OUGD602 - InVision Studio Early Access

To keep up with industry standards I have been keeping an eye on new software that is available and being used. One piece of software that I came across a month or two ago is InVision Studio - a revolutionary piece of app design software that makes responsive design and other aspects a lot easier. The video that I came across back in January can be seen below.



As the software is brand new the only way to get a copy is to sign up for early access. I did this back in back in January.

Two months later I have finally been given early access to the software.

As the software improves efficiency hugely and appears to be a large contender to Adobe XD and Muse I am going to learn the software and use it for all app design from this point onwards. On my Smith Dawson placement I saw that many people designed wireframes in the Sketch app. This works in conjunction with InVision; therefore, my aim is to become competent in both programs by the time I leave University. This will be great when applying to studios as it is a new program that few people will be skilled in/have copies of.

OUGD602 - Successful, Paid Freelancer Contest

One website that I used to use a lot before coming to University is Freelancer.com. It has a ton of paid graphic design contests on it which are free to enter. Yesterday I went back on to see if there were any quick live briefs that I could do. I came across the following brief:

The fee for winning this brief was $250, which I thought was a lot for such a simple brief. Because of this I chose to submit a design to the contest. The initial design submitted was as seen below:




The client rated the entry 5/5 stars and gave me some feedback regarding the number 2 being changed. I made a few different further variations in response to his feedback and submitted again.




The client rewarded my following outcomes as the winning entry:

From spending roughly half an hour on this brief I managed to win $250. I spoke to the client and he said that one of the reasons for why he picked me was because there are many Asian designers on freelancer who aren't that good at client communications. This is one aspect that has opened my eyes to how I have an advantage in this sense. As there are regular contests on Freelancer I am going to try and complete some more after University to see whether I could make some extra income from spending less than hour of my time a day on briefs like this.

OUGD602 - Updated Time Plan For The OUGD603 Module

As I spent a week at Smith Dawson for a placement and have another week lined up at Utopia Productions I have had to reconsider my time plan and the briefs that I am going to do in the OUGD603 module. Sticking to my aims and ambitions at the start of the year I have made a final time plan that I am going to stick to.

OUGD602 - Can You Cash In & Not Sell Out? Talk & Further Contact With Brains & Hunch

Yesterday I went to a talk at the Northern Monk brewery in Leeds. This featured talks from graphic artists DR.ME and Danish beer designer/illustrator, Nanna Guldbæk.

It was very interesting to hear both speakers give their different takes and approaches to design; however, Nanna Guldbæk's talk really inspired me. What I find fascinating is that she is a graphic designer for Norway’s most famous beer brand whilst studying at University. Furthermore her degree is in product design, which is not that closely related to graphic design. This related to me on a personal level because I have been working as a producer/DJ whilst studying a completely different subject for the previous 2 years. This talk opened my eyes to how I don't necessarily have to go into graphic design after University and that I could branch out and follow my passion of music.

Inspired by this I rang Tom from Brains & Hunch back up and asked if I could come and work with them for a few days before I head off travelling. They said that they would be more than happy for me to come down and work with them for a few days; therefore, we have arranged a rough date for me to go down the week before I head off travelling. This will give me the chance to see what they do and whether it is an area that I could consider studying further in/moving into in September.

OUGD602 - Week Placement #1: Smith Dawson

This week I completed a week placement at design agency Smith Dawson. Upon arrival Mark had a brief chat with me and I was allocated a seat with the rest of the design team.





Over the course of the week I was given a variety of projects to help with. The majority of work done was editing editorial layouts and making corrections to work that other people in the studio have done. As there are no motion designers in the team Mark gave me a much more substantial project to work on from Wednesday onwards. He briefed me to produce a range of videos that use the still AMI brands colours and logoshapes. Informed by this I used my After Effects skills and knowledge to produce a small showreel of ideas. The deliverables I produced are ideas for screensavers, ad campaigns and other brand motion collateral. Some of the outcomes produced can be seen below.


Overall, the week has made me identity a lot about my practice and my ambitions. As none of the existing designers in Smith Dawson are knowledgeable in After Effects or motion graphics I have realised that I should promote these skills more, as is is something that differentiates me from being just graphic designer. This also applies to the music side of my practice, as many people know nothing about music production.

The week also made me realise that I don't want to be a junior designer for a long period of time. Talking with a lot of the designers at Smith Dawson highlighted that freelancing is much more popular and a better form of income. My aim is to try and live off being a freelancer in the future, as  I enjoy creating ideas and being in charge of the projects I work on much more than being given snippets of jobs to contribute to. Eventually, this could lead to being a creative director or setting up my own company; however I need to build my contacts and experience in industry first before even considering this.

I got on really well with the team and can definitely see myself working in studio after University. There are only around 7 people that work at Smith Dawson which, I think, is quite nice as you get to know each person quite well. Working in Shoreditch definitely confirmed that I want to live and work in London after travelling as there are so many opportunities there and where many family and friends are. For this reason I am going to try and apply for internships and jobs at studios for start in September whilst travelling.

OUGD602 - Personal Branding - Evaluation

This project was extremely rewarding and beneficial. Having a physically and digitally consistent brand image gives me a much more professional and organised look, which definitely makes a difference when applying for placements and jobs. Furthermore, having all my work online has given me much more confidence to apply to studios.

After completing the outcomes shown I have managed to get two placements, simply through companies looking at the work on my website. Because of this, I feel very optimistic that I will be able to sort out some work when I come back from travelling in September.

Moving forward, I aim to keep adding new projects to my Behance page and website, as well as create an Instagram account to launch in September. Other than this I do not aim to change any aspects of my personal branding.

OUGD603 - Dolby Digital

To keep up with industry standards outside of design I got in touch with Dolby Digital about their new atmos technology, which is essentially a revolutionary sound system that lets you produce in a 3D dimension. As I am writing an album I enquired about the system and whether I could come and check it out. They allowed me to go down and experiment with my music productions on their new software. The experience was amazing and I am going to continue working with them to try and get on their roster. Huge artists such as Sub Focus and Four Tet are part of this roster; therefore, it would be amazing to be on a list with these people.