PPP Tasks
Task One
Identify 5 companies/studios which you consider potentially synergetic to you personally. Write a short explanatory paragraph and reasons for each.
The Archipelago 'We believe in good design. Its that simple.' http://www.wearethearchipelago.co.uk/studio.html I really love the work by Mike at The Archipelago. I have already made a visit to him over the summer break but I want to stay in contact with him through out Third year. The first visit was so helpful but when it came to me showing him some of my work it didnt go too well. I wasnt organised with a portfolio and the work that I showed him didnt show off the best of what I can do. Mike has told me to stay in contact with him and when I have more of a portfolio build up that I am proud of and confident to talk about, then I should go and visit him again so he can take a look.
Toby Triumph http://www.tobytriumph.co.uk/ Toby Triumph is an illustrator who I met at the YCN Student Awards in early September. Although I am not an illustrator I find his work very inspiring. I had the chance to talk to him quite a lot at the awards as I was sitting next to him. He offered me some really good advice and said I could contact him at any time if I needed any advice or help. I would like to go down to London and visit his studio to talk to him more about how he became a freelancer and his design experience.
We are Build http://wearebuild.com/ We are Build are based in London. I have tried contacting them by email in second year but had no reply. As I had only just started contacting studios and I wasnt too confident in myself. So when I received no reply I didnt bother trying any more. Now I am more confident and I would like to
contact them again and not stop until I get a response. I am interested in them because of their design approach and the work they do. I am interested in branding and identity and they seem to do a lot of this. The style of their work is very clean and simple and they also use some illustration. I aspire to create work like theirs so it would be useful to take a visit down and have a good old natter. I am getting to the stage in my degree now where I need to start making more and more contacts and start to organise either placements or internships.
We are Box Head http://www.weareboxhead.com/ Box Head are based in Leeds near the creative hub in Holbeck, they do a lot of branding work which I really like. Their work is very clean, fresh and exciting and something that I aspire to do. I think I may have tried to contact them in second year but got no response, so hopefully this time I wont stop till I get something.
Big Fish http://www.bigfish.co.uk/index.php 'We are an award winning, multi-disciplinary branding, design and marketing consultancy.' Big Fish is a very big design consultancy in London, I think I was drawn to them because of the big clients they work with. Clients such as Gu and Harrods is amazing. I think that I am being quite ambitious trying to contact somewhere like this because of the size and location of the studio. I dont necessarily think that I would want to work in such a big team but it would be good to at least go down and have a chat with them just to see what its like. I say this yet I have no idea what so ever on what I am wanting to do once I finish uni.
Task Two
My top choice from the 5 listed would be The Archipelago, I went to visit Mike and spoke to him for a few hours about his own work and mine. I just felt like it went really well and I love the work that he produces. I have been staying in contact with Mike since my visit and I am arranging a visit for the near future to show him more of my work. Mike produces a lot of different types of design work and I feel like that I do to. This is not a bad point, he does a lot of publication and layout design which I dont really do. A piece of advice that Mike gave me when visiting him was to try and be a little bit good at everything, people want all round designers but with a particular design approach. When I went to visit his studio I loved it and I feel this is why I have chosen him as my top choice. Obviously there are loads of designers and studios out there too look at still.
Task Three
I think that the main reason for putting The Archipelago at the top would be because I got on really well with Mike, he chatted for a long time and he gave me so much useful advice that has really kept me motivated. The next really important reason is the location, The Archipelago is in Leeds where I am wanting to stay for at the very least another year. So being able to work and live in Leeds would be amazing! I obviously also like the work The Archipelago produces and they get a range of different clients to work with which means there will always be something new and exciting to work on. I also love the fact that their motto is 'We believe in good design. It's that simple'.
Task Four
I like to know that I am going to get on with someone and I do find it difficult to work with big groups of people, not because I dont like it but because I find it hard to speak up and get my ideas heard. Mike runs The Archipelago on his own. So if the opportunity arose that I could work there then I know I can build my confidence in a small studio, preparing myself for the chance of working in a bigger studio one day.
Task Five
When it comes to contacting studios I will research into them and the sort of work they produce, as well as their client base. I need to make sure I know who they are before I tell them who I am. This is important because they will want to know why I have contacted them and why I like their work. It will also benefit me greatly as it will give me the chance to find out if I do actually want to contact them and if they are what I am looking for. When I contact studios I don’t jump straight into the deep end and ask them for a placement. I have been asking to visit the studio for a chat, if they say yes I ask if I can bring some work along to show them. Once I have met them and made a new friend then I feel it is appropriate to push it a little further and ask for some experience or placement. I don’t want to feel desperate or disinterested so it’s trying to find the half way point between the two. I try and compliment a piece of their work in the first email and let them know that I think they are a great studio (arse licking basically). I want them to feel special and that they were top of my list. I also try and add a bit of personality into my emails by not taking it toooooo seriously with my tone of voice. They don’t want to reply to a robot (It has worked so far). One very important thing about writing emails is to make sure grammar and special is correct, there is probably nothing more off putting than an email with a big fat typo in it.
Task Six
There are so many ways in which I could contact a studio like phoning them, send an email, send a letter, send them a piece of my work and a business card, turn up on their doorstep, tweet them, send them a random but funny gift or send a CV. I think one of the best ways to approach a studio is to send something that excites them or catches their attention. So instead of a boring standard CV, last year I sent out my CV in the shape of an Origami Crane which they had to unfold to read. Very interactive and they also bring Good Luck.