A placement with Pentagram!

Whilst setting up the Designers Society I made contact with designers from around the world. One of these was Luke Hayman, a Partner at Pentagram in New York. With regular contact throughout the year, when he visited the UK on holiday in August (having family in Devon) we agreed to meet and catch up.

This was not only a great opportunity to discuss the society and its achievements but also to learn further about Luke, his work and also experiences designing in New York. With such a prominent designer in front of me, I could not miss the chance to bring my portfolio along, receiving really useful feedback. This resulted in a placement being offered at Pentagram in New York, now finalised as a month through February.

Luke is most recognised for his editorial work, such as ‘New York’ and ‘Time’ magazine. 

He joined Pentagram in 2006 and also designs identities, books and exhibitions. Although with a shared passion for print, he is also exploring the digital realm too, as shown by his recent interactive identity for SECCA. 

One thing I found particularly inspiring was his vast design knowledge, particularly of past, current and future trends. An example of this can be found in an interview with him on trends in magazine design.

I am really looking forward to working and learning alongside Luke and his team in February.

Bideford, where we met, is also a really exciting place to explore should you get the chance. Luke introduced me to a fantastic antique bookshop, however my main focus of interest was the large number of abandoned and decaying boats in the river, half sunk in the mud and each with their own unknown story.

Music + Design =

Muse are one of the few bands with an appreciation for design (even if they do go a bit over the top at times) and realise just how important it can be for the fan experience, utilising elaborate light shows and intricate sets. They have even gone as far as suspending acrobats from balloons! One of the highlights are the visuals that play on the back screen to accompany the music featuring everything from illustrations of marching robots to war film footage, even disintegrating type.

This understanding flows across all contact points from website through to promotional items. In addition, they are also one of the first bands to use an interactive print concert guide, where you can access additional online content such as interviews or rehearsal footage using a webcam to take a picture of certain elements on a page. A long and probably annoying process but even so, they are challenging what a program can become, combining both print and digital benefits. 

Why stop there…

Why do university projects have to stop at being just that? Having spent 6 weeks and more on each, do they not have the potential to go further?

In July I followed up two recent projects with relevant companies to establish just how much commercial value they may have to offer. 

The ‘Experimental Happenings’ project was developed in response to a competition brief set by the charity ‘Youth Music’ With a branch in Plymouth, ‘The Plymouth Music Zone’, this was the perfect opportunity to present back my work.

I received some really valuable feedback, such as how to alter it for different markets. They felt it to be a really interesting visual route of displaying music and there is currently a discussion taking place on the possibility of incorporating the project into their current scheme, adding a more visual approach to learning music.

I also visited both the Plymouth and London office for RNID (Royal National Institute for the Deaf), presenting back my final university project (soon to be added to my website). They too, were impressed by what I had produced and whilst currently undergoing a rebrand, plan to review the work in the new year with the hope to incorporate my visuals into their centenary productions. 

I have a follow up meeting to present the work to further RNID representatives towards the end of December.

“Dear Mr. ‘I'm too good to call or write my fans’... it’s been 3 months and still no word...”

Similar to what the Eminem lyrics tell, I have been slightly negligble of updates. 

It can only mean I have been busy so there should be plenty of updates for you!

Seven placements completed since the start of September and two more organised for the new year, plus a freelance project gone live. 

Updates are coming...

a sum up of New Blood

Shellsuit Zombie - since I first met the team at New Blood 2009, they have become lifelong friends to the Designers Society.


Whilst at New Blood we tried to take part in as many of their events as possible, writing an article for the magazine, even getting through to the final of the 'creative face-off's'. They made a video showing the 'best of New Blood 2010' and here is a challenge - how many times can you spot the Plymouth crew?

On a recent camping trip, I visited a car boot sale in Exmouth. Some of my best buys included 10 Beano's from 1966, two newspapers called 'The Graphic' dating back to 1883 with some beautiful illustrations inside and also a collection of war propaganda magazines from 1940-45. Fantastic!!

Start them young!

Now this is dedication from my niece who is just under 4 years old (or good brainwashing). Do you think she wanted me to take her with me?

