OUGD602 - Module Evaluation

This module has been very beneficial to my practice as a designer and helped me forge links within the creative industry. During my time this year I have completed two internships which have helped me greatly in deciding what I would like to do once I graduate. Each placement gave me a different experience and showed the variations between graphic design studios. 

At Oslo Agency I was given quite a few large tasks to do as they are a young studio and needed help with a lot of live briefs. Unfortunately I wasn’t paid for this experience but I was given some nice briefs to work on. Oslo also put me in contact with Hannah O’Sullivan who I ended up creating some live work for. 

At Everyday Something the experience was quite different. The studio dynamic was a lot more serious and had more emphasis on timings and getting the work done. I did create some work I was really happy with at Everyday Something which is now for sale on their easy store - West and General. I was paid for this placement but often I did feel like James didn’t have enough work planned out for me to do. 

Throughout this year I have attended talks and workshops that have been planned by the college and made some great links in industry. One of the highlights of the year was attending a carers evening run by Alec Dudson, the founder of Intern magazine. I was given a lot of great advice about freelance design and found this to be really beneficial as it is something I do want to look into in the future. 

Creating my personal branding was something I was completely unsure of at the start of the year, but my idea soon evolved and became an identity I am very proud of. Throughout my time at the college I have always struggled with giving myself an identity, but this year I thought I would apply it to a personal aspect that I will always have - my middle name. This gave me a starting point and I was able to create an icon for myself that can be applied anywhere in any colour scheme. My identity is conceptual and inherently personal - something I have lacked in previous years. 

I have engaged with the online aspect of self branding and have multiple accounts such as Twitter, Instagram, Bechance and Dribbble to maximise the reach of my work. I have also created a dedicated website this year and purchased a domain - making me look professional and approachable. 

Overall, I have enjoyed PPP this year. It has given me lots of great opportunities and industry links and allowed me to really engage with graphic design outside of the university. 

DBA / evaluation

DBA was a brief where we had to work in groups of 4-5 and produce a new concept and design for a nootropics brand. Myself, Lo, Jack and Rhys worked together on this brief and produced a brand named Mr. Potter’s Marvellous Blends, focussing on the 30-50 year old demographic. We placed our nootropics in tea which can easily be slipped into the everyday routine. 

DBA was a great experience and helped me understand the real client brief and pitch process. Working as a group was quite challenging at times, but overall we produced a design that fit the brief and we were happy with. We produced our final outcomes using a lot of different processes.

The feedback from the judges was fair and positive although our design didn’t win in the end. We delivered our pitch with confidence and included all of the relevant information, though the DBA judges would have preferred a more dynamic and interesting presentation going more in depth about the brand itself. 

Overall, I enjoyed DBA and liked the work we produced as a team. It was challenging working as a large group with varying design styles and ideas, but we all contributed to the project and worked well as a team. 

self branding / evaluation

My self branding for 2017 consists of a logo, typeface and colour scheme. My logo is conceptual and uses a personal aspect (my middle name) to form the identity. The typeface used is Gotham Bold, a well rounded typeface that can be used for either body or copy. It is easy to read and resembles the bold, vector work that I often produce. The colour I have used throughout my branding is a pale pink, resembling the combination of home and university (red rose of Lancashire and white rose of Yorkshire) to make me who I am today. 

When creating my self branding, I identified five aspects of my design process that resemble me the most. These include: Fun, Concept Driven, Colourful, Vector and Efficient. All of these factors have been considered and included within my branding and convey each one throughout the design. 

Overall, I feel my self branding this year is very suited to my style and I am very happy with the final outcome. The logo is versatile due to its vector design and can be used in any colour scheme. I feel this is the most successful version of my own self branding I have created and really resembles me as a designer and as a person too. 

design strategy / presentation

- Introduction

- Presentation starts with a round-up of Level 6 and projects I have enjoyed this year. 

- Pear magazine was one of the most substantial briefs of the year, developed from the OUGD601 practical element. I have produced and two issues of Pear and printed them professionally, created a website and ordered personalised plushies of each character. 

- Confetti was one of my favourite briefs of the year. Creating a brand, packaging and overall identity from scratch was a lengthy process but very rewarding. Styling and curating the photoshoot was a very enjoyable experience and something new that I had never tried on a project before. 

- My previous identity was colourful and enjoyable, but not truly reflective of who I am as a designer. 

- I have identified these five aspects are part of my overall design process and part of my style of work. From this, I felt that the new branding should encompass all of these points.

- My new branding comes from my middle name - Rose. The pink colour comes from a few different reasons. It's a personal favourite colour of mine and very on-trend at the moment, but a rose is also the symbol of Lancashire (my home) and Yorkshire (my university) which when combined form the pink (and who I am today). 

- My website is currently in the early stages of development, but I have taken steps to form a dedicated online space that shows my work by purchasing a domain (charlotterosewalker.com) and using squarespace which allows a lot of customisation on the design. 

- I also have plans for a promo pack including a CV, business cards and book featuring samples of my work (currently unfinished at the time of presenting). 

- My first placement was at Oslo agency in November 2016. I took part in a lot of live briefs and learned a lot about how a real studio functions. 

- My second placement took place at Everyday Something in Bradford. Their office was a lot less 'aesthetically pleasing', but I created quite a lot of work here that I was happy with.

- In the coming weeks I have organised a collaboration project with Buttercrumble, a Leeds based design studio that has an interest in multidisciplinary practices.

- I would see myself working at a studio like RobotFood, creating branding and packaging designs. 

- One day I would like to go freelance as when I was on placement I felt that it was my skills on photoshop/illustrator that were needed rather than my own creativity. I feel that managing my own projects the way I want to will give me more satisfaction and allow me to create work that I want to create. 

self branding / design boards

self branding / portfolio

I have found it difficult to put together a professional portfolio without any guidance or surgeries this year. For my final portfolio I would like a printed magazine type publication rather than a folder, so I can send them to studios to keep. This would also show my layout skills and initiative, hopefully enabling me to stand out from the crowd. 

I have produced a set of layouts that show an example of how my work would be laid out in a portfolio: 

These designs are not yet final and I would like to get some feedback from portfolio surgeries before printing my actual portfolio. 

self branding / promo pack

My promo pack consists of a folder, sample booklet including my manifesto, CV, stickers and business cards. I felt it was important to include a promo pack as part of my branding as I can produce more and send them out to studios and other potential employers.

Folder:

The folder is the first point of contact for the recipient of the promo pack. The design features my logo on the front with a pink spine and a pink pocket on the inside to hold everything together.

Sample Booklet:

This booklet contains various examples of my work to show to the employer. There is no text present in this book so the work can speak for its self and if there are any questions this can be discussed in an interview or meeting.

The booklet also contains my personal manifesto on the final page, which 3 points include: keep learning, have fun and make people smile. I didn't feel the need for a long/over the top manifesto. These 3 points are the most important to my practice and make me want to continue with design. 

CV:

My CV is the same layout as last year and includes an introduction about my practice, work experience, the creative fields I'm interested in, references and contact.

Stickers and Business Cards:

I've included extra collateral to really push my brand and give them some smaller pieces that they would potentially want to keep.