Dan Ingham and Ste Owen

In November we recieved a talk by Ste Owen and Dan Ingham who both graduated from Stockport College in 2007.They have done placements at Thoughtful and The Chase and now have steady jobs at very contrasting agencies; with Ste working at McCann Erickson and Dan at the more independent Mark Studio.They came into Uni to talk to the 2nd and 3rd year students about their achievements and what we should expect once we leave University.

Dan and Ste emphasised that whilst we are students we should make the most out of all oportunities that are given to us as well as making use of the college facilities and use what we have to the max. We are lucky at college to have a photography studio and a screen printing room whereas at a design agency all you would really have is a mac and a printer. I think it is some of these facilities that we regularly take for granted. They both expressed how important it is that we go to college everyday as we get to interact with other people rather than sitting working from home. One thing about working in the industry is that by interacting with each other it allows ideas to bounce off one another. They also told us that by the time we leave we will be fighting off competition from 15,000 and more other graduates who want the same jobs as we do, so now is the time to get noticed. They felt we should be contacting agencies, entering competitions and attending events.

The advice they gave was really helpful and it was nice to see that not one but two people who have been through the same experiences we have so far have managed to get so far in their career. It just goes to show that if they can do it then so can we!

Telegramme

Today I emailed Christopher from Telegramme to ask for some advice on portfolios and what the design industry is like. As Telegramme is a London based agency I will see if it's possible for me to take down my portfolio to show them whilst I am also visiting Fold 7.

Email to Christopher: 

A to M

Today I emailed Mike Fallows from A to M to see if it would be possible to arrange a portfolio viewing of my work. Fingers crossed he replies!

Email sent to mike :

Craig Oldham re:

After the lecture last week I decided to re email Craig to thank him for coming in and talking to us all. I also asked if it was possible for me to go and see him with my work or to send him some of my work. He replied to say it was lovely to hear from me and if I could send him some of my work he would be more than happy to give me some advice. 

Craig Oldham

'Warning... this lecture is blunt, honest, contains foul language, opinionated and spoken in a Yorkshire accent'

Yesterday Craig Oldham from design agency Music came into college to talk to us about what we should expect when we leave university and what the industry is like. This was constructed in the style of 12 points; 12 points which has recieved lots of awards for Craig as he compiled together a booklet of things to be expected in the first year of being a designer. ' 12 lessons in 12 months'

 These lessons are:

1. Understand what Graphic design is to you. Define creativity, and what you value as good design, then you will know what it takes to achieve it.

2. Be honest with yourself about your strengths and your weaknesses. Know what you are best at. We shouldn't be embarrased about telling people what we are bad at.

3. A portfolio is for life, not just for an interview. The portfolio is never finished, treat it like and ongoing project and update it every time you do something.

4. Placements matter, so do them: get stuck in and give them a go -  within this Craig stated why we should do placements and why we shouldnt :

Why we should 

* New expectations

* Real work

* Become much better

* Meet interesting people

* Put you ahead of competition

* Improve your tea making! Craig states ' whether you like it or not.. brew up'

* Make you more confident

You shouldn't

* Make a loss money wise

* Away for a period of time, most of the time alone

* Taken advantage of

However the good still outways the bad! Craig thinks it's better when looking for a placement to have a hitlist of favourite agencies and to research everything before you go. When your there you should be punctual, be yourself and remember that a little enthusiasm goes along way.

5. The design industry is small, everybody knows each other.

6. Two heads are better than one so participate with people and share your ideas. We have to learn to take criticism as well as praise.

7. Graphic design is just a job but being a designer is different

8. If you don't fail then you aren't trying. Make mistakes. It is the only reason you will learn.

9. Life and work exist out of London

10. Designing is about 20% of your job, the rest of your time is spent away doing this, meeting with clients and answering questions

11. Have a life outside of design, let your life inspire your design

12. Work hard and be nice to people

I really found Craig's lecture really interesting and helpful as well as lighthearted and opinionated. It was one of the best lectures I have attended so far. We all know the design industry is slightly scary when you leave University and head out into the big wide world but with advice like this it makes things seem not so daunting.

Truth vs. Craig Oldham

'' Compare and Contrast the processes and practices of your two chosen practitioners, upon this analysis what lessons could be applied to your own practice''

Throughout the past 6 months a number of practitioners have been kind enough to give up their time to come along to college and talk about their work and the design industry. We have seen many designers such as; Fudge, Thoughtful, Glorious and Grant Gilbert, to name a few. Also, we have seen the diverse way in which they approach briefs and present their work yet all given the same advice on approaching agencies for work placements and producing portfolios.

For my design practitioner comparison I have decided to talk about Truth and Craig Oldham. Both of these lectures were completely different in what was being presented to us. From Truth we saw a lot of their work while with Craig we recieved lots of advice but also got to see a little work.

