Placement // The Archipelago

Day 1

Mostly just talking through all the projects and getting printing explained to me, then making a list of Leeds printers who do vinyl for Zosia.

Day 2

Meeting, then went to Tall Boys beer market and measured the wall upstairs, with the fridge and the shop front - for an upcoming photography exhibition and for more plants to be dotted around.

Made mockups in illustrator from the measurements, so that work can be placed in the space to show how it will look.

Day 3

Sat in on discussions about projects and talked through some work, and worked on illustrator files of clipping masks of images used in Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle leaflets, for the pitch.

Day 4

Attended an important meeting at the Henry Moore Institute with 7 marketing people from the different venues included in the Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle. Mike and Zosia pitched the development of the leaflet ideas so far, and talked in detail about different variations and how they have developed the logo, as originally it wasn't quite working well. With a meeting of 10 people in total this was a new and valuable experience for me, to see what goes in in between the designing stages, and how to explain work to clients.

Looked through some past editorial design of The Archipelago back at the studio, to help with a lookbook I am creating for somebody on printed textiles.

Day 5

Today we had a meeting with Evolution print, where one of the sales team discussed with us the printing of work for the Hepworth membership scheme. It was interesting to find out the ins and outs and how complicated it can be to set something up for print and for a certain budget.

Talked about their experiences at past studios etccc..

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This experience so far has been really interesting and it feels positive to be a valued member of a studio. I have learnt many new things about the ins and outs of a business and how clients are dealt with etc.

Lord Whitney // Studio assisting

I received an email from Amy at Lord Whitney around a month after emailing them about any opportunities at their studio (which they had already replied to). They said they were fond of my work.

I agreed to help in the afternoon on friday, which was an interesting experience. It was good to be able to see their studio and to see what goes on behind the scenes and actually get involved. I was asked to paint some wooden furniture, sand down some furniture to make it look old, and spray paint some parasols. It was for an upcoming circus themed music video for Corinne Bailey Rae.

I had a chat with Amy when I got there about the concept for the video, then I spent the rest of the time painting and assisting. Before I left I asked some questions, like if they ever work abroad? Which they don't, but they'd like to. They mostly shoot up north and in London. I asked if they often work weekends, which they do, because very often the projects are very last minute by the time the producers have gotten to them.

Berlin trip & Hort studio visit

Visited Hort studio and talked about:

• how many people work in the studio
• working hours
• how many internship applicants they receive and the details of how long the process takes
• asked for advice about what to see in Berlin

We had a look around the studio and asked some more questions about what work was lying around.

I also visited many art galleries and interesting areas of Berlin.

Portfolio // Placement interview

I created a short portfolio for my interview with The Archipelago, including a range of work in different formats. I used a very simple layout and including small amounts of text that explain my work. 

I took some physical work aswell which is a lot more effective and realistic than a printed portfolio.

Work placement // Preparation

Archipelago's work:

• simple
• functional
• everyday
• a lot of publications and promotional for art and design sector
• interest in illustration and arty stuff - plants!

Work placement interview // The Archipelago

What I learnt about the studio:

• The Plant Room (a studio project) has opened a lot of doors for them, and has been beneficial in the long run. It has got them out in the public eye a lot more and attracted clients, which has given them a different kind of work on the side of the Archipelago as it's quite different.
• They are currently doing work for the Hepworth, which has a deadline at the end of April.
• Normally there are about 7-10 projects on the go, some may have gaps inbetween small tasks and take longer than others.
• There are a lot of layers to clients, they are working with some big arts organisations that have a lot of different people who need to see the work and confirm and discuss it before it can be finalised.
• They are in the fifth or sixth year of running the studio.
• Zosia is the studio/project manager and works from 10am - 2pm every day, where as Michael is the designer and works full days.
• They used to have the odd intern, but went off the idea and length of them and started to warm to the idea of short work placements, where students could come and learn about their studio and their design process.

I was asked to show my work, so I talked through about 5 different projects in brief detail. I got asked some questions about my hand rendered type that features in a lot of my work, as they like it - such as do I scan and live trace? What medium do I use?

