GRAPHIC DESIGN FESTIVAL SCOTLAND

The lighthouse- Glasgow. I visited the exhibition a few days ago on a trip to Glasgow. The exhibition showcased poster designs from hundreds of entrants. It was really interesting to see designs that I have seen on instagram printed out on a large scale. it is not often that I have seen graphic design in non digital form. It actually really inspired me to start designing  things that I am really proud of and not just work that I have to do from university projects. Taking inspiration from this exhibition I am going to do the 30 days of Design challenge. 

MY VISION FOR THE FUTURE

I have written out where i want to be in 5 and 10 years time to give myself motivation to be where i want to be. 

2023

It is November 2023, it 5 years since i was at University in Leeds. I now live in Edinburgh, Scotland with Joe. I work for a design firm as a designer 4 days a week and it pays really well. For my job i also get to go to amazing places with work but I'm always home for the weekend to enjoy my spare time when i paint and do yoga. I have 2 cats and live in a lovely house which we bought in the outskirts of Edinburgh.  Joe works the same hours as me so we have the weekends to do whatever we want and we often drive our van up into the highlands in Scotland. Next year we are going to move back down to Bristol to be nearer our parents and have kids, once the kids are a few months old i am going to start up my own design firm using contacts from my current job in Edinburgh.  This will enable me to move up to a higher salary and support the family.  

2028

Its November 2028 and i now live in Bristol with my family in a big old house with a big garden with my 2 cats and a dog. I get up every morning and walk the dog and take the kids to school. I then go into the studio that i own and employ creatives that i work closely with to create work for big clients and we make a lot of money because our work is cutting edge and very ethically motivated and sustainable and we have become noticed because of that. Our work has won sustainability awards and we have a big following of people that support our ideas. Running my own business i have a lot of freedom to work when i want and we go on regular holidays back up to Scotland and take the kids all over the world.  Having a big following around the business means that we have regular income and we never struggle. Being in Bristol i see my family regularly and they help out with the kids a lot and we spend many weekends with them. 

D&AD WHITE PENCIL AWARDS

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I am currently doing some research into examples of work that i really am passionate about in order to figure out who i am as a creative. I know that i am passionate about sustainable design and design for an important cause. 

The D&AD white pencil is for work that does well by doing good and has the power to promote positive change. Unfortunately it seems that D&AD have scrapped this pencil which is disappointing But the work i found from previous years winners is really inspiring. 

Keegan Greenfield- Chelsea College of Arts
This is a redesign and revival of Moon Type, originally created by William Moon in 1845. The new version is designed alongside a custom Roman script which together form Moon Two, which aims to bridge the gap for children with normal sight and those who are visually impaired, who are often required to choose either visual language or a tactile alternative at the early stages of education. The Better Together campaign showcases Moon Two's legibility for sight impaired children and those who lose their sight in later life, using shape as a structure, over patterns such as Braille.

MODULE EVALUATION

In this module i have learnt a great deal about how to get myself out there in the industry. I have become more focussed and confident in my work. I have found it really beneficial contacting professionals and asking them questions on how they got to where they want to go. I thought this would be a scary thing to do but i have realised how beneficial it has been and i am going to try and do it as much as i can. 

I don't think this module has been as successful as it could have been because my time management skills have been poor. I left things late so i couldn't complete them as well as they could have been done. I should have started contacting people sooner so i could have got more responses for my creative report. With more peoples answers the report would have had more depth. 

Also i find it really difficult presenting and don't think my 10 minute presentation went that well. I stuttered a lot and my words didn't come out how i wanted them to even though i had planned out exactly what i needed to say.  Next time i need to rehearse the presentation more out loud so i can get used to saying it before.  

I learnt a lot about working in a team for the Life’s a Pitch brief. Our group struggled to work together but we did end up splitting the tasks up and all coming back with good work to include in the presentation. It was definitely a learning curve and i know for next time that the group should come back and analyse each others work more often so things can get changed to fit with a closer style for all of the work. 

Although my presentation didn't go as well as i had hoped, I gained skills in presenting in some ways as the prevention was a lot more prepared than last years one. I have realised the best way for me to present is to plan out exactly what i am going to say and then learn these points. From watching other peoples presentations, it would be a good idea to have a few words on each slide to get the gist across and make it easier for me to remember what to say for each slide. 