One lecture that stood out to me the most was the agency Truth, a 2 and a half year old agency based in Manchester. Truth's members who visited college consisted of Darren Scott who is the main designer and Jane Kaye who is an administrator. After Darren left University he spent a lot of his time knocking on agencies doors and asking for placements. He ended up working at the advertising agency McCann Erickson.

 The lecture was mainly about Darren and his early works to recent projects created at Truth. Typography is Darrens primary interest and this was evident by the wide variety of typefaces he had produced, such as; Amplifier, Sodium and Berliner. Darren showed how his typefaces are incorporated into his designs and states that ' I like to create typefaces and then disown them to see how other people use them'

  

(Truth's typeface design Berliner used in Fuse magazine - showed in situe)

The lecture was very long, probably one of the longest we have ever attended but I really enjoyed it.

Another practitioner who I felt gave a useful lecture was Craig Oldham's from design agency Music. Craig has been working as a designer for 3 years and has recently just left The chase to work for Music. This particular lecture was very different, similar to Dan Ingham and Ste Owen Craig is a young designer who's understanding of being and student and leaving University to go into the design industry is still fairly fresh in his mind. This meant that he could relate to us slightly more than Darren as Craig's experiences will of been slightly the same as ours.

Craig delivered an extremely useful lecture on what we should expect when we leave university and what the industry is like. This was given in the style of 12 lessons, in which Craig has put together and made a booklet of the 12 lessons entitled '12 lessons in 12 months' I felt the information we recieved from craig gave us a really good insight into the industry and the information was vital for when I graduate from University.  Some of Craig's lessons included; what to expect from a placement, be honest with yourself your strengths and weaknesses, portfolios are for life and how you learn from your mistakes to name but a few.

I really found Craig's lecture really interesting and helpful as well as lighthearted and opinionated. It was one of the best lectures I have attended so far. We all know the design industry is slightly scary when you leave University and head out into the big wide world but with advice like this it makes things seem not so daunting.

In comparison Truth's lecture and Craig Oldham's couldn't of been more further apart in regards to what was being presented to us. However I though this was a good point as we gained a variety of advice and reassurance as well as seeing design work. Both lecturers stated that 'competition is fierce as everyone is fighting for the same thing' and 'sometimes the most challenging thing is being taken out of your comfort zone'  they felt that sometimes we have to be prepared to do things that we don't like and maybe we might actually quite enjoy it. This is one thing I tend to avoid in my own practice, I tend to stick to what I know rather than try other ways of working or challenging myself.  Another piece of advice that I took away from both lectures is that we should participate and work with other people, other students in College as this allows us to share ideas and bounce ideas from one another. I found this piece of advice helpful. In College when we worked on the Identity briefs as part of a group project I found it very useful working with others and pulling our ideas together and refining them as a group, although it was stressful working as a team it was helpful.

Overall both designers like all designers have different ways of working and producing work ad have very distinctive styles. However they are both very talented and it was extremely helpful having them come into college to talk to us. With regards to Craig Oldham's lecture and the portfolio this is helpful as at the moment we are producing our own folio's so it is good to get some advice on what we should put in it and what designers would be looking for.

These have been my two favourite lectures of the year and I think a good reference point to refer to.

www.truth-design.co.uk

www.craigoldham.co.uk

Portfolio Visits

Visit with Manchester based agency Top Corner has been arranged for the 7th of May at 11am.... watch this space for more!

Typography that made me smile

This paper alphabet was shown on the swiss miss blog, created by the people at Johnson Banks they created a series of posters based on letterforms and created from folded paper. I really like how beautifully yet delicate the paper letters look and think it works really well.

Dinosaur and Fold 7

Today I emailed Emily Dewar from Dinosaur to ask some questions about the design industry. As I particularly liked their work I hope to hear back from them. Email is attached below:

Today I also spoke to David Balko from Fold 7 again and I am arranging a trip down to London in the summer holidays to show him my portfolio. He replied so quickly to me and I am really looking forward to going down to London and meeting with him.

Attached below is my email do David.

 

My reply:

Telegramme

Telegramme is a design agency based now in London, offering interactive illustration and editorial design aswell as screenprinting services. Made up of designers Christopher who used to work in Bristol and Robert in Cornwall they developed a creative partnership by a mutual love of music and art.

Their screenprinting posters are what intially attracted me to their website as I personally think this is an area of design we don't see designers working with everyday.

Below are 3 of my favourite screen prints that Telegramme have produced. I particularly like the pin board poster for an art show purely for it's striking result using typography.

 I also was really attracted by the branding they had produced for a bar called 'Queen of Hoxton' which in itself is interesting. As well as it being a bar it is also a club and has art installations, exhibitions as well as film nights.