Issues and Practices

Are there too many Design Graduates? When design students graduate from University, what do they do next?

It is clear from the many lecturers that have come in to speak to us at Stockport college, that it is difficult to get into the graphic design industry once graduated. On http://www.targetjobs.co.uk/ it says "Approximately 70 per cent of graduates in the field do not pursue careers in art and design, according to UCAS figures – partly through choice, but also because the supply of graduates exceeds the number of jobs available." Even though this is the statistic, I think if your heart lies in the industry then through motivation and determination will get a graduate into this industry. I think this only by meetings with top designers who have been there themselves, and who have succeeded.

I am currently 5 weeks away from the end of my degree course, so if not already, it is getting to the time where organizing placements should be my first priority. It was when listening to a lecture given from Dave Sedgwick from 999 at the start of November '09 that it was starting to become clear that it was very important to research as many design agencies as you can whilst still in University, and keep a diary of your progress with each one...and that this diary was to be shown to no-one! I thought this was a good idea as the end of University comes quick, and starting early will make the time between graduation and getting a job a shorter amount of time. It also says on http://www.targetjobs.co.uk/ that "Although the work may not be exactly what you want to do, this can prove your dedication to the field, give you a valuable understanding of how the industry works and be a great way to make contacts who may be able to help your career in the future." And so it is important to take on any task if it involves getting experience in the industry, any opportunity to get 'the foot in the door'.

It makes me think how many of the designers that came into speak to us decided to research and look around before graduating too. I remember when meeting Anthony Smith from Manchester based studio Music for a Portfolio visit at the start of my final year, he said that it took him almost two years to get a job in the industry. Alan Cocks from Graphic Design agency Dust based in Sheffield said that between graduating and getting a graphic design job he was a night auditor for two years. I guess what springs to my mind at this point is how do these top designers presently working in design agencies stay focused on what they really wanted to do as so much time went by? Alan Cocks said that even though he did sometime completely different for a long period of time, he still read design books every night that he audited at the hotel. Anthony Smith as well as fellow Music designer Craig Oldham believed in self anitiated projects during the break between graduation and getting a job. I think the problem with self anitiated projects during University time is that I felt like if I started one, that I couldn't put all my heart and soul into it as I had various other projects on at the same time. However, once graduated I think I will actually quite enjoy the gap from this time to getting a job, as it means I can finally do things like this with all the free time on my hands.

It could be that the time between graduating and getting a job is used to figure out exactly what you want to do. Graduating in a particualar medium is one thing but using it to the best of its advantage is another. Take for instance Lauren Moriarty, graduate of Loughborough University. She said when she left, she did not like to be 'pigeon holed' into one medium. Graduating as a Textile Designer, she said her interested also lay in, amongst other things, Product Design and 3D Design. And so this opened up her options to many for areas of the creative world, eventually deciding to go freelance instead because this worked out best for her.

I believe in the statistic, that nearly three quarters of students that graduate in design don't go further into the industry, however, it is all about to do with attitude and the way you think about it. I think everyone is going to get rejected at some point, but its whether you do look at it as rejection or as a learning experience. If seen as an experience, then the graduate will be encouraged to learn more, and then try and try again until eventually they have succeeded. There isn't enough jobs for all graduates, but there is for those who really want it.

Word Count: 803

Direct Mail and Guerrilla Research

I am up to a stage in my Major Project on Organ Donation where I feel like I have the idea, it just needs to be taken now in different directions to work. Before I started to think about this, I felt like I needed to look at the many different great and unique examples of direct mail and guerilla there are out there. Here are the best examples I have found:

Alan Cocks - Graphic Designer

Alan Cocks is from Graphic Design Agency 'Dust' in Sheffield. He says it is made up of 2 people, and then the rest of the group flow in and out.

Alan was a student at Stockport College in 1992/1993 studying Graphics HND. After 2 years at Leeds studying further design, he became a night auditor at a hotel for 2 years. He said even though he was out of the design world for a few years, he still kept up to date with the industry by reading whenever he was on duty.

