Saturday 29 April 2017

OUGD602 Manifesto (Brief One)

From what I have learnt over the past three years, I decided to make a short manifesto in the style of a haiku poem for do's and don'ts for myself to follow, and to put on my website so that people will know what I stand for.

I chose to write it in the form of a Haiku poem as it makes it a lot easier to remember due to the rhyming nature. The manifesto is below.


Thursday 27 April 2017

OUGD602 Presentation Review (Brief Two)

Today I did my presentation. I started off really nervous and was a bit all over the place with my words, however after a minute I relaxed into it a lot more and I think it went really well. I managed to say everything that I had planned on speaking about due to using a script, however I tried to not just completely read off it.

When I had previously practiced the presentation it lasted around 7 minutes and 30 seconds, which is spot on as we were supposed to leave 3 minutes for questions, however I'm not sure how long it lasted in the end due to the fact that when I am nervous I speak a lot quicker than I usually would.

I think my presentation was quite interesting, and I tried to make it more engaging by using bright colours and speaking about multiple different aspects of my development instead of just internships and studio visits.

Tuesday 25 April 2017

OUGD602 Script for Presentation (Brief Two)

Slide 1: Hello. This is my ppp presentation about how I have engaged with the graphic design industry this year, and how I have developed my self promotional materials.


Slide 2: These are my logo developments over the last three years. I changed my logo design from last year only very slightly, as I thought it was successful, however when scaling for web it lost a lot of quality - for this reason I simplified it. This has worked in my favour as it’s a lot more sleek and minimal and really gets across what my design style is all about.


Slide 3: So last year I discussed how I had made a professional twitter account, however having barely used it I have decided to use my personal twitter account instead. This means I have been a lot more careful about what I put out into the world.


I have also started trying to use Linkedin this year, however it has been quite unsuccessful as I’m still not entirely sure how to use it efficiently. This is something I am going to change once all three modules have been handed in.


I still keep my professional tumblr updated with all of my most recent work, as I find this is great self-promotion as hashtags can be used, however I have also created and kept a Behance up to date as it’s a lot more professional than a Tumblr, and it is great for sharing collaborative work.


Slide 4: As well as a Behance, I decided it was time to create a website. I created this with squarespace as it was the easiest website to use that I tried out, and they also make it affordable for students.


Slide 5: These are my business cards. I kept them black and white as I feel as though these colours represent my design work best. I am going to get them professionally printed and spray paint the edges a bright colour, as I always showcase my work on bright colours to make it really stand out.


Slide 6: So to contact studios this year I started off emailing. I must’ve sent around twenty emails and only heard three responses, one of them negative. So instead of emailing I thought it would be better to call. This turned out really well, as I managed to get a Skype call and two studio visits out of this.


Slide 7: One of the studios that got back to me over email was FoxDuo, a studio based in Bradford. I did a week long internship here, and it went really well. It was a learning curve as I learnt that working in a creative hub is really great, however working in a very small studio isn’t really for me as there wasn’t a whole lot for me to do over the week and I found that quite tedious.


Slide 8: Myself and Cameron had a Skype call with Hungry Sandwich Club which was really interesting and we found out a lot about all three members. The main that this taught me was that if I were to start a studio of my own, the biggest challenge is going to be getting a steady stream of work for the first couple of months.
Slide 9: Myself and Cameron called up Saul studios and ended up going for a studio visit with the creative director, Dan. This particular visit was really interesting as he works from home, and he told us that he feels as though he is often left out from the group work that takes part in creative hubs, so he often keeps in contact with people within Duke Studios and asks for help with specific projects, for example Hungry Sandwich Club are currently coding a website for him.


Slide 10: I also had the opportunity to go to Catalogue in Leeds which was really great as I adore their work and aspire to work in a studio similar once I graduate. One thing that stuck with me from this particular visit was the fact that there is potential to travel - one of the members has moved to New York and the other resides in Leeds. It’s great as I would love to travel, however often worry about money.


Slide 11: I’ve also been for a chat with Oslo and they have said that I can have an internship once I finish uni, which should be really fun.


