Tom Finn and Kristoffer Sølling (regular practice)

6B2

https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/ones-to-watch-2019-regular-practice-tom-finn-kristoffer-halse-solling-graphic-design-250219

methodology: layering type
trying different things that weren't doing in education
testing methods such as printing white
breaking away from mundane is what lead them to what they are doing now
hack processes: vinyl cutter (makeshift plotter) add pen instead of blade
use commercial level printing and hack 

'informa' magazine puerto rican architectual magazine used drop fountain printing 

Tinted window
British Council Drawing Words exhibition in "collaboration" with Lauren Crane (charlie and lola author)
Serpentine Work Marathon - created own tools for artwork 


Nothing can replace good work
Dont make website in a night (focus on documentation and a strong PDF portfolio first)
Utilise your time in education to make interesting work (push practice whilst you can)
Strategise and customise your approach to people
Go to stuff/events

Bafic

6B2

http://www.bafic.co.uk/

Makes videos, works with musicians
graphic design implemented through process

BAFIC is not given name. It is taken from his date of birth which 21st June 93: 21 6 93.
- everything man made is designed
I can design the world I want to live in - I found this a really interesting statement and made me think about how much impact people have on our world and how I can contribute to this.

Bafic gave some advice on how to brand people and provide work that suits them. Some people he had worked with wanted a typeface/style that didn't suit their brand. It is job as a designer to provide the outcome that best reflects the brand. You do this through the research process.
You should find out everything about them in order to understand them, you need to show the people who they are.

Another interesting point Bafic made is that there are no rules. Using the reference of musical artwork being a square based on vinyl records and how music format has changed, there is no reason why artwork made could not be any size or shape.

Andrew Odong

6B2

Creative Production: From freelance to start up

Pesa productions
Andrew did physics with astronomy.

Who did I want to be?
What did I want to do
what impact did I want to have
who did I want to serve

Conference Production
Curation of content and speakers for industry events. Research into business and access to executives. Created line up and worked with marketing to ensure event sold tickets.

Transferable skills
communication
research
project management
networking
business acumen - financially successful

difference between work and social life. creativity lacking 

freelance after 3 years
skills were transferable, value of service
active pitching

big brands not attached to a specific person, umbrella company
works with freelancers on a project to project basis
'we' on social media, not 'i' - the mindset that he is surrounded by a team

Events
- exhibiiton/festival
Film 
- videos, trailers, documentaries
Photography
- fine art, editorial, campaign
Podcasts

Considered dividing portfolio, exist in both corporate and creative

production is a service (what production means) = making shit happen, manager, enabler, reliable, orchestrator

what you make and who you make it with should reflect world you want to live in. inclusivity equally important in front and behind the camera. - Jannis Birsner, film producer

proactive + practical
identifying and maximising opportunities
galvanizing people and resources around a common purpose
holding yourself and others accountable
creative problem solver

design and production
web, portfolio, pitch decks, type & logo, film graphics, installations and set design, event branding

5 things we should know
value based networking - what you can give
identify your value
customer and client experience
ideas are useless without acting
find your advocates

networking across, not up
andrew@pesaproductions
@kingdom_pesa / @pesaproductions
@ajodong1 

Valentina Egoavil Medina

6B2

https://www.creativebloq.com/reviews/suspira-review

Suspira - between dread and desire

Valentina got involved with w project after going to a talk and offering help. She worked on project such as W project x Tate exchange.
Valentina thought what can I do that nobody else can do? Passions, knowledge. 

Biggest creative challenge: how to pay my bills without selling my soul.

Suspira is based on the macabre and horror through a female perspective. How important do you think it is to represent women and be a voice for them in today's society? And especially within the creative industry? - Any minority/marginalised group deserves a platform. Independent publishers are good for this as they focus on niche topics. Route she felt passionate about and had knowledge on. Research showed there was more than meets the eye. Suspira acknowledges underrated films, books, characters etc.


What was your reason for choosing the subject matter you have done? - 6 months developing the idea, the feminist angle wasn't as prominent to start with, but the fiend issue was there to start with because horror is so broad. Proving that horror (literature, illustration etc.) has cultural and artistic merit. Create publication to celebrate this. During research, she discovered that the female voice was so important. Horror is under-appreciated - people don't understand it. 

How long is the process?
Need the right visual language, pulling together research and references. Extracting classic horror elements and placing within sophisticated layout/design. The balance between these two. first 7 months, second 5 months.

Intuition. building a case around that.
The monster issue covers mental health (inner demons), the face of fear (clowns), the relationship between monster and women in horror (romantic/sexual)

Tactile techniques, have to hold it/see it to appreciate the design (debossing. metallic, thin paper, black with accent colour). Consistency through the issues, but swap them out eg colours, effects (metallic), patterns (monster = bitmap pattern, fetish = lined pattern)

Fetish idea came from an interview with fetish performer from the monster issue, focusing on the combination of horror and sex. 60/70s influences with grainy photos, very campy.

Publicising - promoted by friend and co-worker who had own magazine. No advertising just publicised on social media (Instagram primarily, facebook, twitter).

Funding, got an investor who she knew. 

Cover letters

6C2
6D2

What you can bring to the job, not what the job can bring to you.
Be formal, the tone is important

Confident
Clear
Concise

Tips:
- Don't repeat your CV
- Research the company
- Tell them what you have to offer
- Use a professional tone, but don't lose all personality
- Finish strong

Grammarly

Hemingway app

Stand out with a clever subject line (emojis, puns, play on words). But don't be too inappropriate, judge by the vibe of the studio.

Oh shit what now - Craig Oldham

Introduce myself, outline a shared ideal

State intention - "I'm getting in touch with a proposal." Make them an offer don't ask.

Pay?

What you can add to the company.

