I have been thinking about the D&AD Student awards and I think I am going to go with the Quaker Oats Packaging brief. I was looking on the net for inspiration and I found this example of unexpected packaging
http://lovelypackage.com/petrocoll-building-supplies/
Although its not a food packaging example it shows given the right brief and a client who is willing to take risks what can be achieved.
Monday, 26 October 2009
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Design for a Diverse World - Week 5
This week we were given a one night brief to fulfil the criteria of the Design for a Diverse World. The project was to be done in teams and would be presented on the night.
The project was to get us to think about how we communicate with different groups of society and how we can see the world from there perspective.
We were to ask questions such as :
Who are they?
What do they like/dislike?
What motivates them?
What music do they listen to?
Who are their role models?
What requirements or barriers are specific to them?
The Task
In groups you are to develop an advertising campaign for one of the following:
Budget flights to European cities for wheelchair users
National trust membership for people of Afro-Caribbean heritage
Twitter to the over 65’s
Young people to join the Church of England
I joined Andy for the first time and we decided to tackle the National Trust Membership of Afro-Caribbean heritage.
After going through the brief we decided to tackle 3 of the questions each. I went to the library and went into the computer suite to do some research on the internet. I logged on and some of the searches I did were Afro-caribbean, likes and dislikes, history.
Some of the first information I came up with was statistics on how the Afro-Caribbean population was split around the country. The main percentage was found in London suburbs. I then looked at there media interests and how there TV habits. They watch a typical 6-7 hours but watch it mainly on their own.
Afro-Caribbean’s do not like programmes that embody the values of ‘Middle England’ preferring American and Australian imports. This is echoed in the lack of interest in the ‘quality’ British cinema like costume dramas and literary adaptations.
I then found some information on attitudes to University and Education. A broad problem with Ethnic minority children is they underachieve due to lack of motivation, teachers’ low expectations and poor schools. Even those with high ability are reluctant to apply to northern University due to a stereo typical image associated with Northern Universities and those that are ranked highly academically.
I felt this was as much as I was going to find out on the internet as I was not finding a website that embodied all the Afro-Caribbean likes and dislikes.
I went through to the library and started looking through sociology books. These mainly confirmed the distribution of the population. It was at this point I started to read a lot more about race relations and the kind of problems the community can come up against. However this all seemed to be more based in the past ie 50’s – 70’s.
Time was getting by so I decided to go back to Andy who had been working in the Mac Suite. He had done loads of research on the music, history and things going on in London and Specifically for the National Trust.
We compared notes and decided that we needed to get away as much as possible from the ‘Middle England’ image. We decided we neede someone current and fresh to represent the Afro-Caribbean community we decided to use either Goldie or Roni Size to promote the National Trust in our TV ad.
We would start in Windrush Square, Brixton as this would link to the first immigrants in to the country on the Windrush Boat. Goldie would do a piece to camera with some of his music in the background. We would cut to him walking down the street and turning into the Notting Hill Carnival. The edits would be fast with lots of happy people dancing, drinking, families and art. We would then show some chapels which the National Trust own. We decided to show these as religion is very important to Afro-Caribbean’s. We would finish on a shot of Goldie with the strap line ‘Join the Rush’ this relates back to the Windrush and the sense of new discoveries.
Conclusions
In retrospect this was quite a difficult brief to fulfil as we were dealing with important issues such as race, and possibly the attitudes of one section of the community with another and how they have been treated in the past.
I believe some of the decisions we came to were right, moving away from a ‘Middle England’ image is correct. It needs to be more accessible to ethnic minorities and as such using Goldie and his music and a fast paced edit is correct.
I am not so sure we should of made the connection of the Windrush boat in the strapline, I am unsure how this will be perceived by the Community? The idea was to link in with the idea of new frontiers and exploration. Could it just remind people that they arrived from there home Country and came to a racist, cold unforgiving country?
One thing I need to improve on is my delivery of a presentation to the class. I stumbled my words and lost my place quite badly, I need to be more prepared and confident in what I am saying.
The project was to get us to think about how we communicate with different groups of society and how we can see the world from there perspective.
We were to ask questions such as :
Who are they?
What do they like/dislike?
What motivates them?
What music do they listen to?
Who are their role models?
What requirements or barriers are specific to them?
The Task
In groups you are to develop an advertising campaign for one of the following:
Budget flights to European cities for wheelchair users
National trust membership for people of Afro-Caribbean heritage
Twitter to the over 65’s
Young people to join the Church of England
I joined Andy for the first time and we decided to tackle the National Trust Membership of Afro-Caribbean heritage.
After going through the brief we decided to tackle 3 of the questions each. I went to the library and went into the computer suite to do some research on the internet. I logged on and some of the searches I did were Afro-caribbean, likes and dislikes, history.