Slide 12: So this is my portfolio from first and second year. In first year I found out that I really enjoyed publication design and I experimented a lot with this in second year.


Slide 13: In third year, however, I have been trying to push myself to vary my portfolio. I have focused mainly on publication design, branding and design for print, as these are my main interests within graphic design and what I want to focus on once I graduate.


Slide 14: I have created a .PDF portfolio with my favourite work in, having read that only your best work should be included in the portfolio, the scale of the portfolio has been cut back a lot. However, I have tried to get a varied set of skills within it, for example icon design, poster design, publication design, branding etc. I’ve also made sure that all the work in my portfolio is concept-driven.


Slide 15: I’ve also created a creative CV. This is really bright and colourful on the outside to grab the viewers attention, however the inside is toned back and showcases my work and CV. I thought it would be beneficial including a small glimpse into my portfolio along with my CV as it gives the viewer a better idea of what I’m capable of.


Slide 16: I found DBA really useful as I got an insight into what industry feedback is really like. Overall, however, they were really surprised by my groups work as it was very concept-driven and quite abstract compared to a lot of the other entries.


Slide 17: My experience at Leeds College of Art has been really positive and I definitely feel a lot more prepared to start a creative job than I felt after leaving Art Foundation. I’ve found it really challenging, which I think is a good thing as it has pushed me to create bigger, bolder and better designs.


Slide 18: My plan for the rest of the year, assuming I haven’t already got a job, is to go back to Warrington and keep applying for creative jobs in Leeds, as it’s the place I want to be. I’m hoping to be moving back in October, before graduation.

Monday 24 April 2017

OUGD602 Creative Report: Studio Visits & More (Brief Two)

After interviewing three studios, one by Skype and the others in person, I thought it would be useful to put these into a creative report. This will be useful as I can possibly send it to the studios as a sort of thank you, and it will remind them that I still exist if they have already forgotten. To do this, I thought the best method would be to recreate my favourite design of theirs in my own style, and then add the interview on the back. This could then work as a poster design for them to put on their studio wall. 

Below is the poster I designed for Saul Studio. To do this, I recreated the promotion material that Dan made for Colours May Vary, but in my own style. I then added the interview on the back, and I also added my own logo design as well as Saul's, as I left him with a business card so this will jog his memory.


The next was designed for Hungry Sandwich Club. I decided to keep the design very simple as I am not used to making the illustrations that Hungry Sandwich Club create. I decided to just create a small flag that says the word 'hello' on. This wasn't based on a specific design of Hungry Sandwich Club, just their style as a whole. I then typeset the interview onto the back of the poster.


And finally, I created a poster design based on the artwork that Catalogue creates. This particular design is based on the poster 'Friends are friends is friends our homies'. It was a very simple design to create however I really love the poster design from Catalogue. I then typeset the interview onto the back.


I am going to send these poster designs to the studios as a thank you for taking the time out to let me come see their studio and ask them some questions.

OUGD602 Presentation (Brief Two)




















OUGD602 Creative Report: My Internship Experience (Brief Two)

Here's is the publication that I created detailing what I did on my internship and some of the work that I created. 













Friday 21 April 2017

OUGD602 Duo Cancellation (Brief Two)

Unfortunately, Cameron has just received an email from Duo saying they are going to have to cancel due to even more people asking for studio visits from our course. Instead, however, they said that they are going to contact the university and try to come in to present to us all as a group. This is disappointing, but also not the end of the world, as there is still an opportunity to see them and ask them some questions.




OUGD602 Studio Visit at Catalogue (Brief Two)

How did you afford to start a studio after you graduated from LCA?

We did a lot of small budget projects and free work for friends and family and really relied on word of mouth for projects. For example, we had a friend that was a hairdresser and wanted a logo creating. He said we could work from the office above there if we branded it for him, we were lucky really. We just kept trying to put our names out there to get projects, that's the best way to stay relevant in the graphic design industry.

How did you deal with money when starting out in the industry?

