Amazing Studios

This is quite an unusual post for me but it's quite fun so I decided to just go with it. The topic is really interior design for designers; taking a look at some cool spaces and studios to inspire you to be more creative with your own work space.

In general I prefer the cleaner desks but there are some good ideas on how make your work space a source of inspiration whatever your tastes are. I think my favourite is the top middle picture on the edge of the river and the one with the slide. Both would be really fun but I don't think I would ever get any work done.

I have collated some of my favourite images into quite an extensive Pinterest board of amazing studios, for image sources or more examples see here.

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New Years Resolutions

The festivities of Christmas are gone and now people are beginning to look towards New Years Eve and with that comes new years resolutions. Resolutions are the promises we make to ourselves at the start of the new year to ensure success, happiness, health and wealth in the following twelve months. With new years nearly here I have been thinking about my own resolutions, specifically career related ones. So here they are...

From Here

1. Get a job.

I talk about getting a job a lot, but more specifically I want to get an awesome job. Gaining experience on placements shows I am willing to learn, better myself and allows me to be more aware of career choices. 2013 will be the year I land a fantastic job because I will work hard, research, learn and get there.

2. Use LinkedIn effectively.

Today I have been busily updating my profile on LinkedIn, connecting with relevant individuals and joining groups. I believe it is important to be up to date with LinkedIn because it allows you to broadcast yourself to the "right people" and meet like minded designers you admire and see how they achieved what they have. In 2013 I will be regularly updating my LinkedIn profile, to be witness to this you can connect with me here.

3. Use my SLR more

I've had my SLR for about two and a half years and in that time it has been primarily used to photograph work for my portfolio. My new years resolution is to learn more about photography, and produce great quality shots. I love the fantastic vibrancy of the photos from the camera so in 2013 I will be more snap happy.

4. Visit more exhibitions, museums and galleries

I have the V&A and The Tate on twitter and regularly hear about the fantastic exhibitions they have on yet rarely go. In 2013 I will make more effort to visit exhibitions, design related or not, in order to inspire myself and experience new things. In January I am hoping to go down to London and definitely want to visit The Natural History Museum and the V&A Ballgowns exhibition.

5. Be successful and have fun

If you have these two factors in your career you can't be doing too badly, so in 2013 I will be aiming for both.

Five Interview Tips

If you follow me on twitter you will know that I have been job hunting since I finished uni this summer, and you may also know that I had an interview on monday. With the meeting still fresh in my find I decided to compile a list of "tips" and advice for graduate designers also going to interviews.

1. Research

An obvious piece of advice but you will be glad you know all of the companies' clients when they ask you which examples of their work you like the most and how much you know about the company (they will almost certainly ask). It is a great opportunity to show how serious you are about this role and the company.

2. Be prepared

For my previous interviews and meetings I not only took along my portfolio but some physical examples of my work and my iPad with lots of extra photos of projects I had not included in my printed portfolio. I found that it can be useful to take actual pieces of work with you to better explain your work but also create a talking point plus show extra images from my iPad.

3. Location

What seems another simple yet obvious tip is to research into where you going. Sat navs are not always reliable and don't allow for any potential traffic you may come cross so always google map your route so you are aware of the estimated time and location. Add on an extra half an hour to allow for error and always arrive 10 minutes early. 

4. Ask Questions & Get Feedback

Always ask questions about the company, your interview technique and how you can improve. Although it can be hard to take constructive criticisms it will strengthen your confidence for any future meetings and shows that you are willing to improve.

5.  Leave Something To Be Remembered

I think it is a good idea to always leave something with your interviewers so they can contact you back and you will be remembered, I believe this also shows fore thought and preparation. Be it an example of your work, a business card or a self promotional pack; leave something that will remind people of your great interview.

These are just a few of the pieces of advice I take note of when going to any interviews or meetings and I hope they are useful.

Good Luck!

Found Designs #3

Following previous posts along a similar theme (see here & here) I have collated more of my iPhone photos into a "Found Designs" blog post. These posts, as implied, are interesting illustrations, packaging and typography examples I have found while out and about.

My favourite designs here are a postcard from Aberystwyth using old style typefaces with an impressionist style painting to give a suggestion of the vintage sea side era.

A beautiful typeface on a memorial plaque I came across while walking my dog.

Interesting packaging design for some chocolates. The box uses foils to give the box a sense of luxury in contrast with a modern style of the package and typography.

Self Promotion: Pintrest, Bloglovin', LinkedIn

At the minute I seem to be joining/adding/editing everything. Today alone I have worked on a self promotional project and sent it off to print (coming soon) added to my society 6 account, updated my LinkedIn and my website. The reason behind this frantic updating of social media is to promote myself as a professional graphic designer and freelancer which will hopefully help me get employed now I have my degree.

