EXTERNAL POSITIONING Claire Lowe

WHERE I WAS / AM / WILL BE My education

Venn Diagrams Where I want to be

PREVIOUS WORK Making Do Magazine

Paper Co.

COMPETITION BRIEFS RSA Postage Stamps

Penguin book cover ISTD

COMPANY RESEARCH What kind of job would do I aspire to do in the future? How will I get there? What experience do I need? Potential companies I could work for My skill set Interviews with Graphic Designers/Photographers

EVALUATION What have I learnt?

BIBLIOGRAPHY Websites Books DVD’s

This is a Venn diagram showing the overlaps of what I was, what I am and what I will be in the future. These are just a few things which automatically spring to my mind when I think about my path to work. However, this is always open to change.

2006/2007 Photography AS

2007/2008 Photography A Level

2008/2009 BTEC National Certificate in Art and Design

2009/2010 BA Hons Graphic Design Year 1

2010/2011 BA Hons Graphic Design Year 2

2011/2012 BA Hons Graphic Design Year 3 (in progress)

MY EDUCATION

Here is a list of my education from college up until the point I am at now, half way through my third year at university.

My interest in photography and design started when I decided to do a photography AS course at college. From here I learnt a lot about manual photography and how to process films. Manual photography has always been my main interest, then when I started my BTEC national certificate I became more and more intrigued by the digital processes.

This is then where my interest in Graphic Design came in. I was able to use my love of photography combined with my new typography and digital skills to create pieces of work. I still find the process of manual and digital photography interesting and exciting to use within graphic design briefs.

Work

University

University work

Friends and family

Free time

Work

Friends and family

Free time

This shows a breakdown of what takes up the most of my time now. University is the one thing at the moment that takes up the most of my time, closely followed by university work and spending time with my friends and family, which is very important to me.

In the future I would like to work at an editorial magazine and work my way up to being art director. I think that my time will be spread out a bit differently. Later on in life I would like to get into freelance work in order to have a more balanced work life.

Where I am now

Where I will be

At this stage I am currently studying in my third year of my BA Hons Graphic Design course.

After leaving university I will apply for entry level graphic design jobs – preferably at a magazine.

After a year or so I will have hopefully progressed a level higher and be able to apply to a higher position.

Here I would then hope to apply for the role of a junior editor at a magazine.

I would then like to use my experience I have gained so far to apply for the role of an executive editor.

Here I hope to work as an art director at an editorial magazine.

PREVIOUS WORK MAKING DO MAGAZINE

In second year we did a one day brief with Mary Ikoniadou. We were asked to transform the Making Do translation edition magazine. We worked in teams to adapt the layout, text, imagery and context of the magazine. I found this very helpful in that it made me think more about different layouts and what works together. It also makes you realize that there are so many options and decisions to be made when editing magazines. There are also restrictions such as considering the gutter, margins and bleed etc.

The work that our group created was externalised on the Future Anecdotes website shown here. It shows the processes which we used and photographs of our work.

This was the first time that I had pieces of my work published on a website and this set me up in the path of externalising more of my work.

PAPER CO.

At the end of second year we worked in teams of two or three to complete a brief set by Paper Co. We were asked to design a piece of direct mail to clearly communicate a message to the client.

I worked with Madeline Jenkins and we decided that our message was going to be about ink usage and the decisions the clients can make which will reduce the impact on the environment and reduce their costs.

We then decided to create a fold out cube which can then fold out into a net and then into a leaflet.

I believed that this task helped me to progress as we had to present to our clients at Paper Co. in this presentation we had to talk through our presentation boards and discuss our ideas, inspirations and final outcomes.

Although I was nervous about doing this presentation I found that I felt comfortable talking in front of the clients. Also when discussing our ideas I felt that our presentation was clear and concise. This has helped me to become more confident in presenting to clients and has prepared me for interviews and meetings in the future.

COMPETITION BRIEFS

RSA Postage Stamps

Brief B: World with a Future Design a set of stamps as a means of encouraging consumers to make positive environmental changes and educate future generations with regard to energy conservation, low-impact transport, zero-carbon housing, and reducing water over-consumption.