When we first set up, I was super anal about keeping track of the money going in and out of the business. I literally wrote every single transaction down in a big red book - I wouldn't advise this. Definitely do it digitally. We also did everything we could on a budget - we lived in a really cheap shared house, cycled to work, tried to not socialise as much and so on. As the first year passed, we decided to use an online service to manage our costings and tax and all of that other stuff. It was all a learning curve and I wouldn't say that we have perfected anything yet. We're still learning how to be as efficient as we can whilst not going completely insane.

How do you manage with your partners operating in NYC and London?

It actually works out really nicely. I'm able to work for the majority of the afternoon into the evening on a project and then send it over to Ollie in New York, where he will only just be waking up as I'm finishing off my day. It's like an endless loop of productivity that tends to run smoothly if we are both being as organised as possible. Sometimes, however, I do feel cabin fever and a little lonely working here on my own all the time, but there are plenty of other people in the building who keep me occupied.

Do you think business cards are still relevant for creatives?

An interesting question. My concise response would be yes, especially if you are looking to butter up a client or leave a lasting impression. I think personal branding is highly important especially if you are hoping to work for yourself or go freelance. Branding yourself is what can usually get you work. If you going into a studio and want to be working as part of the team, then personal branding can sometimes give off the wrong impression. People might think that you are trying too hard to produce yourself, which can be counterproductive in a collaborative environment.

It's also important to fill your portfolio with live briefs - that have real world value and mean something worth talking about. It's true that there is more to life than graphic design, and design about design can be pretty mundane. It's about finding the right balance between producing work you really love and work that could function in a commercial setting.

How do you view the creative scene in Leeds?

It's thriving, but it's often below the surface. There are plenty of amazing things going on in Leeds, which can seem intimidating and difficult to get a foot in the door. I would say that the creative scene is far more accessible here than in London or even Manchester. Leeds is a friendly place so I would say that starting out a design career here would be a lot more fun than in a massive capital city.

What is your advice for someone looking to get into editorial design?

Just make your own publications. You would be amazed where self-directed briefs can take you. Library Paper Magazine, for example, is basically just a printed version of the design blog that we started at Leeds College of Art. That has taken us really far and is now internationally recognised by a number of art specialist book stores. Just make stuff that excites you and you're passionate about, it should spark excitement and interest in others.

Wednesday 19 April 2017

OUGD602 Studio Visit at Saul Studios (Brief Two)

How to you get a steady stream of projects?

You need to go to every event, exhibition and gallery. By putting yourself out there you will meet clients. You can build up your clientele this way; by a client recommending you to another and so on and so forth. As I'm self-employed, I would say that I'm at a disadvantage as I'm not in a creative hub like at Duke Studio where people often collaborate with one another. Working from home is a lot different, but I try to keep in contact with people at Duke and get help on my own projects, for instance Hungry Sandwich Club are currently coding me a website.

How do you decide what you charge?

It depends on what the project itself is and who the client is. It's finding the balance in terms of their budget and the time I will spend on the project to complete it. I've done multiple projects for free which isn't a great habit to get into. Once you find a steady stream of work, pricing generally becomes a lot easier. I also think ahead and try to create other outcomes for the project - If I'm doing a branding project and the client only wants a logo, I will suggest other areas that the logo could appear, such as tote bags, beer mats etc.

How do you manage your time with you working from home?

I wake up early and start the day by answering emails for an hour or so and then work up until and after lunch for several hours. I try to have a cut off time so that I don't spend my entire day working inside as that's repetitive. At the beginning I found it really difficult to draw the line between relaxing and doing work, but I realised how counter-productive this was and there needed to be a form of separation. It takes time to work out your design strategy.

What's your opinion on business cards? Do you think they're relevant or necessary in today's industry?

It's tough to say - it depends on the type of person using the business cards to promote themselves. I'm a believe in printed material so I personally would say that they are relevant. I really enjoy collecting business cards, purely for the beautiful designs. I've actually been thinking about designing a new set of cards for myself and getting them printed nicely as sort of an early Birthday present to myself.

What's your opinion on working for a studio straight after graduation?

