Thursday 20 December 2012

Life's a pitch: Meeting with John

Earlier this week each individual group had a meeting with John. It was very casual and he simple wanted to find out exactly where we each felt we were at, what our plans for the business were, whether we were corporate, etc.

The talk went down really well and John seemed to like our initial business plan and direction. He then suggested that to make more income from our business we could set up workshops and classes where we teach students and enthusiasts how to screen print.

Now, we can go away and look into the costs of this, the implications etc and weigh up whether it would be a good business suggestion.

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Life's a pitch: Locations for our Pop-Up shop

We agreed as a group on thursday that over the weekend we would research various different locations across Leeds where we could host our pop-up shop in around April / May time. My thought were that we wanted somewhere sophisticated, central to public transport links and with an 'art/design' network.

Here are two of the best places I came across over this weekend. Hopefully some other members of the group have found other locations that we can all discuss together on Monday / Tuesday when we meet again:





Friday 7 December 2012

Life's a Pitch: Weekly Meeting

Thursday 6th December
After all of our sessions, we all decided to have a mini discussion about our progression
and what are our plans are. Today we finally decided and organised which roles within the
group belong to whose.

Roles
- Project Management- Lisa Collier
- Financial Management- Luke Rossiter
- Stock Management- Tanida Panyamang
- Art Director- Eve Warren
- Graphic Designers: We are all individual designers who will have different roles within the group.

Action Plan
- Research events and locations for our pop-up shop
- Identify ideal date in order to give us a deadline
- Work out individual cost of living.

Monday 3 December 2012

over + out : e - flyer

Today, we finally met as a group again. We sat down to work over the e-flyer and create a design that we all agreed on.

Production, Developments and Final...















Sunday 2 December 2012

over + out : collecting












Spur Magazine Launch












Life's a Pitch: The Nature of your Business

After Fred's session on Monday he asked each of the groups to get together and answer a series of questions in preparation for next weeks session. We have just had a group meeting and agreed that this afternoon, whilst Luke is in the Responsive session Me, Eve and Tanida will go through and answer the list of questions the best we can, and then tomorrow, when I am unavailable Luke, Tanida and Eve will take my initial idea's as well as their own and create a logo for the company. In today's meeting we also discussed each having our own 'signature' to symbolise each other work, collaborative work etc in our finished pieces.

The nature of your business

1. Business name

Over & Out

2. Business activity

A screen printing collective, that prints onto found and recycled objects.

3. Mission statement

We believe in sustainable design and the process of exploration through image making and found objects.

4. Business objectives

What are you plans to achieve your sales target in the first 12 months?

We plan to hold a 'pop-up' shop event at least 4 times a year (every three months) where we will sell our printed products to people who have an interest in individual designs.

What new products or services will you introduce in the following two years to grow your business?

We will introduce sustainable design into our ever expanding range of products by printing our current workonto flat pack cardboard furniture which will become the basis of our pop-up shop experience.

What is your long term / 5 year goal?

To further expand our range of products, as well as collaborating with other designers who would be
interested in getting their current work printed onto our sustainable products. We also plan to have set
up our own nationwide range of shops which will open continuously throughout the year, selling our
range of products to people interested in individual and sustainable designs.

5. The people in the business.

How many people are employed?

Four

What are their roles?

There will be four individual roles within the business:

Project Management (taking minutes in meetings, arranging group sessions etc.

Financial Management (controlling the intake of money, and outgoing, maintaining a profit within the
company

Stock Management (continuously checking our 'found' products and making sure we have plenty of
materials still to print on)

Art Director (researching current popular styles and designs in the market and influencing our designs
by their findings, as well as managing the designs of the group and keeping them on target)

As well as this we will each be individual graphic designers, collaborating together to bring different styles and designs that we could print onto found and recycled products.

6. What is the structure of your business?

Describe the organisation.

Our initial plan is to spend thursday afternoon's and evening preparing screens for print and Friday's in
the screen print studio creating our designs, printing onto our found items and producing our range of
products. This would be run on a rotary system, in order to allow time for other members of the group to go away and design, and also to allow time for work on our individual roles (financial management,
project management planning etc).

7. What is the legal status of your business?

Is it Limited Company or partnership, social enterprise, cooperative or are you a sole trader?

We will run our business as a cooperative company. This means we will run as an autonomous association of persons who voluntarily cooperate for their mutual, social, economic, and cultural benefit. The advantages of running the business in this way will be that we can collaborate with one another and combine each others idea's and inspirations into work that we are proud to sell.