Penguin Book Cover

One flew over the cuckoo’s nest Try to design a new cover for a new generation of readers, avoiding the obvious clichés and steering clear of the film promotional graphics. Originality is key.

ISTD

It happened on this day We want you to consider how best to interpret the project theme. Is it what happened through the centuries on a specific day in the month/year or could it be the story of one particular day in time?

RSA POSTAGE STAMPS

These show my initial drawings after reading the brief. I focused my drawings around conventional ways to save the environment such as turning of a tap or switching to energy efficient light bulbs.

I also kept them in grayscale in order to keep the simplicity of the drawings as when they are made smaller it would be easier to see the detail.

RSA POSTAGE STAMPS

As an experiment, I decided to put these drawings into the postage stamp format. This gave me a feel for the sizing of the images and the placement of the Queen’s head.

I also wanted to adapt these initial ideas as the imagery is rather generic; However, I like the feeling of the drawing.

My next idea was to base my stamps on recycling facts in order to convey the message easily and make the audience think about the effects they have on the environment. The facts that I used are as follows: 1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours. 1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 3 hours. On average, 16% of the money you spend on a product pays for the packaging, which ultimately ends up as rubbish.

It takes 24 trees to make 1 ton of newspaper.

Over Christmas as much as 83km² of wrapping paper will end up in UK rubbish bins, enough to cover an area larger than Guernsey.

On average every person in the UK throws away their own body weight in rubbish every seven weeks.

Here I put my stamp designs into the stamp format; however I think that I needed the text to support the message I was trying to convey. I also thought that using a palette of pastel colours would highlight the natural element and bring them together as a set as well as making them more interesting individually.

I think that this set of stamps is successful and progressed well from my initial ideas. Using the recycling facts helped me with the theme and I believe it represents the messages to the audience.

I think that this postage stamp brief has really helped me to understand and overcome the constraints of the task which will prepare me for briefs given to me in the future.

PENGUIN BOOK COVER

When I decided to enter the Penguin book cover competition, I though the best place to start would be to look into the company. For this I decided to do some research on Penguins website and read an article which I found on Creative Review. The Penguin website gives information on the company history and allows you to look at past covers.

The article on Creative Review shows Penguins 75th anniversary. For this 75 of the best Penguin book covers were chosen and some are talked about in this article. It talks about the development of the covers and how they have become iconic. It also shows the difference of opinion that people have on the covers which gave me some good ideas about how to begin my cover.

The brief which I decided to do was to design a book

cover for ‘One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. The brief came with a layout to follow and with the blurb and pieces of writing that had to be included. They also provided the Penguin logo and where it had to be placed in order to be in keeping with the brand.

I decided to look at some of the previous book covers for the same book to give me an idea of what had been done before and the different approaches that had been taken by other designers.

The first thing that I thought to do was to look the mandatory text that had to be included and figure out what size and font of text to use. These would have to be appropriate and in keeping with the other covers as well as being easy to read.

When thinking about the design of the book cover I wanted to sketch out a few ideas and inspirations.

I sketched ideas of isolation, vulnerability and also maybe hope.

After looking at the storyline, looking over the book and watching the film these were the ideas which I came up with. I also played around a little with the layout of the text.

After a few ideas I came up with an idea for the type of font I wanted to use which is a rough looking sans-serif which almost reminds me of a birds nest.

This is my blank design so far for the Penguin book cover. I think that the font is appropriate and the placement of the text in relation to the book size is clear and appealing.

I also think that the monochrome colour at the moment makes it look edgy and professional, however there will be an illustration or photograph added at a later date. I thought it was important to get the placement of the text right first as it was the mandatory part of the cover.

This will progress soon into the full cover.

ISTD

The brief which I chose to look into for ISTD was one titled ‘It happened on this day’. Here the brief asked you to choose a day in history and represent your idea typographically.

My initial approach to this project was to think of a day in history that I thought would be an interesting day to focus on. It would also have to have a lot of information and research into the subject, so initially it would have to be quite a large topic which I could later pin down.

