Portfolio Surgery — Si Scott

Had a good talk with Si this morning, great to get some feedback on my work and presenting myself. He spoke about the places where he saw me working and how my work attributed towards working in specific places. All of the places mentioned were places that I have looked up to and hope to work in some day, so all good in that aspect.

He also gave me the emails of a few people that he said I should get in touch with and mention that I he said I should speak to them. As he used to work in London he had a lot of contacts there which has benefited me massively.

Some of the people he mentioned to put me in touch with
— Accept & Proceed
— Elmwood

Some of the people he mentioned he saw me at
— Biblioteque
— Spin

Very very good to hear him say these places!

Placement at Qubik

I worked on some really interesting stuff on my placement with Joe. It was all the sort of design that inspires my own practice and work... publications, print & Type! Really enjoyed my day there and its a shame there are no job opportunities as its just Joe working on his own. However I feel I have made a valuable contact and he has agreed to let me put him down as a reference on my CV / Website. I also got some advice on my business cards and applying for a place on the typography summer school.

CV / Portfolio

I am going to make a slightly extended CV but for the moment while contacting studios this works well with the rest of my portfolio...

Business Cards Process

I knew what typeface I wanted to use and I knew I was going to get them printed with the Print Project so I have to decide how the simple series of type would fit on the page. Lots of print outs and tests to get something I was happy with..

Design of the Year — Design Museum

I took a visit to the design Museum after Easter to see the design of the year exhibition. Some fantastic work and amazing design of the actual exhibition set up. Again it was the interaction with certain products and projects that made them stand out to me. It was also great seeing a spectrum of designs — Product Design, Graphic Design, Fashion & Architecture — all subjects that I feel graphic designers can take a lot from in relation to their concepts and also potential client audiences.

OK—RM
Strelka Institute Identity

Amazing adaptable identity that works in two languages across all the deliverables. The identity for the art institute has some great contextual references and the simple colour pallet makes it a piece of work that inspires my own practice through simplicity and function.

John Morgan Studio
Venice Architecture Biennale Identity

This amazing signage was for another exhibition/ gallery space and with the simple creation of a minimal typeface using only certain aspects of the letters it works across a variety of deliverables and works as an identity that can be applied across a variety of mediums.

Studio Frith UK
Kapow!

This publication was created working with the authors of the book. Its de-constructed layout reflects that of the character in the story, running on strange tangents similar to his mental state. A beautifully simple idea really well executed.

Berg
Mini Printer

This mini printer reacts to recent news information combined with news stories taken from recent social networking sites on the users phone. Using this information it creates a personalised, well designed mini news story printed in a receipt style and mixing images and shapes to create a new and interesting method of reading the news.

A Practice for Everyday Life
Bauhaus Exhibition

This is another design that was discussed during the Typo Talks and features a colour pallet taken from non traditional Bauhaus methods of thinking. The simple shapes are a clear visual reminder of the principles of the Institute, combined with typefaces used at the time it was a wonderful piece of design.

Anish Kapoor 
Zumtobel Annual Report

The dull pieces of information were laid out in interesting methods and cobined with bold gradients of colour the publication offeres a bolder and more interesting format to an annual report. Again its alternative ways of thinking that made it a choice for design of the year and put it up there with some of the larger products.

Internship at Music

I completed a three week placement at Music during this module. A great experience that I learnt a lot from. Unfortunatly I wont be living in Manchester when I finish so no job oppertunaties could come from the experience but I enjoyed the company and it was paid which is always a bonus.

Summary
— Relatively large studio? Better thing than I thought it would be
— Lots of work to do! I like being busy
— Working on some pretty mental projects
— Get something out of it for my portfolio
— Gained some new contacts in London through talking to people at Music
— Got involved in a self initiated project outside of Music — No Fly Posters
— Bigger studio means bigger projects
— Less personal and have to do work then give it away
— Fun place to work
— Made lots of tea

Extraordinary things about Ordinary objects — Design Museum

As part of the ticket price for the design of the year there was an option to visit the upstairs gallery, which featured stories about some of the everyday objects and items that we interact with everyday. A great exhibition and a wonderful tone of voice used across the exhibition with a load of research taking part in its success.

The signage across the exhibition combined a beautiful series of textures, typefaces and materials. I love that the stories are all written and have clearly been informed by genuine discussions by the designers and curators involved in the original designs. This personal touch and expression of opinions is something that I think benefits and exhibition and really puts the visitors in touch with the work.

Amazing to see this identity work for a project I have been aware of growing up in London and seeing the signage posted across trains all over the city.

Studio Visit — Joel Baker

Over Easter I got in contact with a few people I knew who graduated from Chelsea last year. The first of which was Joel who was really helpful and explained a lot of things that have made me more confident in graduating next year.

Issues we discussed
— My current portfolio, strengths / weaknesses
— Applying for jobs
— Working freelance 3 days a week and 2 days in a studio
— Represent Agency
— Contacting Studios / Mailouts
— What other people he knew had covered
— Current projects
— Branding! —> Needs to be something you can give to the brand that they own

Website Design

As my coding skills aren't really up to scratch I realised I should just spend more time designing my website to make it something I don't have to change in a year or so. The result is a minimal layout, meaning reactively simple and functional coding and user interaction. The only aspect of the branding is the use of the same typeface I have on my business cards. I don't like the idea of a logo for myself as I will just hate it in a few months...

I hope this document offers some indication as to how the site functions and the Java Script coding...

BCN:MCR

After seeing plenty of hype around the event on twitter I felt it was worth taking a day to go for a visit. The space exhibited work from some of the top studios in Barcelona and Manchester, two cities that may seem very different but are both the second cities to the capitals. They both seem to take very different approaches to their sometimes overpowering Capitals and produce some stunning work! Hey, Much and Los Siento are all studios that I have been keen on for a long time and it was great to experience their work in the flesh.
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The visit was relevant to both the yearbook when considering the signage and experience that was created for the event. It is also relevant to my context publication looking at how the exhibition space altered the perceptions and experience of looking at the work.
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The main flaw I felt from the exhibition was the lack of writing, I was really interested in spending a fair amount of time going round and reading about the projects in a bit more detail. This has a big impact on the experience of the event as with little writing people are less likely to stay for as long and experience the work to its full potential.

The additional signage that was stuck onto the walls was also relatively neutral using the typefaces the studios use for their branding / logo and created using vinyl stickers.
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Beautiful and colourful booklet covers, didn't realise the designs on the bottom were created using material, a nice touch and works on a low budget because

Really like these book designs but it would have been nice to be able to pick them up and interact with them. This is something that I want to mention when thinking about the end of year show. The main experience of print is being able to pick it up and look through it, something I think is key in the success of showcasing students work at the end of the year.

The signage would have been relatively cheap to produce and has a wonderful effect. Also because of its relatively neutral colour pallet produced by the wood it doesn't compromise the colourful work of the studios.
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This is something I will consider when creating the signage for the end of year show. I have been considering using wood and a laser cutter for a while but might be a nice to use an alternative material, also layering different materials has a nice tactile effect and allows people to engage with the signs a bit more.