Presentation Feedback

My presentation went as well as I expected. Obviously whilst trying to get through everything I missed off a few points, which is to be expected.

I chose to concentrate on things I had done to further myself this year rather than go through my list of unsuccessful contacts.

The feedback I recieved was ok. I thought I had a good handle on what I wanted to do, and the only thng that came up was contacting agencies and I explained who I had contacted, and what the response was.

I was asked whether I had contacted anyone in Switzerland regarding my appreciation for their design aesthetic, which I had never really thought about.

Another main point made to the whole group was that we must not lose touch with design, and that we need to keep busy during the summer ready to taking a running jump into the third year. This is something I have been guilty of in the past but my plans are more focussed this time around.

I thought I would attach my notes here as they may be of interest if you didn't see my presentation.


Slide 2 – Intro – speaking from experience
- starting with last years final brief -
- I had a lot of admiration for illustrative typography work.
- I took inspiration from contemporary designers and illustrators to create something that was really fashionable at the time.
- At this point I didn’t have a clue of what I wanted to do.
- No idea about print production and costings (this would have cost a small fortune to print)

Aims from last year
- Look at a range of possibilities, instead of moving on too quickly with my first idea
- Make use of print production techniques (foil blocking, screen printing etc) – maintaining my focus on print
- Look at what stocks I can use to add depth and quality to my work

Slide 3 – Panamax
- Massive jump from the end of last year.
- Really proved that I have pushed myself in different directions testing my skills.
- Solely typographically driven, focussing on technical accuracy and visual simplicity. (margins, leading, pt size, layout, colour)
- 2 colour print job – print knowledge

Slide 4 – story of the year – What is good?
- quite a bad start by all means – I found out a lot but didn’t put what I learned to use.
- My reluctance to go the extra mile and use the facilities available hindered my progress and the work reflected that.
- I didn’t get the product finished because of my time management and I had lost sight of what I should have been doing.
- I put the experience down to the big step up we had all taken. The outcomes had obviously changed and I got a wake up call.

Slide 5 – Top Premiership Players
- I hit back in style with this brief.
- I worked really hard compared to the previous brief, I had a clear direction and clear intent and that’s what made the difference.
- The thrill of learning a new piece of software made me want to really master it the best I could to deliver a quality piece at the end and also have the back up work to support it.
- I loved the subject matter and I enjoyed the brief, which made me want to work on it from 8 in the morning to 9 at night.

Slide 6 – Learning experiences – Print booklet
- This proved to be a great way of learning for me.
- The creation of the print booklet made it much easier to take information on board about the print processes and what was involved and what they were best used for. (flexography for packaging, litho for a mass sheet fed printing)
- To then apply that knowledge to my own publication made sure I remember it.
- The basic knowledge I have gained here has given me the confidence to use it in my practice.

Slide 7 – Collaborative – another learning experience
- I chose Lindsey as a partner for it because of our contrasting skills and due to the success we had before.
- We had a good enough relationship to be open about our thoughts, but we also had the determination not to let the other down.
- The work never become secondary and we felt much more relaxed with being open with each other than the first collaborative opportunity
- She had some crazy ideas which I reigned back in and the ideas were developed from that.
- We started off the project wanting to be quite ambitious by creating an event that would have taken place – in the end we did the promotional stuff for that event.

Slide 8 – Typography – turned out to be a key module
- The module helped me grasp the basics of typography, and applying the skills I had learned to layout, considering colour, layout, type choice, but also it’s audience and where the thing exists.
- These pieces illustrate that. – informal and formal publications.


Slide 9 - Inspirations
- Last year my big inspiration was illustrative typography in a freespirited approach – Kate Morross
- This year based on what I learned in the typography module I wanted to work with typography and layout more closely.
- Started out looking at magazine and editiorial work that I found appealing
- Move on to look at Swiss graphic design both modern and post modern - Josef Muller Brockmann
- Typography is going to become my main focus for the third year, whether that is working with layout or devising my own fonts and typefaces I am unsure at this point.

Slide 10 – Intentions for summer
- I’ve documented on my blog the agencies I have contacted about visits and work places, all of which specialise in different areas. That is still ongoing and I have found it difficult to get noticed.
- Over easter I created a personal website and started to formulate some branding and identity based on the skills I had developed in the typography module, so I will look to continue with that.
- I want to use the college space during the summer to work more with print finishes and stock.
- I want to come back with a type and layout focussed plan for the final year.