JOURNAL.3 Thom Park | D&AD
CONTENT Thom Park | 3rd Year Journal
Welcome Welcome to my 3rd Year D&AD Journal.
Projects An insight into the work I have been doing during my final year at University.
Lectures I reflect on the lectures I have attended at MMU.
Exhibitions A personal review of the exhibitions I have attended.
Experiences The experiences that have had an impact on my work, as well as my first steps towards becoming a teacher.
Inspiration What has inspired me over the last 8 months from the world of Art & Design.
What Next? My plans for the future...
WELCOME Thom Park | 3rd Year Journal
“This year has definitely been the most challenging, but also the most rewarding.”
Welcome to my 3rd and final Design & Art Direction Journal, as expected this year has been the most challenging year so far but it has also been the most enjoyable and rewarding. Everything about the course has intensified as I have been working towards my degree, from the work load to the level of expectation. With a focus on self-directed study becoming an ever present part of the course in preparation for ‘the real world’.
Although my grade wasn’t as good as I would have liked it to be, it gave me a foundation on which to build upon. Despite this there were some encouraging highlights from that first term. The ‘static’ project gave me the liberty to experiment extensively something which I hadn’t done a lot of prior to my 3rd year. The ISTD brief ‘On Yer Bike’ probably saw me produce some of my best overall work to date, although the consistency of the aesthetic does need to be improved, I was pleased with my ability to answer the brief and really enjoyed producing the concept artboards to communicate my ideas. I felt I managed to come up with a really interesting concept for the ‘self directed brief’ at the end of the year but I can see now that the aesthetic that I set out to achieve contradicts my rationale.
Over the last 8 months I have worked on a varied array of projects, attended some brilliantly inspiring lectures and visited some amazing exhibitions. Whilst always trying to keep my finger on the pulse when it comes to the latest magazines, websites and blog updates in an attempt to soak up as much inspiration as possible. Looking back now, I realised that my work wasn’t as good as it could have been. I was always well aware of the demands I wouldn’t say this was down to a lack of that my final year would bring and the effort but I know now that if I were to level of effort required in order to succeed revisit the briefs I would be able to and achieve my goals. This was made improve my final outcome’s significantly. more apparent after the first assessment I view the first half of my final year as a in January. Initially I was rather surprised steep learning curve, admittedly I would and ultimately disappointed with my have preferred to have had this grades, but after discussing the matter experience earlier on in the course but it with my tutors I knew that I had to quickly turned out to be a massive motivation move on and put it right in the final term. for me going into the final stages of the
course and it was very important for me learn from my earlier mistakes.
To summarise, I would say that my final year has been both demanding and enjoyable. Working on projects that I was In preparation for once we have left interested in meant I was able to main a University the final term was almost high level of intensity throughout the final entirely self-directed, giving us the term. Using screen print and book binding freedom to explore up to three different for my final project shows me personbriefs and work to our strengths in ally how far I have come and how much order to produce a well rounded portfolio. I have learnt over the past three years. I am pleased with how I have been able to After much deliberation in the first few tailor my style to the numerous briefs I’ve days of the term I finally settled on a brief. worked on over the years. Which was to produce the promotional materials for a ‘new company’ that would My final year has proved to me that I am network together all of the small and able to overcome setbacks and learn from local garden centres throughout the U.K. my mistakes and use criticism as a form to promote organic/ green business’ and of inspiration. I was genuinely support them from been overpowered by disappointed with my first term and I the bigger brands. The other project that I would have liked to have done better. took on during my final term was ‘Identity’ Although I am confident now that, the this was made up of 4 branding briefs for experience has made me a better a varied array of clients and organisations. designer and made me even more determined to succeed. I really enjoyed working on both of these briefs and I believe this shows in the work The lessons I have learnt during my time I have produced. I am very proud of what at University, I believe will stand me in I have achieved this term, a lot of this good stead towards becoming a teacher goes down to a high level of studentship and I will definitely stand by the views that throughout, as I have tried to make sure have helped me during my degree. that I was in the studio everyday, in an Mainly that it is healthy to make mistakes, attempt to develop my work and interact as long as you learn from the experience. with my peers and tutors to gain a constant flow of feedback, which has been really helpful in my final term.
PROJECTS Thom Park | 3rd Year Journal “As always my intention with the briefs I take on at University I have tried to explore as many different medias as possible. In order to learn from my experiences and explore new methods and practices. My aim to produce as a diverse a portfolio as possible that showcases my creativity and design skills�.
VIRIDIS Self initiated brief | To create a campaign for a new company
“Taking on so many different roles and learning about the makeup of a company was highly rewarding.�
Brief
Research and Investigation
Viridis is a self-initiated brief to create a conceptual company that will help smaller local garden centres to compete with the mass marketers. My designs should tell the narrative of the company and its goals by designing all of its media outlets, for example, identity, publications, advertising, web design and other business materials.
A lot of research went into this project, more so than any other. As not only did I have to research the market and the design work that goes into promoting gardening organisations but also the various different medias, so that I could work out how to combine them into a cohesive project.
The reason I took on such a large-scale brief was because I wanted explore numerous graphic design disciplines. The project also gave me the opportunity to understand the makeup of a company and how graphic design can be used to achieve success for businesses
Ideas and Final Outcome The final outcome for ‘Viridis’ came in the form of an identity for the brand, an A5 zine, 5- A2 screen printed posters, website concept designs and also a collection of business materials.
Response and Reflection
With such a long project like this one, it is easy to become side tracked and lose interest in what you are doing. In the case of ‘Viridis’ I was able to act quickly, by managing my time between each deliverable, making it easy for me to I was really happy with the final outcome stay motivated. Not only that but I also and I believe that I was able to produce a became very attached to my work and well rounded and believable response to because of this I think I was able to the brief. The zine and also the posters are achieve my goals by making a convincing two examples I would highlight as my best product to encourage young people to work. Both pieces are examples of work take an interest in gardening but also to that use medias that I hadn’t really promote environmentally friendly business experimented with before. Although using and help local organisations to compete. bookbinding and screen print for my final ma jor project could have been seen as a risk I was confident that my preparation and ability would enable me to utilise these process. By sticking to a number of house style rules I am pleased with the level of consistency I was able to achieve which was vital in order to achieve a high level of authenticity.
IDENTITY Design logo’s and printed media for various organisations
“Branding is something of great interest to me, so to work on these briefs was very enjoyable.”
Brief
Research and Investigation
Identity was a project that lasted the ma jority of my final term at University. The reason I chose to look at Identity and branding in more detail was because I have a strong interest in this subject and I believed that this was a perfect opportunity to explore it in more detail and produce a strong response.
Obviously I was required to undergo in depth research for each of the four briefs in order to gain a greater understanding of the needs of the client so that I could produce work that best reflects them or their organisation.
