studio brief 2 - inspiration gathering

As a group of 3 or 4 we were tasked with finding new ideas that could potentially be used as the basis for our self branding project. By doing this we can receive feedback quickly from peers on which ideas they think would work best. After discussing the ideas, we can then start to make sketches and mock ups of the brand image. This will include making the logo, the typeface to consider and the business cards that come with it.

After this session, I found that I was still unsure about which direction to take my project in. The two main ideas would be to reflect on my interest in music or to create a style similar to a survival guide. I also created mock ups of these ideas and what mediums may be used in the creation during the final stages.

First we would be participating in a practice presentation that will allow us to learn how a presentation might work well during the last sessions of the course. To do this we combined imagery as a group, of things we had researched in relation to our topics and our interests. For example, our presentation consists of the research into the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of The Moon. This way we can build up confidence on the ways that we were presenting our interests to others.

Studio brief 2 - self branding initiation

For the self branding project we will be tasked with creating a pitch to present to the rest of the group, which will show off personally qualities in the form of a made up brand image. To do this I started by looking at the possibilities for what my branding could be, in relation to things that are personal to me as a person and as a designer. This way I can begin to  construct a brand that is reflective of my practice, my styles and my preferred methods of production.

Initial Ideas

• the first idea would be to create a brand that reflects my interest in fashion 
• the second idea would be to reflect the music i listen to, including rap, rock and house music.
• the third idea could be to create a brand that can be communicated through the use of clothing. For example, printing the information of the presentation onto a t-shirt.
• the forth idea would be to look at a uni survival guide for others to follow.

Reflective Practice

Today we listened to a talk by Radim Malinic and received a copy of his book 'Book of Ideas - A Journal of Creative Direction and Graphic Design'. I found this talk particularly inspiring as it gave me a more in depth response from someone who is familiar with the professional world of graphic design and has shared knowledge about ways to start a business. This included the ideas stages used by Malinic and how he eventually went about printing his work in a book. The book in itself is a reminder of ways that the graphic design world can allow you to sell yourself to clients and creative organisations. After receiving the talk today, I then went onto the social media pages for Malinic and looked at other works that he had done in the past. This way I would be able to see some of his earlier work that may influence how I might go about networking myself in the future.

Time Planning

As part of this session we were tasked with creating a weekly time planner that would allow us to track our studio time and free time, so that we could allocate certain tasks to each hour. By doing this, the weekly planner allows us to utilise the most of the time we have and organise it so that we are able to balance work and free time. As different projects will be running on different days of the week it is important to plan ahead, so that we know which days to study certain areas. We also have time during the weekend which can be included in the planner and utilised for essay time or reflection on the work produced throughout the week.

I think that by creating a planner like this, each week will prove beneficial for my time on the course.