It's great if you know that's what you want to do. I wanted to see if I could survive on my own after uni, so that's why I went freelance straight away. Studios are great places to work in especially if you want to stay relevant and keep up to date, however it isn't impossible to produce that style of work through working on your own. There's a certain level of isolation when you're in my position, but I personally thrive off it as I'm sort of a control freak. Working for yourself forces you to become your biggest promoter, constantly trying to get your name out there in the hope of finding work.

What do you think of the creative scene in Leeds?

It's an amazing city for creativity. It has an independent scene which is perfect for people like me who prefer to do things on their own grounds. If you're interested in editorial I would recommend going to London, however, as it's the place to be purely because there are a lot more opportunities down there. Having said that, however, there is no shortage of graphic design studios in Leeds and it's expanding all the time,  as more and more young people flock up here from London.

Tuesday 18 April 2017

OUGD602 Skype Call with Hungry Sandwich Club (Brief Two)

How long ago did you guys leave LCA?

three years ago, but it doesn't feel like that.

Does it feel like longer, or not?

Yeah it feels like way longer I think.

How did you guys manage to formulate The Hungry Sandwich Club and come together collectively to form your vision? 

So we pretty much did all of our projects together in third year, in fact we got in a bit of trouble with Amber really when we were about to submit our work because it was a lot more difficult to mark, which makes sense now but at the time didn't make much sense. We were searching for a placement like you and were trying to do it together and one idea we had was to send people a paper craft of their favourite sandwich - we thought asking for a placement was scary, but asking a studio what their favourite sandwich was was a lot easier. We were trying to get into Duke Studios and we used that project at Duke and we didn't get it, but that's why we have that name. We just kept that stupid name from that stupid project. We weren't ballsy really, a lot of people think that it seems really nerve-wrecking but I think we were more naive and stupid than ballsy. We just kept doing it.

How did James join the team?

So I joined you around a year ago and I came straight from an internship. I didn't go to LCA, in fact I didn't go to uni at all so I don't have degrees or qualifications. I luckily managed to get an internship at a design studio in Manchester called Raw design. I did a year long placement there which might be the longest placement anyone has ever done there. That gave me a leg up, and then I went straight into freelance. I hit Hungry Sandwich Club up asking if they needed any freelance work and they said to come in for a chat - they brought me on for one project, so I did a month with them and said goodbye. And a month later they contacted me saying they have another job that they want to get me in on so I came back, and they asked if I want a job. So the way to do it is to stay relevant, stay motivated and keep your name out there.

Our key thing for when people contact us is to know your research - if you can name them by their names it works a lot more. When James contacted us it was a very short email and very informal, however this wouldn't be appropriate for some other studios. Definitely do your research.

What inspires your creative process?

We get inspiration from anything and everything - cartoons, comics, video games. We try and stay relevant so we keep updated with whats going on in the world we work in. Watching what other people are doing. We draw inspiration from all sorts - I try to follow as many people as I can just to keep up to date with different styles.

What is your opinion on websites such as Behance?

It's really different for different people, because we do mostly motion work it's not really appropriate for us and we're really shit at photoshopping nice mock ups. Behance is very mock up heavy which can make your work look amazing. I know a lot of people that do really well off Behance and get a lot of job enquiries, but for us it's never really worked as there's a lot of time wasters who call up fishing for prices so that they can base their own prices on their work. It's a wicked world because you end up spending more time designing a project for Behance than you do designing the actual project. It's a weird fake world. We generally get more work through Instagram and Twitter as it's more accessible.

What's the biggest challenge you've faced in the industry?

Probably right now is the biggest challenge we're having. James is leaving us in a few weeks time and we're trying to replace him, whilst still working and manage the work that is coming in, and how the future of our business is looking. Our business might change direction a little, we don't know. The start is pretty tricky. You get a lot of hard clients that really do work you for all you're worth because you don't invoice the same amount of money when starting out so when you're making multiple amends, they start to take the piss when you're already working with a tiny amount of money. Once you've built up your portfolio people know exactly what to expect from you, so you start to attract the right kind of clients with the right amount of money.

What do you think is the best thing for me to do to get myself out there?