After discussing my work a little, we talked about what set up I would be interested in, and I suggest two days a week, which would work really well for them too. This means I can juggle it with my college work efficiently. We have agreed to do a trial day on Tuesday April 12th - after which if we are all happy we can arrange to do more days.

I am pleased with how the meeting went, as they said they think I would fit in well with them. Hearing them talk in great detail about how their business works really opened my eyes to the industry and how clients are dealt with etc. Their studio is bright and pleasant with a lot of inspiring books and prints - somewhere I felt comfortable and excited by!

It's Nice That // Graduates advice on portfolios

http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/graduates-advice-portfolios


Very useful article.

Design strategy presentation

2

As a designer I like to think of myself as concept-driven, as without a reason behind something I feel pretty lost. The more of a concept I have behind my work, the more confident I feel about the outcome.

I enjoy experimenting, which I was a lot less into at the start of the course. I've discovered that there are new ways you can come up with designs and exploring different mediums is important.

I'm primarily an image-maker, which feeds into this experimenting and lets me be creative. I'm not so interested or skilled in the technical side of graphic design.

I like to create things that are expressive, and have own personal touch. I prefer to steer clear from using ordinary or common typefaces etcetera.

I'm most interested in design for creative industries, like art and design, music, the film industry. To me that just incorporates everything I love.

3

I think that my biggest learning curve this year has been collaboration.

Its something I wasn't used to at all until third year, and I feel like I can embrace working in groups instead of shying away from it.

I'm aware of how it prepares us for working in a studio after college, and through working with others I've gained confidence in sharing my ideas.

4

Hyperloop was a good example of this, it was a challenge working with people who all have different approaches to design, and trying to balance the work between us all.

But it was also really good, as it pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Creating a transport brand is something that I would never choose to do.

I learnt more about brand values and the marketing behind brands, and I discovered my strengths - one of the things I did was create a few illustrations for the promotional material.

5

Another collaboration I've been working on is D&AD which I've just finished.

I told three stories using animation for the Shutterstock brief with my friend Tamar who studies printed textiles.

Neither of us had done animation before, but the brief said it could be moving image and I really wanted to give it a go.

We both came up with the concepts together and did the drawings which I then manipulated and made into animations.

Organising time to work together and who was doing what was tricky but I definitely learnt how to go about it.

I also learnt how long animation actually takes... it has absolutely drained me. But I did enjoy it and I'm happy with the outcomes.

6

Upcoming live briefs that I'm going to be working on are the Plusnet public art competitive brief, which is to create a design for a wall outside their office. Me and Alex Finney are going to work together on that so thats another collaboration.

And obviously the prints for Leeds print festival, which I'm excited to start.

7

So, on to studios and work that I like, these two are in Barcelona. They're both quite well known and both make really vibrant work.

8

The top studio is in Amsterdam and they do a lot of work for arts organisations, like this is for an exhibition and this is for an art school.

Human After All are in London and they do a lot of work for big names like Facebook and the Baftas.

9

These are a few Berlin studios I'm interested in, I'm planning on going over there in in a few weeks, so hopefully I'll be able to visit some studios while I'm there.

10

I finished my website a few weeks ago, I've just made it really simple for now and only selected a portion of my work to show. I've not got a solid logo, and I don't think I really need one. At the moment I've got my name written by hand in different colours that is quite personal and easy going.

11

I have another page for personal projects that aren't design, to show other creative things I get up to like photography and artwork. But yeah really simple.

12

I've recently been sending out emails to various studios I like in a lot of different cities about placements. I got a reply back from The Archipelago, who are a small studio here in Leeds who do a lot of local work for exhibitions - I think they're currently doing some work for the Hepworth, and they curated The Plant Room which some of you probably know of.

They said they'd be interested in having me at some point, so I'm gonna go in for a chat soon. Not sure about dates yet, it might be during studies or just afterwards. 

13

I've not got anything set up for after college yet, but I plan on applying for a lot of internships and ideally would be able to get one abroad. I think I'd learn a lot from working abroad and see new things and experience how the industry works in another country. Obviously something might not come up straight away, but i'll hope for the best.