FMP Working as a team

Working as a pair for the Final Major Project was a big decision which I put a lot of thought into, I decided it would be a positive route to take as myself and Jules had worked together previously and although it had not been all plain sailing, it had been a good experience and we had both learnt a lot from it. 

We both had intentions to re brand and decided after much deliberation to re brand the roadside restaurant, Little Chef. We both believed the current branding was tired and required an update to bring the restaurant into the 21st century and to appeal to new customers.

Taking on board where we had gone wrong previously we made plans and decided on a process to ensure we had good time management and that the project would get completed for the deadline.

We both worked together on initial ideas, deciding on our approach, what we wanted to achieve and how we wanted to promote Little Chef. We spent the first week discussing brand personality and researching the current brand. We visited the venue, taking photographs and discussed how it could be changed to suit the target market, which was quite varied and we didn't want to isolate any customer sector.

We worked on logo design for a couple of weeks, discussing colours and whether they would represent the image we was trying to portray. We became a bit bogged down with the logo design and found we had pursued enough designs and that it was time to choose one which we felt portrayed the new brand and to move on to other aspects of the re brand which were important.

We both continued to research over Easter and got together and discussed our initial brand personality plan, as we didn't want to go off track from the brief. We decided to work on a 'bringing the outside in' theme which led to a picnic idea. We thought it would bring a fresh, British quirkiness to the brand changing it from its original tired, drab image. 

We continued to research this idea and developed the logo to reflect the concept, we chose a clean minimal logo which we thought tied in with the picnic theme but not literally, instead promoted a fresh new image. 

We wanted to develop an app which would allow the customer to pre order their food and collect via a drive through, we wanted this to appeal to busy, on the go customers so we wanted the app to be simple and straightforward, giving the user an efficient, simple service which would be beneficial for them. we discussed the process of the app and drew up some ideas which we then visually developed using the mac to include menus and screen layout.

We decided to run the 'picnic' theme across the web design, using picnic elements such as a blanket, basket etc to allow the user to scroll over each element to bring up a menu relating to each item.

We discussed and researched ideas for the take away packaging and decided to use a picnic basket ideas which opened out into a ready made tray including cutlery and a napkin, we thought this would give the customer the Little Chef experience even whilst on the move.

We both enjoyed working together and believe we combined our skills throughout the process to lead to the final output. We both particularly enjoy idea generation and we bounce off each other with ideas, sometimes getting a bit carried away but we have learnt to reign them in and only pursue ideas which fit the brief. We both learnt from working together before that it is important to make design decisions and give ourselves enough time to develop the final ideas to a good standard. We were happy with the final outcome and believed were glad we tried to incorporate other design ideas which we hadn't previously done such as app and web layout. The final exhibition was a bit hectic due to changes in print and have made me realise the importance of having everything printed and finalised in good time because unanticipated problems often occur.

Myself and Jules have developed a good working relationship and wish to continue to work on projects together in the future, we have different skills which when combined together have a positive impact, I believe I have grown and developed as a result of working with Jules and am glad we had the opportunity to work together.  

Reflection - 1000 Words

The final semester is almost over and although I will breath a sigh of relief when I eventually see our work on the boards ready for marking, I am also bubbling with nervous excitement about the future. I feel the hard work is to come and I believe as James advised the importance of keeping the momentum going after leaving college is paramount as to whether you succeed as a designer or not.

I have learnt so much over the last three years but especially this year, everything has eventually fallen into place and makes sense. To be a designer takes more than a creative flair for design, it is also about your personality, your ability to express yourself and sheer determination to succeed. Confidence was always my major issue, I felt myself constantly holding myself back and felt I didn't have the capabilities of others on the course, which prevented me from approaching the industry or promoting my ideas. This mindset has now totally changed, it began last semester when myself and Stacey Weldon visited design agencies in Manchester, I suddenly realised that the feedback I get, good or bad could only be a positive thing and that getting out there and meeting designers was not as bad as I'd initially thought. I have found most to be helpful and encouraging and have received some great advice.

I have attempted to keep this confidence in approaching designers this semester and now feel comfortable approaching a designer to compliment their work, or asking for advice or even asking them for portfolio visits. I now don't take it to personally when they don't reply, I just accept that they are busy, try again and appreciate the responses I do get.