I decided to look at natural disasters and the days on which they occurred. I then thought about the 2004 Tsunami which occurred in the Indian Ocean on December 26th. This is rather memorable and quite an emotive date to focus on as it was Boxing Day, a time of celebration, whilst other faced devastation.

Facts to research

Earthquake caused by subduction (one plate moving under another)

Killed over 230,000 people in fourteen countries.

Waves reached up to 30 metres Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand

were the four most affected countries. Measured 9.1-9.3 on the Richter

magnitude scale. It caused the whole planet to vibrate as

much as one centimetre and triggered other earthquakes as far away as Alaska.

$14 billion was donated in aid,

These show the flags of the top 9 most affected countries of the 2004 Tsunami. I thought that looking at the flag and identity of the countries would be a good place to start off my research.

This could als provide me with a colour scheme for my final piece in order to tie everything together.

Here I played around with ideas about a world map and the area that was affected by the tsunami. This also helps me to get a clearer image of the level of devastation and the impact it had on such a number of countries and islands.

I could carry thins idea through to my typographical design and maybe incorporate the concentric circles form or the idea of a map.

As earthquakes are caused by the movements in tectonic plates, I thought I could look at a map of all of the plates in relation to where the earthquake took place. These plate boundaries could also supply me with a grid to work on for my final piece as well as providing information to the reader about the cause.

Here I used the template of the tectonic plates as a grid for the facts about the tsunami. This is a sketch of how I would intend the piece to look.

Using the template I created last time, I then decided to place the circles of areas affected over the top but colour with the flags of the affected countries. I will have to choose the font and size carefully for the text and maybe I will use words in the circles as well. This is my second design and will be continued to be developed leading up to the competition hand in.

COMPANY RESEARCH FUTURE JOB

In the future I would like to work at a magazine and work my way up to being in the art director’s team. This way I would have say in how the magazine would look and select the imagery to be included.

The job role would include looking at the way which the magazine communicates visually to the audience and what feel and style it gives off.

HOW TO GET THERE

To become an art director there are many steps that I will need to take first. These would include completing my BA Hons degree in Graphic design and then finding work placements to gain experience.

I could then take up internships in different magazines. Then I will look for entry level jobs at a magazine as an assistant. I could then work my way up the company or apply to higher positions.

EXPERIENCE

When reading up on the type of experience you need to work in a magazine company I have found that most places will be interested in applicants with first-hand experience. Work experience and internships are very useful as well as having a relevant qualification in the department you wish such as Photography, Graphic Design, and English etc.

Your CV should also be well put together and show enthusiasm. You also need a professional portfolio.

For my company research I have looked at different ideas of places which I could work in the future. Even though I have identified that I would like to work at a magazine, I do have other interests which could be worth exploring as well.

One of the companies that I aspire to work for is LONO creative. LONO creative is a London based creative design agency. They focus on many different areas of the graphic design industry from logo design and branding to editorial design.

many fashion magazines and from the designs that have seen of So Obsessed this looks very edgy and modern in comparison which is what first attracted me to it.

They also have other services to go alongside the Graphic Design part of the company. These include web design and marketing. Together this makes up a complete service to offer to their clients. In my opinion, one of the most inspirational projects that LONO have done is for So Obsessed.

They created the branding, web design and magazine design. The layout and colours are interesting and well put together. The photography and typography used is very up to date. I have seen and read

LONO CREATIVE

Aesthetica is a British Arts magazine who focuses on sculpture, modern arts, and photography etc. There are also sections throughout the magazine about music and theatre.

I think that this would be a really interesting magazine to work at as it is so diverse in its subjects.

It has many followers all around the world. The imagery is amazing and really inspiring. It is also a really good magazine for students to read to familiarize themselves with the art world

AESTHETICA

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

National Geographic is a non-profit organisation who focuses on the environment. The magazine has amazing photographs of places, people, cultures, landscapes and architecture etc.

National Geographic also holds its annual Photo Contest and other competitions which engage their readers and enthusiasts. The results of these competitions are really inspirational and give me something to aim at for the future.

Photography is one of my main interests and I think that this will give me the opportunity to travel and explore different places.

ELLE MAGAZINE

Elle magazine is one of the world’s largest fashion magazines which circulates in over 60 countries. It focuses on fashion, beauty, entertainment and health and is aim predominantly at women.

