Final evaluations

Sophie Price

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

This was an extremely enjoyable brief to work on. Ever since I first visited the Leeds College of Art exhibition a couple of years ago, I have wanted to collaborate with a fashion student to produce all of their branded materials. Sophie and I discussed the idea of collaboration in first year. We met up regularly in second and third year to discuss work so that we both had a feel for each other's interests and style of work. This wasn't a paid brief, but it worked out to be much more successful than other briefs which have been paid in the past, as clients often expect more and treat the designer a bit differently. I have managed to gain a successful brief to use in my portfolio, and Sophie is also extremely happy with the outcome. I will be continuing to work on this brief after the deadline, cutting out all of the remaining swing tags and business cards ready for the exhibition. Overall, I feel as though we worked very well together, Sophie's love for colour and my minimal style compliment each other and I feel as though we have managed to reach an outcome we are both extremely happy with.

Wedding Stationery

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

Wedding stationery has always been something I would love to do. I have even considered setting up a business in the past selling all of the printed materials needed for weddings. The brief for Tom and Claire has allowed me to develop my skills in this area, and I feel as though I have managed to reach a successful stage in the design process. This is a brief which will be ongoing after the deadline, but will simply be added to, when designing the invitations and everything for the day of the wedding. I am really pleased that I was able to produce this work in time for the hand in, because it has been quite hard meeting up with the client on a regular basis. However, each time we did meet up we had very productive discussions which enabled the work to be produced. This brief has definitely confirmed to me how much I love creating hands on outcomes and I will always make the time to have ongoing personal projects alongside a studio working lifestyle. I feel as though this is important to be able to maintain a creative mind and not become a creature of habit with going to work every day and then stop being creative as soon as the day ends. I am thoroughly looking forward to the wedding, and as I will be attending, it will be exciting to see what people's reactions are to all of the products, and it may even lead to further work in the future.

Briony Machin

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

I have been friends with Briony for quite a long time now, and when she asked me to create some packaging and other printed materials for her ceramics I was flattered. Her work is absolutely stunning, so this made the work even more enjoyable. She didn't have a particular design in mind from the start, which meant that I could be as creative and inventive as I wanted to be. When I asked her to write her name out to use for her logo she absolutely loved the idea, and then I decided to apply the pattern to the box, which she was equally as pleased with. The only negative to this project was the fact that I was unable to have one of her bowls to actually package and photograph, as she lives quite far away. This wasn't too much of a problem though, as I was able to improvise and package a bowl I already had with the tissue paper and label to seal it. I am hoping in the future I will be able to provide Briony with even more outcomes, as this has been a refreshing and enjoyable brief to work on.

Crackers

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

As discussed on my PPP blog, when I received the initial brief from Marigold Gifts to design some crackers for them to sell online, I was really excited. However, it turned out to be a bit of a nightmare, as the client ended up speaking down to me and was actually quite verbally aggressive. However, I was able to turn this into a positive, and rather than trying to forget the whole thing and consider it a waste of time, I decided that I would expand upon the initial design I had sent to him which he didn't like, for my own sanity mainly, and also to prove to him that I wasn't going to let his attitude towards my work stop me from achieving my goals. I am so pleased that I did this, because now I am extremely happy with the outcome of my work and it has worked out even more successfully than I had initially hoped. I am even considering approaching places like Harvey Nichols and maybe even Harrods to see if they would be interested in the design.

DBA Capital North

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

This brief was probably one of the most challenging of them all. Working in a group of four girls proved to be quite hard at times. It was hard to make decisions, and because we are all friends, it was even harder to be honest about the work in hand. This meant that a lot of compromises had to be made and it was most certainly a learning curve for all of us. I feel as though we managed to design a successful logo and was really pleased to see it in context on the uniform and train, but wish we had had more time as a group together to be able to achieve even more deliverables. Considering the amount of others briefs I have completed though, it was quite refreshing to work on this brief as a bit of a change, and stop and start it throughtout the space of a couple of weeks. It was also great to receive feedback from so many industry professionals, and I have since spoken to a couple of them, which demonstrates a positive aspect related to networking.

