OUGD501 - Studio Brief 01 - Presentation Practice

To practice our presentation skills, we were told to put together a 90 second presentation on a film of our choice. To make sure that I was confident on what I was talking about, I chose my favourite film, Forrest Gump. I knew from previous presentations that having only visuals is a better way to keep the audience's attention rather than having writing on screen. 

I made all of the images on my presentation full bleed, keeping consistency throughout the presentation. I had also planned what I would say before I went up, this helped a lot because I do get quite nervous when I am in front of a large amount of people.

I knew that I wanted to include humour in the slides as making the audience laugh makes me feel less nervous so I added a meme halfway through the presentation to get a laugh from the audience. 

My technique basically went through the whole plot of the film, which in hindsight I wish I hadn't done as it was hard to cover everything that needed to be said that had happened in the film. It would have also definitely ruined the ending of the film for anyone who hadn't seen it. Instead, I wish I had just gone over the basics such as cast, general plot (without spoilers), directors, when it was set and when it was made etc. as I much preferred other people's presentations in my group who used that approach. 

It was also suggested that it is a good presenting technique if you have a beginning, middle and end, therefore, when you end your presentation people know that it is over rather than standing there. 

Another good tip was that the use of white space around an image draws the attention to it and away from you presenting, therefore for my real presentation I plan on getting rid of the full bleed images, instead opting for white space around the outside.

A lot of people used GIFs in their presentations which also worked really well. Projecting your voice is also extremely important and if something goes wrong you need to carry on. I was told that there was one downside to my presentation was that I could have looked more at the audience but as I had not practiced that much and I kept having to look at the screen to see what slide was next and talk about that part of the film.

This task has helped my presentation skills, I feel like I have more knowledge on how to lay out my slides and how to present in front of a group of people.

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 02 - Contacting the Studios by Phone

I have decided that the 3 Sheffield design studios I want to interview are Tonic, SideBySide and Peter&Paul. Each studio has a unique design element and a new perspective to add to the report. I'm hoping to make a report on the opportunities Sheffield has for graduate graphic designers. 

My game plan is to first ring each studio telling them:

• My Name
• Where and what I study
• My aims for the project
• How I'd like them to get involved 
• What they will receive if they agree to get involved

This way I can get an instant response on whether or not they would like to get involved in the project which I can then follow up with an email containing further information. Ringing rather than emailing as a first point of contact is a good way to ensure my message doesn't get lost in the mass of emails many designers are constantly receiving.

To ensure I don't get muddled up in my words I will write down everything I want to say and the bullet pointed list on a notepad to read off when I ring them as aI'm sure nerves could easily kick in at any moment. 

Practice dialogue:

'Hi there is that_______? (Oliver/Dave)

I'm ringing as I was wondering whether you would be interested in taking part in an interview for a publication I am making on the opportunities Sheffield has to offer young designers, focussing particularly on modern (up and coming), forward thinking design studios in Sheffield. 

I noticed you did a talk at Glug with a similar theme a few months back to encourage creative talent to stay up North and that it's not all about London. 

The project would include a physical outcome that you could have a copy of.'

UPDATE

After ringing all 3 studios, each one confirmed that they would be happy to do an interview. Therefore there is no need to contact any further studios at this current time. 

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 01 - Contacting Natasha Durley

This year in PPP I have definitely gained the confidence to start engaging with professionals and talking to them about their work as well as asking for tips and advice. 

Recently this is a conversation I had with Natasha Durley, an illustrator I have recently discovered about the materials and processes she uses within her work:

This was really helpful and has inspired me to use a similar technique/process for the YCN project which I am currently working on for BEAR Yoyo cards. To see that the designers and creatives I look up to are just normal people who are happy to help is really reassuring for when it comes to doing interviews for jobs when I graduate next year. It has also given me the confidence to start contacting studios for my creative report in Studio Brief 02. 

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 01 - Studio 12, Buttercrumble, YCN and Thirsty Planet

Today we had a number of visiting professionals come to speak to us about their practice. Making notes on the key points they spoke about was a useful way to reflect on it after the talks had been completed. 

Studio 12

• music studio and photography studio
• aimed at disadvantaged people aged 16-30
• made to inspire young people
• appeals to people who are passionate about their communities
• involved with the British Art Show 8
• offer feedback on showreels and portfolios

Buttercrumble

• Graphic design and illustration studio 
• Aim to 'make people smile'
• Explained the importance of social enterprise through portfolio, networking and exposure
• Best to approach studios/professionals- personalise, contribute and excite
• When they stated they got roughly half their busy from social media, specifically instagram and twitter

YCN

• Curated creative network
• Based in Shoreditch
• Connects brands and creatives
• Stays out of the judgment for the YCN student briefs, leaves that to the brands
• Best approaches to competition breifs is to use multiple outcomes such as animated advert, packaging and posters etc. in your submission. 

Thirsty Planet

• Part of Harrogate Water company 
• Raised 2 million for charity
• Started in 2007
• Retails in shops such as Waitrose
• In partnership with Pumpaid 
• Had several rebrands over the recent years

Reflecting over the day of talks, I found them all inspiring but Buttercrumble's in particular. Their ethos of aiming to create design which makes them and others smile was simple and honest but was clear throughout all their design examples shown.

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 02 - Interview with Sheffield Graphic Design Studios

The following are a number of Sheffield based design studios that I am interested in contacting for studio brief 02 to base my creative report on. 