Compare your work and theirs, identify what it has in common or is something they'd connect with. Add direct links to work to save them from going looking.

What can I gain from them - mention specific things. Tailor portfolio for the studio 'tailored for you' 

Finish strongly

Speed Mentoring workshop

6A2
6B2

Working in Branding

Matt and Poonam from Kiss Branding were really helpful in giving advice about how to break into the industry. 
The first subject we touched upon was interning. They gave their own experiences about interning - Matt interned in the summer of his second year of university and was offered a job straight from that, whereas Poonam did her internships a bit later in the year and then was offered a job before graduation. They advised me to do my research and apply to lots of places ASAP, to beat the rush in a few months when a lot of people will also be applying. 
In terms of networking, they advised to reach out to as many people as possible on LinkedIn etc., to build up a relationship of trust.
They themselves worked for companies and then decided they weren't happy, so set up their own business in Leeds. Their clients come from the contacts they made in industry as well as recommendations. Poonam said to find the path that was right for me and that would come from listening to myself and discovering where and what I was happiest working on.


Freelancing with IPSE

Lydia from IPSE gave me advice on freelancing.
How to start up (best platforms e.g Instagram)
How to reach clients/get briefs - ask for feedback on completed projects as it allows you to see what you did well and makes the client reflect back on the project to do the same. Once they realise the project went well they are more likely to return for other projects or to recommend you onwards to other people they know of in need of a designer.
Pricing (what would they recommend) - project or day rate, work out business as well as personal overheads, add a third for tax. Regarding tax, you need to register for self-assessment.
Get out there - you need an online presence as this is where you will most likely get a lot of your work. 

Working for a Creative Agency workshop

6A2
6B2

Craft agency works with studios/companies such as:
intermarketing agency
robot food
love.
elmwood
thomson partners
engage

ollie language - northern monk beer 

north star coffee x craft

portfolio lab @ sheaf street/duke studios

education to industry

• its okay if you haven't found your passion yet. - don't pigeonhole yourself
• you don't have to be a designer (transferable skills)
• happiness is reality minus expectations
• get the basics right (job seeking) (cvs, cover letters, portfolio copy)
• your design work won't get you a job (employ based on personality, skills, interview impression and potential as employee) (punctuality, sell your work with passion, take criticism well)
• experience is everything (approach smaller agencies and companies)
• you're already a part of the design industry so act like it (confidence, professionalism, positivity) (go to events, network) 

Ladies wine and design 

glug

craft manchester

portfolio advice:

blog series

Portfolio 1:1 advice

Tom from Craft Agency was kind enough to do a 1:1 portfolio session with me. In it I talked through my website which is my existing portfolio and gave me advice on how to improve.
My portfolio is good in terms of showing versatility, I just need to refine what I am showing in order to target branding and packaging studios. I could also include any examples of animation as that is a good skill to have in my portfolio. The goal I need to reach is to elongate each project, and show the development I have for it, and include multiple outputs. This echoes the advice I got from Alec in the website crit I had. This skill can be transferred over to creating a pdf portfolio - showing 2 projects in detail through development stages (building a case study) and then including other projects at the end of the portfolio.
This talk was really helpful to me and inspired me to push myself further and dedicate some time to refining and improving the projects I already have.

Future

6B2

A way to live a life of choice, not chance

A picture of what success looks like at a particular point in the future, described with enough richness of detail that you know when you've arrived

an effective vision should be: inspiring, detailed, documented, communicated and a little scary

"a vision without execution is a hallucination" Thomas Edison

your vision informs and inspires the actions that bring you closer to your goal

vision > smaller manageable tasks

first draft of future
5 - 10 years in future
start by writing date
present tense
rich detail
personal and professional
cover what defines success for you

My plan:

9.11.18

9.11.23

It is November 2023 and I am a freelance graphic designer working in my own studio space. Prior to this I have worked for a few years at a studio in London primarily designing packaging which has helped me network and build my skills. I also part own and run a small independent coffee shop with my sister.

I live with my partner in a cosy flat with a pretty kitchen on the outskirts of London, close to my sister and her family. I have a rescue dog and lots of plants and I go to a concert at least once a month. I go on a city break four times a year, I still also enjoy festivals such as Glastonbury and Bestival. I host dinner parties regularly for my friends.

In the last five years, I have passed my driving test and opened my own business. I have also worked as a junior designer in Amsterdam for 6 months. I have taught English and volunteered at an animal sanctuary in Asia.

In the past few years I have travelled around cities in Europe as well Asia, Australia and Japan and a trip to America is being planned. 

Self Employment - workshop

6A2
6B2

Russell Smith is an accountant who went self-employed and works for artists and creatives. In his first year of going self-employed, he made £6k. This year he made over £500k.
He did this by stating that he was the expert at what he does. Even though he wasn't at first, it bought him, clients, as they were attracted to what he was stating. He recommends doing this, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy - saying you are the best at something. This will attract clients and then you can become an expert.

Russell asked us to ask ourselves 2 questions -
How confident in this area? 1 - 5
What I want to know about the area?

I answered with 2 for the first as I have been to previous workshops on the topic, and I really wanted to know a lot about the subject as I have no real experience. Other people answered with subjects such as:

Tax
Creating a brand student to self-employed
Keeping books
Where to start

There are 3 parts to every company: operations, sales and marketing and finance.

It is easy to go self-employed, by filling out the HMRC self-employment form. You only pay tax over 11.5k a year. 

The best way to make money is to have multiple sources of income. Have a full/part-time job in the day, and work on your passion in the evening. 

Money
Income
Expenses
Profit

Profit = Income - Expenses

Costs can be variable or fixed.

Variable:
Materials
Printing
Travel

Fixed: 
Office/studio
Software
Equipment
Art fair
Electricity
Loan
Phone
Accountancy