Proposed Plan after university

This blog post outlines routes in which may be taken after university. Focusing on job opportunity and finances, the post analyses location in terms of effectiveness of gaining a creative career. 

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After attending the Ladies Wine & Design event it made me question my original plan of getting a job straight out of university. It also made me question my location of choice, and which would better enable myself a creative career.


Option 1

As I am originally from a rural village in North Shropshire with sparse transport links and am unable to drive, the idea of maintaining a design job from home is very narrow. Other factors such as job availability in such a remote area should also be considered, although a mass bonus of this would be that I would not have to pay rent and thus would save a considerable amount of money each month.

Job employability at home may involve myself commuting to near by locations these include: Shrewsbury (18 miles), Wrexham (15 miles), and Chester (27.9 miles).

In relation to this, I began to such jobs available and transport methods/costs.

Shrewsbury

Design studios in Shrewsbury
















Squeak-focusing on interface and print design

Hammond-commercial design

Verve-digital design

None of the design studios in Shrewsbury really stand out to myself as somewhere in which I would like to work. They all appear to focus on commercial work and are similar to the studio whereby I undertook my placement.


Travel costs/time:

To travel to Shrewsbury I would have to get two connecting buses (Home-Ellesmere, Ellesmere to Shrewsbury).

There are no buses that would get me to Shrewsbury before 9 am and therefore the prospects of me getting a job that allows me to start at 10am are very little. The commute is also 1.45 hours, meaning that I would essential spend nearly four hours travelling each day.

Costs: £14 a day

Wrexham

Baabaa-a range of deliverables for small clients 

Makoo creative-Branding 

Similar to Shrewsbury, Wrexham provides very little choice of design studios, with many also appearing on the outskirts, resulting in transport difficulties. 

Travel costs/time:

Again with two connecting buses, the commute would be 2 hours, meaning that my overall travel time would be 4 hours a day. 

Daily cost: £12.80

Chester 

After discovering a range of studios, I found Lemondrop a Chester based studio, in which focuses on a range of printed deliverables. The studio appears fun and characteristic, and would be, if I had to move to Shropshire a possible option. 

Travel costs/time:

Taking 2.34 hours to commute, the overall day travel time would be 5 hours

Cost £20.00

Option One Summary

After completing research into the locations available  it became evident that a long commute would be necessary, with a third of my days wage being on travel expenses. The only design studio in which I felt suitable was also a 2.30 hour commute, meaning that if I did return home I would have to be dedicated to the company, something I am unsure about. 

This is also based on the idea that I would gain a design job straight away, as otherwise I believe I would be stuck at home with a job I am unsatisfied with. 

Option Two

Option two would be to gain a creative job in a city, most possibly Leeds. Considering the idea that most graduates do not maintain their career of choice straight away, it may be essential to note that an 'ordinary' job would firstly be maintained with myself completing placements and freelance work on the side. 

Living in a city also would mean that I would have strong transport links, and could apply for multiple creative jobs, meaning a greater chance of success. 

I would have to fund my own living expenses if I selected this option meaning that the general living cost would be about £500 a month (basic rent, bills and food)

Shropshire vs Leeds

After considering the two options, I felt myself massively swaying towards staying in Leeds or another northern city. There are far more opportunities, design studios in which I am already invested and placement opportunities. I also far more enjoy living in a city, and therefore will make further plans/budget plans surrounding securing myself in Leeds. 

Ladies Wine & Design

This blog post outlines proffesional engagement at Ladies Wine & Design 
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In relation to my previous thoughts surrounding the lack of female design remodels and women in higher places, I decided to attend the Leeds 'Ladies Wine & Design' event. Originally being set up by Jessica Walsh the event helps support women within the creative industry promoting mentorship circles, portfolio reviews, and creative meet-ups.

Unfortunately, none of my female friends were able to attend the event due to prior commitments, this leaving myself with concerns over engagement and whether the pre-existing collective would be 'clicky'. Overcoming my apprehension I decided to attend the event and found that all the issues I had previously been concerned over were not apparent, with myself finding the event extremely friendly. Attending the event on my own actually became a positive aspect of the evening as it pushed me to further engage with others, much more so than if I had attended the event with my peers.

