Week off

So, Lucy and Andy have gone abroad to attend a friend's wedding and this week I'm not scheduled to be in because I said I would work at home to get the studio's branding done. On the thursday James called me at around half 12 asking if I wanted to help with some work I would get paid for. At the time I was actually busy visiting a friend but still had my macbook with me. So, I gladly accepted the job. I spent the next 6 hours collecting text and images to create a poster for a wedding company.

My job was actually to take an existing poster and add 'sale' to it. This should have been an easy task which wouldn't take very long but unfortunately James only had a jpeg. and couldn't find the Illustrator file that Lucy had created before so I recreated it exactly the same from scratch. This involved vectorising some parts and looking for the fonts which fitted the previous design:


(left old poster, right new poster I duplicated from old poster)

Afterwards the client explained that he didn't want the new poster identical to the previous one. I don't know whether it was just some misunderstanding between James and the client or the client not explaining properly what he wanted but either way I felt as if I had spent all this time making a poster for nothing. But I just got on with the job of altering the poster slightly so that it would please the client, in the end he wanted two versions of the poster as well:



I was then given another job by the same client. This was a completely different style to the previous one and involved coming up with a poster from scratch on my own. I was to use black and pink to show a classy sale poster. This was in for 9:30am the next morning but I decided it best if I finished it there and then because I was already in a design mode. Didn't get feedback until half 10 the next morning. Was told to change the photos so that they blended into the black background like it was fading into it which in my opinion would look extremely tack but that was what the client wanted and was used to so...I was doing this at speed because the deadline was very tight:


(left- my design, right-my design after making amendments they wanted)

Overall I felt this client's taste in design was a little old-fashioned and the time limit was a little tight and I felt a little pressurised, especially during the next morning. But still, this was a good experience for me.

Fifth day at work

I had a feeling that today was going to turn out to be a bad day because everything seemed to be going wrong. Decided that I should finish designing the business card today because it had been a week and I needed to! Was looking at the illustrations I did for the back cover of the business card and felt they didn't really suit it or looked too tacky. So added the text 'get to know us a little' instead to act as the imagery on the page.

Stuck with the same content but changed things around for a long time to get the perfect balance for the business card. Printed the card using different weighted card to see what works best, realised that something so simple as designing a business card can be very difficult and that there's a lot of considerations to be made. But, think I finally finished producing the business card:

Went through the brochure after lunch, Andy's version seemed very complicated as there were a number of different styles and imagery he used. Not sure how I'm going to change it so it links with my new branding for the company. Decided that we would keep Andy's brochure for the time being and add an element on each page to link it all together, maybe have the numbering of the pages the same style as that of the business card to link it all together. Next task was to come up with a brochure front cover. Their old cover and brochure pages example:

Started producing the front cover, playing with text and arranging it differently to see what looks good and what not:

Including a lime green colour with their signature orange pantone 180C. Looks pretty good with the block style though need to have a closer look how to make it more interesting:

Fourth day at work

I looked at business cards today because I really wanted to come up with a design they really liked and get it off to print. Traced some handdrawn font that I'd photographed the night before. Andy then came into work and asked me to look for images for the advert ideas I had come up with for Macbeths. I began looking for free stock photos which was extremely difficult so I was glad Andy decided afterwards that the photos didn't have to be free, this way he could show the clients a sample of the photos and if they liked it they could purchase it. Managed to find an amazing photo for the strawberries and cream idea which fitted really well with the website. From then we decide that images with a clean white background worked best to give a modern, fresh feel to the website.

Moved away from adverts and looked at business cards again, occasionally helping Andy to look at his Macbeth's website design and coming up with more taglines. I felt quite privileged to be asked for my opinion on actual client work, like I'm good enough to have an opinion, I'm glad I can help them on this level. I finished tracing the hand-drawn text and incorporated it into my design. Made quite a few alterations with Andy's help. Really cool how our taste in design and the way we work are similar. We both think it's the little details that are important and are both perfectionists. Design ideas:

Printed onto plain white paper than Andy suggested printing on cardboard material which worked really well giving it a rustic and slick look to the design which was cool. May foil parts of the text. Still need to look at how to design the back of the card, something's missing, not sure if adding an illustration is the right way to go. Have tonight to think about it because tomorrow is meant to be the deadline for the business card. Andy was pleased with my design ideas. Yaay :)

Didn't have a break today and finished at 5 which meant 7 hours of straight working at the screen which wasn't good for my eyes but hey, I was happy to be doing design work.

Third day of work

Got to work 15 minutes early again. They didn't really have any work for me to do so I carried on with my business card ideas. I asked Andy whether I should go down the conceptual idea route of designing the driver's license card, he said it was a good idea but maybe I should look at more design-based ideas rather than conceptual ones. So I did. Was difficult though, tried using just typography on card, but found it hard to make it interesting. Looked for more motivation in the 'Innovation in invitations, greetings and business cards' book. Tried altering the font type and point sizes to add interest:

Up until lunch I worked on business cards, afterwards Andy went through the Macbeths website he was designing for this Friday. He saw the conceptual ideas I came up with with the business card and asked me to help him think of concepts for how to portray the insurance company. He gave me some inspiration from the Hiscox website. One of their taglines consisted of showing an image of a chilli with the text 'sometimes you don't know what you're getting in to until it's too late' which I thought was really clever:

Here's another one of their adverts, quite classy and gets the point through in a clever way:



I then tried thinking of the same kind of concepts for Macbeths; trying to make them come across as flexible, caring and friendly, the best ones I could think of:

1) Orange Squeezer- 'because we know how it should be done'
2) Strawberries and Cream- 'because we know what works best'
3) Chess Set- 'Let us help you find the right step'

Spent quite a long time thinking of these kind of ideas, really difficult but again looked through numerous random images to try and gather inspiration. At the time I thought I was coming up with completely the wrong ideas but Andy helped me put them into context and made them work. They were quite happy with the progress I had made in a day. Need to think of more developed ideas to show clients on Friday, Eeep!