It was clear when Alan started showing us his work that illustration plays a big part in their industry. The also experimented with photography, and said they usually worked the graphic design around the shape of the photograph.

Some of the first pieces of work he showed us were for Old Trafford. The illustration of showing footie scores on a map of the United Kingdom weren't too different from one of the projects we did back in first year. This was the process of mark making to create something visually appealing.

Manchester United/ Treble Suite Installation. (http://du.st)

The piece of work that particularly stood out to me is the Dairy Milk 'Marvelous Creations'. I think the machine like illustrations are very unique and make each packet look aesthetically pleasing. I look forward to seeing it on the shelves in the future. 

Lauren Moriarty

Lauren Moriarty is a 3D Designer, but does not like to be pigeon holed into one category so is also many other things such as a Textile Designer and Product Designer.

Originally from Loughborough University, in her final project she experimented with different materials, including rubber. She graduated as a Textile Designer but didn't know if this was really what she wanted to do.

She started to experiment with the material she had used in her final project, and began making such things including pillows and lights.

Geometric Structure Cushion (http://www.laurenmoriarty.co.uk)

Noodle Block Light (http://www.laurenmoriarty.co.uk)

Lauren said she sold quite a few of these, but doing this everyday got a bit boring and she wanted to create something new. However even though she wanted to do this, she felt a bit guilty about being bored.

She said when she came up with new ideas, the people she sold them to sometimes had limitations. Though if she believed in her idea she would try to get it across, and usually there was a compromise. In her ideas she liked to react to customer feedback whether it was conceptual or commercial.

In her lecture she mentioned something that I thought was great to any creative person that wanted to go in a similar direction to Lauren Moriarty

"Challenging Assumptions

Being receptive to new ideas

Recognizing similarities or differences

Taking risks

Building on ideas to make better ideas

Looking at things in new ways

Taking advantage of the unexpected

Taking chances"

Dye Holloway Murray Design Studio

DHM are a Design Studio based near Soho in London. On Tuesday 2nd March we had organized a portfolio visit with Fran from DHM to receive feedback on our work.

Before we went to visit them I took a look at their website www.dhmlondon.com. I think my favourite piece of work is the work for Urban Fresh. I love how the type is written by hand and in Caps and underlined and centred, and that there is so much negative space surrounding it. And that the image accompanying it is illustrated, it just gives the whole thing an organic and natural feeling about it. I really enjoy viewing and experimenting with negative space and the whole 'less is more' concept. I believe that when I walk down the street and there is a billboard with a lot of white space and then the primary image set somewhere on it, that I take a longer look to understand why it is set out that way.

When we first entered the studio it looked very professional yet still casual and a relaxing atmosphere. We went into one of the studio rooms to speak to Fran and her work colleague, and we started going through our portfolios.

I got similar responses for my poster for Manchester Literature Festival and my TED Magazine spread, and they thought the ideas were sweet. I think these two ideas will be solid pieces of work to keep in my portfolio to show designers in the future.

I showed them my Tolerance work, as this is something that is still to be refined. They looked at it carefully and agreed with me that it needed something so the idea could be noticed sooner. Fran suggested that maybe the idea would be shown better in quick animations that would appear either as advertisements or on websites. I think this has been the most helpful advice, that I will suggest to my co-worker Mike, and we can start putting this idea in different formats. Another suggestion was using direct mail and leaflets to show the 'count to ten' concept, though I think this needs a lot more further thought.

The visit was very helpful, and it was made alot more endearing by the way the design team at DYE spent time and were very enthusiastic about our work.

Shell Suit Zombie 1/3/10

On our first night in London we went to The Cross Kings Pub. Shellsuit Zombie awaited us with the aim of (if we were thinking we were not keen in entering the industry) to bring the desire to gain entrance to the industry back to life.

It wasn't what I expected, it was alot better. I found the whole informality of it really my idea of a good lecture, and I still believe after a few alchohol beverages the brain is fuelled to be more creative.

I thought the whole concept of Shellsuit Zombie was a great idea, as especially final year students who are going through the most stressful times to finish the degree, need something like this to kick start the system.