2. Resources

1. Products or services

Describe the range of goods/services you are selling

Say what percent of turnover each will provide ( e.g. boutique – 40% clothing, 60% jewellery)
We will be screen printing onto a range of found products and so are quantities of each category
will change depending on what we can get hold of however our initial plan is to products Posters -
40% (at £5-£10), Zines - 20% (at £5), Small items - 20% (at £3), Unique pieces - 10% (£20+),
Material prints - 10% (£5-£10)

2. What resources do you require?

What equipment do you need (e.g. office equipment and furniture, studio equipment)

Studio; three rooms (print studio, design studio / shop, drying room for screens), Company Van, 4 Bicycles, 4 Helmuts, Screen printing beds, UV Exposer, Screens, Mesh, Squeegees, Power Washer, Screen Washer, Sink Basin, Print Racks, Emulsion, Health and Safety Clothing, Washing Chemicals, 4 iMacs, 4 iPads, 4 Desks, 4 Office Chairs, Digital A1 printer, A2 scanner, Sketch books, Printing Ink digital), Printing Inks (screen), Pens, Pencils, Paper supplies in various sizes, Hard Drives, Memory Sticks, 4 Notepads, Wallchart, 4 Diary / Timeplanners, Lightbox, A4 Scanner, SLR camera, Memory Card for digital camera, Kettle, Toaster, Fridge/Freezer, Microwave, mop and bucket, Dustpan and brush, First Aid Kit, Lightbulbs, Cabinet Bookshelf, Drawers, Safe, Electronic till, Folder, Sofa, TV, 4 iPads, Projector, Presentation easel, Cutting mats, Guillotine, Craft Knife, Spray mount, Tool Kit, Heaters.

How much will these cost ? ( to the nearest £3,000 )

£57,000

3. How much stock, do you need any stock to start your business?(e.g. clothes for a boutique, food for a café, books for a book shop)

How much will your sales stock cost ? (to the nearest £3,000)

Clothes, Cardboard, Zines, Posters, Magazines, Books, Paper Stock £3,000

Overall: £60,000

3. Customers

1. What evidence do you have that anyone will buy your product / service?

Is it a popular product / service currently provided by lots of others
Is your idea completely new?
Is there increasing demand for your product / service?

Eve and Luke have been to multiple print fairs in order to gain research over the past week, as well as this myself, Tanida, Luke and Eve have also research into the Leeds Print Festival, Leeds Print Fair etc to gain experience into the type of event we plan to run ourselves. Our idea has been done before however, we intend to expand upon what has already ben explored by printing onto materials we have found and incorporating each others idea. There is an increasing demand for our services, as trends within the industry are heading in this direction. Also, as a response to the recession people are look to gain artwork more from independent retailers that offer lower prices rather than a high street store. People are also becoming more and more interested in popular cultures and the recycling focus within the industry.

2. Who are these people?

Use segmentation to describe your typical consumer
People who are interested in their local music scene, local art scene and also people who are designers and artists themselves, as well as emerging young creatives. People with a unique fashion sense who are interested in one-off clothing designs will also be attracted by our brand. As well as aiming our company at this wide variety of customers, we also plan to target independent companies and galleries looking for artwork at a reasonable price to use on their walls.

3. Where are they?

It may help to include diagrams or maps
People who visit Brudenell social club, Wharf chambers, 02 Academy, Leeds Art Gallery, Dock Street Market, White Cloth Gallery, Leeds University Union, Leeds Museum, Nation of Shopkeepers, Electric Press Leeds, Corn exchange; all centrally located in Leeds for our first exhibition of our work.

4. How many are there of them?

This must be described in numbers form. (e.g. population, tourist visitors)
Number of young creatives in Leeds, Number of art/design students in Leeds, Number of design agencies in Leeds, Number of Cafe's, Number of Boutiques; 40,000 in number form

5. Why would they buy from you rather than anyone else?

Provide a SWOT analysis.

Strengths

Fresh, Combination of different styles, Screen printing, Back to Basics, Specialises in print, Collaborative, Unexpected outcome, Unique designs
Weaknesses
We are not original, Other screen print studio, None of us have business experience
Opportunities
Exploration, Collaboration in Design, A lot of current interest in print fairs in Leeds (Spur magazines, Leeds print festival, Leeds print fair)
Threats
Targeting such a huge market, We are not original, A lot of competition, Other design studio's,

6. How much will the average customer spend with you?

How often will they spend that amount with you?

£10, 4 times a year

Will your sales fluctuate due to external forces ( e.g. seasons or cultural / sporting events)
Our sales will be four times a year (seasonal)

4. How will you promote your business?

1. How will you advertise your products / services?

We will produce a range of flyers and posters distributed in the local area, using the style that we will be promoting on the day. We will also use social media as a form of advertising as well as producing creative emails prospective customers to inform them of the event.

2. What other marketing methods would be effective for you?

Personal Selling
Promotions; flyering in venues, posters in specific locations around leeds city centre
Direct Marketing (Targeted marketing)
Internet / Emails
Social Media; Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest etc.