DR.ME

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

This day brief was very different to anything I have ever worked on before. DR.ME's style of work wasn't very appealing to me. I could appreciate their style of work but struggled to work in that way for a day. The three separate briefs in one day also seemed like quite a lot to get done all at once. It was definitely challenging though and something different to work on, but isn't something I would include in my portfolio as I don't feel as though it represents me enough.

DSM Care Celebration

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

At the beginning of this brief, I really struggled to get started and find inspiration. It took many crits and a lot of idea generation before I reached a point where I was happy with the result. Branding isn't something I am particularly confident with, and I feel as though I am still learning a lot in this area of graphic design. It was therefore challenging in a positive way as it tested my ability and forced me to step out of my comfort zone. I would have liked to have extended this brief further, but I decided that I wouldn't have the time to, and wanted to make sure that my other briefs were completed instead.

End of Year Show

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

As Ellen and I won the Christmas card competition, it gave us the drive to submit an idea for the end of year show to the marketing department. Unfortunately, we weren't chosen, which was a real shame. We had been down to woodwork to discuss how the reflection wall would work, and they were willing to help us make the idea come to life. We tried our best to produce something which reflects our own practice and I had a lot of fun making the miniature model. This is when it started to become apparent to me that I will most probably work in a variety of fields within graphic design, due to the nature and diversity of my work. I am pleased that we submitted an idea because it is great experience to talk about and may also lead on to further work in the future.

Foundation and Extended Diploma Taster Day

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

When Ellen and I first discussed the idea of teaching the Foundation and Extended Diploma students with Simon Harrison and Amber, they both loved the idea. Simon said that it could tie in perfectly with some sessions he already had planned, based around typography. He allowed us to produce a lesson plan and essentially teach the students. This is not only great experience from a design point of view, but is also great for both of us if we ever decide we would like to go into teaching.

Overall, the two days were very successful and we felt as though it was very worthwhile.

Holbeck Urban Village

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

When I received an email about Tony Broomhead coming in to visit us and spend the day with us in a workshop, I jumped at the opportunity. This was probably one of the best decisions I made this year. Producing the tree for Marshalls Mill got me really excited and I was able to prototype all day long. I spoke to Tony on the day and asked him about a placement, we kept in touch afterwards and I have since been and worked with him in Sheffield on a couple of live briefs. I am also really pleased that I have this tree to put in my portfolio because it is something so different and striking and proves that graphic design skills can be applied in many ways.

Intern

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

This one day brief was probably one of my least favourite overall. I didn't feel as inspired by the brief, however I still tried to make the most out of it. Working with a different group of people is always a positive, and the more experience of working with a range of people, the better. I think this brief made me realise that I have to design outcomes which are interactive and playful, rather than a standard editorial design. I feel as though I get more out of a brief if I am able to do this. Once again, having experience with a working professional is only a positive, and adds to the list of achievements at the end of the course.

D&AD John Lewis

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

I thoroughly enjoyed working on this brief with Grace. We are both quite like-minded and so we were easily pleased with each other's work. This made it much easier to make decisions and progress. Once again, having the connection with LGP Print in Leeds was helpful, as we were able to print all of the boxes out on carton board to make them sturdier. If we had had more time, we could have tried to make the boxes to scale, but this wouldn't have been as cost effective and may not really have made much difference to the final outcome, as we were both really happy with the illustrations, concept and photography.

LCA Christmas Card

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

This was by far one of the most time consuming briefs but one of the most rewarding at the same time. When Ellen and I received a letter of thanks from the Principal, it felt good to know that our hard work had been appreciated and recognised.

It was hard work hand making each of the cards individually, and definitely tested my patience for packaging design, but I managed and enjoyed every second of it.

Tigerprint Competition

OUGD606 – Laura Wallbridge-Bruce

I entered this competition brief, not just because it was designing for Marks and Spencer (which I would love to do), but mainly because I liked the sound of the brief, and wanted a day brief to break all of my work up a little bit. I really enjoyed working on this brief as it allowed me to do some hand rendered illustrations and then manipulate them digitally. Although there weren't many outcomes, I am really pleased with the photography and will be including this as a sample design to send to certain studios.