I have read this magazine for many years and think that it would be an interesting place to work as it would cover my interests as well as giving me the opportunity to improve my skills. Either taking the photographs for the magazine or working in the editing department would be an amazing step for my career in the future.

DELICIOUS MAGAZINE

Delicious magazine is a cooking magazine which has inspirational ideas and recipes as well as really effective imagery.

I would love to work for them as a photographer or help to set up the scenes for the photographs. This role is often referred to as a food stylist.

I think that this would be a really exciting job and combine all of my interests. It is also a very creative job and would have many different opportunities to look into. It would also be a good place to make contacts.

LONO Creative Aesthetica National Geographic Elle Magazine Delicious Magazine

Photography

Software Skills

Layout

Web Skills

Drawing

Typography

Team Work

Initiative

Communication

When looking at job descriptions for relevant jobs for these companies I decided to make a chart of what each company was looking for in a candidate. It shows each company and which skills seemed to be most important to them in their job vacancy listings. This could then give me a good idea of how to tailor my CV to each company.

Drawing /Illustration

Photography

Web Design

Typography

Layouts

MY SKILL SET

In order to see where I am going, I need to analyse my skills at the moment. My main interest and skill lies within the field of photography. Having done photography A Level I feel comfortable with photographic processes in manual and digital form.

I also enjoy and feel confident using layouts to create effect designs. As I progress further through this year and into a job in the future I hope to continue to improve upon all of these skills.

Using the previous diagram I can also see which companies I could fit into.

INTERVIEWS WITH NICK WELSH

In this article by Nick Welsh from Mono Industries, he explains the basics of becoming a Graphic Designer. He also talks about the need for digital and web skills as it is a fast paced industry and you need to keep up with latest technology and trends.

This is a helpful interview to read as it gives you an idea of what to expect in the future in this industry and the importance of being easily accessible by having an online portfolio.

Nick Welsh runs Mono Industries (http://www.monoindustries.com) which is a web and graphic design company as well as keeping a running blog alongside.

View the interview at http://www.freelanceuk.com/ms_design/become_graphic_designer.shtml

One of the reasons why I chose to look at this interview is because one of my main passions is photography and this series really inspires me. I think that it gives me something to aim for. I also like reading the interview and finding out his way of working and the level of care and consideration he takes when embarking on a project.

View the interview at http://www.davidcreedon.com/irishworld2.pdf

INTERVIEW WITH DAVID CREEDON

David Creedon is one of my favourite photographers and his series named ‘Ghosts of the Faithful Departed’ is an inspiring series which looks at the isolation rural Ireland.

I first saw these photographs on display at Photofusion Gallery in London. One of the first things that stuck me was how the colours were extremely bright and vibrant for scenes of such sadness. The detail is also amazing and when he talks about them in this interview you can really feel a connection. The photographs also make you feel connected to the families of the homes you see, without ever seeing them.

INTERVIEW WITH ROB RYAN

Rob Ryan works mainly in cut out and produces many different pieces – some shown here in the interview.

I love his work as I think that although the process is difficult and time consuming, the end product looks effortless and intricate. The characters and messages he uses are sweet and well thought out and have a playful charm. This interview explains how he started out, the processes he uses and his career up until now. He also explains that in the future he would like to make a children’s book.

I think that this was an interesting and informative interview to read as I enjoy learning about the different approaches to work which people take. I also think that it is interesting to know that even people who have been successful in their career are still looking for more and more opportunities to create further pieces of work and expand upon what they have created so far.

View this interview at http://www.magmabooks.com/content/newsfeatures/feature.asp?c=NAF&sc=96&fid=30

EVALUATION Although I have kept an on-going evaluation throughout my portfolio, I wanted to sum up everything that I have found during this process. In my evaluation I want to look at how each section of my portfolio has helped me along the way.

Firstly, evaluating where I am now and where I want to be has made me understand the path I should take after finishing university. This could take the form of work experience or an internship. I believe that this would be a good place to start to gain experience for the future.