It's worth going to meet people because they end up giving you work. We did okay when we first started out because we'd already made loads of contacts in Leeds. We were helping out at Duke for free, we'd met the guys at CMV and Lee Goater. It definitely helped us hit the road running. Going to loads of events; such as at Village. It helps to get your face out there.

What did you display in your end of year show?

We had a theme and the theme was shape, everyone got given a shape and we got given circle, and that was the whole theme basically.

Are you guys hoping to come to see the show?

Yeah, we come every year so yes we'll definitely be there.

Thursday 13 April 2017

OUGD602 Duo Email & Response (Brief Two)

Unfortunately Duo didn't answer the phone, however Cameron left a voice message and also sent them an email. This is the response that he got.


This is a really great opportunity and it's great that Joel is also going as he might've thought of some questions that we haven't thought of.

OUGD602 Catalogue Email & Response (Brief Two)

My email:

Hello Tom!

My names Amelia Bramwell, a student at Leeds College of Art currently in my third year studying graphic design. I called you yesterday about coming for a studio visit and so I'm just dropping you an email with some information about myself and Cameron Wolfe, my course mate who I mentioned is coming with me to visit your studio. Cameron’s portfolio is attached as a .pdf.
Here’s a link to my portfolio:
We're super excited and really appreciate your time! See you next Friday!
Thank you!
Amelia Bramwell

Tom's response:

Hi Amelia, 

Thanks for shooting me an email, next Friday (21st) works fine for me if you’re ok to pop down around 10am I can show you the studio and if you want to bring any work down I’m happy to chat through it if that helps you guys.

Cheers

Tom Pratt
Catalogue Leeds

My email:

Hi Tom,

This sounds great, thank you we really appreciate you taking the time out to speak with us!
See you next Friday!

Amelia

As I previously said, I am super excited for this! I've admired Catalogue's work for some time now and it should be a great experience and chance to network with the guys there!

Tuesday 11 April 2017

OUGD602 Phone Call: Saul Studio (Brief Two)

Saul Studio didn't answer the phone, however Cameron left a message so we are hoping to hear back soon.

OUGD602 Hungry Sandwich Club Email & Response (Brief Two)

My email:

Hello Hungry Sandwich Club!

My names Amelia Bramwell, I'm a student at Leeds College of Art currently in my third year studying graphic design. I called you earlier today about possibly coming for a studio visit and you suggested it would be easier over Skype at some point next week so I'm just dropping you an email with some information about myself and Cameron Wolfe, my course mate who would be coming to visit also. Cameron’s portfolio is attached as a .pdf.
Here’s a link to my portfolio:
Let me know when's good for a Skype call! Myself and Cameron are free for the next two weeks so it just depends whenever you have a spare couple of minutes.
Hope to hear back from you soon! 
Thank you!
Amelia Bramwell

Their email:

Hey dude!

Yeah sorry about that, we're uber busy at the studio at the moment as we're actually looking for a new member of the sandwich team so it's pretty stressy :s 
Skype would be suuuuper good for us instead. 
 Can we say 17:30 on the 18th? 

Cheersssss,


Andy 

My response:

Hello,

No worries! Ooh good luck!!
Yes that sounds great! 

Thanks a lot, we really appreciate it!

Amelia


It's really nice of them to take some time out and answer some of our questions and I'm really looking forward to it!

OUGD602 The Archipelago Email & Response (Brief Two)

My email:

Hello The Archipelago!

My names Amelia Bramwell, a student at Leeds College of Art currently in my third year studying graphic design. I called you earlier today about possibly coming for a studio visit and so I'm just dropping you an email with some information about myself and Cameron Wolfe, my course mate who would be coming to visit also. Cameron’s portfolio is attached as a .pdf.
Here’s a link to my portfolio:
Let me know if it would be possible to come for a studio visit in the near future, and if not I will send over some questions for you to answer via email if you have time! 
Hope to hear back from you soon! 
Thank you!
Amelia Bramwell

P.S. Quick side note - The email address on the right-hand side of your website is cut off and only appears as studio@thearchipelago without the .eu - thought you might like to know!

Their email:

Hi Amelia,

Thanks for your call and email.