Dynamic Earth

Seems someone got there before me. On arriving in Edinburgh I was surprised to see a very familiar signpost... lucky for me I have been hearing very mixed reviews! When I return in November I will have to go and feed back what it is like (Or even show them my work...!)

Massimo

Massimo Vignelli. What a reputation and an important role model to many within the creative industry. 


I was lucky enough to be in touch with him recently regarding my dissertation on Emigre, something he still feels very strongly about. Whilst on my travels around Edinburgh I found a very amusing shop frontage, sharing a similar name, interestingly set in Helvetica. I like to think he would approve. 


Another insiders designer joke.




Other interesting finds:

Driving School... a great play on words. 

Police boxes (the famous Doctor Who Tardis) fill the streets. Apparently Time Lords were very popular in Edinburgh a few years ago. Sadly now they are all boarded up and derelict but still left for people to enjoy. 

A beautiful logo.

Jigsaw complete

Either you can not be proactive or if ever you leave off updating a blog for more than a few weeks then you are permanently playing catch-up! I learn my lesson.


The Jigsaw project finally reached completion and opened to the Public 29 July 2010. The final design, produced by former exchange students who had returned to Greece (the council like to stay local), was selected by public consultation and whilst I may not agree with the final choice as the most creative piece of design (in comparison to the majority of others put forward) it is great to see people interacting with the site and using it for lunch/picnics. It is great to know that I have helped the people of Plymouth by helping to organise and taking part in the scheme.  

More placements and Bristol (Part 1)

I visited Taxi Studios in Bristol for another portfolio review earlier this week.  

Taxi are only 9 years old but already considered to be amongst the top 10 creative agencies in the south west with a huge collection of awards and this was a fantastic opportunity to meet the designers behind the work. They have recently moved location and so the studio space is not fully set up yet however there is still a great working atmosphere present. 

Although meant to be only 20 minutes, there was a continual stream of input from several designers on my work and folio for almost an hour eventually leading to be offered a placement. Great news!

Thanks to Gareth, Marie, Matt, Roger and Terry!

More placements and Edinburgh

With all the good advice and feedback from creatives in London ringing in my ears, I journeyed to Edinburgh at the end of July to tour creative studios with my portfolio. Whilst studying, I have heard a lot about the creative industry present in Edinburgh and it really is no joke, there is a great vibe going on up there.

Two of the studio's really surprised me. The first, Navyblue. They are a company I know a great deal about being good friends with their Director of Creative Strategy, Patrick, and also having visited the London office on numerous occasions. What surprised me was that the Creative Director is also the brother of one of the designers I worked alongside on the rebranding of Plymouth! I had also visited Jeremy at Lloyd Northover only the week before in London! What a small world the design world is! What is great about Navyblue's studio space in Edinburgh is they also rent out the ground floor as an exhibition space to artists with some really intriguing work on display. They also design all the exhibition guides and they really are something special!

The other really exciting surprise was a design company, Threebrand, who work in a two level studio... on a boat! Great!

Thanks to Simon at Navyblue, Nick at Threebrand, Neil and Emily at Redpath, Gordon at Whitespace, Samantha at Eskimo and Fiona at Tsuko for some fantastic advice and feedback.
Edinburgh is an old city and hence, there is a lot of exciting bits of worn type around the city.




Old scrolls at the castle






Did they forget to put a 'b' in originally?

 

I know many designers who do not value looking at other disciplines for inspiration and they really miss out. The vast array of sculpture on show I found to be really inspiring! If only I had such skill...

It was recommended that I should visit two design locations whilst in the city, which if you get chance, you should too. The first is a book store called 'Analogue'. This has an even more unique array of illustration and design books than 'Magma' in London and somewhere I could spend hours (and a lot of money) in. The second is 'Owl and Lion'. They sell limited edition letterpress and silkscreen prints. They even have their own facilities in shop and offer workshops too. 