Entering the competitions has also been a good experience as it gives me more practice with handling briefs and requests from a client. It also helps with time management and professionalism. It has also helped me in terms of my approach to starting new projects and idea creation at the start. Highlighting important parts of the brief and researching thoroughly have been ways in which I have been able to take control of the brief from the outset.

The most informative part of this has got to be my company research. By pinning myself down to one area I have been able to focus on where I would really like to work in the future, which is for a magazine. Looking at the different companies and the roles within each one has made me realise that it is a diverse industry with a lot of opportunities to do different and varied roles. One role which I would like to have is art director or stylist for a magazine. This can range from arranging the layout of a magazine to the content, and to styling a photo shoot or campaign. It has helped me to become clearer in what I want to do and how I need to get there. The interviews with designers have also given me insight into the industry as well as sharing their tips and approaches when it comes to briefs and the industry as a whole.

To sum up I think that this has helped me in decided on a clear path for my future as well as giving me the knowledge and confidence in the steps to take in order to achieve my future goals.

BIBLIOGRAPHY WEBSITES

LONO creative Website - http://www.lonocreative.com/ - accessed 03/01/2012 LONO Creative job advert - http://www.lonocreative.com/careers/junior-graphic-designer-job-london/ - accessed 03/01/2012 Aesthetica Website www.aestheticamagazine.com/ - accessed 03/01/2012 Aesthetica Job Advert http://www.graduatesyorkshire.co.uk/job/45056/vacancy/Advertising_Marketing_PR/Culture_Art/Marketing_Officer/North_Yorkshire/York_North_Yorkshire/Aesthetica_Magazine?_ts=1 – accessed 03/01/2012 National Geographic Website http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ - accessed 03/01/2012 National Geographic Job Advert https://careers.ngs.org:8291/psp/jobspa/RECRUITING/HRRECRT/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_CE.GBL?Page=HRS_CE_HM_PRE&Action=A&SiteId=1 – Elle website www.elle.uk.com/ - accessed 03/01/2012 Elle Decor job advert http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=128035&page=1 – accessed 03/01/2012 Delicious Magazine Website http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/ - accessed 03/01/2012 Delicious job advert http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/7226 - accessed 03/01/2012 Making Do. - www.makingdo.org.uk/ - accessed 14/12/2011 Future Anecdotes - http://futureanecdotes.co.uk/re-make-the-making-do-translate-the-translation-issue/ - accessed 14/12/2011 Paper co. – www.paperco.co.uk – accessed 14/12/2011 Freelance UK - http://www.freelanceuk.com/ms_design/become_graphic_designer.shtml - accessed 05/01/2012 Mono Industries - http://www.monoindustries.com/ - accessed 06/01/2012

David Creedon interview - http://www.davidcreedon.com/irishworld2.pdf - accessed 03/01/2012 Rob Ryan interview - http://www.magmabooks.com/content/newsfeatures/feature.asp?c=NAF&sc=96&fid=30 – accessed 06/01/2012 Penguin History - http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/aboutus/aboutpenguin_companyhistory.html - accessed 05/01/2012 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073486/ - accessed 05/01/2012 Penguin One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Search/QuickSearchProc/1,,one%20flew%20over%20the%20cuckoo%5Es%20nest,00.html?id=one%20flew%20over%20the%20cuckoo^s%20nest - accessed 05/01/2012 ISTD - http://www.istd.org.uk/ - accessed 04/01/2012 ISTD briefs - http://www.istd.org.uk/events?event=istd_2012_student_assessment_briefs – accessed 04/01/2012 BBC Tsunami report - http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/26/newsid_4631000/4631713.stm - accessed 02/01/2012 Tsunami - http://geology.com/articles/tsunami-map.shtml - accessed 02/02/2012 BOOKS

Barrett, Terry. (2005) Criticizing Photographs. London: McGraw-Hill Cullen, Kristin (2005) Layout workbook : A real-world guide to creating powerful pieces. Gloucester, MA: Rockport Publishers Heller, Stever and Fernandes, Teresa (2002) Becoming a Graphc Designer. London, Wiley Publishing Kesey, Ken. (2005) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. London: Penguin

DVD

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. 1975. DVD. Directed by Milos Forman. Warner.