It is important to engage with the client first hand so that you are on the same Within the ‘Identity’ project are 4 branding wavelength when you are designing the briefs each for different organisations or emblem to best represent them. individuals, it is this variation in the clients that I believe made this project so Looking at previous incarnations and enjoyable to work on. examples from their competitors enabled me to deem what has worked and use the Dyslexia Foundation- Competition brief positive feedback to respond to the briefs. to design the emblem and typeface for the newly renamed foundation. The Dyslexia Foundation brief in particular required a lot of in depth research in order Chloe-Jane, Makeup Artist- Design an to understand the needs of dyslexic’s identity for a young make up artist to when it comes to typography. symbolise their style and promote their work. Thom Park, Graphic Design- Personal brief to create an identity for myself that’s represents my style. This will be used to promote my role as a freelance graphic designer to prospective clients. Viridis- Crossover project to design the identity for the conceptual company Viridis, ‘combine organic with business’.
Ideas and Final Outcome
Response and Reflection
A recurring theme throughout the 4 briefs I worked was the sheer amount of idea generation and development required in order to achieve a successful response.
I am really pleased with all the work I have done in producing these emblems. I gained an awful lot from the experience, especially to do with ‘client relations’. Forming a strong working relationship with the client is vital for success as at the end of the day the customer is always right!.
I worked hard to come up with several responses for each client before whittling them down to 3 proposals, these would then be presented to the client for their verdict, at this point, together we would decide which was our favourite emblem then I would work towards developing the design into a finished article and applying that to various different medias and publications. The task with ‘Chloe- Jane’ was to come up with a feminine logo that was delicate and ‘said’ makeup. This was a challenge for me because I was out of my comfort zone but one that I relished and I believe I was able to produce several very strong proposals.
My response to the Dyslexia Foundation competition was eventually chosen as the winning design and is now been used throughout all of their media outlets, including; website, business cards and stationary etc. This is something I am tremendously proud of, to see your work been used by such a high profile organisation and in particular a charity is highly rewarding and is what you strive for as a graphic designer.
ELEMENT Self initiated brief | Create supporting materials for Art & Design students.
“Having the freedom to explore my own brief was a great experience.”
Brief
Research and Investigation
Element was my final project from the first term, this was a self-initiated brief to design and produce learning materials for secondary level students.
For the research part of the project I spent a lot of time looking at the current market, finding examples of posters and guidebooks that are currently been used in schools to gain a greater understanding of what works and what doesn’t and how the pupils interact with these materials.
As I am wishing to go into teaching after University I thought this would be a great opportunity to explore me specialist subject further and to research what is required to make a successful tool for young learners.
In many case’s I found that these existing posters were massively out dated and many of them had very little consideration for design.
Ideas and Final Outcome
Response and Reflection
My idea was to produce a guide that would be easy for young people to interact with, feature all of the basic subject principles and need to know facts, in a simple and easy to use design.
Generally I think I was able to answer the brief I had set for myself reasonably well, the product was easy to use and had a consistent and believe aesthetic. Despite this I believe my overall response could have been more polished and maybe I should have considered how the final pieces might have linked together to create a more cohesive project.
I looked into numerous ways of making a product that could meet all of the criteria I had set for myself before deciding that the best way forward would be to use a pantone style book as this is something that young people would be interested in and would have fun working with. It also means that pages could be added or taken away if necessary to increase the lifespan of the product. In terms of style I decided to produce a guide that had a hand drawn aesthetic to encourage users to engage with each page by making notes etc. As well as the guidebook I also produced concept artwork for a website and iPhone app, Two modern medias that I believe could and should be utilised more in the classroom.
ON YER BIKE ISTD Brief | Design an information system for cyclists
“I really enjoyed the process of creating concept artboards to communicate my ideas.”
Brief
Research and Investigation
With the ISTD Brief we were given a number of options to pick from, After analysing each of them individually it was ‘Not Just Fleurons’ that stood out to me. As at the time I was looking for something that would allow me to be more experimental in my work. It wasn’t until our first group session where we were asked to look more closely at one of the briefs, not necessarily the brief we had in mind, that I decided I would be doing ‘On Yer Bike’. This brief was quite different from the rest in that it was very literal and had quite a clear destination. On Yer Bike asked me to create an information system for cyclists; to find their way around cities. Although at first this sounds like quite a restrictive question you could approach the brief as literally or creatively as you wished.
My research for this particular project differed quite a lot from previous briefs in that it I was doing a lot of market research. Investigating what products already existed and how successful they are. What I liked most about this brief was the potential to explore various different practices for example; product design, packaging and advertising each of which I am equally attracted to. With so much that could be done, it was clear that this brief would be very difficult if I didn’t manage my time properly, prioritising tasks and trying to balance the creative and productive aspects would be vital. For a few days after receiving this brief my main focus was on generating ideas with a view to beginning production earlier than usual given that there were so many different aspects that I wanted to create.
GREEN QUARTER BROUGHT ON
NEWTON HEATH CHEETHAM HILL
ANCOATS
SALFORD
HUB PICCA DILLY
DEANSGA TE
BRADFORD
NORTHERN QUARTER
CASTLEFI ELD
TRAFFORD PARK
HULME
SALFORD QUAYS
UNIVERSIT Y DISTRICT
Ideas and Final Outcome I spent a lot of time designing the product itself before writing out a rationale for the branding of the company and its products; I wanted the brand to have strong environmental principals and my aim was to try and give the brand an aesthetic that would combine both modern age cycling with a wholesome organic feel. One of the factors within the description suggested, stay away from maps, as they are impractical for the purpose, the challenge therefore was how do you communicate the same information in a simpler format. My research lead me to Augmented Reality a new technology that hasn’t really been tested in the bike navigation market before. By running with this idea a lot of my final work was conceptual artboards. The whole main ‘selling point’ of my concept was the ‘Be Spoke’ which essentially allows users to completely tailor every aspect of their journey from start to finish. OLD TRAFFORD
STRETFOR D
ARDWICK
Response and Reflection MOSS SIDE
I think the branding and the narrative behind my ideas is what enabled me to grasp the brief and set me up for the other aspects of the brief. As a whole I think my response to this brief was my best work from the first term, although looking back now there are definitely things I would like to improve upon. In particular the continuity throughout the artboards as this would have meant for a more cohesive and believable project overall. RUSHHOLM E
LONGSIGH T
FALLOWF IELD
WITHINGT ON
STATIC Interpretate the theme ‘static’
“I learnt a lot about the importance of experimentation, in what was a very challenging project.”
Brief
Research and Investigation
Static is probably the most open brief I have worked on; in fact you couldn’t really call it a brief as such. Split into two parts; Experiment and Application, we were told to simply interpret the word Static. As straightforward as it sounds this task proved to be one of the most challenging I had faced during my time at University.
