CV Redesign x 2

After Emma's talk I decided to redesign my CV (once again!) using her advice. My initial redesign featured a border running round two edges of the page (a big no no according to the expert) so I've super-simplified my design, but still kept my bulb identity & colour pallete. I do think it looks a hell of a lot better now.

Linked In

I've now joined the Linked In site after Emma from Aquent recommended it in her talk. Have to say, not quite got to grips with it yet, and have a grand total of two connections in my email contact list. I guess it will get more useful as time goes on.

Sacker Gooding

Amazing website I found while researching for my professional project. Sacker Gooding is a headhunting company, & they have disguised their website  behind several pseudonyms such as Sacker Gooding donuts, ornothologist society & butchers in order for people to view it whilst at work without anybody knowing what they're up to.

http://www.sackergooding.com/

Learning Agreement

As part of our professional project we have to write our own brief, or learning agreement. This is what I've come up with so far:

Through my professional project I intend to create a concept for an iPhone application & supporting website. The idea is to create a vehicle which enables people to raise money for a charity of their choice. It’s essentially a tool which brings the “sponsored run” method of raising money into the present day. The iPhone application is a pedometer which the user downloads to their mobile phone & activates when they go running, then uploads the distance from their phone on to the website where their sponsors can track their progress & make donations. In my opinion, there is a potentially huge audience for this application as iPhone owners are currently the biggest growing market in the mobile phone industry, & the iPhone application business is also phenomenally successful (93% of iPhone users have downloaded an application according to a compete.com survey). Contributing to charity is currently at the forefront of people’s minds following the huge media coverage of the Haiti earthquake. Also, Spring / Summer is the time of year when individuals feel the need to shake off the effects of winter, become more active & get into shape. All of these things will contribute towards my design being commercially viable.

As I am not technically able enough to code an iPhone application I will develop it as a concept, designing the appearance of it but not actually developing it. I will then design & build the website using fake data from “users” to create the pages where sponsors can track their progress. These pages will comprise of beautifully designed infographics displaying information such as distance run, money raised, amount donated so far, for each individual “user” & then as a whole for all “users”. I will present this website for assessment, alongside an image / set of images illustrating the appearance of the iPhone application & a short description of how it would function.

The reason I am developing something in this area is the Screen Based Communication unit, which I felt was my most successful & satisfying unit to date. This has led me to consider web design as a specialist area for my career & given me a desire to gain as much experience & knowledge in this area as possible. I have become aware of the importance of keeping up to date with trends & technologies as a designer in order to have a sustainable career, & I realize that mobile technology is becoming bigger & more advanced every day. Therefore it is important to have understanding & experience of this area, leading me to wish to develop a concept for an iPhone app. Although the website could work on its own with users entering data manually instead of uploading it, the iPhone provides much more accurate data which in turn encourages the user to run further, as anybody can log on to the site & see their progress. This provides benefits to the charity as they receive increased donations & publicity, & the individual user benefits twofold, improving their physical health due to the increased activity & their mental health by feeling good about making a positive contribution to the world through the simple action of going for an occasional run. I feel that my project will consolidate all of these things, & hope that this will make me appealing to potential employers at the end of year show.

Lecture from Emma, Aquent Recruitment Agency.

This afternoon we had a talk from Emma, who works for Aquent, the biggest creative recruitment agency in the UK. These are the notes I took:

• Aquent has offices in 18 countries & their clients include: Apple, BBC, Honda, Orange etc.
• RESEARCH:
• When looking for a job do LOTS of research; look in Design Week Top 100 Agencies etc.
• You need to find a specialism, where your strengths lie.
• Only 5% of graduates last year got a job in industry, so need to have work of an excellent standard.
• Find out which agency did the work you admire & target them, e.g. who did the branding for Orange.
• The top ten design agencies receive around 200 CV's a week around graduation time, so yours needs to stand out.
• Look for: good use of type, strong layout, relevant work, but the key is HOW it is presented.
• INITIATIVE:
• All successful designers continue to challenge themselves by self initiating projects. e.g. see a crap logo, go away & design it how you would have done it.
• Enter competitions. Major agencies advertise competitions on their website, prize = placement.
• Look on The Arts Council Website - they set live briefs.
• Tell everyone you know what it is you do, find commissions.
• Get down to a printers to find out process.
• Join Linked In - commercial networking site.
• CV PREP:
• Take your time.
• CV layout says a lot about your ability to handle type, space, copy etc.
• Attention to detail, spelling etc.
• Make it concise, two page limit, one page is ideal for a graduate.
• Make it professional, do not mistake quirky with creative.
• Leave out uneccessary details.
• Do keep it simple.
• Don't use funny backgrounds, samples of work etc.
• PDF PORTFOLIO:
• Keep simple.
• Choose key pieces.
• Tailor to your audience.
• The work should be the star - no flashy borders, backgrounds etc.
• Show your thinking - short description.
• PORTFOLIO PREP:
• Get rid of ringbound portfolio - always fall out in interview.
• Go the extra mile - bind it, emboss it, engrave it etc.
• Presentation is key.
• Research the company beforehand, you may have something in common with the person who's interviewing you.
• Think about what key skills you want to get across & how you can demonstrate them.
• What kind of commentary do you have? Every piece should have a story. What client wanted, what you persuaded them to have instead, how you implemented it etc.
• The flow of your portfolio is important. Open with your strongest piece, close with something memorable.
• Practice - present to friends, family, peers, people with experience in recruiting for design. Get them to report back to you on which pieces you sound less confident about etc.
• Take criticism, ask for advice, make changes.
• Take anything you don't love out - they'll pick up on it.
• Should be a flexible portfolio - take work that's relevant to the job you're applying for.
• Take out any work you're unsure about.
• Keep it up to date. No work over 5 years old, unless it won you a D&AD award.
• Take work samples, especially with interesting finishes e.g. foil embossing etc.
• Keep photography / illustration to a maximum of 3 pieces.
• Be clear & concise - it's a representation of how you can present ideas to a client.
• Don't flick through without giving an explanation.
• Logo - show variations of logo, how you got there. Put variations of your thinking in.
• Show scale - photograph it, show how it works.
• Logo - implement it, show how it could be used.
• GET AS MUCH WORK EXPERIENCE AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE.