Edinburgh is a really vibrant city surrounded by beautiful countryside. It is very proud of its heritage and history with many exciting old buildings, millions of churches and the castle overlooking the city - something I feel Britain is fast losing over recent years. Its creative culture really does deserve its reputation and I look forward to returning on placement.

Just another reason to stay mac...

Why is it just as you pass the warrantee dates everything starts to go wrong. Electrical goods were just never built to last.


I approached Apple in Solihull trying to get costings to fix each problem (a hefty sum I thought) however  
even though my 3 year applecare plan ran out a month and a half ago, with no questions asked they have agreed to do all the repairs for free due to how close I am to the warrantee. Now that is service and why we are all so loyal!! They understand and put us first.


Why would I ever want to go with Microsoft? (except to play a collection of old games)

More placements and London

During the middle of July I had a successful three day visit to London, touring studios with my portfolio, securing many more placements and networking. Not only has the feedback and advice been really beneficial and positive but it is really encouraging to have so many creative agencies willing to give extremely generous amounts of their time (with some far more than originally agreed) to students. It is nowhere near as daunting as people would think with each creative really friendly and welcoming and something I would recommend doing. 

Thanks to Alex at Hat-trick, Jeremy at Lloyd Northover, Nick and Mark at Bostock and Pollitt, Christian and Asa at Design Bridge and Fiona at Gabriele Skelton for sparing generous amounts of time and feedback.

Whilst at Gabriele Skelton (a top creative recruitment agency) I was extremely excited to find there was an old fashioned lift with wrought iron pull doors! Although seen in films (Such as Casino Royale) I have never come across one before and although only on the first floor, I just had to use it! 

I also visited the RNID head office to present my final major project to them. After approaching them in April regarding research for the project this was altered to become a live brief tackling two problems. Firstly to celebrate their 100th Birthday taking place next year and secondly to meet their primary aim of increasing their volunteer base. On revisiting, they liked what I had produced and have agreed to use elements of it. Fantastic! The work produced will soon be available to see on my website.

Working as a creative is not just about the job but also the location and the inspiration found there so I spent my evenings sight seeing. I visited the Magma book store (the last stop on my own personal list of must see's which if you ever go to London should be on the to do list!) which show a wide variety of exciting and intriguing books and illustrative artwork. It may not look like much from the outside and I walked past it the first time but it is worth the visit. 

I also visited Greenwich. Although the Cutty Sark was still under covers being rebuilt, the town itself has a great atmosphere, and feels almost like a little village. There are many independent shops and the park is always clean and open with the view from 'One Tree Hill' across London with the sun setting on the horizon - great!

The Big Lunch

On 18th July the Eden Project hosted 'The Big Lunch' with some free local food, good music, a great atmosphere and a great excuse to get down there.


Nature and patterns formed is something I find proves a valuable source of inspiration and what better place to explore plant life than the Eden Project!

My next great excuse to get down there is running the half marathon on 18th October!!

Placement no. 1

I first met David Jones, Creative Partner at 'Buddy', at the 'Industrial Liaison' day at the University of Plymouth in January when he viewed my portfolio.

Several months on and through keeping in touch I had the opportunity to visit their studio and show my portfolio once again to David and his colleague Mark and as such, secured my first creative work placement. They are a great company producing some fantastic and innovative work and it is really exciting to see what input I can give. 

It was also great to visit Exeter. Whilst having visited the surrounding area many times I had not ventured often into the city. It has a really friendly and welcoming atmosphere (it’s almost as good as Plymouth!) and I really look forward to my two week placement there.

I also visited DNA Advertising in Torquay later that day, again through a contact made at the Industrial Liaison,  Jon Price, where he was joined by Matt and Paul to give me some really fantastic feedback on my portfolio and its overall presentation. Thanks Guys!

Results are finally in!

2.1

OK, so the result came about a month ago but still! 

I feel that my best achievement on grades point of view was receiving a 1st on the dissertation module, documenting and discussing Emigre magazine through its 21 years of being published. Emigre has been a topic I have been very interested in since discovering the magazine in my first year and something I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know more about. 

