OUGD603 - Statement of Intent

I am a graphic designer with a great interest into branding and visual identity, using a mix of modern and traditional styles in a sophisticated and elegant way to bring to life visual depictions of a brief. I create modern and simplistic outcomes with large impact through the use of highly considered colour and typographic influences. Clean, bright and bold design is that the key influence of my practice, taking into consideration the emotive impact of design within an audience. Research highly inspires my design process and decisions in order to ensure that a brief is not simply met but the expectations are exceeded. Taking into account the audience’s lifestyle choices and familiar visual identity, which is evident within an outcome, ensuring that I'm not only designing for the client but the opportunity of the brief to grow beyond its initial anticipations.

Over this process of the module I plan on developing a wider understanding of the branding world itself, exploring new types of branding in which I haven't before, such as event, personal/individual, and larger businesses. This will enable me to get a greater understanding of branding within design and allow me to develop a perspective on my next career step the designer. As I wish to be a commercial designer within a studio environment, I would also like to complete briefs that will allow me to explore the type of briefs would be set within a studio. Looking into a multitude of multidisciplinary outcomes, in some fields which I am not specifically over experienced within such as animation and advertising, to once again be able to build on my knowledge and put me in good stead for my future career. Due to wanting this type of experience I will also be looking at encompassing as many life briefs as possible within my work, in order to be able to build skills in regard to client management and communication.

OUGD603 - Module Evaluation

Overall, I felt the module as a whole went well, in terms of all of my deadlines were met with concise precision, and no extensions were needed in terms of final deadline.

I believe the positives of this module is that I have successfully learned to manage my time effectively, preparing me for industry in the way that I will be handling multiple briefs running at the same time a different light in different deadlines and therefore need to be able to prioritise to ensure that every part of the briefest met to the correct specification.

This module is also help me learn to work with industry professionals I have not had the experience to work with before, such as specialised printers within briefs where unusual outcomes were needed to be produced such as a van wrap. This allowed me to investigate into different communication methods and also show me the importance of communication throughout each aspect of the design process, in terms of with the people who are producing the final outcome. Intensive communication I've also learnt the way in which communication should be handled with a client, this inspired by both my brace and industry engagement where I have experienced and engaged with client management techniques. By showing a client too much too early it lacks the ability for them to understand the development stages, therefore I have processed techniques to be able to present development stages to someone who doesn't understand design in simple terms; enabling them to understand my process as a whole.

Throughout the process the briefs I initially proposed at completing changed drastically, some of the brief side confirmed with clients and therefore were carried ahead, whereas others were changed out for briefs that was more appropriate as and when new opportunities arose. For example, as I got more into looking at branding as a designer and opportunity came up to it brand both an external event, and also look at personal branding for a surface print designer. Both of which are very different to the initial brace proposed which were swapped out these, although through doing so it allowed me to explore two new aspects of branding in which is highly influenced my practice as my aspirations for the future.

Aspects of this module such as studio engagement and competitions have allowed me to get my name out into the industry. Collaboration was key within multiple briefs which I completed, which allowed me to work with specialists such as animators and photographers in capacities is that I have not worked with before. Therefore, allowing me to broaden my horizons and take into new considerations when producing outcomes, the way in which something could be brought together through the benefit of collaboration.

Although I do believe this module has shown me the way in which handling 10 briefs alongside two other modules, can be challenging due to the considerations that need to be taken into account. Challenges can be found in terms of being able to meet collaboration deadlines, and therefore having to make changes in priorities around other brace which also may require your attention. This was combated within my submission by completing nine briefs instead of 10, allowing me to have more time to focus on creating polished and finished outcomes for the nine completed briefs rather than rushing and not meeting the brief to its full potential. I also believe there's been a sense of miscommunication between some aspects of the module itself, for example being at the end of second year to find work experience over summer, which I did in order to avoid having to take time out of this extremely busy period of my university career. Once it has been completed and I returned to university I was then told this did not count as it was not in the second term of the University time, yet when this was questioned due to struggles with time management we were told that we should have done over summer completely contradicting had previous information. Although I do believe this really pushed me to learn to work efficiently in order to balance the number of presales completing and also complete a satisfactory amount of industry engagement.