The experimental phase gave us the freedom to explore the theme as widely as possible in order to try and devise a path on which to direct our research, in other words come up with our own brief. I decided that the best way to approach my research was to rule out the more obvious responses to the theme for example; static electricity and TV’s etc. I spent a lot of time on part 1 finding images online and in books, which I could relate back to the theme but struggled to narrow down my research into a feasible brief.
Ideas and Final Outcome
Response and Reflection
After much deliberation I decided to move into the second part of the brief with my final idea based on recycling, in particular when the cycle comes to an end if something can’t be recycled or reused. This subject has a strong moral background and is something that everyone is aware of, although not many people no what fits into the bracket of non-recyclable. Once I had gathered a strong list of unusual items that people may not recognise as un-recyclable I had to decide on a medium for my work, I had an idea in mind of what I wanted to the outcome to look like but it was important for me to describe the reasons behind my thinking. Using the collection of items I wanted to create a series of abstract posters that would provoke a delayed understanding of what it is the audience is actually looking at in the same notion, as you wouldn’t suspect these items to be unrecyclable.
I found this project to be very demanding; there was a strong focus on generating ideas with a very broad starting point. The challenge for me was to try and come up with an original idea. I think I succeeded in this area of the brief and believe my concept carried a powerful message. Where I felt that I could have improved was in my execution, the work I have completed does have a good foundation but the posters defiantly need to be developed further. Overall I was able to take a lot from this project, I believe my approach to generating ideas has changed somewhat and my conceptual thinking has improved.
CHATHAM ARTHOUSE Design promotional materials for a Arthouse film night at MMU
“Having the opportunity to explore this ‘real-world’ brief was a good starting point for the year ahead.”
Brief
Research and Investigation
Invent a name and develop some branding ideas for a D&AD ‘arthouse’ film night. Propose a programme that includes at least 4 relevant films and produce material to promote this. The realism of this brief is what attracted me to it, designing every aspect of an event like this was very appealing and would allow me to explore things like branding and advertising.
My research was centred on finding old black and white cinema photography; I gathered a number of examples of local cinemas and others from around the world. I also created a mood board of promotional materials for arthouse films.
Ideas and Final Outcome
Response and Reflection
My ideas were largely focussed around portraying the venue for the event ‘our University buildings lecture theatre’ as an arthouse cinema room. To do this I took inspiration from the photographs I had found and tried to create the same aesthetic for the building. I began by sketching different layouts, using various drawing styles. Before deciding to explore the concept further with photography, changing the colour tones and adding features like uplighters and a listings board to replicate the effects from the photos. The biggest challenge was trying to direct the perspective of the poster to give an empowering feel to the focal elements. As well as the main poster I also tried to develop a number of promotional materials to complete the campaign.
Overall I was really pleased with the poster that I created and believe I was able to capture the style I was aiming for. The final design has an interesting presence and looks realistic and timeworn. On reflection I think given more time I would have liked to take the supporting material such as leaflets and flyers a bit further. Taking into account that I was unable to gain the photographs I needed straight away a lot more time was spent hand drawing the designs. All in all this project was very enjoyable, working independently gives you a better indication of your progress and requires you to organise your time much more strictly.
LECTURES Thom Park | 3rd Year Journal “Over the last 8 months I have tried to attend as many lectures and seminars and lectures as possible. From which I have gained a much greater knowledge about life as a graphic designer as well as having the opportunity to listen to some of the best designers in the business talk about their work first hand.�
FERNANDO GUTIEREZ
‘London - Barcelona - Madrid - London’. The Fernando Gutierez lecture in the final weeks of the year turned out to be our last ever guest lecturer. He is a designer that I didn’t know much about before hand but I really enjoyed his talk. What makes him stand out from the crowd is his international appeal, Fernando has Spanish parents but was born in London which means he has the luxury of been able to speak two languages. He has subsequently spent time working in both Countries and it is clear to see his work has benefitted as a result. The projects that caught my eye in particular were Grafica, El Pais and Colours 47. The ma jor role that he plays in these examples would be best described as creative editor, his ability to manipulate objects and text on a page is remarkable and produces some amazing text as images results.
CRAIG OLDHAM
‘Your not the best designer in the world, everyones sh*t at something.’ “Be forewarned. I swear. A-F**king-Lot!” Craig introduced his talk by telling us briefly about his background as a designer. Since graduation he has worked at The Chase before moving on to Music which is where he is at present.
Craig has produced 2 publications designed to give young designers a heads up. Stating that there are 12 things you might learn in your first months as a designer.
He had a number of very interesting theories including one that divides The main purpose of his visit was to speak designers motives, for those who design about what lies ahead after graduation from a logical point of view or those who and to explain how he dealt with certain do so with emotion. situations. To have the opportunity to listen to someone like Craig is invaluable. His talk reminded me a lot of when Russell Hancock visited earlier in the term. Both men are young designers with their own stories to tell, what makes them stand out to me though is their honesty. I really enjoy listening to designers talk openly about the pitfalls and negative aspects that are likely to occur during the first 12 months after graduation.
THE CHASE Richard
‘Take everything you like seriously, except yourself.’
The Chase lecture was predominantly for 2nd year students but when some third years were invited to attended I was really keen to get involved. Richard came to the University to talk to us about his journey since he graduated to where he is now. In order to visualise this he used an A-Z list made up of words that he felt allowed him to ‘progress and impress’, such as; E - Enthusiasm H Heads up WWriting
During the talk Richard spoke to us about some of the projects he has worked on personally, two which I made a point of remembering were; a series of invites which were pressed into slices of toast to promote a new breakfast club opening. The other was a rebrand of a waste management company who wanted ‘a name and an image, to say what they do and how they do it’. The idea was to rename the company ‘serious**’. A witty response that saw the company prosper as a result and ‘The Chase’ be presented several design awards.
NAOMI GAMES Abram Games 1914- 1996
‘Maximum meaning, minimum means.’
Naomi Games visited the University on the 31st of March to talk about her father Abram Games, one of the twentieth century’s most influential British graphic designers, He fervently believed that the biggest impact came from the most simple designs. Naomi gave us a brief background of her fathers early years and delivered the talk in chorological order explaining each piece of work and how it related to Abram’s life. Obviously the methods used by Abram were very different to the way graphic design is produced today, but I what I wasn’t aware of before the talk is that the large ma jority of his work was fashioned using a single airbrush. Abram stated that he would only design for services as apposed to products but this later became impossible for him to do so as he had a family to provide for. One motto he did stick by though was ‘maximum meaning, minimum means’ which is clear to see in all of his work. Abram use minimal type and conceptualises his message through simple illustrative drawings using only two or three colour print in the ma jority of his work.
