OUGD502 - PPP2: End of Module Evaluation

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 2: A Design Presence (Personal Presentation Evaluation)

I feel as though today's presentation went really well. I managed to say everything I wanted to and feel really happy with it. I am happy with the way I organised my presentation as it allowed me to explain my progression from the start of the year until now, whilst reflecting on last year as well. As soon as I was stood at the front of the room I felt completely confident and didn't feel nervous anymore. Overall, I am happy with the outcome and I am looking forward to receiving the feedback. 

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 1: A Design Strategy (Flexipress Printer)

Since starting the course I have tried to make as many contacts as possible, not only with design studios but also with printers. In Leeds I now tend to contact LGP Print since designing a promotional flyer for them and then when I go home I use the printers which I used before coming to university when I was working for Pandora's Box. Due to the fact that I used to use their services when I was in employment, this has helped me ever since, as they know that I am reliable and we have built up a strong relationship so I don't always have to give them a lot of notice and they will still get the work printed. This has really benefited me throughout the year and is continuing to do so as I will be getting work printed on Friday for my final OUGD505 submission. 

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 2: A Design Presence (Presentation Boards)

Below are my two final presentation boards. I wanted to demonstrate my final pieces of work as succinctly as possible with a small explanation underneath. 

Test Prints

Below are some of the test prints. I tried to print it out in the studio but the quality wasn't brilliant so I am just going to use the standard printer paper for submission. 

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 2: A Design Presence (Weebly Website Link)

Below is the link to my website. I have maintained simplicity all throughout the design of the three pages and I am really pleased with the outcome of it. At the moment it obviously has a website for Weebly, but when I am 100% happy with it I am going to pay for my website and build it so that it is a bit more interactive that the example I have at the moment.

Website Link

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 1: A Design Strategy (Dialogue Exhibition)

For my responsive module, I got involved with the Dialogue exhibition and entered to have my work exhibited in the Corn Exchange. Below are some photographs from the exhibition. I found this experience extremely beneficial as it allowed me to engage with a project completely different to any I had done before. I also thought it was a successful way of bringing all three year groups together. 

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 2: A Design Presence (Presentation)

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 1: A Design Strategy (Ethical Practice)

Throughout this year, I have realised that it isn't as easy as I had initially imaged to be a sustainable designer and to be ethically correct in the production of every product. I realised this when I visited LGP Print in Leeds. I had a long conversation when I visited, which was all based on the fact that clients often choose the cheapest option as opposed to the most eco friendly. This is because, in order to be eco friendly, vegetable based inks have to be used, which means that printers require a special printer for this, and it is all costly in its self. I try to be sustainable when I can be, and I wrote about this in my COP essay. I discussed sustainability and ethical in multinational companies. This is something I am still extremely passionate about and I plan on considering further over the Summer and into the third year.  

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 2: A Design Presence (Presentation Notes)

Below are my presentation notes for tomorrow. I have decided that I am not going to use any notes on the day, but want to have a brief idea in my mind of what I am going to say and what I need to cover to make sure I say everything I need to. I am feeling quite confident about the presentations and can't wait to see what everyone else has been up to.

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 2: A Design Presence (Presentation Preparation)

When preparing my presentation for Wednesday 7th May I wanted to write a few notes down to make sure that I cover everything. I am unsure whether it is necessary to, but I would like to try and explain my logo. Although, because it is quite simple, but holds quite a deep meaning behind it, I don't know whether to mention it or not as it might not be very concise in my presentation.

I would like to be able to present my work from the start of the year until now. I think it is important that I focus on my placement at Rippleffect and talk about how much I have learnt from it and the experience I gained. I would like my presentation to flow and so I have planned it so that it explains how one thing has led to another throughout the year. 

After receiving the email from John about what we should include, I also made a note of the key points to ensure that I cover them in my presentation. I am looking forward to presenting all of my work and talking about how this year has developed and progressed for me as a designer, and I am also looking forward to seeing what everyone else is up to, as it is rare that we are able to share news and chat to everyone in the studio. 

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 2: A Design Presence (Stock Choice)

If I had more time I would have been able to contact Fedrigoni for some paper samples to print on for this brief. However, I decided that, due to the time restraints as well as cost, it would be more cost effective for me to buy the stock locally instead. 

I visited Paperchase and WHSmith to see what they had. I found some which I loved in Paperchase but they only had it at A4 scale and I need some of my print outs to be on A3. I then went to WHSmith and found some stock which is the perfect shade.

I bought some which is 100gsm, 120gsm and 140gsm as they had limited stock. This works well for me though because I won't need to print my invoice out on stock which is really thick. When I decide that my branding is suitable enough to distribute and give to clients I am going to have it printed professionally and I am also going to print all of my branding on Fedrigoni stock, as I have now luckily got a contact who is in direct contact with them in Italy all of the time. This means that I will be able to get hold of stock quite easily. It is just a shame I didn't have this contact earlier. 

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 2: A Design Presence (Presentation Development)

When I was trying to decide on a layout for my presentation I took a few screen shots which are shown below. I experimented with using a black background and inverting my logo, however this isn't consistent with the rest of my branding so I decided that a white background would be more appropriate.