I had a quick look at your website folio and you've got some great pieces in there. I particularly like the cover design for The Elements of Typographic Style.

As I mentioned on the phone, we're a small studio of two and are currently very busy with client projects. We're also away on holiday from mid next week until w/c 24 April. If you'd like to get in touch at a later date I'll have a better idea of how we are fixed for a visit. At the present moment we're not able to offer visits due to our workload.

Thanks for the heads-up about the website email address. I'm not sure what's happened there but will sort it asap.

Best wishes,

Mike

It was really nice of him to reply, and to also compliment some of my work! I will definitely email him again in the near future about a possible studio visit, as this really interests me and their work is very inspiring.

OUGD602 Phone Call: Kris Howes (Brief Two)

The conversation was as follows:

Hello!

My name is Amelia Bramwell and I'm a third year graphic design student from Leeds College of Art. 

I'm really interested in the work you guys get up to and was wondering if it would be possible for myself and my course mate, Cameron Wolfe, to pop in for half an hour one day this week or next for a studio visit, to get a feel of what day to day life is like and to possibly ask a few questions?

Kris was really nice, however said he wouldn't really like us to come visit as he doesn't work in a creative space and said he is quite ashamed of his office. He did, however, say that he would be happy to answer some questions over email, so I will send some his way.

OUGD602 Phone Call: Outside The Box (Brief Two)

My opening lines were:

Hello!

My name is Amelia Bramwell and I'm a third year graphic design student from Leeds College of Art. 

I'm really interested in the work you guys get up to and was wondering if it would be possible for myself and my course mate, Cameron Wolfe, to pop in for half an hour one day this week or next for a studio visit, to get a feel of what day to day life is like and to possibly ask a few questions?

The lady that answered said that the best way to get in contact is to email them, so I will send an email now. I have previously emailed them, however, so I'm not very hopeful that I will get a response.

OUGD602 Phone Call: Journal (Brief Two)

This is how the phone call went:

Hello!

My name is Cameron Wolfe and I'm a third year graphic design student from Leeds College of Art. 

I'm really interested in the work you guys get up to and was wondering if it would be possible for myself and my course mate, Amelia Bramwell, to pop in for half an hour one day this week or next for a studio visit, to get a feel of what day to day life is like and to possibly ask a few questions?

Unfortunately, Journal are too busy to let us come for a studio visit, however they said to send over our portfolios and they will have a look at them which is really great of them!

OUGD602 Phone Call: Catalogue (Brief Two)

This is how I started the conversation;

Hello!

My name is Amelia Bramwell and I'm a third year graphic design student from Leeds College of Art. 

I'm really interested in the work you guys get up to and was wondering if it would be possible for myself and my course mate, Cameron Wolfe, to pop in for half an hour one day this week or next for a studio visit, to get a feel of what day to day life is like and to possibly ask a few questions?

I spoke to Tom on the phone and he said that we can both come for a chat the following Friday. This is a huge deal! I absolutely adore the work of Catalogue and can't believe they're going to let us come see their studio. He said to send an email to confirm a time, so I will send this now.

OUGD602 Phone Call: Duo (Brief Two)

We didn't actually manage to get through on the phone to Duo, however Cameron left them a message so we will have to see how that turns out.


OUGD602 Phone Call: Hypergram (Brief Two)

This is how I started the conversation:

Hello!

My name is Amelia Bramwell and I'm a third year graphic design student from Leeds College of Art. 

I'm really interested in the work you guys get up to and was wondering if it would be possible for myself and my course mate, Cameron Wolfe, to pop in for half an hour one day this week or next for a studio visit, to get a feel of what day to day life is like and to possibly ask a few questions?

They were really nice on the phone, however unfortunately were moving studios so they were too busy to let us come for a studio visit. I will send them an email to try to keep in contact, however.

OUGD602 Phone Call: Golden (Brief Two)

This is how Cameron started the phone call:

Hello!

My name is Cameron Wolfe and I'm a third year graphic design student from Leeds College of Art. 