Each portfolio visit has taught me something new, not just about my work but also about the industry. It has been a great experience to visit designers with varying experiences and different roles as a designer, it has really opened my eyes to the opportunities for designers, the different roles you can pursue, as well as gaining some great advice about my portfolio. I now look forward to a portfolio visit, rather than dread it, it feels good to be part of the 'real design' world if only for an hour and I see each one as another step, another opportunity, not as a necessity to complete the course.

Working with Juliette Brooks on my FMP was a great experience, it has given me the confidence to voice my ideas, without holding back. It has taught me that it can be a good thing to work in teams, I have learnt that you can not be too personal about your individual ideas and that other viewpoints are a positive thing. Myself and Jules both work well together and have developed a good working relationship, where we use both our individual skills and combine them to create ideas and process them to a final output. We both plan to keep in touch after leaving college and to work on some pro bono work together to gain experience and develop our portfolios.

My technical skills have developed immensely, thanks to help from Jules and other students, which has totally changed my attitude, I can now visualise ideas, which feels great, as before I had the ideas but didn't feel I had the technical strength to visualise them to their full capacity. The development of my technical skills has also changed my fears of entering the design industry, not only because I now have the ability to use photoshop but more because I have proved to myself that when I put my mind to something, I can do it. I have learnt not to put things off and that the only way to overcome problems is by facing them head on.

This semester has made me realise how big the next step is and I have tried to get as much information as possible from designers and fellow students about placements and the initial process of gaining employment. The different advice I have been given has been extremely helpful and has really made me think about how to get yourself noticed in a unique way, I have realised through arranging portfolio visits that an email is not always enough, the designer wants to see your creativity, making me think how important it is to almost brand yourself as a potential designer in a way which expresses your individual skills, encouraging myself and Jules to think about using our creativity in a unique way to promote ourselves within the industry.

So what next? I feel worried about leaving the security of college and the support of my tutors and other students but I am also exited about the future, I plan to promote myself through my final exhibition and through literature I produce. I am going to continue to pursue portfolio visits and to build stronger relationships with designers to eventually gain a placement, with the hope of it leading to employment. Myself and Jules both want to produce some pro bono work or to work together on real briefs to enhance our portfolios and to keep involvement with the industry.

I came back to college to pursue an ambition to become a graphic designer and that is what I intend to do, I am determined to keep trying to enter the industry and believe that everything I have experienced throughout the course has not only enhanced my skills but has also prepared me personally for a career within the design industry.

Dinosaur follow up

When myself and Stacey Weldon went on a mission to call into Design Agencies in Manchester we called into Dinosaur studios, we both loved the uplifting vibe of the studio and were given contact details by a member of the design team to enquire about portfolio visits and placements.

We recently contacted Dinosaur to ask about a portfolio visit, sadly we haven't received a reply but we will continue to contact them, I think it would be good to use a different form of contact, taking on board what Sarah Jones advised us about using your approach to agencies to promote your creativity. Agencies such as Dinosaur probably receive numerous emails from students all asking for the same thing, which is something Chris Conlan, managing director of Love spoke about during his lecture at Design Symposium North last year. He also advised how important it was to promote yourself as a brand including the methods in which you approach designers asking for portfolio visits and placements. This advice has encouraged me to think about my own style of design and how I can promote this in a positive and unique way.

Lucy Irvine

I contacted Lucy Irvine as I admire how she has advanced within her career in Graphic Design, she has a portfolio including aspects of branding, web and interactive design and has worked with clients such as Salisbury's, Phones 4U and Kellogg's, based in Chester, she also teaches Digital Media at West Cheshire College.

 I emailed Lucy asking general advice about entering the industry and she emailed me a fantastic response offering me some great advice about various ways of entering the industry and the importance of gaining experience. She also offered advice about creating an online portfolio and even gave me links to sites she recommends. She kindly gave me her number and offered further advice, I intend to keep in contact as she has a great portfolio and offers realistic advice about the design industry.




I am in the process of following her advice about setting up an online portfolio and have realised the importance of having a link to a portfolio when contacting other agencies as many ask for you to send examples of your work before setting up a portfolio visit.

Sarah Jones - Adidas

Sarah Jones is a graduate from Stockport college who took part in the Come Design With Me event at the college which involved previous students to come and discuss their experiences since leaving college and to give advice about entering the industry. Sarah was honest about her experiences and gave some great advice so I was looking forward to meeting her again.