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 2: A Design Presence (Photographs of Final Branding)

Below are all of the photographs I have taken of my final pieces of printed branding. Unfortunately, due to the photography studios being fully booked and due to time (wanting these images in time for my presentation), I had to set up a small studio space at home. I was fortunate enough to be able to use an SLR with a grey back drop.

I am quite happy with the outcome of these photographs but will be photographing them again in the future when I decide to add my work to my Behance portfolio. Although I may wait and get this work reprinted professionally and sent off so that I don't have to cut everything down to size individually and instead have it all finished off using machines instead. 

Having said this, I am really pleased that I have been able to photograph it all myself as I feel as though I am gaining a lot from doing this. I now feel that when I finish this course I will be able to photograph my work confidently and will have enough experience with composing my work so that it is laid out in the best possible way. 

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 2: A Design Presence (Final Website)

This is my final website design. I wanted to try and keep it as clean and simple as possible. I also wanted to try and create a website which I could transform to become a live website. Obviously, at the moment, for the purpose of completing this brief it isn't really important for me to do this, as it is likely that I will change and improve my branding over the Summer. 

I did a bit of research into how I could create a website online, and decided to use Weebly. Weebly allowed me to choose a basic template and then adjust elements of it in the CSS coding. Initially, I experimented with different templates to see whether I thought this website was suitable for me. I found it quite easy to use and thought it would be one way that I could demonstrate my website without it simply being a static image on the screen. This way I can thoroughly consider navigation as well. 

I have decided to use three different pages as I feel as though anymore would be unnecessary. I like the idea of having sections such as 'work', 'about', and 'contact'. I can cover all of the relevant information using these categories without overcrowding my website.

I have incorporated a divider in between each of the projects to allow my website to look organised and ordered. I am really happy with the outcome of this design decision as I think it works really well to separate one project from the next.

I have applied all of my images and a small description to my website in a linear format. I wanted to incorporate a lot of negative space to draw attention to all of the different briefs. Once I had added all of the different projects to my site, I then added a button to the bottom of the page so that the user can easily navigate to the next page without having to scroll all the way up to the top again.

My 'about' and 'contact' pages are very clean and simple and straight to the point. I didn't want to bombard the user with too much information as I don't think they would take it all in.

On Weebly, it gives the option to show what the website will look like on an iphone. I find the option really beneficial as it has allowed me to view what it will look like without me having to change the format manually.

Overall Evaluation

Overall, I am really pleased with the outcome of my website. I think it serves its purpose to promote me as a graphic designer. I am considering using Weebly in the future to create my own website and I may upgrade to the improved version. At the moment my website is live but I haven't included it on my printed materials as I know that I am likely to change the address for it when I build it properly in the future.  

OUGD502 - PPP2: Studio Brief 2: A Design Presence (Moo Samples)

Today I received my Moo samples in the post. I was really pleased as they have arrived just in time for me to make a definite decision about whether to use their services or not. At the moment I am in two minds because I am aware that I will no doubt improve my self branding even further over the Summer and therefore I wouldn't want to get 50 of everything printed in case I change it. This is something I need to consider carefully, as it isn't exactly a cheap process and I would have to ensure I was positive about it before ordering everything online. In addition, for this submission, I like the idea of producing enough to demonstrate my branding but not go overboard with the cost as I would like to be sensible and not push the budget too far for something which could develop a lot further.

I also feel as though, at the moment, because I know that I have a paid placement for the whole of Summer, my branding is something I can be working on in my spare time, in time for me to contact more studios in third year and be completely certain about what I produce before distributing it all. 

The first thing I noticed when I received all of the Moo samples, was the quality of the constructed envelope/holder. I love how they have tried to be as sustainable as possible and use every possible space to show even more examples. It is also quite an interactive way of presenting work, making it inspirational in terms of packaging design (in my case) as well as demonstrating what they have to offer.

As demonstrated in the photographs, the presentation is really clear and concise and extremely inviting and I am extremely impressed with the quality of the print. They have provided all of the different types of stock which they offer, allowing the customer to make a well informed decision before ordering.

I really love the idea of using mini cards to showcase work. I think this is a really unique and interactive way of engaging with a client. However, as they would all be separate, it might not be the most appropriate technique, as the client may prefer to have everything neatly contained in an order.

Decision Time

I am so pleased with all of these samples. I heard about Moo from someone I know who is currently setting up their own studio at the moment and so they are printing all of their work at the moment. They have been extremely pleased with the service and will be using them again. I therefore feel as though this is a definite option for me.

I have had an informed discussion with him about whether it would be appropriate for me to get everything printed in time for the PPP presentations and hand in, and we both came to the conclusion that it would end up being quite costly, and as I know that I will probably tweak a few things before mass producing it all, I think it is a wise decision to think of an alternative instead.

I will however be using Moo in the future, perhaps over the Summer period to get everything printed in time for third year, or at least print everything at the start of third year when I have the opportunity for my peers to review it beforehand.