Next time i will make sure i plan ahead and make sure i don't leave this module to prioritise other work. I will also make sure i spend more time practicing presentations beforehand. swell as this i will make sure that in group work i am speaking to the group as much as possible to see where everyone is with their work in order to encourage a strong communication throughout the group. 

From this module i will keep speaking to people from the industry to gain further knowledge of the industry. from this module i have secured a visit to a design studio in Bangkok this summer which should gain me more confidence post university. 

CHRIS LAWSON

I found Chris on LinkedIn but messaged him through the contact section of his website. I had a response within a couple of days via email. I then sent him over some questions and he responded, from there i added to his answers and we discussed it further. 

CREATIVE REPORT

In order to find someone to interview, I searched on linkedin to find people that i found interesting and i had some sort of connection to. I found Chris Lawson who is alumni of the university. I have contacted him via email and we have been talking ever since. I also found a man called Sam Lane who works for a company called Alphabet, he was a lot harder to contact so i didn't end getting interview him. However i learnt a lot about persisting when trying to get hold of someone. 

Speaking to Chris, both of our intentions into getting into graphic design are very similar. He to told me in our interview that he got into it from having a keen eye for design and seeing the universal language that good design can create. I feel like this is the same with me, i have always had the eye for creativity which brought me to graphic design. It is nice to hear that you have things in common with someone that has been successful in the field and has definitely boosted my confidence speaking to him.  

As Chris graduated from Leeds College of Art in 2013, I asked him what he thought the most important part of the course was. He told me that crits were really valuable and if he was to redo the course, he would make a conscious effort to set goals for each week to get things ready for each crit. This is definitely something that i don't do enough and i sometimes don't even go to crits if i am worried i have not made enough progress with my work. From speaking to Chris i have realised my mindset needs to change in order for me to develop as a graphic designer and i need to get rid of the mindset of heres my progress so far and look at crits as time to develop my work and gather new ideas. Another thing Chris mentioned that was really great about the course was that you were around loads of other creatives here at the uni and i should take advantage of this and collaborate with them as much as possible. This is something i have been trying to work on recently after i did a collaboration with a photography student. 

Chris told me that experience is the best way to prepare yourself for industry. You can read every book and listen to every piece of advice but it never really sticks unless you’re actively part of it. To get clients you should keep developing your skills so you have the best skillset you can have and network as much as you can in order to get your name out there. I am going to try and find myself a placement to do in the holidays in order to gain some experience that i have been told is so valuable. I have already secured a visit to a studio in Thailand this summer when i go travelling. 

Chris told me that he works best without distractions, so he finds a quiet place and sticks to planning work out with pen and paper to avoid the limitations of software. This method means that his imagination can be as wild as it wants to be. This tip is a great idea and i definitely want to try this technique as i think it is often easy to hide behind the computer and loose the creativity that is needed for good design. 

ISSU Presentation Link: 
https://issuu.com/jessicaschofield1/docs/creative_report.docx

INVISIBLE INK

I am going to Thailand for a month this summer so i thought it would be a good idea to make the most of my time there and message some studios out there and see if i could go and visit some. I have got a reponse from a company called invisble Ink in Bangkok.

SAM LANE

Sam Lane was very difficult to get hold of. I originally sent him an email which he didn't reply to, i then messaged him on LinkedIn and got a response telling me he was busy but if i messaged him in a few weeks he would answer my questions. When i re-messaged him at the time he said he would be available i have had no response since.

LIFES A PITCH

PPP4

-Design week 30 magazine

-Design Manchester

What is an interview?
an interview is an exchange of information as a question and answer session, an interview is more planned than a conversation. 

arrange and interview
how and where will it take place?
its better face to face
be attentive 
have empathy
relax
use prompts
discuss formalities
use a bold opening question
say thankyou!
transcribe the interview

PPP3

 METHODS OF COMMUNICATION

• Email
• Phone
• Facebook
• Linkedin
• Snapchat
• Instagram
• Dribble 
• Behance
• Mail

use business cards to swap information because then it gives people the connivence to contact you.

STUDY TASK- TRASH MAGAZINE