True North

I went to visit Ady a designer at True North today, he invited me in to chat after I had emailed him last week. I took my book dummy with me and a few more spreads that have been adapted since I created this. The advice Ady gave me was really helpful. His opinion reinforced what I was thinking myself which I feel is a good thing as it made me feel as though I am on the right track with my project.

Ady felt that once I had sorted out the order of my book, as I explained I would be changing this by adding section dividers, it would be almost there. He showed me some examples of work True North had done and explained how adding imagery to my book may break it up slightly as currently it is purely typographic and becomes slightly repetitive. Overall the visit went really well I plan to work on the following pointers over the next few weeks:

• Reintroduce page dividers
• Find place for page word and lock in place to help keep the structure of the book
• Visualise each quote by using typography and page elements
• Introduce imagery to break up pages

Contact: True North

Last week I got in touch with the design agency True North, I emailed the company as I wanted some advice on my Final Major Project. The Creative Director Ady got back to me and invited me to go in and speak to him about it. I am going in next week to show him my work so far and get some feedback and advice on how I can maybe change this. The email is posted below.

Contact: Buddy

As I was writing my practitioners report it got me wondering what other designers thought about collaboration so I decided to send some emails out and ask a few questions about what they thought. One company that I contacted was Buddy I asked a few questions about collaboration in the industry and also as a student. One of the designers, David, at Buddy got back to me with a really helpful reply. I have posted the email below.

Branch

These are a set of typographic Thank You cards designed by Branch, a London based design agency. I think they work really well together and love the screen printed box that they come in! You can purchase these from the website for £9.95.

"We just do the best we can"

As I come to the end of my three years as a design student I ask myself 'what have I learnt?' Typography comes to mind, kerning, leading, letter spacing, composition and layout, use of white space. This led me on to thinking about things to come and what else will I learn. Where will I go and whom will I meet? All these questions inspired me to search for some answers, as my own are not apparent yet I looked to other designers to learn from their experiences.

While reading through an essay by Milton Glaser, designer of the ‘I Love NY logo’, I came across some useful advice. Glaser comments on how in his early life as a designer he couldn’t wait to become a professional, he soon realised that as his professionalism grew it became a limitation. As a young designer myself I relate to this, wanting to reach a certain level of professionalism. To me this means knowledge, experience, money; something that as a student seems constantly unattainable. After graduation one thing that every student wants is a job, a career, stability. As more design students leave education one question remains, are there too many design graduates?

Throughout our time at university we are constantly told how the design industry is a competitive market and how difficult it is to get a job but no matter how many times this is said it is hard to imagine what to expect. We try not to get discouraged and hope that we are one of the lucky ones whose talents and perseverance gets them through. Some may argue that the competitiveness of the industry, with creative industries accounting for 7% of the UK’s economy, is a good thing and that without it quality would suffer. These people are obviously not students. To some degree this is a valid point, as it must be said that the jump from education to the industry often does separate the weak from the more able.

One thing that is essential for graduates when leaving university is that they are persistent and don’t give up. There may be 11,000 design students but over 70% of these do not get jobs in design. Within every design company potential employers view many different portfolios, no two employers will have the same opinions about the work they see so patience is a virtue. It is important not to give up if this is what you want. Talent and determination will make a difference when graduation arrives.

Many of the designers I have spoken to have said that it is important to carry on working on personal projects whether still a student or after graduation, it is essential to keep on looking at everything around you for inspiration and ideas whether these be used straight away or stored for later. Each person is different and the things they notice aren’t always the same so it is important to keep a record of things that could later be used when working on a project either personally or in collaboration with others.

It is often said that art can be learned but as David Airey notes after viewing a students design exhibition ‘students from the same college, same badge with the same graphic design lessons did not come up with equally remarkable work’. It may be true to some extent that a non-artistic individual can be taught the steps of good design but it is questionable to whether this design will ever be great.

As I look back at the practitioners that I have spoken to throughout my education I think back to the advice they gave. One thing that I think every designer would agree with is that the contacts you make within the design industry are extremely important, whether this be while you are at university or after you leave. To keep good contact with these designers may at some point benefit you and give you an otherwise missed opportunity.

As it is often said design is a lifestyle choice not just a job. In many cultures, particularly African groups they do not have art. It is part of their everyday lives. Form making is just something they do it is part of them and is used to express emotions and thoughts. I feel something can be learned from this, art and design shouldn’t be separate from your everyday life. Among the Balinese culture there is no word for art, they say ‘we just do things the best we can.’

erikmednis.com

www.aiga.org

www.eyemagazine.com

www.graphicdesignblog.org

Practitioners Report: Container Plus & Mike Rigby

Throughout my time at university I have attended a number of lectures and visited many design studios. Each visit has given me an insight into different areas of the industry and has helped my knowledge and interest in design grow. Whether these visits were internally arranged by tutors or external and arranged personally each one has been equally rewarding. There are a few lectures that have stood out to me this year one being a talk by Mike Rigby, graphic designer, and another by Container Plus, an illustration company.

