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.

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!

Barbour Design, New York

On Wednesday 11th November me and my work colleague Grace went to visit Barbour Design in New York City.

Grace had previously emailed and talked to the company founder, Ava, and had organised the visit for this specific day at 3pm. 

As we walked into the studio I was first amazed how professional the studio looked, so I knew this was quite an upbeat and busy design environment.

When we met Ava she was very friendly and interested to see what we had to show her. I introduced ourselves and said where we were from and what we wanted to get out of the visit, and how important feedback on our portfolios was.

And so Ava began by looking through my portfolio, and seemed pleased with the work she saw for Manchester Literature Festival and Ted Magazine. Also she asked about the process for 3 men and a Wardrobe and the idea behind the end sting for Black and Decker. 

However she found it hard to comment on my animation for murder she wrote as it wasnt clear what was going on, and I have found this with other visits so I think it is time to take this piece of work out.

The feedback was also positive on Graces portfolio and so we found the visit very successful. 

After we showed our portfolios Ava showed us around the studio and introduced us to her work colleagues. She also gave us advice on our CV, as she herself had viewed many CVS in her time at Barbour and said to us that spelling and also the design of the CV was very important. It needs to capture your personality so she can have an incling on who she is going to interview.

Kenneth Funk from Coffee Cup Design, New York

On Tuesday 10th November me and Grace decided to give Kenneth Funk a call and see if it was okay for us to come and visit him. He was very friendly and pleasant on the phone and so it was easy to not get nervous about visiting our first designer in New York.

We arrived at the door of Coffee Cup Design Studio on the 10th floor. When we first walked in and greeted Ken he was very friendly and seemed happy to see us. The studio was small but the space was used well, with shelves upon shelves of design books and several files which we later discovered was full of typography. Ken said he had over 5000 fonts.

He was very interested in our course and what we were up to. He discussed his early career and his design work before computers were invented as he had been in the business for over 20 years. He described the way he had to cut out each individual letter for the Type work and then when sending it to print, he wasn't just as easy as converting it to PDF and clicking a button. To send the final print with colour to the client the piece had to be divided into 4 negatives with each of the colour combinations 'C' 'Y' 'M' and 'K'.

Since computers were invented and the competition increased, he says it is harder for him now. However, we asked what he was working on at the moment and the brochure he is working on appeared impressive.

When we showed him our portfolios he was very impressed with our work and the ideas behind some of the content. There's a few things in my portfolio that I seem to be very proud of to explain to anyone who views it, this is the bracket in my 'Manchester Literature Fesitval' poster that resembles an open book, and also my TED magazine that rolls up to resemble a magic wand. So I think it is safe to say I am definitely keeping these pieces in my portfolio. However, my animation piece is more illustration based and lacking in idea and I find that it is hard for anyone to comment on it, so I think this is going to be taken out of it.

At the end of the visit Ken suggested places for us to visit in New York whilst we were there. These were a Type Designers Club, a studio called Number 17 and the oldest pub in New York located on Greenwhich Street. As time went so quickly and we didn't get round to doing any of these, I still am very keen to get in touch with Number 17 and also research Ed Benguiat who Ken said he saw once speak at the Type Designers Club. Benguiat designed the logo for the 'New York Times' and the logo for 'NASA' that is on the side of the space shuttle.

Ovarall a very relaxed and successful visit, and me and my work colleague Grace plan on staying in contact with Ken in the future.

The Logo

Kenneth Funk and Grace

Portfolio Visit: Love Creative

Luckily when I left college to visit Love Creative in Manchester I had given myself an hour and a half to get there, as for some reason when making the trip from Manchester Piccadilly station to Market Street I subconciously decided to keep walking to Deansgate, walking far past High Street that Love creative studios was situated on. I think I was too busy thinking about the visit and what I was going to say.

After backtracking (alot) , I found myself outside number 65 Highstreet, and luckily someone from LOVE was on his way in to the building, therefore he showed me where to go and told Adam Rix that I had arrived.

The studio was amazing, I sat on leather sofas oppostie the reception desk, observed the wide variety of fruit on the table infront of me but decided against helping myself to it. The receptionist was very friendly and as I waited for Adam and was looking around I began to feel slightly overwhelmed by the colourful studio filled with the hustle and bustle of designers answering briefs. I had researched and read about quite alot of LOVES work so it was great to witness the ideas being put into action.

Adam came over with a friendly smile and way about him so I felt chilled out already, and we went round the corner to another seating area.

I began by reading my portfolio, going through each idea briefly. Then after that Adam went through my portfolio and each idea one by one and said what he liked and what could be developed a bit more. One of the ideas he thought could be refined was the British Postal Museums logo, so I plan on refining it then emailing it back to him for more feedback. Adam said he especially liked the 2 men and a Wardrobe poster and the TED magazine rolled up to visualize a magic wand.

At the end I asked him about placements and staying in contact if ever I needed anymore guidance and direction and he said that was fine, and so I plan on emailing him very soon. Overall I found the experience has made me believe that this is definitely the career choice for me and that I am passionate about graphic design, and that I am going in the right direction. Each portfolio visit has left me with more contacts and has helped me build bridges for the future and also in my work.

Here is the updated portfolio that I showed to Adam Rix at LOVE.

Portfolio Visit: Music

On Friday 17th April I travelled down to Manchester armed with handwritten directions and A to Z to try and find the Music studio.

As I had just recently dropped my mobile phone in a mop bucket and was not the most map-orientated person, I knew if my directions and map failed me then I'd have to hope and pray that there were phone boxes in the Northern Quarter if I got lost.

Luckily, the only wrong turn I had taken was at Oldham Street, so at half 4 on the dot I rang the bell for the 2nd floor and I got buzzed in to go and meet Anthony on the top floor.

As I entered I shook Anthonys' hand and he offered me a beverage and I asked for water. He showed me to the sofas and said he wouldn't be two minutes, and Matt came over and apologized for the "mess", but he needn't have to I was grateful that they had given me the time to come and see them.

I looked around and checked out the studio, it was very modern looking and comfortable. I noticed on the table the most recent issue of 'Grafik' that I had purchased myself just a few days ago.

Anthony came over and asked me what year I was in and I said Level 2, we then discussed Level 3's idea for the bus. We also discussed his lecture. I said how it had been one of my favourite lectures because it was very down to earth and helpful and I especially liked at the end he had brought in his portfolio and work to have a look at.

He looked through my portfolio and I explained my pieces of work to him. From the feedback I received from Anthony I knew I would have to make my portfolio bigger, and clearer. When commenting on my individual pieces of work Anthony gave me helpful hints of to how to make certain aspects of my work better for example; refining the logo for 'British Postal Museum'. He also pointed out elements he liked including the TED magic wand idea. He asked me what I like to see when I look at other peoples design work and I explained how I like to see a clever idea that gets a smile as a reaction and he agreed.

At the end of the meeting I asked Anthony about how they worked on a brief when they first received it. He said that 2 or 3 of them first sit and discuss the brief, or they might think about it individually first then discuss it. He also explained that he finds it better working with other people for both the working side and the social side, as you can bounce ideas off each other and then when a brief is won they all go out for drinks and celebrate. After leaving my first portfolio visit with Music I realised that if I pushed myself I can think of those clever ideas that I like to see in other peoples work, and this was definitely the career choice for me. It also made me want to see many other companies because I found the whole experience enlightening.

This is my first work in progress portfolio that I showed to Music.