Friday 30 November 2012

Study Task 5: "Who are they?"

Task

Based on the principles that have been introduced so far in the PPP2 module, investigate who you are as a creative in relation to who is out there looking for creative talent.

Write a list of all the possible client groups that use graphic design in the development, production, distribution, promotion and/or communication of their products or services. Identify one client group that reflects your current ambitions within the graphic design area (music industry, retail, publishing, education etc.) and focus on identifying:

What skills / interests you have and how they relate to the needs of your client group?

What skills are needed and what skills do you want to develop?

What are your professional/creative aims and how do they relate to the needs of the client group?


It is essential that you make references to the ʻ4 Psʼ from the PPP2 Presentation. This is an exercise in applying that theory – it is not appropriate to write about the theory itself. Demonstrate your understanding of it by actually using it.

List of client groups within graphic design:

Publishing
Music industry
Advertising
Printing
Web design
Illustration
Retail
Fashion industry
Education
Packaging
Animation
Branding

What skills / interests you have and how they relate to the needs of your client group?

I am quite a skilled image maker and I have a passion for print especially after the module OUGD504 where I have extended my knowledge of print finshes. Therefore my interests lie in editorial and publishing, branding and print making. I am a confident photographer to so I can mix and match a different range of mediums to my portfolio. When it comes to relating to the needs of my client group, a broad range of skills and interests are needed. I think my interest in print could help me push my interest in branding as I could use my craft to produce innovative prints. 

What skills are needed and what skills do you want to develop?

The skills that are needed to tackle the client group list includes a good knowledge of the Adobe suite. I also think that you need the right mindset to push and break a brief but at the same time feel confident enough to communicate ideas. I want to develop my conceptional skills as well as craft based skills including book binding and more complicated screen printing methods.

What are your professional/creative aims and how do they relate to the needs of the client group?

My creative aim as a professional designer is to become more confident, as I feel this will benefit my practice when it comes to pitching ideas to clients. I would like to work on my idea generation skills as concepts are key when it comes creating innovative and industry standard pieces of work. 


Sunday 25 November 2012

Life's a pitch : Logo

On Friday me, Luke and Tani worked on our logo. The design sheets show the progression and various stages that the logo went through before the final decision was made. I was responsible for most of the design sheets as Luke mostly worked on the computer.



















Friday 23 November 2012

Life is a pitch : Meeting 1



Over the last week our class has split up into various groups for our life is a pitch brief. My group consists of Luke, Lisa and Tanida. We are a group of laid back people who want to have some fun with this brief and yesterday we met up for a meeting at the end of college.

The previous evening I put together a small presentation of ideas to show to my group as a starting point. I was aware that everyone was interested in learning a new skill and putting to use our skills in a craft. Tanida especially is very good at packaging and Luke has previous experience of screen printing.

5x Services that we are providing:

Approaching indie bands and music promotions
Club/ Bar Promotions in Leeds
Zines focus on Politic and Art in Leeds
Designing one-off artworks that are sustainability and recycling materials.
Promotion packs for events in Leeds, Independent Night.

Our discussion:

Less digital, more experimental
Craft/ Craftsmanship
Martin's book- Screen Print, Images [Manchester College of Art]
Screen print / Laser cut
Materials and Cardboards
Finding rubbish to print on
One-Off piece
Pop Up Shop
Donation of unwanted
Business- 'Invest into something, invest into business'
Gather free materials
Not clothing specific, we are a range
Layering
Target Market: Young Adult, Interested in Art, Sustainability and Recycling
Also, people who are interesting in being individual/ one of a kind
Competitions: Other groups, Art & Craft people and Other clothing boutiques in Leeds
Products: Original Artworks, Furniture, Clothing, Zines and many more
Context: Galleries, Cafe, House Opening etc.
Our production plan: Every Friday Morning for Printing time
Every Other Thursday evening- Preparation time for screens and other, this will also be swapping swifts in pair.
Element of unexpected outcomes
Experimental
Flat-Pack Furniture
Direction toward the format more than content.
'Artwork'
Craft elements
Continue change- rotate every certain months
Context: Fairs- Book fair/ Art & Craft fairs, Pop Up Shop, Website- Etsy?
Handmade, not mass produce
Surprise- Our purpose
Manipulation
Charity shops
Vinyl and Vinyl Covers/ Sleeves
Selling it
More fun
Recycle the screen
Arty, Fashionable and Original
Not a chore, no hassle
Artists of Designer World
" We make shit good! We make good shit! " Luke

Preparation for Monday...

Name ideas in order for us to vote which is the best and bring some ideal materials to share with the group.


Final Idea

We will be screen printed onto different found / donated objects. These will then be sold on in a pop up shop and regular events. The pop-up shop will appear in various different locations across Leeds. We wanted to focus our business on recycling old products, as this also meant ti would be cheaper to run as we would not need to invest into elements of the company first.