I'm really interested in the work you guys get up to and was wondering if it would be possible for myself and my course mate, Amelia Bramwell, to pop in for half an hour one day this week or next for a studio visit, to get a feel of what day to day life is like and to possibly ask a few questions?

It was another very awkward phone call, and he was very stand-offish. He said 'why would you come for a studio visit? You wouldn't go to a bank and ask to have a look around'. It was just a very awkward conversation, and if that's the attitude of the studio I'm not sure I would like to work there anyway.

OUGD602 Phone Call: The Archipelago (Brief Two)

This is how I started the phone call:

Hello!

My name is Amelia Bramwell and I'm a third year graphic design student from Leeds College of Art. 

I'm really interested in the work you guys get up to and was wondering if it would be possible for myself and my course mate, Cameron Wolfe, to pop in for half an hour one day this week or next for a studio visit, to get a feel of what day to day life is like and to possibly ask a few questions?

The guy that answered seemed really nice and approachable, however he said unfortunately they couldn't let us come for a visit as they were really busy. They said they were away on holiday until the 24th and that it is a small studio of two so they were too busy to let us come visit. They said to send an email and keep in touch, so I will do this.

OUGD602 Phone Call: Build (Brief Two)

This is how Cameron started his phone call with build.

Hello!

My name is Cameron Wolfe and I'm a third year graphic design student from Leeds College of Art. 

I'm really interested in the work you guys get up to and was wondering if it would be possible for myself and my course mate, Amelia Bramwell, to pop in for half an hour one day this week or next for a studio visit, to get a feel of what day to day life is like and to possibly ask a few questions?

It wasn't the most pleasant phone call - it cut off randomly, and the woman didn't really seem keen in letting us come for a studio visit. She suggested we email them anyway, so we thought that would be best as it wasn't coming across very clear what we wanted to do and why we wanted to visit.

Monday 10 April 2017

OUGD602 Phone Call: Hungry Sandwich Club (Brief Two)

I wrote a rough script of what to mention on the phone, this is below:

Hello!

My name is Amelia Bramwell and I'm a third year graphic design student from Leeds College of Art. 

I'm really interested in the work you guys get up to and was wondering if it would be possible for myself and my course mate, Cameron Wolfe, to pop in for half an hour one day this week or next for a studio visit, to get a feel of what day to day life is like and to possibly ask a few questions?

They said that they can't really do a studio visit as they're super busy at the moment, however they said they would be happy to do a Skype call where we can ask them some questions, and to email them about it.

This has made me really excited as I'd love to pick their brains about graphic design and how they started up their studio.

Sunday 9 April 2017

OUGD602 Kris Howes (Brief Two)

Kris Howes is another designer that me and Cameron found when looking into studios based around Hyde Park. He is a graphic designer however his work is very illustrative and very different to a lot of design I have seen. Some of his style is very similar to The Hungry Sandwich Club, and then he also creates a lot of info graphics.



OUGD602 Saul Studio (Brief Two)

Saul Studio is a studio that myself and Cameron both came across whilst looking for studios based in the Hyde Park / Headingley area. I had always wondered who had designed the collateral for Colours May Vary so it was really surprising to come across this studio and find out that it's a studio ran from home. I think it would be really interesting to find out what's it's like having your own studio based at home and I would love to ask the owner some questions.



OUGD602 Hypergram (Brief Two)

Hypergram is an agency based in Leeds. Their style of work is really modern and the typefaces that they use are really nice. They often use quite dull colours, however they print with different methods which really makes their work stand out, for example, (image 2) is printed using a gold coil for the type. 



OUGD602 Journal (Brief Two)

Journal is another design studio that primarily focuses on editorial design and publication. This is another design studio that focuses on really slick layouts to make aesthetically pleasing designs. Their publications vary in style; some are very modernist, and others are in a very contemporary style. They often use pastel colours or very offset photographs; the tone of their work is very modern.



OUGD602 The Archipelago (Brief Two)

The Archipelago is another design studio based in Leeds. I found out about this studio after reading about their curated space 'The Plant Room' online. I really like their style of design - it's very modern, however has an element of illustration and cleanliness which I really enjoy. They also use pastel colours which really makes their work stand out from other studios.