OUGD502 - Module Self Evaluation

Overall, PPP this year has really opened my eyes to the importance of contacts and networking. By working on a variety of live briefs, inside and outside of University, I have tried to push my design skills in as many areas as possible, as well as improve my communication skills with different clients. I have also tried to gather a variety of contacts in the industry that I can use in Level 06 to gain feedback from and eventually hope to work with. This Summer, I am going to put a real effort into maintaining these contacts and building my online presence.

The main aim that I had going into this year was to essentially experiment and learn as much as possible, so that moving in to Level 06 I know my abilities and can feel confident when moving forward. I feel that this has definitely been achieved through experimenting a lot more with web, motion, 3D, illustration and more. I can now clearly see that I would like to focus mostly on branding and editorial work in Level 06. As I have picked up skills in a variety of other sectors, I am going to try and integrate them into these two main areas of work; however, as a career, I definitely want to be a Graphic Designer, as opposed to a Web Designer or 3D Designer etc.

Launching the Designbytwo project with Harrison was definitely one of the best aspects to come from this year. It was great to work with someone with a different set of skills, but with a similar mindset and general ambitions. The project allowed me to improve my skills hugely - particularly in 3D - and highlighted how something as simple as a poster project can lead to interest from a successful design studio, such as Deuce. Working with Harrison was hugely beneficial because we both drove each other forward and gave each other pieces of advice when learning new software/producing designs. Because of this, the outcomes produced in Studio Brief 02 were to a very high quality, as we were determined to put a lot of effort into impressing Deuce. I am very proud of the publication made - it is by far the most complex piece of editorial work I have worked on so far and it definitely increased my knowledge of the physical side of production hugely. Whilst Deuce did not mention about us possibly working with them in Summer, I am going to try and arrange another meetup with them, even if it is for a more relaxed drink, to get talking again and see if we can sort something out.

If I could have done anything differently this year I would have liked to have gone to a few more design talks. Alongside completing design work I have been producing a lot of music and DJing once or twice a week around the UK for the past 4 or so months. Because of this, it has been quite a challenge to attend as many design events as I wanted to. Despite this, I feel that I have definitely learnt a lot from the events I have been to - the Hey! Talks and It's Nice That x Printed Pages workshops were two of the most eye-opening experiences I have had, particularly in the essence of informing the directions of my professional practice. Looking ahead to Level 06, I am going to try and manage my time more effectively to see if I can visit various design talks and exhibitions when travelling around the UK for gigs. If this becomes too much, I am going to lay off of the music for a while and focus more on my design practice.

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 01 - Summer Plan

Thinking ahead I really want to put myself in a confident position going into Level 06. As I have gained quite a few contacts this year and completed various live briefs I want to keep this up to ensure that it is not a challenge to get work out there when starting back in September. Some of my main aims and ambitions that I hope to complete can be read below.



Re-contact Leopold Ltd - A while back I worked with the creative director of Leopold Ltd - a design company based in London - producing a poster for a live play. After just recently setting up a Linkedin account Nigel, the creative director, invited me to connect. Thankfully through this I will be able to get in touch with him again and catch up in Summer over a pint. As it has been over 2 years since I last met Nigel I will be able to show him how my work has developed and hopefully help out with some projects over the Summer period.

Improve Behance Exposure - As myself and Harrison have finished the Deuce publication we are going to upload it to Behance to try and gain some further exposure. Hopefully Deuce will appreciate it and give us a hand in promoting it online. As many professionals have highlighted the importance of Behance for getting jobs when leaving University, I really need to start building my profile and getting a lot more interest in my work. I therefore intend to spend a lot of time on re-organising projects and finding better ways to get them seen.

Deuce Studios - As Deuce were interested in the Designbytwo page, I really want to make sure that I keep in contact with them so that I can continue to get feedback from them through Level 06. I am hoping to potentially get some work experience with them this Summer; however, this may not be a possibility as they currently don't have a proper design studio.

Deuce have a fantastic website and have a lot of contacts in London. As this is where I want to eventually work after graduating, they are definitely worth keeping close with to try and make the process of finding a job easier at the end of Level 06.

Freelance - As I have worked for Bannenberg & Rowell this year, as well as a theatre group and event promoter, I want to try and continue using these contacts to enlarge my portfolio and make some money over Summer. Continuing to freelance will improve my negotiating skills and communication skills with clients, and will make taking on the live briefs in Level 06 much more straightforward. I hope to enter a lot of competitions next year; therefore, want to keep up my design work to ensure that I will be able to produce the best work possible.

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 02 - Deuce Studios Report: Sending Deuce The Publication & Response

As the publication, posterzine, prints and stickers were now printed and ready to send off, I got back in touch with Deuce as needed to find out their address (as they do not have an actual studio). Jonny was great at getting back to us and provided an address for us to send off our work to.

As the publication is very personal to Deuce in a sense, we wanted to apply this same approach to the packaging of the items to keep up the same level of effort. Firstly, we bought some higher quality sleeves from G.F Smith to ensure that the items are protected as much as possible. We then applied a variety of stickers to the packaging to seal certain areas and visually make it more engaging. To try and hint at the fact that we would like to come and work with Deuce in Summer we included a small written slip of paper, thanking them for the interview and encouraging them to get in touch if they need a hand with work at all. This can be seen below.

Inside the sleeve we cut out a variety of the stickers produced and included them alongside the publication, prints and posterzine. Some photographs of the packaging can be seen below.

The package was sent off to Deuce this week. As it took quite long to produce the publication to a high standard we were hoping that this would come across. They put an Instagram post up thanking us for the publication and bits sent, and highlighted that we had put a lot of time and care into the outcomes, which was great to hear.

Deuce also emailed us regarding the publication and how we had printed the yellow. We are going to upload a Behance project and then get back in touch with them to hope that they will help spread the project and boost our online exposure. I am definitely going to try and keep in touch with them as their style of work is one that is very similar to the type of work I would like to go into in industry. As we have contact with them on Behance, Instagram and email we will be able to regularly send them messages and hopefully keep them engaged with the work we produce over the following year. As for possible work experience, I am going to email Jonny fairly soon to see if there is a chance for us to come down for a few days.