Not only was I blown away by the quality of each and every poster but also the sheer quantity of work he had produced, even whilst in the army he still managed to create over 100 posters and was later recognised as the only official war poster artist. Although it is difficult to highlight his best work from the 300 plus he had completed during his lifetime, the posters that stood out for me during the presentation were; ‘dig for victory, grow your own food’ really cleaver concept of combining the two images, this was particularly relevant to me as I am currently working on a gardening project of my own. ‘non smoking’ using the shape of the hand to resemble a coffin was a genius idea that was executed so subtly. This was definitely one of the best lectures I have attended, I was blown away by Abram’s commitment to the Arts and his ability to produce work that met his own motto ‘maximum meaning using minimum means’. Naomi ended the lecture in the same way her father had done so before her, with the three C’s that all students should have… concentration, curiosity and courage, but don’t forget the cash & cheque’s, adding to that, copyright.
RUSSELL HANCOCK Graphic Design and the dotted line | Freelance Design
“The Freelance Starter Pack.”
Russell’s talk in late March gave us a great insight into what life is like for a budding designer. What I liked about the presentation was his passion and honesty, as students about to enter the world of work we are often kept in the dark about job prospects and the rate of pay we could expect to earn in the early stages of our careers. Russell didn’t shy away from this and delivered a lot of valuable information and resources in the form of a ‘Freelance Starter Pack’ he has devised for young designers, based on his own experiences. As well as describing this aspect of the industry in terms that were easy to relate to he also described to us his own journey since leaving college and showed us some of the work he has done along the way. It is always very inspiring to see a young designer like Russell working for some big name agencies and brands, stating that all new interns should make themselves ‘in-disposable’. He has also produced a lot of interesting freelance work that he had determinedly sourced for himself. Projects to note include ‘The Gadget Shop’, ‘Digital Vision’ and ‘Regal Cinema Franchise’. It was this last project imparticular that caught my attention as he cleverly seeked out the opportunity for himself offering to do alot of the early work for free. He is now designing for a pair of developers who are regenerating old, derelict movie theatres into modern cinema houses’.
The following morning Russell was in the studio to run a portfolio and freelance set up session to a small group of us. I really enjoyed this meeting and Russell gave us some valuable tips for organising our portfolios... - 5 pieces (Organise 3 best pieces of work 1st, 3rd and 5th in order, best piece last!) - Make your folder stand out - Annotate every page with a footer/ logo -Keep other projects handy outside of the portfolio Russell spoke a lot about freelance strategies and talked us through his ‘Freelance pack’ and what each section meant to us as self-employed designers. This really made me think about working as a free lance designer whilst teaching, something that I have always been interested in, but struggled to see possible, until now.
MCR DESIGN SYMPOSIUM The Value Of Design
‘The Value Of Design.’
The first ever Manchester Design symposium was held at Manchester Metropolitan University on the 23rd of March 2011 and I was lucky enough to attend. Knowing that you are about to enter a lecture theatre for nearly 6 hours can be quite daunting, but after the first speaker everyone knew we were in for a treat. The afternoon consisted of 5 guests from the design world, some of which I had heard of before hand including Si Scott who is actually one of my favourite illustrators. Each speaker was invited to talk about what ‘the value of design’ meant for them. It was very interesting to listen to these big names discuss the issue and share their views.
SI SCOTT Illustrator
‘Si spoke to the crowd as if everyone was his friend.’
Si Scott was the opening speaker at the first ever Manchester Design Symposium. Si is someone who has visited the University before and a designer that I have followed ever since so it was really nice to have him back. His beautiful and unique style of drawing is his signature that has allowed him to work for some massive brands, such as Nike, Adidas and Orange. A lot of this work I had seen before, though I hadn’t seen the latest edition to his collection; the origami sculptures he has done for Poke London and Simon Baker which were a series of really beautiful paper sculptures.
Si is a very honest speaker and makes it easy for the audience to relate with what he is saying, as he speaks to the crowd as if everyone is his friend. He highlighted the value of originality whilst showcasing some of his work. His ability to adjust his style to every brief he works on is very admirable and something which not a lot of designers are able to do.
JOHN WALTERS eye Magazine
“Design, from a differant perspective.”
John Walters is editor and co owners of eye Magazine and was a guest speaker at the Manchester Design Symposium. John is an editor, writer and producer and works with Designers on a day to day basis. Graphic design plays a very valuable role in Johns life and career. What does graphic design mean to John? -Editorial -
Overall design
-Cultural
Design helps to highlight cultural issues
-Functional - The Magazine, the feel of design -Financial -
The covers are what bring in the £’s
-Educational - Learn from design about history of the discipline
Listening to John speak about this issue from a different perspective was very interesting and shows how people from different backgrounds appreciate design.
BRUNO MAAG Dalton Maag | Typefaces
If you download illegal fonts, I will find you!’
Bruno Maag is one of the biggest characters I have had the pleasure of listening to from within the design world, an old fashioned typeface designer from Germany, it is fair to say that Bruno is a perfectionist who takes his work very seriously. Bruno began his talk by describing the process’ he and his interns go through when creating a typeface, starting with hand drawing the alphabet until they have perfected each letter. It was clear from the very start of this talk how passionate Bruno is about what he does and how strongly he will stick by his morale’s.
Bruno showed the audience some of his more recent projects including a font called ‘ubuntu’ for the operating system of the same name and a typeface he has designed for Nokia’s mobile platform. Unlike Barnbrook whose fonts are very abstract the common theme that run through Bruno’s work was eligibility as he continues his quest to kill ‘Helvetica’ the worlds most popular font that he has refused to use throughout his entire career.
JONATHON BARNBROOK Virus Fonts | Typefaces
‘Out of thousands of typefaces all we need is a few ones and trash the rest.’ Massimo Vignelli
Jonathon Barnbrook is someone who has visited the University before, he is primarily a type designer specialising in unique and oddly intriguing fonts such as Prozac, Bastard and Mason. He used a simple 6 point plan to give his take on the value of design, which acts the rationale behind his design work. -A better society - by more rational letterforms is utopia - modernist, humanist -Point 2 -Appropriate forms for new language -Appropriate forms showing the parameters of language -Subverting existing forms to tell a new truth -Creating an understanding and beauty by utilising the past
It was really interesting listening to Jonathon talk about how his work originated and the many crazy stories that go with each typeface. In particular, Mason which was inspired by the world around us but caused controversy after people began to complain about its links to the famous serial killer Charles Manson.
TOM DORRESTEIJN Studio Dumbar
‘If you want to have success, don’t go for the brains, only go for the heart.’
Tom Dorresteijn is a strategist with the heart of a designer. Over the last twenty years he has been active in the world of branding, marketing communication and design from the perspective of brand owner, consultant, partner and insider. Tom is strategy director and 50% partner at Studio Dumbar, he advises companies on board level on branding strategy, and leads the creative processes.
-The job of a designer is to turn people on
Tom began his talk by immediately telling us what he believes is the value of design. “If you ask people of the meaning of life, they answer you with a life story. The value of design is the design of value.” He continued his talk in the same vein rolling out a series of inspiring quotes...