The Creative Face-Offs were really fun and I think its the first time I've given a presentation without going red in the face and not being able to breathe out of nerves. The two issues we were pitching were Peter Stringfellow sponsering World Peace. I think one of our best ideas was incorporating a dancing girl on a pole with her feet in the air, into the World Peace Sign.

I hope to see more of Shellsuit Zombie in the future, perhaps at D&AD New Blood.

Dan Warner -Red Brick Road

On Tuesday 2nd March we visited Red Brick Road design studio. It interesting to see how completely differently set out each studio we has been to visit is. When we walked in there was just a very vast space, with one large long table in the middle where a few groups were having discussions. It seemed like the ideal environment for hustle and bustle of design studio life.

I had looked at the companies work prior to the visit and really enjoyed looking at the Tesco campaign and how it was created through different mediums. I am always interested in ambient/guerrilla so enjoyed seeing that they had used this in it. (www.theredbrickroad.co.uk)

I think the home-made nature of the sign instantly reminds the viewer of times when they have driven on a country road and seen a farmers home-made sign on the side of the road. I think this particular concept they have used is humourous and will encourage people to take the next left if indeed they did need milk.

We spoke to the copy righter of the company Dan Warner, and showed him our work. The meeting had to be quite brief as the studio looked rather busy and we didn't want to keep him too long.

I showed him my Tolerance Awareness work to see if he could help with a way I could refine it even more. One of the things he mentioned was that it needed something that made him understand the idea in a few seconds, rather than in a few minutes. He thought instead of the type being on both sides, it would like neater and more together just one one side, but apart from that it was a hard one to solve. I was very grateful that he shed some thought on the matter, as I didn't expect alot of feedback due to this particular brief and my concept being difficult to solve. This is the Tolerance work so far:

Studio Special

Studio Special is an award winning creative design studio based in Farringdon in London, and we were given the privelage to visit them on Monday 1st March.

David Lovelock took time out to talk to us about our work in detail, so for that we were very grateful.

We showed him examples of our work, and because he has been working with typography and has lots of experience in that particular subject, he enlightened us on a few things including how important it is to make sure everything is right when using typography in print. The subjects he brought up were balance and kerning, as because he observes typography everyday, he noticed little adjustments to be made instantly. I tended to use home made type or bold headlines and not so much body copy and so there wasn't much for him to correct.

When showing him my work for The Manchester Literature Festival he said he liked the bracket that was turned up to represent a book. This idea is one that does well in quite a few portfolio visits, so it was good to know that someone so deep in the field also liked it. Here is a reminder of that piece of work..

I also showed David my current 'Tolerance Awareness' work which is still work in progress, as I have found the brief quite difficult and know it is not quite there yet.

He said that the colours worked really well together, and that 'public displays of affection' was his favourite which is interesting because it seems to be either the most liked or one that doesn't work. The Tolerance still needs working on, as it is still taking viewers quite a while to understand the concept, and as David Lovelock said just needs that extra element to get the idea across. You can view the Tolerance work on the visit with Red Brick Road post.

Ovarall a successful visit!

Magpie Design Studio

On Monday 1st March myself and fellow Uni friends went to visit Magpie Studio.

Magpie studio are a London based design studio that focus specifically with illustration. All their work communicates solely through colour, line, shape, pattern, form and space and style. They believe that design is more than just a job, its a responsibility. Magpie have been around for 2 years, with a few members originally from the studio 'Hatrick'.

When we arrived at the studio we were greeted with a warm welcome and cups of tea!

Ben began by showing us Magpies work.

From what I could see from their work, they used Art and Design to represent people, symbols, colour and photography. I especially liked the Creative Magazine where the the sun was cut off to create the 'C' and the book for London's Local Printers where they used Cockney Slang. I like to really work at a project to get the right solution and idea so it was enjoyable to see the many great ideas they had come up with for each project.

I think one thing I came away from the studio was knowing that its important to leave something behind next time. So in the coming months I plan on creating a name card or a miniature book so the designers can get back in contact easily if they like my work. Magpies own business cards were designed as a small briefcase and it opened up to reveal all the information. There was even little detail for the ring binders.