I also believe that challenges were met with this brief in terms of lack of access to facilities within the University building, due to new regulations printing is only available two weeks before the actual slot you wish to book, this lot cannot be booked unless you inform the print room of what exactly will be printed. Due to the fact that some collaborations don't allow the time to be able to have the final outcome finalised, due to waiting on aspects from other collaborators, it makes it difficult to be able to work to this timescale and therefore some production aspects need to be taken externally. Not only does this incur a higher cost towards the module as a whole, but also can incur complications with printing, which in the turnaround time cannot be redone due to the limitations.

It was evident to me within this module as well due to the number of briefs that were being completed and the way in which we have been taught to approach each brief, the amount of theoretical writing needed to be up to justify design was hard to handle. The way in which we've been taught to approach design with a large amount of theoretical basis I also believe takes away from the creative process, this is something that was highlighted to me during my engagement to industry where both studios noted to myself that I was over explaining creative decisions rather than moving forward in a creative manner. Once again I think this could been combated by being notified of the fact that 10 briefs actually were not necessary, as we were told at the beginning of the brief, allowing me more time on briefs to be able to extend my creative practice rather than worrying about whether or not it would affect another.

Overall it went back and redid the module I would stick tight at a time plans, with the knowledge that 10 briefs were not needed from the beginning, rather a smaller amount of higher quality briefs which was not made evident until nearer towards the time of submission, when majority of the briefs had already began.

Overarchingly I am pleased with this mission and the standard of all of the outcomes of which I have created, I believe each of them have met the brief and any complications which they met along the way have been dealt with in a professional manner. Therefore, helping me develop as a designer and a professional ready to be able to enter the industry at a level of confidence and belief in the skill sets that I have developed over my time not only with this module but also my time as a whole completing studio practice development. I believe that my statement of intent has been met in terms of allowing me to explore a multitude of branding techniques within a live brief environment. I was also able to explore new specialisms within design itself through the use of collaborations such as animation, allowing me to gain an understanding of where my strengths lie in the way in which I can use them to be able to give myself the best opportunity present my work within the best light. Through the use of industry experience and also the studio briefs completed it is influenced my decision to move away from agency work as a designer, I feel as if my design is more suited within a commercial setting. This is due to the fact that the briefs I completed, the ones I more enjoyed creating an engaged with on a deeper level with those setting the style as if they were presented to me on a commercial basis from a client, due to the creative exploration that I can have within the needs of a brief.

Engagement with industry - Agency Forty

Agency Name: Agency Forty

Time spent at the agency: 10 Working Days

Level: Intern

My second studio agency experience which allowed me to work again to work on live briefs from the first day, completing an entire concept and design process for a web redesign for one of the U.K.'s largest insurance broker providers. Which was later refined with the team and presented to the client. Throughout the experience I received strong feedback on all of my actions, allowing me to improve myself in the way I approach a designer library for the client. I was allowed more time to myself to be able to process designs and research stages in order to provide myself with the capability to be able to do such a brief within industry.

The outcomes of which can be found on the USB as part of this submission rather than on blogs due to the nature of the briefs still being live.

Reference:

Callum O’Reilly attended Agency Forty for a two week period between 8^th – 19^th April 2019 during which time he worked alongside the team on ‘live’ briefs including web design and packaging projects.
 Callum worked well in an agency environment, interacting with the team offering good creative input which he was able to support with a considered rational.
 He was at all times punctual, professional, with a good work ethic and would be an asset to any creative agency.

Reference

Activities whilst on placement:

Work on a body of research and design process for a live brief. 

Communicate and work with the team and towards refinement and process the brief ready for pitching.

Creatively contribute to up and coming projects. 

Engagement with industry form:

Engagement with industry - Impression

Agency Name: We Are Impression

Time spent at the agency: 10 Working Days

Level: Intern

As we were told in the second term of 2nd year, we would need to complete a minimum of two weeks work experience over 3rd year in order to pass PPP module, and begin to engage with the industry in a professional manner, the opportunity would also allow us to experience an element of the industry that we may want to work in, through getting this extra experience, we may be able to determine if that part of the industry is right for us.