-Foolish consumers only live in the minds of foolish marketers
-Don’t try to become someone else, become who you are -Strategy is recognition; design is the power source that makes it happen -Designers are better strategists that the strategists themselves
Tom really captured the audiences imagination with his passion and presentation style and also the work he has produced for organisations like University Twente, The Dutch Government and Police Force.
BRIAN CANNON Microdot
‘Where the f**k did you get those trainers from?’
Brian Cannon visited out University in early March, he is a local born graphic designer who specialises in music artwork. When Brian introduced himself the first thing he said was how big an impact music has had on his work, as someone who doesn’t have a particular interest in music I didn’t think this talk would have much to offer me... but I was wrong! His method of practice and his personal style is very inspiring and has allowed him to work for two of the U.K’s biggest bands ‘Oasis’ and ‘The Verve’.
What struck me about Brian and the way he organises his design, was his patience and the confidence he has in his planning for each photo to succeed. He uses his photography to convey a narrative and describes his work as photographic based with minimal type. The piece that stood out for me was the first cover he made for ‘The Verve’ in the early 1990’s that was shot inside a cave looking out of the opening with each letter of the bands name on stakes burning in the foreground. It is such a beautiful shot and really captures Brian’s unique style.
DR. ME Ryan & Eddie
“It was great to see these past students making a name for themselves in the industry.�
Dr. Me are a design partnership based here in Manchester, made up of two students who have recently left our course. Their talk described their experiences since leaving University, the pair tend to tackle jobs as a team and have ventured across the pond to gain experience in the U.S.A. working for Mike Perry a screen print specialist based in Brooklyn. Which was really encouraging to see past students utilising the skills they learnt at MMU, especially an old printing technique which we are lucky to have.
Dr. Me have since returned to Manchester and worked on projects for local business as well as some bigger brands like Urban Outfitters and Umbro. Although their work didn’t appeal to me as much as some of our other guest lecturers, I was impressed by their desire to succeed in the industry.
VAUGHAN OLIVER 23 Envolope | V23
‘People say Vaughan Oliver is not a graphic designer, I say, f**k that! Art is what graphic design can be.’
Vaughan was a visiting lecturer on February 15, his work is very music orientated in terms of its influence and context. Personally I am not really into music myself but I still took a lot from his talk. I noticed that the ma jority of Vaughan’s work is collaborative and features a lot of photography sourced from friends and associates. His willingness to interact and work with a community of other creatives and apply their work to his briefs is very admirable and allows for an expansive and diverse collection of work. Various artistic influences mean his work is very conceptual and expressive of the music he strives to visualize.
The liberating and experimental approach he brings to what otherwise can be quite commercial projects is what inspired me the most and is definitely something I will look to apply to my own work. One piece that particularly stood out for me was the artwork he did for ‘The Breeders’ album cover, amongst Vaughan’s other work the use of colour is quite different but the piece still manages to combine all of the elements that make up his personal style.
PROPAGANDA Boost
‘We mean business.’
Joanne and Lee from Propaganda visited the University in late February and delivered what was a very interesting talk. That gave me an insight into the processes involved in marketing a brand. The agency has a very fresh and creative approach to the industry, taking on three roles; strategy and planning, client services, and creative design. Using ‘Boost Energy Drink’ as a case study to explain the way that their business is involved with a company throughout each stage.
It is clear that Propaganda are very passionate about achieving success for the clients, in terms of design work they are very good at targeting the younger generating through cheesy slogans and ‘in your face’ graphics. In terms of ‘Boost Energy Drink’ the team described how they went about each step of their creative strategy in order to understand the brand and their goals. It was interesting to listen to the journey that Propaganda went through and how they were able to make ‘Boost’ the second largest energy drink brand in the U.K.
YCN Student Awards
‘YCN award programmes exist to stimulate, showcase and surprise emerging creative talent.’ Zoe Barrett is project manager at ‘ycn’ and visited our University on February 10 to talk about their student competition briefs for 2011. ‘ycn’ award programmes exist to stimulate, showcase and surprise emerging creative talent. Zoe described all aspects of the student awards from collecting the briefs to what the awards ceremony entails for the winners. It is the winner’s stories that attracted the most attention as we were told of a few case studies including a project by Matthew Ivey aimed at celebrating 25 years of Arsenal F.C. in the Community.
Although I wasn’t necessarily blown away by the work it was really pleasing to see how a young designer can have their work used by a ma jor organisation. Seeing first hand the opportunities that agency competitions like ‘ycn’ can create is really encouraging and will defiantly help to motivate young creatives like myself.
OWT Creative, Manchester
“I was intrigued by the project and I am a big admirer of their efforts and the work they produce.�
OWT creative, is collective group of Ma students from MMU. Who focus on producing a monthly zine showcasing work their own work and work from other up and coming creative talent in the Northwest, they also hold quarterly exhibitions that run alongside the zine. When a few members of the team came to talk to us early in the year, I was already aware of their work and had spoken to a number of the group in the studio. It was interesting to listen to their ideas and plans for the future and to hear first hand what it is like after leaving University. I was encouraged by the project and I am a big admirer of their efforts and the work they produce.
TEAL TRIGGS Fanzines
‘If you are passionate enough about something you can succeed.’
Teal Triggs is Professor of Graphic Design, Course Director of MA Design Writing Criticism, and co-Director, Information Environments, at the London College of Communication. As a graphic design historian, she has written extensively for the international design press and authored several books on design including The Typographic Experiment and more recently Fanzines. Teal spoke passionately to us about fanzines, describing their purpose and correlation to graphic design, during the talk she reviewed the evolution of fanzines from the early 70’s to how the zine is making a leap to the online platform.
Fanzines (a blend of fan and magazine) are defined as a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon such as literary or musical genre for the pleasure of those who share their interest. Many of the works featured in the talk featured very distinctive covers, inspired by movements from within graphic design.
EXHIBITIONS Thom Park | 3rd Year Journal “In my final year at University I have attended numerous exhibitions accross the U.K to broaden my knowledge of Art & Design and to seek inspiration.”
HUMAN ERROR Chinese Arts Centre
‘Technology makes our life easy, but frustrates us when it lets us down.’ In April I attended an exhibition at the Chinese Arts Centre in the Northern Quarter by London based design collective Household and Dario Utreras.
The exhibit consisted of four interactive installations; the scanner, the printer, the photo booth and the photocopier. The scanner was spread over three tables and featured a series of A4 pads with pens Household have created works that that were suspended above by a large explore the relationship between machines manoeuvrable frame which allowed the and their users. user to replicate the same drawing across “The smooth operation of our daily lives a further 19 canvas’. The machines are relies heavily on the assistance of various designed to overcomplicate simple tasks machines. Technology makes our life easy and require a minimum of two or more but frustrates us when it lets us down, visitors to run them, encouraging highlighting our reliance on machines to human error. All of the installations complete daily tasks and emphasising the were a lot of fun and produced some potential for human error.” interesting results.