Some of the first information I came up with was statistics on how the Afro-Caribbean population was split around the country. The main percentage was found in London suburbs. I then looked at there media interests and how there TV habits. They watch a typical 6-7 hours but watch it mainly on their own.
Afro-Caribbean’s do not like programmes that embody the values of ‘Middle England’ preferring American and Australian imports. This is echoed in the lack of interest in the ‘quality’ British cinema like costume dramas and literary adaptations.
I then found some information on attitudes to University and Education. A broad problem with Ethnic minority children is they underachieve due to lack of motivation, teachers’ low expectations and poor schools. Even those with high ability are reluctant to apply to northern University due to a stereo typical image associated with Northern Universities and those that are ranked highly academically.
I felt this was as much as I was going to find out on the internet as I was not finding a website that embodied all the Afro-Caribbean likes and dislikes.
I went through to the library and started looking through sociology books. These mainly confirmed the distribution of the population. It was at this point I started to read a lot more about race relations and the kind of problems the community can come up against. However this all seemed to be more based in the past ie 50’s – 70’s.
Time was getting by so I decided to go back to Andy who had been working in the Mac Suite. He had done loads of research on the music, history and things going on in London and Specifically for the National Trust.
We compared notes and decided that we needed to get away as much as possible from the ‘Middle England’ image. We decided we neede someone current and fresh to represent the Afro-Caribbean community we decided to use either Goldie or Roni Size to promote the National Trust in our TV ad.
We would start in Windrush Square, Brixton as this would link to the first immigrants in to the country on the Windrush Boat. Goldie would do a piece to camera with some of his music in the background. We would cut to him walking down the street and turning into the Notting Hill Carnival. The edits would be fast with lots of happy people dancing, drinking, families and art. We would then show some chapels which the National Trust own. We decided to show these as religion is very important to Afro-Caribbean’s. We would finish on a shot of Goldie with the strap line ‘Join the Rush’ this relates back to the Windrush and the sense of new discoveries.
Conclusions
In retrospect this was quite a difficult brief to fulfil as we were dealing with important issues such as race, and possibly the attitudes of one section of the community with another and how they have been treated in the past.
I believe some of the decisions we came to were right, moving away from a ‘Middle England’ image is correct. It needs to be more accessible to ethnic minorities and as such using Goldie and his music and a fast paced edit is correct.
I am not so sure we should of made the connection of the Windrush boat in the strapline, I am unsure how this will be perceived by the Community? The idea was to link in with the idea of new frontiers and exploration. Could it just remind people that they arrived from there home Country and came to a racist, cold unforgiving country?
One thing I need to improve on is my delivery of a presentation to the class. I stumbled my words and lost my place quite badly, I need to be more prepared and confident in what I am saying.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Industry Insiders
At the weekend I approached a few friends who are in the design business to ask them a few questions about there experience of agencys and in house jobs. There were a variety of people with different career paths and all had various experiences which has shaped them and the approach to there job.
These are the conversations I had:
1) What is your name? Where do you work and what is your role?
Joanne Cheung, JDA, Creative Operator
2) How did you come to work here?
Talking to friends about work and Emma said there was a place going at hers and she should applie
3) What is the workflow in your office?
Account handler gets job in and then books in with Emma head of artworking. Job then goes to creative and a copy writer who will work together and come up with marker visuals which goes to client, some clients like marker visuals and some like mac visuals. If the client likes a design it is then handed over to artworking who then will be given the elements to put together. Items are flagged up as low res and then a proof is sent to the client with no copy inplace then tweaked and then text and photos put in place and eventually sent to print. Lots of checks with ISO in place to gain more customers.
4) What experience is essential and what can be learnt on the job?
Artworker quark indesign. Basic photoshop, illustrator. Be organized.
5) What would be a advantage for a potential employee to gain employment?
Experience, Illustration skills.
Hwa Kent Cheung
1) What is your name? Where do you work and what is your role?
Wak, Frank Communications in Birstal, Creative Director
2) How did you come to work here?
Was a Freelancer for Richard (Boss) went for pitch for Leeds City Council Branding for Young people, they won and Richard took Wak on full time.
3) What is the workflow in your office?
From Richard (Director) speaks to clients who pases it over to wak. Job's put on board, and then decided how urgent the client needs it. Wak checks everything.
4) What skill set would some one need to work in your department and to what level?
Competant in Quark Illustrator Photoshop. 50/50 with fitting in. Creative ideas depending on role within company.
5) What experience is essential and what can be learnt on the job?
2years experience at least from a agency, look at portfolio and a mac test
6) What would be a advantage for a potential employee to gain employment?
personality, fit in with team
7) What kind of portfolio would you be looking for?
Practical, variety mainly print some web for banners
Neil Thorpe
1) What is your name? Where do you work and what is your role?
