Personal & professional development.: September 2012

Statement of intent.

This year for me, is all about finding my definite place within the industry and also gaining experience. I feel as though i'm not far away from this goal but there is still a number of things I can do to reach it.

5 things I want to do;

- Focus on illustration and branding

- Gain a greater understand of print and the processes

- Collaborate

- Use book binding within some of my briefs

- Take part in competition and live briefs

5 things I need to do;

- Explore design for web further

- Focus on my dissertation

- Make sure I put equal effort into each of my ten briefs

- Use different printing processes

- Find a work placement

5 reasons why;

- To make the most of my final year and the knowledge that I currently have surrounding me

- To pepare myself for the industry with a varied range of skills

- Printing processes with give me a more varied portfolio and showcase the knowledge and skills I have

- Taking part in live briefs will give me a realistic idea of what it's like to work for a client

- Collaborate to show myself that it isn't so bad afterall and prove that I can work with others well.

To add to the above, I would also like to visit a few different galleries and shows this year so i'm not just constantly glued to my macbook. This will inform my personal practice and also may have effect on my interests within certain areas of the industry.

I am determined to make sure all of these things have been achieved by the end of my third and final year.

Studio visit; Room For Design.

20/7/2012.

During the summer break I have visited Room For Design which is a local graphic design studio in my home town of Northallerton. I was initially quite nervous because i'd never visited a studio before so wasn't quite sure what to expect. I realised however, that when I arrived at the studio, all my nerves had been for nothing! I automatically felt really comfortable and was made very welcome by Joe Essex and Paul Banks who were in on the particular day. The studio itself is based in one room, quite small, but very cosy and an appropriate work environment. There were a few other desks possibly indicating that there are usually a few more people in and part of the studio. I had quite an informal chat with Joe and Paul just generally about their backgrounds and how they got to where they are now, this was quite interesting because they've both had very different experiences. The studio is based above the Cornish Gallery and has been there for over 20 years so really it's quite hidden away if you don't know it's there. Joe told me they rely on word of mouth more than anything to gain work so this obviously works quite well for them with being there so long. Whilst I was visting, Paul was working on something for Leeds university so they obviously have well known clients too. The one peice of advice that really stuck in my mind was that gaining experience via placement is really important if I ever have the opportunity. At the end of my visit we discussed the possibility of a work placement and i've been told that if I get in touch I would be welcome to do some work with them or work on some of my own briefs in their studio environment so that's really exciting! I'm definitely going to get back in touch with them soon.

The overall experience has given me an insight into a working studio environment and made me think more about what i'd like once I graduate.

Contacting illustrators; Chris Jevons.

I again, contacted Chris because I love his style of work. It's very quirky and he's worked with some very respectable/ well known clients. His response was almost instant too despite him being really busy so I appreciated that.

By the final email, I felt as though i'd set myself up with my first industrial contact that I could refer back to if I need further advice on my practice so this overall was a great result. The answers Chris gave were also very detailed and have given me a lot to think about.

Although these contacts were not made during the summer period I feel they have informed a lot of the decisions I have made during the summer about who I want to be and also where i'd like to be within the industry! I'd also not got round to blogging them before hand.

Contacting illustrators; Vicki Gausden.

I contacted Vicki because I really like the style of her work, I think it's fun and the colours being so bright and bold make it really eye catching. Upon contacting her it didn't take long for her to reply which I was very pleased with because I know how busy people can be.

This was the first reply I had from Vicki, I then went forward and sent her the questions I had come up with about illustration. The responses were really detailed so again, I was very pleased with this because it put into perspective more so what it means to be an illustrator.