YCN; Final design boards.

YCN; Final crit.

At this crit we had to lay out all the work we had so far for the brief and go around the table in three partners writing feedback for each collaborative group. The work we left was the three intial concept board ideas so we could get a little bit of feedback. Before we began the crit we had to come up with five questions we wanted feedback on in particular. A lot of our questions revolved around the exhibition proposal as this was the one thing holding our brief together in terms of concept. We wanted to make sure we were doing everything possible to make this a really good idea. We also had concerns about the legality of using the floorplans so wanted to know if this was ok. Once we'd given feedback to the other two partnerships we were given the opportunity to present our ideas and ask any questions about the feedback. All of our questions were answered on the sheets and were extended when we sat down to discuss feedback. As with the last crit a lot of the feedback was really positive but some of the suggestions for us to take the work further were very much welcomed as they were good ideas we could really work with. The one comment we really had to consider was the fact that instead of having other peoples work on our boards we should utilise this space and make sure each board contains our own work, fedrigoni will want to see as many ideas as possible in order to understand our concept. It was reccommended that at least one board contains a detailed description of exactly what our exhibition entails because when we presented and spoke about our ideas we communicated this really well and everyone really liked the ideas, but when they looked at the boards it didn't seem to communicate. 

After the crit we knew exactly what we had to do to make our concept even better. We had a better idea of things we would propose and things we would actually mock up and knew that once this was done we had to focus on creating our boards so that they represented our idea as clearly as possible with a lot of visuals. We used the action plans on the back of the sheets so we could manage our workload and work out what we had to do in the week or so we have left. This has been the most useful crit overall because it has really clarified our ideas and the feedback we were given was really useful and very well considered. 

YCN; Intial design boards.

These were the intial design boards that we came up with for our final crit. We had, the concept/problem, collaboration, and the exhibition because these were the elements we had secure at this stage. The concept board imagery was more for the purpose of the university module submission because tutors would need to know what the imaginative colour tool would look like but if we were to submit this design to YCN we would exchange these images for the logo we have created. We wanted to try and tailor the boards so they would fit both submissions. The collaboration with the ink company is also a main aspect of our brief because this makes the concept as it revolves around ink. Although the images are not our own, it shows and understanding of what can be done with ink in terms of design. The exhibition venue is a huge part too because without this there would be no exhibition and due to the fact we'd actually been able to get hold of the floor plans we could communicate these ideas properly. Each board inclues a small explination of what our ideas are/what we are trying to communicate through them. 

PPD workshop two; samples of work.

Why do you need samples of work//why would you send samples of work? 
- A summary of your design approach
- An understanding of your interests
- To represent your 'specialisms' within your design practice
- A representation of your conceptual development and creative thinking 
- Shows your software skills
- Demonstrates your skills and capabilties
- To showcase how you and your design practice would suit their studio/company
- To promote yourself
- Demonstrate/showcases the personality of both yourself and your work; sense of humour, interests etc


WHY? 
- To gain studio visits
- Feedback
- Industry/work placement
- Networking and visibility
- To promote yourself


What would you actually send? 
- Design boards; shows development and the process you go through
- Dvd of moving image work/disc of digital work/issuu document
- Evidence of collaborative briefs and live briefs
- Evidence of the areas of interest you have written in your CV; demonstrate skill set
- Work that shows what you can add to their company
- Favourite final pieces 
- Work that reflects your interest and personality
- Physical examples of work for print company
- PDF of work for emailing
- Depends on who you're sending it to
- Freelance work


How could samples of work be sent and recieved? 
- Royal mail
- Special delivery 
- Hand delivered 
- Via email 
- Boards
- Swatch books
- Issuu/PDF documents 
- Dvds/cds
- Printed portfolios/books
- Links to websites 
- Interactive media; motion graphics
- In a presentation (digital and print) 
- Face-to-face meeting/delivery


What problems may occur? 
- It could get lost in the post
- The cost of post
- Size of the file you are sending
- The file could become corrupt
- Quality of the file 
- Items sent by post could get damaged
- Making sure the contact details are correct so it gets to the right person
- Copyright
- Quality of photographs
- Confidence


Other notes from class discussion...
Why do we send samples of work? 
- To demonstrate skills
- Show what you have to offer
- Showcase your work
- Showcase your personality
- Prove your CV content 
- Demonstrate professional knowledge 
- Show project management skills
- Demonstrate problem analysis and problem solving 
- Show your ability to collaborate
- Communicate what makes you unique


What would you actually send? 
- Collaborative work
- Live briefs
- Competition briefs
- Concept development; presentation boards, sketchbooks, blogs, storyboards 
- Technical processes 
- High quality resolutions
- Self initiated work