After e-mailing back and forth with quite a few companies, I managed to get in touch with Impression Digital Marketing. They are an award-winning digital marketing agency based in Harrogate. They specialise in growing brands through creative thinking and a digital-first approach to marketing. As my practice in the second year had begun to explore web design and UX/UI design, I felt it the experience to be hands-on learning design from an agency of such calibre would be an invaluable experience I had to take up. 

Initial Contact:

Initial e-mail

Reply

Week One:

rebuilding david wallobourhg

autumn campaign estate agents

wireframing whitetail gin

Week Two:

Pure skin lab

northern energy

the ice co

Statement Post Internship: Charlie the CEO of the business asked me to create a statement that could be posted to the website, alongside a blog post about my time with the company 

As I was entering my third and final year at Leeds Arts University, I wanted to begin to find my place in the industry, so I went on a mission to find a successful agency to get a taste of agency life.

Impression gave me the opportunity to do just this. Unlike other internships and experience, you may find at this level, I was taken into the agency on an equal level, allowing me to truly see the industry I am about to enter. Across two weeks I worked on a plethora of briefs that gave me an insight into design for the print, web. I worked on everything from wireframe planning, to rolling out an advertising campaign to completion, from planning stages. As part of working on these briefs, I was included in the communications with clients, allowing me to see how to overcome any obstacles with clients; including being invited to client meetings. The experience didn’t only expand my skills as a designer but opened my eyes to how an agency can run successfully in a productive environment.

The process of working at Impression is massively based on collaboration, it's made me more professional and given me the sense of direction I will continue aim towards. It was so beneficial to be able to work closely with strategists, planners, designers, developers on a face to face level, through the process of each brief. This gave me the confidence to be able to approach others in the industry to work with them and unlock the potential of my design work and give the client the best outcome possible.

I most enjoyed the close-knit sense of working alongside others in the agency, it showed me that agency life doesn’t need to be boring, quite the opposite! You can work at the top of your game, working in a fun environment that enhances the whole experience.

I couldn’t have asked for a better experience then my time at Impression, it led to a massive boost in confidence in my own work, as well as some freelance work; working on some projects I started at Impression. Impression has let me walk into my third year with the drive and ambition to become part of the industry in a place that I feel as productive and happy as I did at Impression.

Reference from CEO:

Callum was a delight to have with us at Impression. His creativity & passion for design shone through and he was an asset to the team during his time here. We throw him in at the deep end working on some live client projects and the work he produced was to a good standard. I hope we can do more with Callum in the future as he’s got a bright future ahead of him!

Feedback E-Mail

Engagment with industry form:

Engagement with industry - Studio Moross

Portfolio Crit Tickets

These will be hour group sessions (12 people per group) on a Friday afternoon where you can get some real tangible advice on your portfolio, as well as meeting other people!Please come prepared with your digital portfolio (10 projects maximum) on a USB stick that is Mac compatible. Your work will be shown on a projector and you'll receive feedback from Kate our Director, and the rest of the group.

 After coming across the opportunity to be able to get portfolio credit with studio moross, I jumped at the opportunity due to the fact that they are a studio I highly regard, and she also influences my work.

Unfortunately, 40 I went to the website the portfolio session had sold out due to the limited amount of spaces for third year to be able to gain feedback. Although due to the fact that I was very passionate about this opportunity I decided to email the studio as can be seen below in figure 1. I had a reply from the studio saying I'd be put on a waiting list and notified if a place became available. Gratefully received a further email telling me a place had been made available, therefore I booked my ticket and travel to London to be able to have my portfolio critiqued.

Figure 1

I found the overall experience extremely valuable, within the day it enabled me to brush up on my skills and the way in which I present my work in a professional manner to an entirely new crowd, that I know nothing about. The experience allowed me to also gain an understanding of the way in which other people who were entering the industry at the same time are presenting their work.

