Website Progress

I decided to have a go at putting a website together, just to experiment with it as I am currently not 100% sure whether or not I really need to make one. The reason why I am unsure is because I have looked at quite a lot of practitioners online (through Instagram primarily) and have discovered that many simply have their social media platforms and an email through which they can be reached. I do think however that a website is a nice touch and acts as a more formal method of presenting a form of online portfolio. However, having said this, I believe it's more than possible to survive with Instagram and a professional email alone. 

What would be useful to include in a website setting is a bit more information on the work that I am presenting as well as some general information about myself. This would appeal to potential clients/employers as they would be able to better gauge myself and my practice. 

Visiting Professional - Olivia Ahmad

I really enjoyed listening to Olivia Ahmad's talk the other day. Curation is an area of the creative sector that I had never really considered as a potential career prospect. Probably because I doubt myself when it comes to the time management and organisational skills that come with the job. However, hearing her talk about all of the different and interesting things that she gets to do with the job, such as research trips and interviewing different people, made me quite keen to consider this. I do think that I have a knack for presenting work so maybe that could lend to this? Also the research side of it sounds great although very time consuming and tiring. Will definitely now be an option for me to consider. 

Freelance thoughts...

We recently had a session explaining a bit about freelance life, what to expect, how to cope etc. I have been toying with the possibility of freelance work this year which is new to me as the previous years it was not something that was on my mind at all. I think I often find the idea of it quite overwhelming and unachievable. Which in ways is fair enough, but at the same time I believe that my confidence in my work has really improved this year and so I am beginning to consider this route a bit more seriously. It's not an avenue that I would expect to be able to survive off of straight after uni, not at all. I think that would be amazing but in reality I know I don't currently have enough contacts or projects under my belt that could lead me to a fruitful freelance life, not yet at least! 

Another aspect of the freelance life that I think I would find challenging is being my own boss and the discipline/structure that would have to come alongside that. This is why working in house with an agency sounds more suited to me at the moment. As I think there's still a bit of growing up for me to do in certain areas which warrants a more formal sense of structure. Working with other people in an agency type environment would give me the opportunity to learn from others and build my skills which would mean I could potentially cross over to the freelance life at a later stage with a better understanding of how to keep myself motivated and disciplined. 

Commission - Das Haus

I was recently asked by a friend of a friend to create a couple of posters for two club nights that they where soon to be putting on. I would have liked to have included a copy of the brief however due to the nature of how we where put in contact most of the idea was communicated verbally over the phone. Bede (client) commissioned me to create posters for two nights where the posters where able to fit together to form an A2 image whilst being able to exist on their own as well. The music of the nights was electronic and so the client wanted a feel of that to be communicated through the design. Fortunately for me Bede was very open and flexible in terms of the imagery he was happy for me to make which allowed me to really enjoy this project without being in fear of constant refusal of ideas from the client. 

We where in constant communication throughout the process. I would send him screenshots of the posters so that the idea was formulated with the clients interests considered and found this working style to be quite easy going. I am sure not every commission experience will be as care free as this so I made sure to really enjoy this project! 

I feel really proud of the outcomes I created and think it's some of the best work I have produced to date. I was really pushed to navigate the area of graphic design with this too as there was quite a lot of information to include in the posters. This is something that I have been practicing a lot this year and I now feel as though my practice has paid off which makes me feel much more confident about doing more graphics based projects in future. 

I made sure to follow the invoicing guidance that we had received in PP sessions and discussed payment with Bede in the early days of this project, prior to making any work. This meant that we where both clear with how much was going to be charged and that neither of us would be losing out. Hopefully now that I have this as a part of my portfolio and presence online I will be able to attract work from people in similar industries that would like to commission a similar type of product. 

Chat with Ben

After looking around online for internships over the past week or so I grabbed Ben for a chat about everything as I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the decisions that I may have to make soon in relation to the real world. I felt reassured about everything as it seems there are so many directions that I could take following the degree. And so stressing out about finding a perfect niche for myself so early on in my career is not necessary. Just need to take things as they come and be open to multiple directions! Ben informed me that when applying for roles it's important to prepare your portfolio for that specifically. And there are many different websites online where jobs are advertised with Artjobs, Ifyoucouldjobs, londonschoolofartjobs and the guardian to name a few. Keeping myself in the loop with whats being posted on here and potentially applying for things in the coming months seems to be the direction I'm heading for at the minute. 

Internships

Now that we're past the half way point in third year and the end is in sight I have been feeling quite antsy about the old job search. I have been looking online at potential internships that could suit me and my practice. 

Waste Creative (Junior Designer): 

Waste Creative is a digital design agency based in London that works with a wide range of clients assisting with content creation and advertising mainly. The role would be assisting the other in house designers with projects and require an excellent knowledge of the adobe software, current trends and ability to be organised and present work professionally. 

Running With Scissors (Junior Creative):

A small, independent advertising agency in London specialising in branding, social media and advertising. They have a large list of clients that they have worked for. The role is part advertising creative and part graphic designer. Skills in photoshop, illustrator and indesign are vital with knowledge of other softwares being desirable. Working in a team environment so communication skills are necessary as well as the ability to present ideas.

Stink Films (Creative Researcher): 

Not a huge amount of information about this position online but from what I gather it would involve researching and contacting creatives for work in film and tv. Expansive knowledge of film, tv, photography, art & design is necessary as well as technical skills in both Photoshop and inDesign.  

I think that the types of work I will be wanting to try first out of uni will be in house positions. The reason for this being that I prefer to work in a group environment with specific briefs and deadlines to work towards. I also think that this will help me to learn loads of new skills that can help with my career progression. There's a chance that I will absolutely hate this type of work but I want to experience it in order to see how it suits me! Gotta make a cv now.. 

Commission - Honeycomb Collective LDN

Brief: 

The aim of this commission was to create a visual identity for a new podcast series called 'Honeycomb Collective LDN'. The identity was expected to encompass the core values of the series which focusses on giving voice to marginalised groups in society, whilst also taking into account the idea of unity within these communities. 

When tackling this brief I wanted to create something that linked with the name of the project as I thought this would provide a strong brand identity that could be easily recognised and interpreted. 

I found this brief really enjoyable as I had quite a clear direction from the get go which the client was consistently happy with. I found working with a client for the first time to be a good learning point. Even though we have been set briefs where we have had to work in a similar way it was not the same as the constant feedback and communication that came with the real life scenario. Being understanding and hyper aware of the intentions of the client whilst also maintaining an aesthetic that suits me and my style of working was a bit of a juggling act but one that I think panned out well. 

Above is the final identity that I came up with for this brief. Using the podcast related motif of a microphone crossed with a honey drizzler allowed the simultaneous communication of multiple concepts related to the podcast. Below I have presented the identity in context on both Spotify and the podcasts Instagram.