NADAV KANDER The Lowry
‘Seeing celebrities through Kander’s visual imagination is quite surreal’.
On the 18th of April I went to the photography exhibition of Nadav Kander held at The Lowry. Kander is an internationally renowned photographer, who specialises in celebrity portraits. He has worked with famous names such as Eric Cantona and Cheryl Cole and in February he worked on a shoot for The Observer magazine with Tinie Tempah. Seeing these recognisable faces captured by Kander’s visual imagination is quite surreal and there is a notable difference in terms of style between his work and that from the ‘half’ exhibition I attended last year.
ANISH KAPOOR: FLASHBACK Manchester Art Gallery
‘They are very, very, very difficult to make.’ Anish Kapoor’s exhibition, Flashback at the Manchester Art Gallery was on of the best exhibition I have attended to date. I was simply amazed by every piece that was on display. Kapoor is a British sculptor of Indian birth. ‘His works are frequently simple, curved forms, usually monochromatic and brightly coloured. His early pieces rely on powder pigment to cover the works and the floor around them.’ To see so many interesting pieces in one space was incredible each one grabbing my attention for several minutes as I tried to get my head around was I was actually seeing. This ability to toy with people’s perceptions of what is real or what is actually even there through optical illusions is remarkable especially for such simplistic sculptures.
It is difficult to point out any one piece from the exhibition, but the three examples of ‘Void Spaces’ were quite simply jaw dropping. They are so beautifully and precisely crafted you can’t tell whether you are looking at a flat surface or a gaping hole which can prove to be very disorientating. The other examples which particularly caught my eye were from the ‘engagement with architecture’ theme. One example of which was a bump in the wall, titled ‘When I am pregnant’which only reveals itself when seen in profile.
WELLCOME COLLECTION Science & Art Museum
‘The Wellcome Collection, combines Science and Art which created a very interesting exhibition.’
As part of the Ideas Foundation project we visited the Wellcome Collection in London to look at the Science and Art Exhibition for inspiration for the study planner we were working on. This was probably one of the most interesting exhibitions I have visited during my time at University; the combination of Science and Art meant that the exhibits had a wonderful mix of both content and creativity. Practically all of the exhibits at the ‘Living with medical science’ exhibition raised quite a high level of excitement from the students as well as myself, in particular the human body slices taken from organ donors and encased in glass windows to display a view of the human anatomy that has never been seen before.
LIVERPOOL BIENIAL International Festival of Contemporary Art, 2010
Liverpool Biennial is the largest contemporary visual arts events in the UK, the 2 month event takes place every two years and spans across the whole city. Unfortunately when I attended some of the venues back in September, there weren’t many examples of work that caught my eye. Having spoken to other people on the course, I discovered that there were other places within the Biennial that we could have gone to, that had more appropriate work. Despite this, the day was a worth while experience and there were some exceptions.
The most memorable display that I visited was an installation by Sam Hsieh named Tehching Hsieh. This was the first time his work had been exhibited in the U.K. and featured his famous piece, ‘One Year Performance 1980-1981. Which was collection of self- portrait photographs taken every hour of every day for a whole year. Not only was this visual encounter really intriguing but when you read the story of how it was created it becomes an even more engaging spectacle and you begin to appreciate the determination and passion needed to complete a project like this.
“The Liverpool Bienial showcased how diverse contemporary art can be.”
The image above was another example of work that as a group we appreciated as an example of a simple but clever installation that stimulated the mind. The top floor of 52, Renshaw street was filled with metal air duct that was bent and intertwined to form a huge metal structure. This had several ends that were directed out of the windows in the room so that the pipes would vibrate the street noises around the room.
52, Renshaw Street also features a number of other interesting examples of work. These didn’t necessarily blow me away in terms of artistic style or quality but there were a few nice ideas and concepts. Including a interactive piece by Lee Mingwei called ‘The Mending Project’ and featured 400 cones of coloured thread. The other was contained in a small room in the same building. It featured a mirrored ceiling that reflected an illustration that was painted onto the floor below. Both these are great examples of interactive work that can engage an audience despite not necessarily been very aesthetically considered.
EXPERIENCES Thom Park | 3rd Year Journal “This year has also seen meen partake in numerous experiences that have had a big impact on me and my work. These experiences vary alot in terms of what I did and how they affected me but they were all equally valuable”.
HEMISPHERE Portfolio Surgery
My first portfolio surgery was held at Hemisphere in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. We were greeted by Grant Windridge who is the Creative Director of the agency, he spoke to us as a small group of 6 and gave us an overview on what Hemisphere do and a personal insight into the industry from his own memories. It was interesting to listen to Grant talk about his work and it was clear to see how passionate he was about graphic design.
In terms of the review, I left slightly disappointed, although I took away some interesting tips regarding general presentation. No one in the group was given any personal feedback about their work or presentation style, which was kind of frustrating. I don’t know the reason for this but I thought maybe Hemisphere saw this as an opportunity for us to gain interview experience.
CREATIVE LYNX Portfolio Surgery
My surgery with Creative Lynx in May was a great experience for me and I took a lot away from the morning I spent at their base in Manchester. The day consisted of an initial meeting with their employment manager, who gave us an overview of what we would be doing. As only 3 of the group turned up we were treated to a much more personal experience. With members of the design team been invited to the meeting room to talk to us individually about our work and our plans after University. Before one of the freelance designers gave a talk about his role in the company which was followed by a general Q&A session.
I received some really good feedback about my portfolio and made sure that I took everything in. As a result of the surgery I have since made alterations to the way I have laid out my portfolio and I am now much more content with my work. Due to the timing of the session I was unsure whether I would attend as our final hand in was just days away at the time. Having gone, I am really glad I did as the whole experience was brilliant and I will definitely be looking out for Creative Lynx’s work in the future as a result.
BOOK BINDING Workshop
‘“I will be taking away a very valauble set of skills from University that I didnt have before.”
Book binding is something that I hadn’t practiced much in previous years but came to the forefront of my work in my final term when working on the ‘Viridis’ project, as I was required to put together a zine as well as looking into paper folding for the A2 posters I produced. Working alongside Hilary helped me to learn a lot about the process’ involved and I really enjoyed doing so. I am now much more comfortable in this area of design and I will be taking away a very valuable set of skills from University that I didn’t have before hand.
SCREEN PRINT Workshop
“It took alot of paitence to achieve the results I was looking for but it was definatly worth the effort.�
Screen print is another design practice that I hadn’t had much experience with before my final year but was one that I was very interesting with. When the opportunity arose in my final term I was keen to learn as much as I could in order to make my prints as good as possible. Screen printing is an old method for applying ink to multiple stocks and there are a lot of rules involved which can take a bit of time to get your head around.