Tonik 

Unit 7, 

Edmund Road Business Centre, 

Sheffield,

S2 4ED

0114 273 0614

info@brandingbytonik.co.uk

Field Design

Workstation,
15 Paternoster Row,
Sheffield,
S1 2BX

0114 2586 200

studio@field-design.com

Ink & Water

3a Brooklyn Works,
Sheffield S3 8SH,
United Kingdom

0114 296 0402

hello@inkandwater.co.uk

Peter & Paul

Peter & Paul, 

Studio 19,
Sum Studios,

Sheffield, 

S2 3AQ

0114 2556119

info@peterandpaul.co.uk


Evoluted

35 Lambert Street
Sheffield
S3 7BH

0114 272 9753

infto@evoluted.net

SideBySide

OXO House, 

4 Joiner St, 

Sheffield

S3 8GW

0114 278 0081

hello@side-side.co.uk


GreyMatter

Victoria House
45 Rutland Park
Sheffield
S10 2PB

01142 015566

info@usegreymatter.com


93

The Chimney House

4 Kelham Island

Sheffield, 

S3 8RY

Mowbray House

118 Mowbray St.

Sheffield,

S3 8EN

0114 361 9393

begin@93ft.com

The Cafeteria

Unit 9, Gordon Works
49a Valley Road
Sheffield, S8 9FT

0114 255 8213

hello@thecafeteria.co.uk

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 02 - Creative Presence/Creative Report

CREATIVE REPORT

Building on our continued familiarisation with the creative industries and prompted by the need for even more engagement with professional contacts, we have been asked to seek out an industry practitioner or practice to base a report on.

The completed report should utilise our skills as both a creative and a researcher and make use of material drawn from at least one personal interview with an appropriate spokesperson to then culminate in an insightful overview of a contemporary industry figure or organisation. The interview can be carried out in person or via phone, Skype or email. Supporting sessions will offer guidance regarding the approaching and interviewing of subjects

We should aim to subsequently develop a report that is engaging in terms of both its style and content. The completed report should be submitted as a digital Issuu publication posted to your PPP blog and needs to communicate your interview subject's route into industry and identify where their creative practice is currently situated.

BRIEF INTERPRETATION

For this module, I am planning on contacting an array of design studios in Sheffield and making a publication or creative outcome of some kind on the opportunities they believe are available to young designers in the area.

I want to raise awareness of the opportunities in Sheffield and hopefully help boost business in the area. 

On top of this one idea would be to send out a sheet/questionnaire to all the design agencies in Sheffield similar to the Hand written letter project by Craig Oldham, for them to fill in and return back to me which I can also put in the publication.  

The studios I hope to get in touch with for a face to face interview are Peter & Paul, SidebySide and Tonik.

TONIK

'Tonik is a boutique graphic design agency based in Sheffield. We are a team of personable, down-to-earth designers and marketers. We know that every project is our opportunity to make our mark and win another exciting project, so we put everything into creating something special for every one of our clients. We’re building a reputation for characterful and distinctive design and we’ve even been featured in Design Week and bestseller, ‘How To Style Your Brand’. That makes us very proud.' 

Tonik is a multidisciplinary studio who's portfolio includes an impressive array of design including typographic design, interior design, branding and design for screen. 

Their work is exactly the style of work I hope to be producing in the future and their design process is extremely thorough, producing outcomes that are exactly what the client was after.  

PETER & PAUL 

'Our lifeblood is branding. 

Branding for us starts way before the start: Working out who you are, what you’ve got to offer, who wants to consume it and applying all that thinking to the communication.

We've done it for people of all sizes, from the big and established to the young and ambitious. We've named the old school we live and work in, we're saving a local park, we've branded products and restaurants, events and buildings.

Whatever the size, the thinking remains: It's creative ideas with a smart strategy. Simple really.' 

Branding is only one aspect of Peter & Paul's studio practice. They also specialize in pretty much every other aspect of Graphic design there is including print and editorial, design for screen and film / animation. Peter & Paul have an impressive portfolio of work with a range of distinct clients and innovative outcomes. 

SIDEbySIDE

' Side by Side is a design studio specialising in identity and bespoke typography. We work across branding, advertising, interior design, packaging and digital products.

Founded by Oliver Booth & Dave Greasley, our approach is simple:
Listen / Understand / Think / Do.

We like to challenge the everyday and believe design should engage on both commercial and emotional levels. We don’t believe in account managers, we’d rather talk to you directly, ideally over a beer. We limit our number of clients (and beers) to ensure you get the best from us.

4 things we know:
1. There’s one perfect idea for everyone.
2. Curiosity leads to exciting things.
3. Originality is hard, but worth the search.
4. No-one ever rocked their industry by playing it safe.'

SidebySide studio is a multidisciplinary Studio set up by childhood friends Oliver Booth and Dave Greasley 4 years ago. Their portfolio boasts an impressive range of branding, packaging and interior design. At the moment it's just the two of them who work in the studio. 

OUGD502 - Studio Brief 01 - After Effects

In OUGD504 Studio Brief 02 we started exploring after effects to animate the digital designs that we had produced. This is a skill that I had been dying to try as it can really bring a digitally designed piece to life. We had numerous lessons to learn these new skills. 

In industry designers work together with developers to bring the website to life through coding. However it is the designers job to communicate the ways in which they expect the website to move and respond to the user. This can be achieved by animating the design in programmes such as After Effects , iMovie and premiere to give to the developer as an example of how you want the website to work in reality, avoiding confusion and problems further down the line. 

Above is the final video that I designed for the outcome of OUGD505 Sb2 I am really happy with the way that it came out. I used both iMovie and After Effects to bring the design to life, showing examples of how different user interfaces would work and how the users mouse interacted with the page in areas such as hovering over the images to flick through them in the search results. It effectively shows howe every aspect of the design responds to the user. I found it and really difficult and tedious process but after a lot of rigorous work, the outcome worked really well to showcase the user experience. 

I am looking forward to trying after effects in the future as I want to experiment a lot more in digital design and this is a really good way to show what you've made.