LCA pop up shop

I am going to enter myself into the pop up shop and hopefully be a successful applicant. I want to do this in order to get some of my work circulating, to see if my work is commercially viable, and also make a few pennies!

I get discounted print on large orders form digital print, so my profit will be a pretty high percentage on anything that I sell. There is a £10 application fee, and the college add a 20% commission.

After having a word with Amber, I have decided to print posters and possibly tote bags also as she said these sold well last year. Initially I would like to typographically illustrate song lyrics.

Hg identity

I undertand that my initial brand identity does not fit with my rationale anymore, and so I need to have a re-design of this! I think this will be quite a big task as I will need to rebrand my website, business cards and blogs so am going to address this over reading week.

For the next few weeks I will be using my existing brand and have quickly bashed out these business cards.

Website

www.hazelgage.co.uk

Response to design strategy presentation

I realise that I didn't communicate what I actually want to do to Lorenzo and Joe. I got across the illustrative typography side, but not that I want to work with print and in particular, publications.

Also as a reflection, I need to re-brand myself with this new rationale in place. I think I might do this later in the module as I want to get more experienced with illustrative type before I brand myself as that.

I have a pretty specific area of illustrative type that I am interested in, more than creating letterforms of my own, I want to take structured typefaces and add some character to them. Illustrating them within the stems and serifs. Here is one example which incorporates pretty much everything I want to do (except for the actual content being fashion, which is a bit no for me!)... illustrative letterforms, editorial and print.

Design strategy

Open publication - Free publishing - More design

Design skills

Open publication - Free publishing - More design

Manchester print fair

Manchester print fair wasn't as good as I'd have hoped. There were only a small number of stalls and I think due to this, the atmosphere was pretty quiet. Also, with it being named a 'print fair', I expected more of a range of printed items. I really wanted to pick up some zines as research for my dissertation, but all of them (that I saw) were illustration based, not typography. I took it as a good opportunity to pick up some business cards anyway for inspiration!

Next door is THE MOST amazing book store... Such a great resource for design books and magazines. Ended up spending way too much money, but all of it worthwhile!

On this little day-trip, I saw things on a huge scale. At one point realising how much of a geek I am by wondering what point size a M&S logo was and thinking I was seeing the worlds biggest poster, along with dining in the worlds first pop up bowling alley 1050s style and beautiful old letting in Victoria station which I absolutely love. Each time I go to Manchester, it makes me more determined to move here after Uni.

Statement of intent

Smile - stay positive and sane throughout third year and into the world of work.
Fontographer - design a typeface to a professional and usable standard.
Praxis - learning through doing.
Research visits - get inspired by the world outside the studio.
Business cards - contact information so I am always prepared and do not miss opportunities.
Dreamweaver - HTML/CSS need to learn to be able to make my own website for me design presence.
Photography - photograph my work to a high standard for my portfolio.
Contacts - make contacts!

The other day, I made a different sort of statement. My friend had been assulted by a man who looks remarkably like Michael Cera. Unlike this doppleganger, I want to make a positive mark on society. I reckon that is what keeps me going. I want to make others smile. Design may be useless in the whole spectrum of life, (all we really need is water, food and light, like plants I suppose) but in the manufactured world of luxury we have become accustomed, I am glad that I am involved in something to make the world a brighter, cheerier place.

I always thought I wanted to be designing printed resolutions and typefaces rather than motion and image. Now I know it. The end of year show (just gone) metaphorically 'kicked me up the arse' by showing me what I could potentially become. Nay, what I will become. In one year, I am going to have a portfolio that says, on a personal level; involved, professional, fun-loving, forward-thinking, committed, and on a professional level; print, illustrative/decorative type, branding, small team. It will not say; advertising, retail, fashion/music, screen, craft, in-house, freelance.

10 briefs

Link to my chosen 4 briefs.

Inspired by the last graduating years portfolios I have come to decide which briefs I wish to undertake in my final year of my degree.

I wish to focus in areas which I most want to be a part of in my career. This includes publications, typography, print and branding. I have found many more studios which have inspired me and some briefs I have adapted from their solutions. 

1. Identity a day (DC initial inspiration)
The Brief
Create bespoke branding for 10 diverse companies of different sizes and apply across a range of marketing stationery.
Concept/Proposition
Each design must be unique and effective for that company.
Target Audience
Be aware of costings for each company and what mediums will be most suitable for each.
Tone of Voice
Professional but obviously dependant upon each business.
Considerations
Fast turn around, however do not churn out bog standard ideas. Also crafting considerations must be to a high level as these will be representing businesses. Stock must be taken into consideration and possible web presence.
Mandatory Requirements
Each company will have a unique brief created with alternate deliverables.
Deliverables
10x branding solutions
Studio Deadline
2 weeks.