The pop up shop would also be created at a really low budget using flat pack cardboard furniture to display our items that we have also created ourselves and screen printed onto.

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Study Task 4 : "Who am I now?" (continued)

My chosen areas of practice as of now:

Branding
Iconography
Typography
Editorial
Screen printing
Music
Clothing
Photography
Film

My main strengths as of now:

Iconography : For my 'History of' summer brief I designed iconography books
Branding : Summer placement I rebranded a Gaming Company
Editorial : An area where I have always enjoyed grid and layout
Photography : I feel that I have good eye when it comes to taking photos
Music : I set myself the small task of design some record covers over the summer for Alt-J

My identified weaknesses as of now:

Web design
Confidence when it comes to competition briefs
Craft based skills like book binding and screen printing

A set of main goals for this year:

Collaborate with someone in the class and produce a piece of work to a high standard
Enter a range of competition briefs
Produce some freelance work
Learn more about print
Push my craft based skills further.
Go to the print studio more.
Extend my knowledge on software
Get a placement
Get a part time job to help with finances

Wishes:


Get nominated for an award
Get a placement
Build up my portfolio
Work hard, Play hard
Push my fancy dress costumes further!
Party more
Enjoy living in my first house with my friends
Make new friends
Go outside of Leeds every once in a while

Ambitions:

Win or get nominated for YCN / D&AD
Go to an amazing studio and work for them for a while.
Get paid for a design job
Get on to a blog / in a magazine article


Monday 19 November 2012

Study Task 4 : Continued

Identify the top choice and WHY you feel that they may have synergy with your practice now, or in the near future.

Two Times Elliot

Two Times Elliott is a design consultancy based in Notting Hill, London. Headed up by Creative Directors, James Horwitz and Ross Gunter, Two Times Elliott produces a diverse range of work across multiple disciplines including print design, identity and web.

I have been interested in this style of work for some time now, as I consider it to be a step forward from what I was interested in a couple of years ago. I follow multiple design blogs on Tumblr that celebrate Two Times Elliot design work and it would be a dream to have a studio visit or even collaborate with them. I consider their work to be very current and quite edgy as it often explores alternative print methods, experimental typography and layout design. I quite like the photography and some of their corporate branding design too as they show off a broad range of skills and knowledge. I love this about Two Times Elliot as it proves that they are not a one trick pony and they can mould themselves to the fast pace of the design industry that involves a broad range of clients and projects. Over the next few years I wish to build up a body of work as strong and as diverse as this one.








Is your choice based on:

Location : They are based in London, a place I would love to push myself to go and approach studios.

Direction of practice : The print basis of their work really interests me, especially as they are at the forefront of branding and style at the moment amongst the online blogging community.

The brand philosophy : 

'We like to work with all our clients as creative partners and to this end we think it is important to involve them in the design process as much as possible. We also work hard to manage our design work alongside a clients budget. We deliver bespoke design solutions and advice to a wide range of clients, from individuals to large organisations, in a variety of different sectors. Our team is made up of passionate and experienced designers all of whom are experts in a variety of disciplines. We are also passionate about giving new young design talent studio experience where they can work with the team to boost the vigour of our projects and generally augment the creative process.'

Client base : They have a wide range of clients and throughout their website each project show a clear and customised creative direction.

Please consider :

WHO they are/who are you?

Two Times Elliot are a design consultancy based in Notting Hill, London. Headed up by Creative Directors, James Horwitz and Ross Gunter, Two Times Elliott produces a diverse range of work across multiple disciplines including print design, identity and web.

I am a second year design student who has a keen interest in branding & identity, editorial and print. I have studied graphic design since the age of 16 so by the time I graduate I would have studied it for five years.

WHY you are contacting them and why they should listen?

I am contacting them because they are an independent studio who have a team of passionate and experienced designers all of whom are experts in a variety of disciplines. I should contact them because in their contact info they talk about 'giving new young design talent studio experience where they can work with the team to boost the vigour of our projects and generally augment the creative process.'

They should listen because I am a hard working individual with a passion and a talent for graphic design who has the mindset and drive to learn new skills and meet new people.

WHAT do you want them to do next and what do you actually want.

Straight to the point. I want them to reply to me! I want a placement. Simple.

WHY they should get back to you?

They should get back to me because I may bring something new to the table. Fresh eyes and ears and brain. 

Now you have identified initially these studios you feel synergy with. Please list 8 methods you could utilise to contact them.

Email

Phone

Letter / Post

"Creative CV" (Pinterest, Twitter, etc)
Produce a poster / piece of work that expressed my interest in them
Send a video clip of me talking about my interest and my work
Send an interactive info pack about me and my work
Send them a photo of me, and a bit about myself. It's always better to visual somebody and know what they look like.