P P D : d e s i g n
colin omosebi
f u t u r e s
rationale
I have had a keen interest in service design as a discpline and its associated concepts since i was introduced to it in my second year of uni. Service design helps to identify problem areas and generate ideas for improvement, It functions to improve the user experience by enabling them to make quicker, easier and less stressful decisions. Service design can also be utilised in implementing Brand stratergy. i chose both branding and service design as my communities of practise as i feel service design can also be seen as a strategic design approach which can be applied to branding design.
i have chosen to concerntrate on pursuing Branding as a career path as i enjoy creating visual identities. I believe that brands have the power to influence our choices and lifestyles and are essential to our consumer powered society. when i graduate from university i want to be in the postion where i have some experience in the industry wether that may be freelance , internships or a potential full time oppotunity. ultimately i have the ambition of starting my own consultantcy or agency that bulids brands and identities that people see on a daily basis and want to buy into.
what,who,where?
Service design
Branding design
I compiled a list of agencies that i would like to either visit, interview or intern/ work for. all of the agencies are located in london and are involved in different disiplines within design but can all be linked through their affinity to branding wether that may be logo design, service design , brand strategy or digital media.
apply
finding contacts
i have selected these agencies as the ones i want to focus on interning for, this decision was made based on not hearing back from some of the agencies on my list. former employee
I was also able to get in to contact with some trough some contacts i already had as well as being refered by former employees.
contacts
some of the agencies i have got into contact with through sending my portfolio out.
Further
Unreal
Bentley Holland & partners
Bell design
practice review
www.unreal-uk.com
Unreal seem like a quirky and light hearted agency that are involved in Branding, Identity design, Advertising, Editorial design and web design. from there website they seem to be quite welcomig and accomadating towards clients and interns. the work they produce is close to the kind of work i would like to be involved in when i graduate and i feel Unreal would be a good place to have a short internship. i feel there website is very well designed and yet still retains a humorous tone of voice.
freelance vs agency
www.pentagram.com
www.patrickfry.co.uk
Patrick fry is a multi disiplinary designier (and LCC alumni) that applies many of the skills and techniques he has honed to create wonderfully designed work in both print and digital formats. with patrick
I really admire the work of the world renowned design consultantcy “ Pentagram�, i am especially interested in brand marks and visual identity as a whole. pentagram have created many of the brand marks we recognise today and similarly i have the ambition of one
being a freelance designier i would
day forming my own design agency that hopes to replicate penta-
be interested to learn more about
grams success.
forming a career after graduating.
portfolio
previous portfolio My portfolio did not currently represent my interests accurately as the employers i was looking at were involved in Brand and service design.
Illustration is a passion of mine but is not an industry i particularly want to work in but i would like to still utilze this skill.
updated portfolio i have updated my porfolio with more recent work as well as work more appropriate to Branding. i decided that my portfolio would be more coherent if branding and social design projects made up the majority of my projects, this involved reducing the number to 6 projects.
i also reworked some of the projects i had on my portfolio and improved some of the thumbnails, i also updated my logo.
interview I've been a designer for almost 6 years. I studied at both college (general art courses) and university (design and typography courses).
www.bentleyholland.co.uk
My transition from education to employment wasn't too bad. I was lucky to work with a couple of very talented designers/artworkers in my first job, who helped and taught me skills (especially in the print process) I didn't really learn at uni. I left uni with a good level of skills and creativity but I was lucky to start working with people who nurtured me, and I learnt loads from watching them, and working beside them! My first job was as a junior designer at a company called 'Unreal' – http://www.unreal-uk.com where I worked on print projects and digital (banner ads and website design). Most valuable thing I've learnt is to be nice to people. By being nice, people will do more for you, and help you out when you need it. It's about attitude. Good design is… something which functions or communicates effectively. I always adhere to function over form, something which is designed well works or functions great is always better then something which looks great and doesn't function or communicate what it is intended to do! Matt Reddie Graphic designer
How long have you been a practising designer? Which institutions did you study (e.g college, university)? / are you a graduate? How did you find the transition from education to employment in the design industry? What was your first job in design? one interesting fact about yourself? most useful/valuable thing you have learnt in your career so far? Finish this sentence: Good design is………….
portfolio review mentorship evening
AKQA Gav
Native Nick Clement (creative director)
+ The issue you have chosen to tackle is interesting as government agencies are always looking at ways in whichthey can appear more human and less like a faceless entity.
+ I like the idea of improving communication between the council and local residents and your initial designs are a good start towards tackling this issue.
- Make sure you can clearly communicate your Usp , why would i choose to use this app instead doing a google search?
*Think “global” with all projects you do, always think how can i reproduce this on a bigger scale?
- learn to think of uni projects as real life projects that you would undertake professionally, try and take that extra step with your execution.
* “Take it further”, contact the council about your project to see if you can impact change. look to how you will promote the app as if it was going to be launched today. e.g. facebook, youtube ad...
action plan
Term 1
Term 2
visit Bell design or Stairway or The Team
Matt Reddie
2-4 Wks
Gemma Ronayne
contact: Kabir Ahmed Bell design Stairway The Team
visit Unreal
Patrick Fry interview
2 Wks 2 Wks visit Echo studios
apply to Unreal Echo studios - Sean Urch
volunteer work
freelance apply to Further 4 Wks visit Further