2. Interactive magazine (DC initial inspiration)

The Brief
Learn through doing. Understand the elements of a digital interactive magazine. 

Concept/Proposition
Content taken from an existing, not well designed (in my opinion) magazine and redesign for the web. 

Target Audience
That of the original magazine. 

Tone of Voice

Considerations
Make it easier to access the information provided by the magazine through suitable links and correct metadata, think about impaired vision audience. 

Mandatory Requirements

Deliverables
1x interactive PDF, placed on a web page with all links working.

Studio Deadline

3. Ornament typeface (DC initial inspiration)

The Brief
Create a working decorative typeface.

Concept/Proposition
Development of letterforms through a window as inspiration. Elements of window are the only details allowed on each letterform to create an entire alphabet. 

Target Audience
Designers using the font for single words or sentances. Typeface not designed to be used for paragraphs of text.

Tone of Voice
Ornamental, architectural, elegant.

Considerations
Do the letters work next to each other, is it easily read and understood?

Mandatory Requirements
Uppercase typeface

Deliverables
1x typeface.

Studio Deadline
2 weeks, possibly more if I use this for something further... could tie in with my publication brief below.

4. Publication (DC initial inspiration)

The Brief
Find an avenue to explore and inform an audience through a free publication. This could be an extension of my ornament typeface and an avenue to demonstrate this working as I intend. 

Concept/Proposition

Target Audience

Tone of Voice

Considerations
Cost of printing, methods of distribution, form and function. 

Mandatory Requirements

Deliverables

Studio Deadline

5. Competition brief (DC initial inspiration)

The Brief
Taken from either ISTD, YCN or D&AD. Preferably an ISTD brief, as they seem to more in-depth, and specifically typographically based. Also, when looking through other graduates work from different universities, I noticed alot of students have included YCN briefs in their portfolios. I think it would be better not to have such a generic brief as something for 'Ted Baker'. This years' ISTD Briefs will be published on 1st October.

Concept/Proposition

Target Audience

Tone of Voice

Considerations

Mandatory Requirements

Deliverables

Studio Deadline

6. Exhibition design (DC initial inspiration)

The Brief
Promote a photographic exhibition.

Concept/Proposition
Design the layout of the exhibition guide and promotional material for a photographic exhibition of old black and white photographers. (Heller, Atget, etc).

Target Audience
Photographers interested in film photography, particularly black and white film from a certain era. 

Tone of Voice
Reflective, respectful.

Considerations
Delivery method and audience. 

Mandatory Requirements

Deliverables

Studio Deadline

7. Restaurant range (DC initial inspiration)

The Brief
Create the concept for the branding of a new/existing restaurant. Based upon a previous ISTD brief 'Mutton Quad'.

Concept/Proposition
A new egg restaurant in Leeds.

Target Audience
People who like good food and like to eat out. Probably are working and are couples. 

Tone of Voice
Professional, clean, considerate, tasty!

Considerations
Needs to communicate the good quality and range of food available, even though they all share the same ingredient. 

Mandatory Requirements
Logo, menus, branding.

Deliverables
A range of items for the restaurant including menus all branded with a recognisable identity. 

Studio Deadline
2 weeks.

8. Greetings cards (DC initial inspiration)

The Brief
Tigerprint brief. 

Concept/Proposition

Target Audience

Tone of Voice

Considerations

Mandatory Requirements

Deliverables

Studio Deadline

9. Personal identity (DC initial inspiration)

The Brief
Create personal identity for Hazel Gage.

Concept/Proposition

Target Audience
Potential employers in the creative field.

Tone of Voice
Professional, with some personality.

Considerations
Must communicate graphic designer and the areas which I am most interested in. 

Mandatory Requirements
Personal identity (logo, typeface, colours).

Deliverables
Branding range including mailshot to send to potential employers. 

Studio Deadline
1-2 weeks. 

10. Zine (DC initial inspiration)

The Brief

Find the creative Hazel in a 24 hour period.

Concept/Proposition

Express myslef over paper, make copies and sell at the book fair. Could also be sent to studios I want to work for and an introduction to my personality, not just me as a designer. 

Target Audience

Myself, and anyone else who wants a snapshot of the workings of my mind, when left to nothing else except my own thoughts. 

Tone of Voice

Personal.

Considerations

Communicate my brain.

Mandatory Requirements

Must be 24 hours of thoughts.

Deliverables

1x zine. 

Studio Deadline

1 day. 

Berg

Wooow. Berg studio is amazing. Just the kind of place I want to work for, beautifully crafted typographic resolutions, but not overwhelming. Just stunning.