Second day of work

Arrived early today because I was excited about my project of coming up with their business card design. Couple of clients came in in the morning to discuss the production of their website so I just carried on researching other people's business card designs. Was difficult coming up with potential ideas, I seemed to always go off in tangents and come up with concept ideas which was not useful as business partners wouldn't understand or have the time to figure it out.

So, I started sketching designs that could work but ended up with quite boring ideas so I began researching again. I looked at random pictures on google images and istock which I find can really help set off an idea in my mind, something I wouldn't have thought of on my own. I saw a photo of an iphone which gave me one of my ideas- by using the 'contacts page' on an iphone to show the 3 staff members and their contact info:



Reasons why this idea may work:

1) Catches the eye.
2) A lot of people have an iphone nowadays so they can relate to it and find it personal.
3) Quite clever use of visual interface to put information across.
4) Apple relates to mac which is what designers use in the creative industry.
5) The iphone is modern which reflects the modern style that JammMedia has.

Other ideas I came up with on the day consisted of thinking more about what the studio does which is branding and identity for other companies, so I began thinking along the lines of using identity cards/drivers license to act as a business card. These would include photos which could make the design fun and quirky to reflect the staff member's attitude and personality.

Other than doing the business card design, Lucy also showed me how to upload posts onto www.creativeboom.co.uk/reading which she manages weekly and told me I could have a go at uploading my own posts with my own work later on.

First day of work

Got to work with five minutes to spare today, was slightly tired but that was to be expected. I don't think I felt that nervous on my first day because I knew the guys were cool and the working environment would be a relaxed one. I just hoped that my ability to work would be up to their standards, though they knew I was only a first year student so I'm not sure they expected that much from me in the first few weeks, which eased the pressure slightly.

The day started off with just administration things such as James telling me about safety hazards in the studio which consisted of not knocking my head on the desk etc. Was then shown around the house, James moved his office upstairs to make room for me, feel slightly guilty but also grateful that he did that for me.

First project given to me was to research websites for recycling mobile phones because a company called Purple Gossip needed their website updated so I was to see how other people in the same industry advertise themselves and then report back to Lucy. Spent up to lunch doing this to get the creative mind going because obviously having been away from graphics for a few weeks this meant I needed to ease myself into the flow of things again.

After lunch was more research regarding people who recycle ink cartridges. I was to pick out key features of what works well within their websites and what doesn't. Managed to complete this task in an hour which was a vast improvement from the two hours I took on the previous research task.

I was then told to look at how I could update their business card. I quite like their card now, it's simple but has a modern classy style to it. It uses a UV light effect over their tagline and stylised orange strips to link both sides and to break up the text:



So, I got stuck into coming up with ideas, I was a little uninspired at the start so I looked through a bunch of business cards and books- Innovation in Invitations, greetings and business cards- Charlotte Rivers. It was slightly difficult trying to be different but also keeping to the money budget. Would be more interesting if the card took on a different shape, possibly 4 sided or 3D, though because they would just be given to business men, it wouldn't be that practical to design the card physically as they wouldn't understand the meaning behind it or it wouldn't register in their minds as a business card. So I need to design the card graphically to leave a lasting impression on the person receiving it.

The "Interview"

The reason why I've put interview in inverted commas is because this was more of a get-to-kno-me process rather than a strict questioning session. Feelings before the interview? Not many really, mostly just excitement and hardly any nerves at all which was slightly worrying.

First impressions of the garage-converted-studio? Modern and classy, they've really used the space well and it actually looks like a studio rather than a box full of junk like many garages I know. During the interview I felt really relaxed. They asked me what I'm studying and what I'd hope to get out of this experience. Things I listed were:

1) The Print Process- what materials to use and the criteria us designers must stick to.
2) Web Design- getting an eye and feel for what makes a good website.
3) Contacts- be it clients or good quality/priced printers.
4) Further software skills.
5) Time Limit Pressure- switching from 4-6 week uni projects to a couple of day live briefs.
6) How to 'think outside the box' as well as meeting realistic design industry needs.

For the rest of the interview, they told me more about what they do and how they go about it. They showed me some of their portfolio which I must say, was pretty big considering they've only been going for two years. Most of their clients are local ones but I think potentially they'll be doing projects for London-based companies soon which is exciting.

They mainly help up-coming companies with their branding by producing their websites and stationary which is something I'm sure I'm capable of learning. They explained they needed help with the research aspect of their projects because they tend to not have time for that but still feel that getting to know their clients thoroughly will help them produce more successful branding products.

These guys seem really genuine and passionate about what they do and I feel like I could learn quite a bit from them:
James Bishop- deals with new business, project management, contacts and all commercial aspects. Quite serious yet outgoing. Didn't really talk to him much on the day but he seems nice.
Lucy McShane- web design and development. Degree in fashion design. Nice and easy to talk to.
Andy Clarke- graphics and print. Seems to be the more capable designer.
Knows his stuff and what works well. Really nice personality and passionate about this work.

They also have a freelance animator Andy Kucharczyk who helps them with any animations they need doing, didn't meet him on the day though. Hopefully get to work along-side him in at least one project later.

All in all, a very good day!

The Company

JammMedia, a Reading-based design studio:

We are a young, energetic, creative design studio driven by a desire to enjoy what we do and deliver a genuine and friendly service to our customers.

With solid experience in both digital and print design, we are well placed to help you achieve your goals, whatever they might look like. From basic logo design through to fully developed professional websites we will help you to design, create and communicate your message.

http://www.jammmedia.co.uk/