With help from the technician Mike I spent two full days printing my final posters for the Viridis project and I was tremendously happy with the results. It took a lot of patience and commitment to achieve the results I was looking for but it was defiantly worth the effort. The precision of the prints has been noted by many of my peers and tutors, which is really satisfying.
CLIENT RELATIONS Branding
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Client relations is something I felt I should talk about in my Journal as this is an area I hadn’t had chance to practice much previous to my final term but is a key aspect of any work in graphic design. This was highlighted during the Identity project most notably the briefs for Dyslexia Foundation and Chloe- Jane. Whilst working on these briefs it was vital for me to stay in constant contact with the client in order to make sure I was meeting their needs and requirements.
In each instance I would create 3 varying concepts which I would then send in for approval and to let them decide which design they would like me to develop further. During this development phases is where the interaction between designer and client is vital. Making sure you are both working towards the same goal is hugely important and as a result the work benefits and the whole process is much more efficient.
MMU TEACHER TRAINING MMU Course
“It is always fascinating to see pupils work.�
In April I attended a teacher training day and MMU. The day long session was more of a taster day for those thinking about teaching in the future and although by this time I was already on the path to becoming a teacher I still was able to learn a fair bit about teaching Art and Design specifically and discuss certain issues with like minded people. We were also shown some examples of work from different schools and age groups which is always an fascinating experience.
DISSERTATION Should we still teach Art & Design in Secondary Schools?
“It is really gratifying to be leaving University with a piece of writing that I can be proud of.�
Surprisingly writing my dissertation was quite an enjoyable experience. Writing about a subject that I am passionate about not only made it an easier task but also gave me a great opportunity to learn more about teaching and art & design education in particular things that will be useful to me next year when I am studying for my PGCE. A lot of research and obviously writing went into my dissertation but I was genuinely please with the finish article and it is really gratifying to be leaving University with a piece of writing that I can be proud of.
HOARDINGS PROJECT David Crowe
“Lets just say, it will be interesting to see photos together on the hoardings.�gs.
When I was asked by Professor David Crow to take part in a project for the new building I was really keen to find out more. The brief was a fun way of brightening up the hoardings that surround the building site for the new building at Chatham with life size photos of the current creative students that could be modified in anyway they liked. I tried to tie my photo in with my logo aesthetic by overlaying triangles and diagonal lines. The project turned out to be very difficult as the files we were using were huge and meant that any changes made took a long time to render. In the end I thought my attempt was okay, and lets just say, it will be interesting to see photos together on the hoardings.
JOHNNY HARDSTAFF 24 Hour Project | Toshiba
“Generating ideas quickly in that type of setting definitely gets the juices flowing.� The 24 hour workshop project lead by Johnny Hardstaff was a brilliantly enjoyable experience that engaged everyone and gave us the opportunity to focus our thoughts on something else other than our University projects. Generating ideas quickly for a real- world brief is something I would recommend to anyone as the whole process helps you to get the creative juices flowing, as they say. Add to that the unpredictable element of surprise, as Johnny would often throw in updates on the clients requirements etc.
Overall this was one of my best experiences at University and it really helped to motivate me going into the final stretch of the year.
PGCE APPLICATION University of Cumbria | Art & Design Secondary
‘Teachers never stop learning.’
In late October I attended an open evening at the University of Cumbria’s Lancaster campus for a PGCE in Secondary Art & Design. The evening consisted of an overall talk for all teaching subjects and a more intimate group session with Art & Design staff an perspective students. We discussed the course content and the requirements for a successful application including portfolio work, personal strengths, sketchbooks, presentations, interviews, artists and essays. We briefly looked at a couple of interview questions such as, ‘Why teaching?’, ‘Current educational issues’ etc.
Key points to highlight included: Organisation, Enthusiasm, Theory, In December I had my interview for an Art & Design PGCE course and the University of Cumbria. The interview consisted of a literacy test, presentation, group discussion, interview and portfolio crit; it was a very intense interview and lasted a whole day. I really enjoyed the experience and gained a lot from it... including a place on the course!
ENGINE Advertising Agency
Engine is a design group in London, that I visited with the Ideas Foundation. Made up of several big name agencies, The Engine group is set up over several floors each with a group of specialist creative’s who collaborate on commercial projects by sharing ideas and key skill sets. This was a brilliant example of how these competing business have found a solution that works for all parties and produces some fascinating work as result. Such as the Weetabix TV adverts of 2008 and the London traffic awareness campaign which was a brilliantly simple and well executed idea that became a viral internet phenomenon!.
IDEAS FOUNDATION Student Mentor
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Through Manchester Metropolitan University I got involved with a scheme led by The Ideas Foundation to mentor pupils from Derby High School in Bury on their work experience. The Ideas Foundation are a National Charity, who are passionate about ideas, lead by a team of professionals from the creative industries and education they go beyond nurturing young people’s creative skills to help them explore enterprise and employment. Their programmes connect students to industry, and are one of the only organisations that properly prepare young people to access work experience placements in the creative industries or persuade creative agencies to open their doors to non-graduates.
Working within a team of Idea’s Foundation tutors, Derby High teachers and other student mentors from 3rd year D&AD and Biology at MMU we were asked to guide several groups of pupils through the process’ involved in designing and producing a new study planner for their school. The two weeks I spent with the Ideas Foundation were really rewarding and it was great to see the groups learning and enjoying the project.
STUDENT ASSOCIATES The Open University
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The Student Associates scheme was a huge experience for me and in many ways I see the 4 weeks I spent at Furness Academy in Barrow-in-Furness as a big step towards me working towards my goal of becoming a teacher, not just because I have gained some valuable experience but it also worked as a massive motivational period for me going into my final year at MMU.
The scheme was lead by the Open University and involved observing classes taught in all subjects across all age groups as well as running small workshop classes specific to Art & Design. Whilst working in the school there were also a number of materials to work through and I was required to keep a log of the experience in order to pass the course.
ONLINE PRESENCE Portfolio site | Blog
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Over the course of my final year I have tried to create an online portfolio for myself as well as keeping a blog of everything I have been doing. Having an online presence is something which is becoming more and more important and is a great way to showcase what you have been doing. Web design is something I really quite interested in and I will definatly be trying to learn more after I have finished my degree. Websitecargocollective.com/thompark Blogthompark90.blogspot.com
INSPIRATION Thom Park | 3rd Year Journal “Over the course of the year my work has been influenced in many differant ways. Although I do try to make my work as orginal as possible and stay true to my own style, as I am strong believer in learning from my own mistakes”.
PRINT Print based inspiration
“I have used an ever increasing amount of print based resources this year.�
This year I have become engrossed in more print based media than ever before, despite this I am not one to keep hold of the books and magazines I read and tend to make note of them in my sketchbooks before passing them on and moving on to something new, on the right is a list of some of the publications that have inspired me over the past 8 months.