Neil Thorpe, Direct Relations, Studio Manager
2) How did you come to work here?
Wanted a change of job as I was working at a print and design company and wanted to leave the print and production behind. I wanted remain a creative artworker but has become a studio manager.
3) What is the workflow in your office?
From Richard (Director) speaks to clients who pases it over to wak. Job's put on board, and then decided how urgent the client needs it. Wak checks everything.
4) What skill set would some one need to work in your department and to what level?
This depends on where in the company you work, you could be in the concept department who just come up with concepts and produce scamps only. The next department is creative art directors who take the concepts and bring them to life and know all the applications and also come up with concepts. We also have copy writers who can come up with a text based solution to a brief. Artworking can take a idea and take it through to print, this then is given to repro.
5) What experience is essential and what can be learnt on the job?
If you are going into creative you need to show you have a creative flare. You can learn how to push certain things, also copy lines can be learnt. All applications can be learnt on the job aswell.
6) What would be a advantage for a potential employee to gain employment?
For a artworker it is the accuracy of the artwork, for a creative you need strong ideas.
7) What kind of portfolio would you be looking for?
It depends on what job is available at the time. If you are wanting to go into a creative role you need to be able to talk confidently about your ideas and how you came to your conclusions. Ideas can be diluted by a client, so you need to show your ideas at the start.
8) Is there a difference between a artworker and a creative artworker?
Yes a creative artworker will take a idea and lay it out and choose the elements for that piece and how it looks. A artworker will work with a art director who will dictate the look of the piece and tell the art worker what to do.
9) Can you tell me about your last place of work, Digi?
Yes it was a very different setup to Direct Relations. Diji was a small setup with a quick turnaround the most important thing ie a 52 page brochure to be out of the door in a day and a half. You were not so critical of the artwork and looking for widows and perfect kerning, it was mainly a fast turn around. This gave me a grounding in finishes and all the different textures that could be applied, also cutting forms as well. I also learnt about personalization which is more than black text on a page but uses full colour.
Conclusions
It was very insightful to talk to my friends who have various experiences, some of which mirror my own. I am very interested in the workings of the large agencys and how the different departments are broken down. It seems I need to make a firm decision on if I want to go down the creative / concept route or stay on a more artworking path and just improve my existing skills. If I could combine the two I feel this would be the best way for me. Last Thursday Patrick showed us the D&AD briefs which were really exciting, I will get to explore the concept/artworking with this module.
These are the conversations I had:
1) What is your name? Where do you work and what is your role?
Joanne Cheung, JDA, Creative Operator
2) How did you come to work here?
Talking to friends about work and Emma said there was a place going at hers and she should applie
3) What is the workflow in your office?
Account handler gets job in and then books in with Emma head of artworking. Job then goes to creative and a copy writer who will work together and come up with marker visuals which goes to client, some clients like marker visuals and some like mac visuals. If the client likes a design it is then handed over to artworking who then will be given the elements to put together. Items are flagged up as low res and then a proof is sent to the client with no copy inplace then tweaked and then text and photos put in place and eventually sent to print. Lots of checks with ISO in place to gain more customers.
4) What experience is essential and what can be learnt on the job?
Artworker quark indesign. Basic photoshop, illustrator. Be organized.
5) What would be a advantage for a potential employee to gain employment?
Experience, Illustration skills.
Hwa Kent Cheung
1) What is your name? Where do you work and what is your role?
Wak, Frank Communications in Birstal, Creative Director
2) How did you come to work here?
Was a Freelancer for Richard (Boss) went for pitch for Leeds City Council Branding for Young people, they won and Richard took Wak on full time.
3) What is the workflow in your office?
From Richard (Director) speaks to clients who pases it over to wak. Job's put on board, and then decided how urgent the client needs it. Wak checks everything.
4) What skill set would some one need to work in your department and to what level?
Competant in Quark Illustrator Photoshop. 50/50 with fitting in. Creative ideas depending on role within company.
5) What experience is essential and what can be learnt on the job?
2years experience at least from a agency, look at portfolio and a mac test
6) What would be a advantage for a potential employee to gain employment?
personality, fit in with team
7) What kind of portfolio would you be looking for?
Practical, variety mainly print some web for banners
Neil Thorpe
1) What is your name? Where do you work and what is your role?
Neil Thorpe, Direct Relations, Studio Manager
2) How did you come to work here?
Wanted a change of job as I was working at a print and design company and wanted to leave the print and production behind. I wanted remain a creative artworker but has become a studio manager.
3) What is the workflow in your office?
From Richard (Director) speaks to clients who pases it over to wak. Job's put on board, and then decided how urgent the client needs it. Wak checks everything.
4) What skill set would some one need to work in your department and to what level?
