Conversational - Getting in touch/ Evaluation

I'm very happy with the progress I've made during this year professionally, despite everything thats happened to me this year I've still managed to go on a placement in London at Turner Duckworth, who have asked me to return back in July. Furthermore, I have received some very uplifting emails about my work and its quality.

While I was on placement at Turner Duckworth, I was told to try and get as many placements as possible before settling down into a job. I've aimed to secure 6 placements which I've nearly accomplished.

I've been in contact with a multitude of studios and have received more than a response from;
Turner Duckworth (placement)
Big Fish (arranged placement)
Beautiful Meme (arranged placement)
Fuse/Delete (Visiting for interview)
Vast (Offered placement, awaiting response)
Glad (Offered placement, awaiting response)

I cannot blog the emails from these studios because it would be jeopardising privacy etc.

I'm so happy with the responses and interest I've received that I've made it a priority to keep evolving professionally, whether that be to re-do my photographs for my portfolio (which I'm doing) or even buy my own personalised embosser. I've tried to stay on top of this and not let the workload drown out my professional practice.

As of recent I've ordered a 3D printing model of myself to tie into my self branding, I really think this will be a strength in my branding because its such a new technology that many people aren't familiar with it's capabilities. Printing a 3D model of my head and shoulders gives my branding a much more unique and personalised feel.

My portfolio and website are well underway and they'll be completed to the best of my abilities now that I've got the time to fully focus on them.

I've really enjoyed the experience of PPP and think I've managed such success in securing placements because It's personal development, its what I do myself professionally to better my practice. For example; Doing such things as; following portfolio surgeries, noting the name of the interviewer and finding them on Linkedin (allows for open communication and places you better in their mind).

I'm also very happy with the way my End of Year book spread has turned out, while flicking through the book it stands out quite strongly against other pages. I think this is due to the fact that I decided I wanted various impact shots of my work as oppose to photographs of a document or something that just doesn't show any unique talents. Whereas my thinking was to; include photographs that show me as a capable and flexible designer, capable of resolutions across a multitude of businesses.

Self Branding

Self branding - 3D Printing & Embossing

Due to monetary issues, I was unable to hand in finished business cards and finished documents. However this is also due to 'benefitting me in the long-term'.  For my business cards, I'd designed exactly what I wanted and where I wanted elements composing, But I'm ordering stock from evolution print or moo, from these I will order a batch of business cards for myself to emboss. using the following embosser I ordered from the company 'Speedy Stamps' 

Furthermore, I wanted to incorporate an element into my self branding that was unique, that hardly anyone will be able to obtain. Therefore I attended a 3D printing business and ordered a photographic 3D model of myself. This will come in handy during the end of year show and my self branding project which is yet to be published among platforms such as behance.

My website is under construction however, it has not been finished because I want my portfolio to be finished to the highest standard possible, this means I'll be developing the photographs for each brief in one day when we finish. With the new and improved photographs I'll be compiling my website impact shots.

Work Experience - Reference

10 Minute presentation

OUGD 502 Evaluation

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

I'd definitely say that this module has been the most beneficial and enlightening, it has taught me many things about my own practice, and where I'm situating myself within the graphic design industry. With this in mind I've managed to co-ordinate and present myself in the industry through interviews and enquiries, this has helped me to respond with relevant questions.

I've developed my networking skills through social sites such as 'LinkedIn' and 'Behance' this has allowed my personal professional practice to start developing, getting my work out there has allowed me to join critique feedback groups etc. 

Working collaboratively during the 'Life's a Pitch' module really nailed in that we were in this for business, we all had to pull our weight. If one of us wasn't pulling our weight, action had to be taken. Looking at this from a business POV really showed us that it wasn't just all about designing but it was about co-operation, allocation, SWOT, etc. 

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

My train of thought has broadened when it comes to visualising how a brand can be permeated, for e.g. making key rings and liquid filled business cards that you tilted so the ink revealed the logo. Regarding studios, I undertook lots of research and enquired about further studio's, reviewing these design studios has allowed me to develop new and fresh ideas relating to my own practice. I have also found within this module that I can step away from the computer a lot and focus my attention on talking to professionals and visiting studios which inform me of experiences, doing the university work is important, but it's more important to solidify a job proposition after. After numerous contact with studios, I gained valuable insights in response to my questions, however most of them only accepted graduates! Despite this I've still managed to secure a position at an International firm called DAMMS, working within their marketing sector helping out on brochure's etc. Although this isn't what I want to do when I'm older, it provides me with a very good insight into the industry and a chance to build up contacts.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

My ability to evaluate and reflect on my own professional practice and understanding of the industry has become a possessed strength during this module. Initially I was wary of putting anything online, thinking would my work look good enough? but I've learnt I'm never going to know, unless I move forward. Now that I've got my work online, I can start to begin thinking about improving my online portfolio. Furthermore, my self branding wasn't final and was acting as a stepping stone for my identity, despite this I still produced a strong identity that was successful for the time being. 

I can recognise that my strengths lie in branding and identity along with event organisation i.e. Exhibitions. I've capitalised on these through the developments of my concepts, and permeating conceptual thinking throughout each task I undertake. 

Despite everything that's been happening in my life recently, I recognised that the PPP module was a very important one that I couldn't afford to miss out on, I contacted studios, enquired about work placements/ visits, asked important questions and also created an initial self branding identity, potentially all of these that would benefit my enquiries during 3rd year. With this in mind, I think I'm on my way to discovering a studio I find synergy with.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future ?

Because of mitigating and unforeseen circumstances, I've not had the chance to complete this year as I would've liked to. Time constraints meant I couldn't push my identity to print, or code my website. I was also dissapointed at the fact that I couldn't actually go on a work placement due to being bed ridden, I managed to work around this and potentially secure an easter work placement.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

I would've created a portfolio to send off to studios as oppose to just creating an online portfolio this would'e given studio's to see my work with ease, especially busy studio's.

I would've gained more experience and personally benefitted more from working with different people than I did, during 'Life's a Pitch'. I felt it wasn't taken as seriously as it should've been and I would've enjoyed setting up something that could be carried on.

I wish I'd considered contacting studio's earlier because of the personal situation I was placed in at a later date. 

This module has taught me to consider target audiences in detail that considers what sector your design should be aimed at, personally I don't think I applied this knowledge as successfully as I could've (especially during life's a pitch).

Manage my time so that I'm regularly tackling parts of my personal professional practice and moving forward with my progress, I should start creating goals for every 2 weeks that I must complete successfully. By doing this I won't end up with too much too do with too little time.

Attendance - 4

Punctuality  - 5 

Motivation - 5

Commitment - 5

Quantity of work produced  - 4

Quality of work produced - 4

Contribution to the group -5

PPP Review