Springetts Portfolio Visit

The first portfolio visit I had in London was with Jon Vallance and a colleague of his at Springetts. I was put in contact with Jon after he got in touch with one of our tutors: as he happened to be an ex-student. I knew initially that they were looking for students/graduates for a series of placements, which for the first time in a while made me really nervous about showing them my work. I guess it felt like something was at steak. In the exchange of emails he had asked me to take along some development work to show the process of my ideas, which I had never been asked before so I had a rummage around and thankfully had still kept everything from first/second year.

We had a brief chat at the beginning about the course and where Jon had studied which instantly got rid of the nerves I began talking through my projects (trying as best as possible to hold back and not talk too much – although I’m not sure how successful I was) they both asked lots of questions as i went through each brief.

The briefs that stuck out were the Ritz, book and pasta festival. The Ritz was a great talking point as it's not only an ongoing project but also works with a redesign of a brand. They really liked my approach using the shape as the key focus of the idea and thought the colour palate worked really well and was vibrant and fresh. They told me not to get too bogged down with information on and around the box and said at this stage it was really nice to see it as it is. We discussed lots of other ways I could take the project with regards to my special edition idea so not only concentrating on a Christmas edition but maybe an easter edition or summer edition to keep the brand fresh and interesting. This I thought could be a nice idea to integrate into a campaign running alongside the boxes aswell.

It was really interesting to hear their opinions of the book, they didn't seem to think the quality of it was hindered by the printing and actually really liked it. We talked lots about the experience and how it was all beneficial. They thought the link between the book and the poster was nice and noticed the detail in the circle on the poster to mimic the screen printed style.

We had a good chat about the pasta festival brief and they both highlighted ways I could really have fun with the project and really use the pasta as the source of more london landmarks in a similar way, even suggesting making a book out of it so steering away from the packaging aspect of it.

I showed them the Helvetica editorial spread and the Font Struct specimen sheet. They were both really positive about the layout aspect of the designs and liked the concept behind the typeface. What they found more beneficial was actually looking through all my early scamps of the editorial brief and seeing where my idea's began and where I then chose to take them. We then spoke alot about the importance of being able to see where the ideas come from and not just the final product and it's something more and more agencies are looking for so its something to bear in mind for further visits.

Towards the end of the visit they asked me what my opinion on placements was and whether I would be interested in doing a 4 week one there. I explained that although it would cut into my final year and I would have to check it over with my tutors, I still felt 4 weeks experience was something that could only help me get a job at the end and if it hinders my mark slightly then that's something I would have to sacrifice. I have to wait to hear from them about if I can definitely do it as they need to double check the amount of people they already have but fingers crossed I will get it because it seems like it would be a really good opportunity to open a few doors, especially in London.

Source: All pics (www.springetts.co.uk)

A bit of frustration

As part the HFO we completed at the beginning of this year I decided that I would opt to contact and visit only large companies and agencies as part of the portfolio visit section of the PDP. Last year we had to complete only two visits and I ended up going on about 6, which really helped me get a rounded view of my work and where to push the projects. What I found as a result is that I only really visited smaller agencies (apart from The Chase) and as I have progressed through the course I have found myself to sway towards working in a larger company or being the part of a bigger team instead of a small.

Source: (gallivantingaround.co.uk)

I also decided towards the end of last year that I would like to be based in London when I finish the course so I waned to try and build some contacts down there. What I have found is that larger companies are much, much harder to get through to. Each company I contacted meant verbal interaction with the office and a lot of the time being past through a series of people before even getting an email address of the person to contact. Many of these then resulted in no reply, even after a follow up or in some cases me forwarding a sample of my portfolio to them. It has been good practice in just calling people up and getting used to speak to different departments, even if it did feel like going round in circles sometimes. As a result of this I have ended up only securing 2 portfolio visits in London, which I am abit annoyed and frustrated about, but I guess the demand from students to see companies there is much higher.

V&A Shadow Catchers: Camera-less photography

Source: (www.vam.ac.uk)

As I am down in London for a few days I was told about this exhibition at the V&A Museum and thought it sounded really interesting. SHADOW CATCHERS: Camera-less photography is an exhibition of 5 contemporary artists who have all used alternative methods of producing images without the aid of a camera. Instead the artists have developed unique ways of creating imagery using shadows, light, photographic paper, natural artifacts and other materials. The 5 artists are Pierre Cordier, Adam Fuss, Susan Derges, Floris Neususs and Gary Fabian Miller. My favorites from the exhibition were:

Pierre Cordier

Pierre Cordier's work is more like a painter or printmaker than a photographer, he replaces the canvas or printing plate with photo paper. He applies photographic developer to the paper to create dark areas and fixer to light tones.