This depends on where in the company you work, you could be in the concept department who just come up with concepts and produce scamps only. The next department is creative art directors who take the concepts and bring them to life and know all the applications and also come up with concepts. We also have copy writers who can come up with a text based solution to a brief. Artworking can take a idea and take it through to print, this then is given to repro.
5) What experience is essential and what can be learnt on the job?
If you are going into creative you need to show you have a creative flare. You can learn how to push certain things, also copy lines can be learnt. All applications can be learnt on the job aswell.
6) What would be a advantage for a potential employee to gain employment?
For a artworker it is the accuracy of the artwork, for a creative you need strong ideas.
7) What kind of portfolio would you be looking for?
It depends on what job is available at the time. If you are wanting to go into a creative role you need to be able to talk confidently about your ideas and how you came to your conclusions. Ideas can be diluted by a client, so you need to show your ideas at the start.
8) Is there a difference between a artworker and a creative artworker?
Yes a creative artworker will take a idea and lay it out and choose the elements for that piece and how it looks. A artworker will work with a art director who will dictate the look of the piece and tell the art worker what to do.
9) Can you tell me about your last place of work, Digi?
Yes it was a very different setup to Direct Relations. Diji was a small setup with a quick turnaround the most important thing ie a 52 page brochure to be out of the door in a day and a half. You were not so critical of the artwork and looking for widows and perfect kerning, it was mainly a fast turn around. This gave me a grounding in finishes and all the different textures that could be applied, also cutting forms as well. I also learnt about personalization which is more than black text on a page but uses full colour.
Conclusions
It was very insightful to talk to my friends who have various experiences, some of which mirror my own. I am very interested in the workings of the large agencys and how the different departments are broken down. It seems I need to make a firm decision on if I want to go down the creative / concept route or stay on a more artworking path and just improve my existing skills. If I could combine the two I feel this would be the best way for me. Last Thursday Patrick showed us the D&AD briefs which were really exciting, I will get to explore the concept/artworking with this module.
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Lets Get Things Going
Well this is all new to me..blogging that is. I have decided to do a blog instead of a notebook/diary as I can update this at any point. I will be posting thoughts and feelings on my experiences at college and how my work is going. I am hoping to put loads of interesting links up of design related topics, here comes the first one...
I am going to enter a monthly competition for the magazine Advanced Photoshop. There is a selection of 3 images to choose from and I have selected mine already and I am now coming up with some preliminary ideas how to develop it. I might post up some ideas in the next few days to show how I am getting on.
Why don't you have a go as well? Who knows one of us might get featured in the magazine!!
http://www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/competitions.php
College on Tuesday 6th October 2009. We were given a lot of information from Patrick and it put my head in a spin ( I don't think I was the only one!!) Two projects to hand in by January plus a identity for myself for self promotion, no ideas yet but I will get my thinking cap on in the next week or two.
Having talked over what it is exactly I am aiming for I am a bit more at ease with what direction I will be heading in. I think I will be aiming for a more creative portfolio at the end of the course with some work which you would expect to get in a agency ie branding, logos, photo illustration etc. This makes sense I the reason I joined the course was to get the creative mind going again.
I have just looked at the 2009 D&AD Student awards for branding and as expected there is some stunning work.
http://studentawards.dandad.org/2009/categories/11/brand-identity
I just hope I can get somewhere near in standard. I am looking forward to seeing what the briefs will be this year, something really meaty I hope!!!
Well thats it for my first ever blog. I look forward to blogging in the coming years and getting some responses from you.
Be good.
I am going to enter a monthly competition for the magazine Advanced Photoshop. There is a selection of 3 images to choose from and I have selected mine already and I am now coming up with some preliminary ideas how to develop it. I might post up some ideas in the next few days to show how I am getting on.
Why don't you have a go as well? Who knows one of us might get featured in the magazine!!
http://www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/competitions.php
College on Tuesday 6th October 2009. We were given a lot of information from Patrick and it put my head in a spin ( I don't think I was the only one!!) Two projects to hand in by January plus a identity for myself for self promotion, no ideas yet but I will get my thinking cap on in the next week or two.
Having talked over what it is exactly I am aiming for I am a bit more at ease with what direction I will be heading in. I think I will be aiming for a more creative portfolio at the end of the course with some work which you would expect to get in a agency ie branding, logos, photo illustration etc. This makes sense I the reason I joined the course was to get the creative mind going again.
I have just looked at the 2009 D&AD Student awards for branding and as expected there is some stunning work.
http://studentawards.dandad.org/2009/categories/11/brand-identity
I just hope I can get somewhere near in standard. I am looking forward to seeing what the briefs will be this year, something really meaty I hope!!!
Well thats it for my first ever blog. I look forward to blogging in the coming years and getting some responses from you.
Be good.
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