The variety of individuals at the event also allowed myself to gain an overview of job prosperity after university, with many creatives suggesting that they had an ordinary job once leaving university and completed freelance work on the side. This made me question whether my original ideas surrounding job employability after university were unrealistic.

Creative Convos

This blog post outlines the creative convos week and key influencers in which I found to aid my practice.
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Week overview:

As I am interested in certain areas of design some talks personally stood out to myself more than others, although I felt all were insightful and offered me a greater perspective of industry. Diversity was a factor in which I felt the week largely possesed with both design diversity and cultural/sex diversity being presented. As minority groups are often neglected within design, I felt that this was highly influencing.

Dines 

An example of studio BLUPS work with Nike 

An example of BLUPS work with Ciroc 

Dines kicked off the creative convos week and was for myself, one of the best. Discussing his transition from University and developing the identity BLUP, Dines discussed the struggles in which he overcame and the challenges he has faced as a designer. Setting up his own, internationally renown studio, Dines has come far within the past 10 years (something in which he suggested can be done if you are passionate and are dedicated to your projects). 

When presenting to Dines within the workshop it allowed myself to be put on the spot and develop an unprepared pitch surrounding #LondonIsOpen (a brief in which I was working on for extended practice). This allowed myself to pain feedback from a professional perspective, with Dines suggesting ways in which the brief may be pushed further and explored with digitally. 

Rose Nordin

Some visual examples of Rose's editorial work

Rose largely discussed her design career and made comments upon the Art Fund (a charity in which I had previously not heard of) in which supports creatives who want to develop amazing work but do not have the budget. She also discussed her time at Somerset house and how working freelance in a creative environment allows her to gain feedback she would not on her own. 

Eve Warren/Chris Shuttleworth

As I was a pre-existing fan of Eve Warren I was extremely excited by the prospect of meeting her. The talk about Robot Food, a studio based both in Leeds and Manchester, showed the fun, innovative packaging in which they create. The mini competitions and the general management of the company felt to be something in which I found aspiring, and would definitely be somewhere in which I would consider working within the future. 

The elephant room/pop up agency 

Although these two talks/workshops did not explore my areas of interest I found them highly inspiring, most specifically in terms of idea generation and standing out in the creative world. From this I decided that I should develop my own branding style as they have evidently expressed theres through presentations and their social media accounts. 

Designers of inspiration

After reading an article (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/shelley-emling/women-role-models-girls-stem-education_b_2796192.html) surrounding the lack of female role models for women, and how this holds them back within their careers, I decided to think about who my key design infleunces are. And yes, they were mostly men. Even design studios in which I follow and aspire to work for are largely male focused. So I questioned myself as to why? Is there a lack of females in the design industry? or a lack of exposure?



From this pivotal moment I decided to focus my efforts on finding female designers/creatives in which I aspire to. A list below has been ecumilated of female inspiration, one in which I now regually follow and use as design inspiration.



Lord Whitney 


Mushpit 


'PotYerTitsAwayLuv'


Sister magazine 


Eve Warren 


Jane Bowyer 


Polyester


In conjunction to this, I also decided that female lead events may be source of inspiration to myself and thus I decided to attened a range of inspirational talks/vists (these have been further listed on my blog)

Logo book research

The following blog post outlines research completed into logotypes. 

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When thinking about a logo for myself, research was undergone into the structure of pre-existing logotypes, allowing myself to gain a better understanding between the varieties available (logotypes, logos, monograms and ciphers).

Information was gained from Logotype by Laurence King

Monogram Logo: Monograms & Ciphers 

Monograms have two or more letters in which one letter forms part of another. Ciphers contain two or more letters interplaced, which are not dependant on each other. 

A logo is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a logotype or wordmark.

Logobook, Ludovic Houplain

The book expressed visual representations of how a range of logotypes can be developed and constructed, this aiding me to create some of my own visual examples. 

Erins branding work

Below is a branding brief completed for an LAU photography student. This blog post highlights issues with clients.