How could samples be sent and recieved? 
- Fed Ex 
- Digital showreel 
- Skype
- Face time
- Event invitations; trade events, D&AD, end of year shows, book fairs, pop up shops
- Online resources; blogs, Issuu, Behance, Flickr, Etsy
- Email; PDF's and links to online resources
- Websites
- Royal mail; letter, mail show, prints, discs, USB, gifts, publications
- Local press
- Networking


What problems may occur? 
- Things can be deleted from USBs 
- Files could contain a virus
- Post may get there then fall behind a cabinet 
- Files might not be the right format 
- Spam filters may block things you send
- If it's online it might be 100 pages in to a particular website
- How do you know people aren't taking your work from the internet? 
- As soon as you send something you lose control of it. 

YCN; crit two.

This is the crit within which we presented our concept boards. Before we began this crit we had to come up with three specific things we wanted feedback on by asking questions. This was so that we could get the feedback we were really looking for and so that it would useful. The main question was just to do with whether we had a good concept and this was most important because this is the aspect that would shape our whole project. A lot of the aspects that were brought up in terms of the feedback were things that we had already covered but maybe we hadn't explained these whilst we were presenting our work but at least this shows we are covering all areas of our brief. Most of the feedback was quite positive and gave us pointers of where we can gather further research. Although answers to our questions can't be seen on the sheets, we did get the feedback we were looking for verbally through feedback discussion after the crit. The concept is suitable for the brief and could be really creative if we take it in the right direction. 

Enterprise & innovation; end of module self-evaluation.

1. What skills have you developed throughout this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?  
I have developed a number of skills throughout this module. One of the first and main skills has been collaboration/group work and this has been applied effectively because we managed to produce all the elements needed for the module and presentation. Another factor that showed to effectiveness of this skill was the research we all did seperately because this was brough together to produce our business plan. Although the application of this skill wasn't constant throughout, we definitely managed to bring it together in the end. I have developed linear business skills throughout this module because I had to understand how setting up a business worked in terms of both the maths and proposal elements. These have been applied in the best way possible considering this is something I had no experience in previously, proof of the application of these skills has been shown throughout both the presentation and the business plan itself. Another skill I have developed throughout this module is my presentation ability. This has been applied very effectively because I said my equal part throughout our presentation in order to gain confidence and show my understanding of the work that we had produced. The final skill I have developed is a research skill because this informed the tasks I have completed for the module but also the business section of the module. This has been a huge part of the whole module because a lot of the elements were based on research and looking at what is already existing within the industry. This skill has definitely been applied successfully because I wouldn't have been able to finish the tasks or complete our business idea without the help of the research I found. 

2. What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? 
One of the approaches I have developed throughout this module is the idea of building a concept starting with one element and moving on to another in a certain order, for example, coming up with a company name and what we are about and then researching into these types of companies to inform the next stage. Without using this method of concept building the project would have never come together like it did because one thing has to be done before another as each element informs another and means we as a group could move on to the next stage of building our business. In a sense we also worked a bit backwards with this project because we came up with the name after we had thought about how we would like our design studio to be. This has actually benefitted us in the long run because the name was informed via the type of studio we were going to have 'upstairs downstairs'. The logo also came after everything else but this is something else that informed our design development process well because it meant we concentrated on the main and possibly most important elements of our project first and then thought about these elements which meant we could have a bit more fun with it because we weren't worrying about everything else. I learnt that its sometimes better to work backwards because certain decisions inform others and its important that parts of projects are prioritised over others depending on how time consuming they may be. 

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? 
The research element has definitely been a huge strength throughout this module because it has informed many decisions throughout the tasks and also within our business idea. In future I will keep up this amount of research that I did because I found that the more you had, the more informed some of the decisions were and it also meant you had a lot of back up for the decisions you were making. My general organisation has also been a strength throughout this module but more so toward approaching the deadline because i've managed to produce the work within the deadline and our own personal deadlines based on when we needed certain elements to be done by so that we could move on with our work. In future to capitalise I will make sure I start the module organised too because the pressure won't be as much and decisions may become more informed because i'm not pressured to get things done. General idea generation has been a further strength throughout this module because i've helped contribute to some of the creative decisions. To capitalise on this in future I will continue to come up with a range of ideas before settling on something. When it comes to the tasks a strength I have is understanding a certain area of the industry that I am interested in to a satisfactory degree. In future I will research even further so I become an 'expert' on the things I am discussing because I may actually learn something that I didn't know. 