News Paper Guardian, Media NY Times, Style Supplement The Metro, Arts Magazine Design Observer Eye Magazine Baseline Computer Arts .Net Magazine Design Matters Creative Review OWT
ONLINE Web based inspiration
“The first thing I do when I turn on my computer is scoure the internet for the latest posts.�
During my time at University I have been using the internet more and more as a source of inspiration for my work. I try to incorporate what I find into my sketch books. Though I am always concious not to reproduce any of what I have found in my own work.
Blog -
Alot of the things I find online I tend to keep in mind as appose to writing up a report, I also like to bookmark and helpful links to refer back to at a later date.
Behance TES BBC Arts FUEL touchey NESAD design:related From Up North Form Fifty Five
On the right is a list of just some of the sites and blogs I visit regularly.
design.org You The Designer Website -
COMPUTER ARTS Magazine
“Computer Arts helped me a lot during the Identity project in my final term.”
This is a magazine that I was introduced to by a friend. What struck me about this publication is that not only are you kept up to date on the latest design trends but it also features alot of useful tips and tutorials on how to replicate work featured in the Magazine. Computer Arts is very digitally focussed and mainly features modern art and trending graphic, most of which I am very interested in. This magazine helped me quite a lot during my ‘Identity’ project in particular as it often features articles on the latest, successful branding projects.
BEHANCE Network, The Creative Professional Platform
“Behance is probably my number one stop for inspiration on the web.�
This has been a massive source of inspiration to me this year. I tend to spend about 10-15 minutes every morning scouring through the latest work from around the world and very rarely am I disappointed with that I see as there is always at least one piece of work that captures my imagination and intrigues me enough to research the artist behind it. The appeal to me regarding Behance is that it is a collective resource the spans accross numerous disciplines and abilities as appose to a dedicated site for one individual. The community element that Behance provides is very useful and allows you to follow certain artists or project to keep up to date with what interests you and not only that often you can interact with those responsible to gain further information about their work for example.
TES Connect, Teaching resource
“I’m sure that TES will play a key role in my learning whilst I am studying for my PGCE.”
Used by thousands of schools and colleges. TES Connect is the central focus for the UK teaching community to share their ideas, thoughts and views outside the staffroom. TES Connect is a social network that allows teachers to network, share resources and search for jobs. It allows teachers to connect with other professionals to find and share their best classroom resources and advice. Split into four user-friendly sections including jobs, community and resources, the site has allowed given me access to tools that have taught me alot about the profession and Im sure that TES will play a key role next year whilst I am studying for my PGCE.
FEEDBACK Thom Park | 3rd Year Journal “This is the written feedback that I have recieved over the last 8 months.”
Unit Assessment Record Unit: Graphic Design Practice 2
Interim Assessment Feedback Record Unit: Self-directed Practice
Project: 3.1 Theme, 3.2 Live, 3.3 Personal
Project: 3.5 Development
Things that workedBe Spoke, some lovely thinking and a quirky execution- this project is the most positive aspect of the portfolio. The project could be better served in the portfolio with more emphasis on the iPhone app and alternative versions etc.
Dyslexia project is almost done and is looking good the garden centre project needs abit more focus. Seperate indentity from publication a bit more attitude. The visuals are abit tame and predicatable.
Things to work onElement guide- Useful indentification of a content area but a very safe exploration of the potential of the subject and a pretty dull execution. More contemporary aesthetic references would be useful as would a lighter touch with the page composition. The (full-bleed) materials (pens) page is the most successful. Static- These is a really lovely and subtle piece of typography in the development work that should be developed further in the portfolio.
Preliminary grade: C
Unit: Historical and Cultural Contexts Three Should we still Teach Art & Design in Secondary Schools?
Interesting overview of the subject of education but not too much in-depth analysis. Up to date references support Other commentsthe argument quite well, more specific Portfolio is too understated. All of the three examples of the benefits of Art & Design core project would benefit from another education in broader social context would spread. The full scope of the projects just have been useful as would a description of isn’t coming across at the moment, some specific teching models. especially static. Wider visual reference point more A couple of minor inaccuracies, mixing up personal ownership of content area the (Art & Design Foundation Diploma with and deeper projects. Foundation Degree). Overall grade: 58% - 2:2
Final mark: 65% - 2:1
LEARNING AGREEMENTS Thom Park | 3rd Year Journal “These are the two learning agreements I completed for the final Unit, Self-directed practice.”
Learning Agreement 1- Viridis
Learning Agreement 2- Identity
What do you want to do? Create a concept for a company that will help smaller local garden centres to compete with the mass marketers. Tell the narrative of the company and its goals by designing its media outlets, for example, identity, publications, advertising, web design and other business materials.
What do you want to do? Within the ‘Identity’ project, I want to take on a number of branding briefs for various organisations and individuals Research- Attempt to understand the company/ individual I am working for in order to create a response that best reflects them. Development- Produce a number of responses based on the research I have gathered and apply my best work to 3 concepts to present to the client. Work with the client to develop one response to a final piece. Application- Show final response variations (colour, size etc.) and apply identity to appropriate medias.
Why do you want to do this? The reason I am taking on such a large scale, self initiated brief is because I wish to explore numerous graphic design disciplines. I also think this project will give me the opportunity to understand the makeup of a company and how graphic design can be used to achieve success for business’.
Why do you want to do this? What factors will be important in gauging the success of this work? The main factor for me will be if my responses are believable and tell the narrative of the company I have created. This I can achieve through a well designed and well rounded project that is uniformed in style and content.
Branding is something that I am really interested in, and is something that I wish to continue doing once I have left University and I pursue a career in teaching. I enjoy working with clients whilst I try to understand their needs and wishes and hopefully my efforts will be rewarded if they like my work. What factors will be important in gauging the success of this work? Obviously if my work is selected then I will be able to deem my work as success, from a personal point of view though I will know myself wether or not I have been able to produce work that I am happy with and that I am confident meets the requirements of the client in question.
WHAT NEXT? My plans for the future
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After graduation I am due to start a PGCE course in Secondary Art & Design at The University of Cumbria in Lancaster with my main aim to becoming a teacher of Art & Design soon after. In terms of my own work I hope to be able to continue doing small briefs for local clients in my hometown, in areas that I enjoy such as branding and advertising. As well as looking into possible design competitions that I appeal to me. During my spare time between now and September I will also be attending a number of fine art classes in an attempt to learn as much about other Art disciplines as possible before starting the course. My time at MMU has given taught me a lot of new skills that I’m sure will help me in the future and has also given me the confidence to pursue a career in teaching, something I have always wanted to do. I am now really looking forward to what I expect to be a very demanding but rewarding year.
Thom Park