I am relatively new to LinkedIn and Society 6 so trying make my profiles and work appear as best I possibly can. The newest website I have joined is slightly different and not something I thought I would ever be interested in; it's called Pintrest. Before I was a member I was quite skeptical, but after some persuasion from my designer friends I joined, and I haven't looked back.

The basic premise for Pintrest is that you have a virtual pin board and roam the internet "pinning" images, text, blogs or articles to your board which can be shared and "repined" with others. This is defiantly a useful service as I am always coming across exciting things on the internet and losing them, so this allows me to collate my findings in one efficient pin board. Follow me here

Currently I have a pin board called inspiration where I have collected interesting designs that may influence future projects. As a designer, Pintrest can be a really useful tool to gather inspirations and influences.

On another note I have joined Bloglovin', after some research I decided it could be a great way to interact with a larger audience and find other design blogs to read myself. I am always searching for design blogs and find them few and far between so with any luck Bloglovin' will remedy this.

Finally, I am on holiday this friday (27th) until the 3rd of August but will post about my latest projects when I return :)

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Prima Oliva Branding

A friend recently approached me about helping him rebrand his company; Prima Oliva. The company makes and sells specialist olive oils to wholesalers, restaurants and pubs. The brief was quite open so there were plenty of avenues to research and explore first. After some research and developing a logo I came up with this.

The new design takes reference from traditional olive oil bottles and street sinage, combined with a clean style to give a modern and sophisticated approach. The colour palette was key to make the new branding relevant to the company as the light greens and yellows can be associated with the olives, olive trees and the oil. 

This is a super quick mockup of some potential letter heads, business cards and compliments slips that will create a clean and consistent brand for the company.

Found Designs

Since I got my iPhone earlier this year I have been taking photos all the time. I never normally carry a camera with me or even profess to be good at photography, but being able to take a photo of a great piece of typography or illustration can be a great reference for future design projects.

I find things that I like everywhere; on parcels, in Tesco, the Frosties box even inspired some design work for this project. This is a few of the examples I found while out.

Letterpress

Letterpress is an old technique that requires a lot of time to produce a successful print. I have attempted letterpress a number of times, a few weeks ago I went along to another workshop as experiment for another project. The effect achieved by manual letterpress far surpasses any digital replication, so it's a great addition to a final piece to reflect the time and consideration taken over a project.

Letterpress does require a lot of patience (which I don't have) but the effect produced is worth the time taken. The experimentation shown here is the initial practise which will hopefully develop into a cleaner designs.

Dissertation: Branding & Books

Recently I haven't been posting as much on the blog because I've been busy doing things such as my dissertation and research for various projects, this subsequently does not make for very visually aesthetic blog posts. Despite this, what I have been working on over the past few weeks has been pretty fun and informative.

Right now I'm writing my dissertation which is on the topic of supermarket own brand labels and how they have been branded and marketed in order to dispel the stigma of poor quality, focusing particularly on supermarkets' own premium ranges. This year I have worked on three modules regarding branding and really enjoyed the process of identity management and creating suitable concepts for clients. Branding is an area I would like to get involved with in my career because of the diversity and depth of understanding involved in creating an effective solution for a range of clients.

While working on my dissertation I have used a load of books; this is just a pick of some of the best ones I found. I would really love to hear about any useful branding books people may know of so please comment or email me.

Own Label by Jonny Trunk: I have talked about this book before; it's a great resource for retro packaging designs and just a pretty interesting read. The number of packaging examples within this book is so extensive; it's worth buying just to see them all. It also goes on to talk about how supermarkets responded to social change such as the post WWII consumer and developing quality control.

Trolley Wars by Judi Bevan: This book is very descriptive and written in such a way that the information becomes woven into a kind of story, so much so that you forget this book is about facts. It reads like a Hotel Babylon of the supermarket world which is weirdly absorbing and questions the integrity of some chains.

Buying In by Rob Walker: Like Trolley Wars, this book is written in smooth prose which makes it easy to forget you are reading for research. Walker uses great examples to break down some of the confusing terms in a way that even I can understand, using theory and case studies to determine why we buy what we buy.

Supermarket Own Brand Guide by Martin Isark: I got this book because I thought it would be a good supplement to my essay, it include prices and nutrition of products at a range of the leading supermarkets. After reading through it really does show that all the supermarket price war is over a few pence and that effective branding, marketing and packaging are the real reasons for choosing the products that we do.