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in future? 
My presentation writing skill has been a small weakness within this module because there was quite a lot of text which can be quite off putting for the audience as they feel a bit bombarded and may spend more time reading than actually paying attention. In future I will keep my presentation as minimal as possible and speak more about things rather than having it word for word on the screen. I will also make my presentations more visually exciting because although this one was, it could have been more so. Communication skills have been a weakness in terms of the collaboration because there was points in which we didn't discuss ideas for a while. In future I will make sure that I converse with people about a project as often as possible or when nescessary so that there is no confusion and everyone in the group is kept in a loop. 

5. Identify five things you will do differently next time and what you expect to gain from doing these? 

1. Refer to sources in the library more. 
They are likely to be more realiable than the internet and I may come across something that someone else won't have found or thought of. This may inform my work in a more positive way because i'd be seeing something new. 


2. Converse more when it comes to group work. 
There will generally be better organisation and the workload will be easy to keep track of and also keep on top of. We can also discuss if people have come up with new ideas to capitalise on the ones we already had. 


3. Work to personal a deadline before the brief stated deadline. 
This is more of a personal gain because I feel that I would be a lot less stressed about what was left to do and would take more time in completing any outstanding work. There would also be more time to go back and change elements if need be. 


4. Prioritise a brief just as much as all others. 
This means that the work flow will be steady and constant and won't seem as daunting. There will be more organisation through doing this and said brief won't be forgotten about so much. 


5. Blog as I go. 
Keeping on top of the blogging means it won't be so much of a task at the end and i'd be less likely to miss something out. 

6. How would you grade yourself in the following areas: 

Attendence 5

Punctuality 5

Motivation 3

Commitment 3

Quantity of work produced 4

Quality of work produced  3

Contribution to the group 4

(1 being poor and 5 being excellent)

YCN; concept boards.

Once we began researching into the ideas we had we came up with some intial concept boards for our second crit that began to explore our ideas in more detail. On these boards we included, the problem/concept, comeptitors and audience, the product, visual direction and promotion and distribution. We felt at this stage these were some of the most important aspects of our brief as we hadn't obviously started to design anything. These are all things we'd already identified and understood fully to communicate our initial ideas. They communicate an idea of where we'd like to take our work visually so we are able to get feedback on this in the crit. 

PPD workshop one; industrial experience//research.

What is industrial experience? 
- Studio visits
- Competitions
- Live briefs
- Freelance work
- Shadowing someone
- Portfolio reviews
- Setting up a business
- Sending a print job
- Internships
- Networking


What is professional research? 
- Looking at websites of studios
- Networking
- Studio talks/visting professionals
- Events; print festivals etc
- Graphic design exhibitions
- Magazines
- Websites
- Library 
- Visits to professional printers
- College lectures
- How others promote themselves
- Look at competitors using SWOT analysis 


Industrial experience concerns//problems...
- Am I good enough? 
- Where do you start? 
- What if nobody wants me? 
- Affordability (travel etc)
- Tone of voice 
- A lot of competition//competitors


Opportunities...
- Enter live//competition briefs
- Work out areas of interest
- Look at studios that are afforable to get to
- Revisit personal design context blog
- Look at things that are avoidable


Professional research concerns//problems...
- Where do you look? 
- How do you network? 
- Who do you network with? 
- Having the time to look effectively 
- Am I looking at the right thing? 


Opportunities...
- There's lots to look at
- Create a social presence online 
- Look back at what you've been looking at already in design context to compile a list
- Look for new studios
- Find work by studios//professionals
- Find exhibitions to possibly attend


10 things you gain from doing professional research? 
- Gives you a better idea/understanding of what you want to do
- Makes you aware of what is going on in the industry
- Inspires your own practice
- You find out the expectations of the industry
- You gain industrial contacts through networking
- You can search for companies you'd like to work with
- You can find out about other areas of the industry for example, photography
- It makes you more aware of life after university
- Visiting exhibitions makes you more culturally aware
- It encourages you to plan your future


10 things you gain from doing studio visits? 
- Professional contacts and networking
- An insight into companies
- An insight into the design practice and whether or not it's suited to you
- A realistic view of the working practice and studio environment
- Potential to gain an industrial placement 
- Potential to gain portfolio reviews/opinions on your work and design practice
- Samples of studio work
- Potential to interview designers and to find out more about their working day/life
- A chance to visit new places; location as well as the studio and whether it would be suited to your lifestyle and work practice post graduation. 
- Encouragement to plan your future. 


10 things you would put in a creative CV? 
- Work experience 
- Ambitions
- Contact details
- Skill set
- Personal interests
- About me
- Reflect your design approach (branding and self promotion) 
- What you could offer the specific studio
- References/testimonials
- Work ability 
- Qualifications