Feedback was given on both positives and negatives of each portfolio, allowing for me to learn from creative criticism on the way in which upset my work to be able to get across in the best possible light. After the event itself we were able to network with each other allowing me to gain further links within the industry, and keep in touch with people's portfolios I found an interest in.

Crit Notes

Crit Notes 2

Engagement with industry form:

OUGD603 - Overall Bibliography of Research Sources

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/design-style-guide.pdf

http://invisibledisabilitiesuk.weebly.com

http://www.universityfox.com/stories/teen-found-note-windshield-left-tears/?utm_campaign=UF%20Teen%20Windshield%20N9%20NoaR%20Dup31NoaRR%20NLP%20En%20-%20Desktop%20GBR%20TW&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=WC

https://invisibledisabilities.org/what-is-an-invisible-disability/

https://medium.com/@glennf/that-london-tube-typeface-look-again-8beaf0d89abb

https://metro.co.uk/2015/05/06/being-fat-and-ugly-isnt-a-disability-note-why-we-need-to-raise-awareness-of-invisible-disabilities-5182482/

https://metro.co.uk/2018/06/20/disabled-woman-fighting-make-commuters-look-london-underground-7647740/

https://mymodernmet.com/gorgeously-surreal-fashion-photography/

https://new.twopoints.net

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/invisible-disabilities/id1353826135?i=1000421951122

https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/please-offer-me-a-seat

https://thetab.com/uk/manchester/2018/10/20/student-in-need-of-a-condom-posts-on-fsg-and-has-one-delivered-to-his-door-37709

https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Fashion-Photography-Tim-Blanks/dp/3791347918

https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zsfgr82/revision/4

https://www.change.org/p/transport-for-london-get-tfl-to-add-look-up-does-someone-need-your-seat-to-their-announcements-lookup

https://www.columnfivemedia.com/how-to-create-a-brand-identity

https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2018/art-direction/26647/iphone-people-talking-pixel-2/

https://www.facebook.com/WiMCityUni/

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/blue-badge-scheme-extended-hidden-disabilities-mental-health-explained-a8469511.html

https://www.instagram.com/amy.eliza.photography/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/laugraphicdes/

https://www.instagram.com/thepureapp/

https://www.made.com

https://www.marimekko.com/eu_en/

https://www.monotype.com/resources/case-studies/introducing-johnston100-the-language-of-london/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/callumoreilly19/abi-curtis/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/callumoreilly19/creative-conversations/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/callumoreilly19/fashion-publication/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/callumoreilly19/invisible-disabilities/

https://www.ranker.com/list/condom-horror-stories/mike-rothschild

https://www.scope.org.uk

https://www.split.co.uk

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/11/fifth-16-24-year-olds-spend-seven-hours-day-online-every-day/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/11/disabilities-are-not-always-obvious-dont-judge-us-without-knowing-the-full-story

https://youtu.be/4qKoOEkjcRo

https://youtu.be/Dlgm4tg0Kc8

https://youtu.be/kDP8ZSTWoX8

https://youtu.be/O_xEBMuejdw

https://youtu.be/UJJhL7BLxjo

https://youtu.be/YH3XWO9C4YU

https://youtu.be/YwBn9Cy4knM

OUGD603 - Time Management

Overall Time Plan:

In order to keep time management due to the amount of brace that we had running at the same time, I created initial time management chart to which I could tick off different hats which needed doing for the project.

Through doing this it gave a visual representation of my progress as well and also helped motivate me towards ensuring deadlines were met.

As can be seen below I had an initial time plan which shows the initial brace I was thinking about doing, this developed over time once the Bruce I actually did come into play. What can be seen below, is the final time plan which was completed with the outcomes and signboards for this module.

Initial Time Plan

Final Time Plan

Individual Time Plan Examples:

Once again due to the sheer amount of work that was required for this module smaller time plants were also created in order to keep on top of the workload and ensure that all deadlines were met efficiently.

This is due to the fact that within the industry and when working with large clients we are expected to deliver on professionalism in this way. Due to the amount of the briefs I undertook being alive and working with external clients are ensured to do this as much as possible. Examples of such can be seen below:

Brut Time Plan

Creative Convo's Time Plan

Durex Time Plan