KHAMAILEON STUDIO REFLECTIVE REPORT 2018 Harrison - Tristan - Ibby Bianca - Amina - Hend
MEET THE TEAM Welcome, We are Khamaileon Studio. A group of talented, young graphic communication design students our members are; Bianca, Amnah, Hend, Ibby, Harrison and Tristan. Together we were asked to set up a graphic design studio on the April 13th, offering our skills and talents to students at the University of Westminster, giving ourselves the opportunity to find potential clients and experience the collaborative process. Highlighting what it will be like to work in the professional world, surrounded by like-minded individuals. On the day itself, we were given the chance to interact with and talk to the public and gave an insight into the relationship between designer and client. Despite being limited to a demographic close to ourselves, the vast array of personalities and culture gave us an edge in being able to accommodate any type of client or individual.
For us it was important that the space didn’t have a generic look which may have been seen in that area many times before. One thing that we felt important was to have examples of our work viewable around the space, it was important that we are able to demonstrate our talents and abilities creating a sense of trust between ourselves and those who are looking to do work for. This also allowed us to begin to have a discussion about clients wants and needs. Giving each group member a chance to talk about work with clients who might be looking for something similar. Creating a sense of specialism in each of us, for example, if a client mentioned that they are looking something related to motion graphics we have the ability to pass that client onto the appropriate member of our group.
CREATING OUR STUDIO SPACE Before we could begin seeking out clients we needed to find a space to operating in. The group approached both Harrow and Marylebone campus to book a table in the reception area, giving us the best potential foot traffic. However, unfortunately, we were only able to get a space at the Harrow Campus in the Forum. As a group, we decided the best time slot to pick that was available would be Thursday between 13:30 - 17:00. This will mean we would be set up during lunch when most people would be around, allowing us to have more conversations and interaction with potential clients. As a group we just felt that if we in on the Friday it would be alot harder for us to find and attract the number of clients we were looking for. Friday was the last day of term was we expected the number of people to be around alot lower so we knew that if we could be wanted to avoid the time slots on that day. After securing our desired time slot and space, we began with designing the space and creating a design that would attract, intrigue and create a conversation.
SPREADING THE WORD The name 'Khamaileon Studio' came from the Greek word for Chameleon, as we group we had chosen this name and identity for our studio because of what a Chameleon represents; adaptability and diversity. Two qualities that we believe are important in our branding. From here we began creating material to advertise and promote the day itself. Setting up an Instagram account, taking the studio digital; again this was important to us as social media is now a major factor in the success or failure of startup businesses similar to our studio set up. Also with online marketing, we felt as a group that we weren't limiting our outreach to just people in and around the university on the day. To create our marketing material we started with designing our logo, as a group we created an array of sketches and initial ideas. With each of us looking at different styles. For example, the physical form of a Chameleon as a logomark while others looked at the 'K' letterform choosing to go with a logotype. Then as a group, after discussing the potential designs we decided on using a logotype, incorporating natural colours found on a Chameleon. Creating a stronger link to the themes and ideas we want our studio to identify with. After creating our logo, we began applying this to more marketing material, such as posters and business cards. While also applying the design style across our website; another form of digital marketing to go alongside the Instagram and also Facebook pages we created.
THE DAY ARRIVES Having designed and printed all our marketing material, we arrived as a group about an hour before the time slot to set up our space and discuss how we want to go about the day. To start off we all stuck together around our studio space, looking to talk to students as they walk past or showed an interesting in our space. However, after around an hour into the day, most students were heading to or were already in class. The number of people around the Forum dropped significantly, so we decided to split into two group. Bianca, Hend and Amnah stayed around our studio space while Harrison, Ibby and Tristan walked around the campus handing out business cards to potential clients who might not have seen our space otherwise. As a group we have a range of personality types so we initially found it hard to integrate all our different styles while approaching some of the students walking through the forum, however as the day progressed we began to feel more comfortable approaching people, as a group we felt nervous, to begin with as this may have been noticeable which could have contributed to our initial struggles on the day. Once we felt comfortable we began to see much better results and began to have longer and more personal conversations with our potential clients.
THE DAYS AFTER The day after we were finished with the studio space at Harrow we counted out the number of clients that signed up through the website. We had managed to get 53 people to sign up for us to then contact about their design request. One thing that we offered on the day was one free design to everyone who signed up. The day after the Pop Up Studio day we began to reply to those who signed up through the day, asking for a brief of what kind of design each person was looking for, one issue that we had on the day was that most people only put down what they wanted to be designed. For example, many people just put down 'Logo' in the main message area. Giving us nothing to work on for the time being.
REFLECTIONS OF THE DAY As a group, we felt that the day was a great success, having gained 52 new potential clients we were happy with the results, with many of the group expected us to reach maybe half that total. It goes to show how well we worked as a group and that people felt that we were approachable and friendly; two qualities we placed great importance on at the beginning of the day. By having music playing from our studio space it encouraged us to maintain an energetic attitude throughout the day, something we believed helped us with acquiring many of our sign-ups. The biggest success for us though we believe was our ability to overcome initial disputes that we had within the first couple of weeks of becoming a group, with the arguments that we had at the start turning into useful and professional discussions by the end. Showing that we have developed more team building and team working skills because if we had maintained the hostility seen at the start, the pop-up studio wouldn't have been as successful as we made it. Thanks for reading, From all at Khamaileon Studio.