Before I chose my path as a graphic design student I was interested in illustration, it is something that has always been an option for me if my design choice hadn’t worked out, so when Container Plus explained that they were an illustration based company I was really intrigued and eager to hear what they had to say. It was Luise Vormittag, one of the founders of the company, who came in to speak to us. She spoke about a number of projects that the company had worked on and some personal projects that she had done.

Collaboration has been an important part of Container Plus from the very start as it was when two friends Luise and Nicola worked along side each other on a project at university; they worked so well with each other that on leaving uni they carried this on and became a partnership. Luise spoke about how working with people from other pathways of design was essential in getting the best out of a project. This point was something that stayed with me as I feel it is something that all design companies do however it is not necessarily practiced by design students.

One of Luise and Nicolas first projects together was for Selfridges where they also worked alongside make-up artists and fashion designers. Another project that they worked on together later on in their careers was for a Volkswagen car launch. The pair were given the task to design 4 rooms of a hotel, in order to do this they had to collaborate with many different people including builders, furniture designers and fabric designers.

Luise gave us a few pointers about how to make collaboration a success one being ‘test people before committing to a long-term collaboration’ this reminded me of something that I had read by Milton Glaser, designer of the I Love NY logo, the article was about what he had learned through out his design career and one point that he made was that you have to like the people that you work with. He mentioned how the relationship you have with the people you are either working with or for is essential for the strength of your projects. Affection, trust and having a common ground is the only way good work can be achieved.

Mike Rigby, a designer that came in to speak to us about graphic design and what to expect when we graduate also spoke to us about getting on with the people you work with. He studied at Preston for 4 years on a graphic design course, after graduating he worked for numerous companies including Imagination, Chase, Pentagram, Mark Studio, True North and Landor and Moon Design both in Sydney so he had plenty to tell us about his time in the design industry.

Although Mike presented some of his work to us he spoke more of his experiences and how they benefited his design career. One thing that he mentioned was how he went travelling. He showed us photos and explained how it is important to have these chances. He also told us about how he acquired design jobs while travelling in Australia. This part of his lecture was extremely different to Container plus as Luise spoke mostly of her work. Throughout Mikes talk he mentioned how designers ‘love to socialise’ and made a point of telling us about how having an interesting life outside of work was paramount to a good life within work. He also said that design wasn’t just a job, it was a lifestyle choice. Mike mentioned how well connected the design industry was and how everyone knew each other so it was essential that you get on with your co-workers.

Another thing that he spoke about was placements and how they help you make the jump from education to industry. This was extremely helpful as he spoke about how you get a feel for the type of company you would like to work at, as mentioned early it is essential to get on with the people you work with. Hopefully the company you enjoy working with reciprocate and offer you a job at the end of your placement. Mike spoke about how placements allow you to work on real projects with real deadlines. He also told us that it was important to work on self-initiated projects as did Luise from Container Plus. They spoke about how ideas you may have for these personal projects could generate new ideas for paid jobs. They also mentioned how although it is good to do self initiated projects and fun jobs it is also essential to do the less interesting well-paid jobs.

Below are some images by Mike Rigby and Luise. Container Plus's are installations and the interior design for a West London book store. These designs are a great example of what I loved about the work done at Container. The designs are unusual and the company seems to have a certain type of style that I feel would help them be recognised by clients. Mike Rigbys designs are completely different to that of Container Plus. As you can see Containers projects are more illustration based. Personally I prefer these designs but I think this is because it is something I cannot do myself. Although Mikes designs are great ideas Containers seem to have a certain charm about them. They have an extremely unique way of working, while talking to us about how they go about producing there work they mentioned a project where they sat and hand drew the imagery on shop walls and around different parts of room.

Mike Rigby

Container Plus

Overall I enjoyed both of these lectures and feel that they were both extremely helpful. Although the work show and the style in which they were presented was totally different similar point about the design industry were made.

http://containerplus.co.uk

http://erikmednis.com

Topshop: Que Houxo

When taking a break from design blogs I like to look at fashion sites and see what my favourite stores are blogging about. This morning I was browsing through the Topshop blog when I came across a piece on the Japanese artist Que Houxo. Topshop hired him to paint live in the windows of selected stores using his unique and exciting style to attract shoppers. Here's what Topshop had to say about it:

"We've had our eye on Japanese artist Que Houxo for some time now. His work is painted live for an audience and is a riot of colour and chaotic brush strokes, beautifully synonymous with Tokyo - the city that features in so much of his work. Frenetic and bursting with colour, his paintings remind us of running about and dancing with wild abandon, and it was with this in mind that we invited him to a few lucky stores to paint - live - in our windows!"