Although the talk was very useful I found it a bit overwhelming, as the quality of work in the portfolio examples she showed us was unbelievable. After my surge of confidence yesterday after Anna's talk, I felt myself plunging back down in to a black pit of self doubt. At least I now have the tools to make my portfolio amazing, at least in itself if not the quality of work in it :S

I was keen for Emma to have a look at my work so I could gain as much as possible from the day, but so was everybody else. I waited until 5 o clock but I live pretty far out of the way, the last unilinx bus left at 5.10 and I had no money for a yellow bus, so had to leave. Before I left Emma said that I could email her my work so she could give me some feedback & that she's trying to get as many placements as possible for our class, which sounded pretty hopeful. One positive thing I did overhear whilst waiting around was Emma discussing web design with someone after they said that they'd enjoyed doing the design & coding in the SBC2 unit. Emma then said that there is a real lack of / niche for web designers & coders with a good grounding in design, & that they've been desperate to take more of them on at Aquent over the past two years. This filled me with real hope, & made me feel that I've chosen a route for my Professional Project that holds a lot of potential. I suppose only time will tell....

Lecture from freelance illustrator Anna Steinberg

This afternoon we had a compulsory lecture with Anna Steinberg. I have to say, I'm glad it was compulsory as I may not have attended otherwise, being a graphic designer & not an illustrator. I did find it really interesting though. Anna basically talked us through the process of working on a freelance project, relevant to me as a designer as well as the illustrators of the class.

These are the notes I took:

• Send out promotional stuff to people who might employ you (e.g. art director of mags) Build up a record of potential employers to send stuff out to. Find out their name first, makes it more personal.
• When a client calls: Take contact details, deadline, what job is, what it's for (magazine, book etc), what work of yours they've seen (so you know what kind of thing they're expecting, & which of your promotions has worked). ***Be prepared for a call at any time - carry pen/paper, think of what you need to say beforehand. If unsure, e.g. about fee, say "can I get back to you later this afternoon" to give you space to think.
• Decide on a fee based on how much the image will be used, e.g. print run of 500 leaflets, or magazine with a hundred thousand copies.
• Keep financial records: Date of Commission | Details | Invoice Ref. | Total Received | Date received.
• Keep record of expenses: Date | Details | Ref. | Total.
• Once you've accepted a job the client will send you job details, you accept & send back an Acceptance of Commission form & terms & details.
• You complete rough / roughs, send to client & wait for a response. 
• Make any alterations & send rough back for more feedback, or complete artwork.
• Send off for approval.
• Send invoice.
• ALWAYS be: organised, efficient. Keep a good filing system. Reliable, so clients want to work with you again. Self motivated.
• Good book for freelancers: Rights: A Guide to Business Law, by Simon Stern.
• Q: Do you get paid if a client backs out? A: she outlines fees in contract, alongside copyright, ownership, payment etc. She charges 25% if ended before roughs, 33% if ended at rough stage, 100% if cancelled on the delivery of artwork.
• Q: How do you work out fee? A: Don't calculate it from hours worked, do it from how much the image will be used (print run etc.)
• Q:What do you do if a client doesn't pay you? A: Be polite initially, but get firmer & always be persistent. State a date for payment then chase up. Don't give up, keep calling, emailing, turning up in office etc.

All in all I think Anna gave us a good idea of what the freelance working process is like, & I'd definitely feel more confident in a freelance situation now. The talk has increased my confidence as a designer, as I feel I am definitely capable of producing work as good as Anna's, & as she makes a living from freelancing I feel that I've got it within me to forge a career out of design. This is something I struggle with, as I often lack confidence in my own abilities. I left the talk feeling positive & motivated.

Contemporary Visual Contexts

In the essay tutorial on monday I presented the two topics I felt were most relevant:

• Interpretations of signs / colours / symbols / gestures etc in different cultures. How this impacts on design for an international market.
• The impact of new technology on design, namely the Apple Mac. Has it improved design by expanding the realms of what we can create as designers, or has it made for lazy designing?

After explaining my first topic, Dr Anna said that it was too broad a subject, could possibly choose one colour & look at what it signifies e.g. pink used to be a colour associated with boys, now associated with females.

After explaining my second topic Dr Anna said we didn't have time to discuss it in depth (we had already over run by half an hour) so I had to pick one subject over the following week & come back with a working essay title & some relevant texts. She did say that I could compare pre-digital design with current design, & also to look at magazines such as iD & Face.

In hindsight, a lot of people were linking the subject of their essay with their Professional Project, so I think topic number two is the most relevant for me. I have to say, I'm not looking forward to this unit as I found it a bit dry & tedious last year, but I suppose it's up to me to make it as interesting (& therefore painless) as possible.