This unique method allows him to create images impossible to realise by any other means. This process has become the artwork and his style is his technique.

Source: (www.vam.ac.uk)

Gary Fabian Miller

Fabian Millers work was one of my favorite of the collections, he explores the cycle of time, from day - month - year and controls experiments by varying the durations of light exposure. His work was simple yet really energising.

"The pictures I make, are something as yet unseen, which may only exist on the paper surface, or subsequently my be found in the world. I am seeking a state of mind which lifts the spirit, gives strength and a moment of clarity."

Source: (www.thecrossedcow.com)

Susan Derges

Some of the work Susan had produced seemed almost impossible, most of them are photograms of water which she produces by submerging large sheets of photographic paper in rivers and using the moon and flashlight to create the exposure. her work is said to "examine the threshold between two interconnected worlds: between water and spirit"

She also produced some amazing clips of the evolution of a frog starting with frogspawn.

Source: (www.vam.ac.uk)

I really enjoyed looking round the exhibition, I would never consider myself to be someone who knew alot about photography but I don't think that matters here at all. Its about realising what can be achieved and that sometime you should strip away all the modern technology and media that we cant help but turn to and actually force yourself to find another outcome. Its quite inspiring to see some of the literally amazing images that have been made by these 5 artists and to now see if I can maybe adopt some of that forward thinking.

Design Observer iPhone App.

The Design Observer application for the iPone is finally here and its FREE :)

I have only had an iPhone since Easter and since then it has had technical problems about 4 times resulting in a new phone everytime, which made me give up on it abit! I'm not an app fiend either, I don't have folders and I'm generally abit pathetic on the iPhone front. However.. I've been hoping for a while that the design observer would get cracking with an app and now they have and the fact it's free is a bonus. well done D.O.

I think this is a great example of how technology can be used positively to keep up with design. Another medium I have recently joined is twitter, the bulk of the people I follow are design agencies, designers, art magazines etc and as a result I have found out about some great websites, exhibitions and articles.

Check the link which explains who designed it etc..

Design Observer Launches iPhone App

Hort Design Agency

So this week I am completely green with envy and extremely jealous that everyone else has gone off to Berlin as part of the course trip.. However a friend of mine in the 2nd year told me of a few agencies they were being taken to so I thought I'd check out some of their work anyway and see what I'm missing out on! (I really don't why I'm doing it to myself) Anyway.. Hort is one of the agencies mentioned and from taking a big look at their website and their respective portfolio PDFs they have produced some really nice work (although I won't be admitting that to Steven)

They have quite a big and recognisable client list and some of the campaigns they have worked across have been really fresh and contemporary. They have a great range of work from print — illustration —expressive, which is nice to see such a broad range of outcomes.

I found this little caption on their website:

HORT - a direct translation of the studio's mission.

A creative playground.

A place where 'work and play' can be said in the same sentence.

An unconventional working environment.

I love the idea of an unconventional environment and this 'work and play' attitude. I don't think creative spaces should be anything less than a combination of the two - although I suppose some people work better in different situations. I think this little ethos (of sorts) really comes through in their work. Alot of it is modern and vibrant and well, playful. We are all going through the process of trying to decide what type of place we want to work, how big/small etc and to end up somewhere like this would be brilliant.

something else which really stuck out when looking through their website is the creative workshops they conduct.

"HORT Creative Workshops are not about learning standardized creative techniques. But more about exchange, exploring your own boundaries and breaking them, stepping out of your daily routine."

This along with a strictly NO MACS policy is a real sign of their capability as an agency. To openly invite people to be part of workshop which is as broad and open as it is designed, is inspiring and makes me even more jealous they are all the way over in Berlin.

Unfortunately for the people over on the trip. I think they had to pull out of the visit lastminute, which is a massive shame.

Stephen Fry - The Machine that Made Us.

For my dissertation I am looking into how technology is effecting the way we read. As part of this I have researched into the Gutenberg Press, which was the first ever instrument to allow print to be produced in volume, some 500 years ago. I came across this documentary by Stephen Fry called 'The Machine that Made Us' I think it's important to look at all different types of research not just books and articles. From actually being shown the way the press was made it's allowed me to really understand the logistics of how it works and where he got his inspiration to make it.

It's also been a refreshing change from reading and taking notes.

The Machine That Made Us (1/3)
Uploaded by xSilverPhinx. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.
The Machine That Made Us (2/3)
Uploaded by xSilverPhinx. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.
The Machine That Made Us (3/3)
Uploaded by xSilverPhinx. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

Source: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdtq64_the-machine-that-made-us-1-3_shortfilms

Bungo Design: Kerning my tits off

I saw this a while ago on a friends website and liked it.. alot! BUNGO DESIGN: check out some of Ed's other T-shirt designs and his illustration work because it's pretty good.