do with branding.

I think that the main reason I enjoy branding so much is that it gives me the chance to combine my own creative style with the style that is required to make the designs a successful brand.

Because of this I have decided that I want to concentrate more on the work of branding and what it takes to be able to transform an idea into a brand or to retransform an old brand into a new one.

I want to concentrate on this branch of creative design, therefore I want to find the time to contact some local branding businesses and find out more about what it's like to work for a professional and successful branding business environment.

Updated Personal Logo

After looking at my current personal logo, I have decided to have a new and fresh design. I believe the design of my current logo doesn't really communicate myself, as in It does not communicate my style.

I want a logo I can be completely proud of, and can be an icon to present on any type of medium.

I have recently started pouring a lot more of personality into my designs as well as realising the style and choices that are required to make a design successful enough to be part of the mainstream designs today. I want to incorporate this idea into my logo, however since a logo is something that will be personal to myself I will not be so heavy and formal with my new design.

For my new design I wanted to mix together professionalism and illustration relevant to myself. To do this I have worked around an image that I took a few years back from an area that is special to my in my home town. This image I will alter and work around to create a new personal logo I can happily use.

Below is my new design

I am really happy with my new logo design, I am excited to apply it to other methods of communication such as business cards 

Positive Commenting Group Work

Today was dedicated to a little catch up on Personal and Professional Practice since my last presentation with my group. As a class, today we looked at how to get ourselves to become part of the industry. How we make the moves that are needed to get myself from outside the design industry to the inside. Since when I finish my course I will be actively looking for a job.

There was a lot of information being given and there I was told that when it came to getting involved within the creative industry, the phrase that we as up coming designers have 'a lot to gain and nothing to lose', was quite inspirational and made me think a lot about life during and after my years at university, but in a different perspective than the way I was looking.

Personally I find it very easy to become stressed and very worked up in the moment, and I don't find it easy to just stay calm and take things one step at a time. However I always worry and I naturally always think ahead instead of concentrating on what I'm doing in the present. So today was a very mind changing session, in future I might try thinking about things though a less detailed perspective and take a step back and look at an opportunity or situation for what it simply is.

I want to be be able to present myself in the best way I can when it comes to the times that really matter. 

Later on in todays session I worked within a group and each took it in turns to write down something positive about each other. The reason for this is so at the end of the session we could find out how other people perceive us. It was interesting to see how new people that I haven't spoken to as much perceive me and to see if that was different to how I perceive myself. 

When I got my paper back I had a lot of different notes on it about me

I got

Quiet

shy

good design skills

fun

fashionable

creative

team worker

well dressed

conservative

composed 

pretty

unique

stands out

different

out going

I loved all the comments, since they were so nice I felt a little boost of confidence after I had read the comments too. 

The session was really helpful because it gave everyone a chance to tell people how they see each other and also provided the opportunity for self positive feedback.

Independent Paid Brief - The Yorkshire Universities Specialist Institution Awards

Yorkshire universities (the regional voice for higher education) have created a brief which gives students of selected institutions a chance to design a logo and possibly some branding for the The Yorkshire Universities Specialist Institution Awards. This is a paid brief meaning it is a good opportunity for someone like me to grow my career. 

The brief and institution seems very interesting and I would really like to be involved within the awards. The successful design will be professionally produced and used for the the Institution awards branding.

I'm hoping that if I have time to take on this brief along side my university work since it sounds like a really good opportunity.

For the time being I plan to research all the institutions that are connected with the awards and take a look at the original logo's and design work for each institution. This way I will get a better idea of what I can combine from each to create the most successful logo and experimental brand.

Below is the online brief which will provide me with all the information I need for when I get started on the design work for this brief. 

 
This brief sounds really exciting and I'm looking forward to putting aside the time to work on something a little more professional.

Yorkshire Universities

Specialist

In

Yorkshire Universities

Specialist

Institution

Award