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Before completing my own self-branding, Erin, a photography student, had asked me to develop a visual identity for her, envisaging her as a bold, impactful photographer with mass potential. As at this stage I had little experience completing branding and knew Erin was reliable, the project was undergone. This offering a potential branding piece towards my portfolio.


Originally intended as an Extended Practice brief, the project entailed a variety of deliverables. These deliverables were discussed with Erin from the original set brief.

Erins original brief



Discussing the deliverables in a higher context it was decided that a range of promotional material would be developed for Erin including business cards, a zine, a cv template and a mini portfolio zine. Unaware to me at the start of the brief, Erin had already previously developed a logo for herself as well as a set colour scheme.


Add image



The pre-existing materials in which Erin had selected did not specifically appeal to myself as I did not believe it truly represented her as a professional photographer. In conjunction to this, myself and Erin discussed her pre-established branding, with Erin suggesting that it fully represented herself. As a result of this, I completed the branding as I felt that not finishing the project due to design objectivity would be unprofessional.

Using Erin's branding as a guideline, I developed a range of deliverables in which best displayed Erin's photography work. Small alterations were made in discussion with Erin in order to produce a piece of branding in which she felt truly represented herself.

Although Erin herself was highly pleased with the final outcome, I personally do not believe that it is a strong body of design work. This opinion is based on the fact that the branding does not showcase Erin as a professional photographer but rather so a student. As a result of this, it was decided that this brief would not partake as an Extended practice brief nor a portfolio piece, but rather to be recorded on my ppp blog to showcase the issues in which arise when developing work for a client.
When discussing this further with a tutor they suggested that when completing paid work in the future if you do not like the final outcome then you do not have to associate yourself with it or record it within your portfolio/website.


When thinking about how this brief has influenced my practice it is evident that often the client may go against your advice and guidance, resulting in visuals in which you are not fully satisfied. If this occurs you are well within your rights to disassociate yourself with the work and do not have to showcase it within your portfolio. 

Owlcotes submission

This blog offers an insight into my interaction with the LAU opportunities bulletin, and the live Owlcotes brief completed in response to this. 

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One tool in which I have found extremely useful this year is that of the LAU opportunities bulletin, offering events and live briefs. In order to engage with this, I have attended career track Tuesday events and participated in multiple briefs. One brief in particular in which I found useful was that of the Owlocotes community trust brief.

The set brief was to develop a logo for that of Owlcotes Academy Trust (a new Academy primary school within Pudsey). As I often design for an older demographic and do not consider a younger target audience within my design, this project allowed me to consider a variety of consumers.

The brief also allowed me to gain a better understanding of logo design, whilst embedding a branding piece within my portfolio. The concept behind the final outcome is also a discussion point as I believe it to be highly conceptual.

Competition boards were developed to submit my final pieces, as there was no limit on how many logo designs you could submit, I entered my three strongest. If I am to win the competition this will offer me a live brief for extended practice as well as my portfolio, showcasing that I am a professional designer. As this brief is commissioned £250 I will use the money to finance my self branding, as well as other briefs.

Peter & Paul submission

This blog post offers an insight into the professional engagement with Peter and Paul, outlining contact with professionals.  

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After a short briefing by Peter & Paul, surrounding a collaborative project for the Leeds Arts University new build, a follow-up email was sent by myself in order to engage with the brief. This email contained some examples of my work (in which I provided a variety to showcase a range of skills).

As this brief is to create a decorative banner for the new build, I believe that this would appear as a strong portfolio piece showcasing work for a professional client, as well as a collaborative with a nationally known design studio.

Thinking about self branding

This blog post outlines initial thoughts surrounding my self-branding and which platforms I may engage with. 

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In order to make myself stand out against other creatives the initial point of contact, my self branding, should be outstanding. As a business card is a generic, yet essential, way in which to promote oneself, I began to think of myself as a brand, considering the following factors:

• Social media-facebook, Instagram, twitter, snapchat (which are relivant) 
• Website
• Buisness cards 
• Visual identity 
• CV 
• Portfolio

Although not all social media platforms may be relevant to my future employers, it is key to consider what the best platforms are to present myself.