Jules contacted Sarah and asked her whether we both could go to her office to discuss our portfolios, we was worried about whether she would be happy to see us both but Sarah said it was fine and we arranged a suitable time. The Adidas offices were amazing, beautifully designed and the staff were professional and efficient, she met us with the current intern called Christina, who was a recent graduate from Manchester Met. 

After a general discussion about our work and college, Sarah looked through our portfolios, I showed mine first but was a bit worried because some of our work was similar but Sarah discussed each piece and brought us both into the conversation, asking our different opinions about the work which was really good as it made us both feel relaxed and involved.

Sarah gave us some great advice about the realism of entering the industry, and how a lot can depend on your personality as well as your work. She discussed various options and different sides to the industry and how important it is to aim for what you really want to do, however difficult it is. She gave some great tips on how to get yourself known to potential employers, telling us about her own ideas, including a tea bag with contact details on. This has made me and Jules really think about how you can use creativity to show your skills and personality as well as getting you noticed in a unique way. 

We discussed the importance of understanding different technology, especially web design and she encouraged us to learn as much as we could and to keep up with new design trends. She also told us about various ways of getting placements, Christina also gave us her advice about how she had juggled paid work and placements to eventually get a permanent position.

It was interesting to hear two points of view about entering the industry and Sarah offered some great practical, realistic advice which myself and Jules have took on board and want to put into practice. We talked about the various agency's and aspects of design which was a real eye opener to myself and Jules, Sarah told us how some designers work together in teams, combining their skills to be employed as a team, which is something we are looking into further. She explained the different aspects of design and discussed which we preferred, which made me realise the importance of understanding what you personally want to achieve in design and ensuring that your approach to agencies portrays that message.  

Andy Mairs - The Chase

After Christmas myself and Juliette Brookes had the opportunity to continue working on a competition brief for The Roses Awards. We had chose the brief, Supermarket Sweep, which involved rebranding and repackaging a supermarket brand of your choice. 

We really enjoyed the challenge of working with packaging but were inexperienced in developing 3D models and wanted to produce a professional model to send off for the competition. The box involved a complex net which included a sliding mechanism which opened to display wide awake eyes as we had chose to rebrand ProPlus, which is a caffeine stimulant. After making possibly 100's of nets and dreaming about eyes popping open, we eventually decided on a working net but was struggling to create the final product to a professional standard. Our tutor Guy Lawrence came to the rescue by advising us to contact a good friend of his, Andy Mairs, an iconic designer from the chase. Guy kindly gave us his Mobile number and told us to contact him to see if we could arrange to meet up as he lived near jules. We were very nervous about contacting him as we felt incredibly cheeky as we were asking a lot from him, eventually we took the plunge (with a bit of encouragement from guy) and contacted Andy. He couldn't of been more helpful and arranged to meet us later that week, we met him in a bar near to where he and Jules live and were physically shaking by the time we were due to meet. We was both in awe of him as we couldn't believe that he was actually taking the time to talk to us about our project.

Guy had advised us to take our portfolios, but we were worried about taking up too much of his time, but he was extremely patient and after discussing how he could help us with our Proplus packaging, he took the time to go through both our Portfolios. His attention to detail was amazing and he raised valid points about the importance of not only the work within the portfolio but also the spelling, type and attention to detail which can be as important as the work your displaying. He gave us loads of advice about what we could change and brought up some small details, which was really good as it made us think about the impression your giving by not paying attention to the finer details.

We discussed how important it is to make sure your portfolio is 100% and how it portrays you as a person, he also made a point of trying to change your portfolio to suit the agency you were showing it to and how important it is to understand and research the agency you are visiting. He gave some realistic advice about how to stand apart from competition and to make sure you leave something behind for the agency to keep, he advised producing a disc of your work so that they can look through it in more detail or in the future.

He was very patient and gave us both some fantastic advice, not just about our portfolios and our work but also about the industry, he also produced our ProPlus box, which he delivered personally to Jules's house the following day and offered us great advice about printing and paper stock.

We wish to keep in touch with Andy and will always be grateful for the help he gave us.

Dragonfly

This year has really made me think about the opportunities within design and the various routes you can take within the field. This led me to contact agencies which were nor solely Graphic Design but which specialised in other aspects such as exhibition design, branding and marketing. 

I contacted Dragonfly, who specialise in design for Theatre and Arts marketing as I thought their work sounded interesting, I emailed their design team and received a response from Malcolm Reid, who explained they were very busy at the moment but I was welcome to email them some work for them to crit. This made me think again about setting up a website or sending examples of work when I email.