I have collected several copies of the magazine and type catalogues, travelled to the British Library to view the whole collection and lucky enough to receive some fantastic input and feedback from a range of creatives such as Adrian Shaughnessy - Graphic Designer and writer, John Collins from myfonts.com, Luke Hayman - Partner at Pentagram, Massimo Vignelli - Vignelli Associates, Rick Poynor - Design writer, Rudy VanderLans - Emigre, Steven Heller - Design writer and Stuart Bailey - Founder of Dot Dot Dot magazine.

It is horrible to think that three wonderful years have been brought down to two numbers and a period. Still these have been three very successful years watching projects I have worked on go live, the Designers Society, having a great studio culture and generally helping and watching other students grow too. My passions for the entire world of Graphic Design through from paper stock, typefaces and across all areas of creativity have leaped from strength to strength! Success!

The Designers Society goes abroad!

Slight delay in updating the blog but we finally get back on track!

In February this year I invited Justus Oehler of Pentagram, Berlin to visit Plymouth and the Designers Society as the first lecture of the new academic year in October. Due to no longer being Chairperson at that time he invited myself and a select few to visit his studio in Berlin for a week at the start of July. 

Having already visited the Pentagram office in London where Domenic Lippa discussed the past, present and future of Pentagram our expectations were high. It was refreshing however to have a completely different presentation, not focused on Pentagram and its achievements but this time about Justus’ own thoughts on the design landscape with a focus on branding. A really open, honest and friendly man and with such an engaging and interesting talk, let’s hope when he visits Plymouth in October he discusses more of the same!

During our visit we also visited The Typographic Museum (who opened just for us due to being half way through moving location). This was set up by Barbara Dechant, a Graphic Designer, in 2005 and showcases an extraordinary range of collected type ranging from small 30cm display type to 8ft display letters! 

We also found some exceptionally large letters just around the corner too!

Whilst in Berlin we toured a number of studios. Alex and Ralph at UV2 showed a variety of their work and discussed the different culture and approach to design within Berlin, with a large amount of their work still trying to overcome the east and west divide. 

Daniel and a number of his colleagues at Research Studios discussed the best approach to getting into design studios, the language barrier for an english designer in Berlin and again, the distinct design culture present in Berlin and how it differs to the UK.

Our last stop was with Nadine at Edenspiekermann who discussed their unique structured approach to design. Erik also spared time to come and say hello! 

It was really interesting to find out how the German culture affects design.

We also managed to fit in a few touristy elements too and another highlight to the visit was spotting Audi celebrating the new A1 and being given a car to test drive for an hour. Having never driven on the wrong side of the road or left hand drive it was certainly an experience!

One of my favourite inspirational visits was to the Berlin Zoo which houses one of the largest aquariums in Europe. The patterns created by the jellyfish against the UV lighting really inspired me. 

In all, a successful visit and gives hope for where the Society will go next year and hopefully open to all! :-)

Creative Obsessions

Through the society I am in touch with the Jonny at Shellsuit Zombie on a regular basis. One of the opportunities this gave me was to write an article for their new magazine. 


Teaming up with Jess Walker and Mario Picariello, we wrote and art directed an article based around the numerous extremities we go to in the name of design. 

If you would like to view or buy a copy of the magazine please visit the Shellsuit Zombie website.

Shellsuit Face-offs!

Whilst at New Blood I signed Plymouth University up to Shellsuit Zombie's creative 'Face-Off'. These were a series of design challenges between different 8 universities where the finalists would win placement opportunities at 'Dave'.

Our first 'battle' was against Falmouth where both teams had to pick a service and celebrity out of a hat. The challenge was in effectively advertising 'Apple', our service, with 'Bono' our celebrity. We won.

The final round was between four universities. The brief was to come up with an advertising campaign for the merger between Orange and T-Mobile. Whilst we may have had the best presentation and thought out campaign (or so we were told) Bolton University came up with a simple and effective tagline, winning them the battle.   


Thank you to Shellsuit Zombie for the opportunity and being amazingly cool people and to the Plymouth University team (Catkin Pritchard, Kate Moby, Mario Picariello, Ralph Mannings, Richard Gray and Xander Lee)