Tuesday 30 March 2010
Sellable prints
When I screenprinted the exhibition pieces I printed some on cartridge paper so I could sell them when I get my website up and running.
The Red and the White exhibition
I have just been involved in the Red and the White exhibition that was held in Leeds and Manchester.
The White and Red Exhibition features young designers from two cities over two weeks. It is a celebration of Northern creative juices, combining work from both sides of the Pennines, White & Red showcases emerging designers and illustrators from Manchester School of Art and Leeds College of Art.
It was a lot of hard work but It was very rewarding and such a good opportunity to get my work out there.
The concept of the work was based on my local 1930's cinema. The Plaza has such a wonderful heritage so I wanted to embrace their 1930's beginnings and i created 3 posters to reflect this. The posters were screenprinted on both cartridge paper and the final prints were on 1930's piano music rolls.
Monday 1 March 2010
Proposed business ventures
Over the summer my sister and I are setting up a stall at an arts and craft fair in my local area of Stockport. The fair is situated in Broadstone Mill that also has open artist and designers studios that are situated there all week. The The tables are £13.50 to buy and the fair runs on the last sunday of every month.
I feel that this will be an excellent opportunity to set up a mini business whilst I am still at university to give me a taster of how to manage cost, attract customers, generate a profit and most importantly meet contacts.
Not only that but Broadstone Mill also offers the opportunity to rent a studio space for around 100 pounds pcm (plus tax). This is something I was to look into as a possibility after I graduate as it is close to home so I won't need travel costs and the unit come with telephone lines and internet.
I feel that this will be an excellent opportunity to set up a mini business whilst I am still at university to give me a taster of how to manage cost, attract customers, generate a profit and most importantly meet contacts.
Not only that but Broadstone Mill also offers the opportunity to rent a studio space for around 100 pounds pcm (plus tax). This is something I was to look into as a possibility after I graduate as it is close to home so I won't need travel costs and the unit come with telephone lines and internet.
Friday 12 February 2010
Business plan template
I found this business template on the HSBC website, it is simple and coherent and will be usefil in creating a logical flow to my presentation.
Friday 11 December 2009
Proposed Position Statement
1. Currently I am starting to establish myself as a diverse designer. Previously I have focused solely as a hand crafted design, however as the second year is evolving I am creating diversity in my work and am enjoying further investigation into layout and packaging design and more recently colour theory.
2. Working as a freelancer designer appeals to me as I enjoy independence within my work. A regional grant for young businesses would give me the boot I need in relation to publicising myself as a freelancer.
3. After I graduate I aim to work for a design studio and work on live briefs within a design agency such as 'LOVE' in Manchester who are a multidisciplinary creative advertising company whom I have been in contact with regarding work experience. I need to ensure that I have a good reputation as a designer. I want to ensure a high level of customer care in order to become the sort of designer that I want to evolve into.
4. For part of out second module, 'design for web' I will gain the knowledge to set up our own website which will be a very useful way of promoting my self. Development of a website does not require huge resources. All that is needed is good copywriting, and coding skills that will evolve within the module.
5. I would like to have work available to buy in small independent shops or bars such as 'The art of Tea' in Manchester, where the clientele suits me as a designer as a lot of the work that they display are illustration based and involve a lot of hand crafted design.
6. Due to the huge amount of competition that exists within the field, as a designer I need to diversify myself in order to stand out from the competition. This could mean that I get both skills as typographer and a high level of both software skills and hand rendered design, so clients see me as a rounded individual.
7. Direct selling to consumers will be an important way to establish myself within the field of design and build up a good reputation. I think that the benefits of direct selling in relation to me as a young designer is the opportunity to build up a good relationship with clients as is it is important to establish good relationships with customers.
9. An ultimate goal would be to work in a city in Europe such as Berlin. Eobiont are a advertising agency based in Berlin who describe there strength as " Finding creative alternatives to communication doldrums". There ethos appeals to me and an ambition would be to work for a dynamic European design company. Learning a second language is something that I am looking into doing in the new year and will bring me closer to realising my self actualisation goal of being bilingual.
10. I understand the importance of sustainable design and it is an issue that I want to address through my progression as a designer. Design companies such as carbon creative in Salford Manchester share a similar ethos to myself and are a carbon neutral design company.
2. Working as a freelancer designer appeals to me as I enjoy independence within my work. A regional grant for young businesses would give me the boot I need in relation to publicising myself as a freelancer.
3. After I graduate I aim to work for a design studio and work on live briefs within a design agency such as 'LOVE' in Manchester who are a multidisciplinary creative advertising company whom I have been in contact with regarding work experience. I need to ensure that I have a good reputation as a designer. I want to ensure a high level of customer care in order to become the sort of designer that I want to evolve into.
4. For part of out second module, 'design for web' I will gain the knowledge to set up our own website which will be a very useful way of promoting my self. Development of a website does not require huge resources. All that is needed is good copywriting, and coding skills that will evolve within the module.
5. I would like to have work available to buy in small independent shops or bars such as 'The art of Tea' in Manchester, where the clientele suits me as a designer as a lot of the work that they display are illustration based and involve a lot of hand crafted design.
6. Due to the huge amount of competition that exists within the field, as a designer I need to diversify myself in order to stand out from the competition. This could mean that I get both skills as typographer and a high level of both software skills and hand rendered design, so clients see me as a rounded individual.
7. Direct selling to consumers will be an important way to establish myself within the field of design and build up a good reputation. I think that the benefits of direct selling in relation to me as a young designer is the opportunity to build up a good relationship with clients as is it is important to establish good relationships with customers.
9. An ultimate goal would be to work in a city in Europe such as Berlin. Eobiont are a advertising agency based in Berlin who describe there strength as " Finding creative alternatives to communication doldrums". There ethos appeals to me and an ambition would be to work for a dynamic European design company. Learning a second language is something that I am looking into doing in the new year and will bring me closer to realising my self actualisation goal of being bilingual.
10. I understand the importance of sustainable design and it is an issue that I want to address through my progression as a designer. Design companies such as carbon creative in Salford Manchester share a similar ethos to myself and are a carbon neutral design company.
Task 4
Who else is out there – how good are they?
I have completed a SWOT analysis on two different design companies. BLANKA who are a website that contain a collection of original designers work in many design disciplines, and CMK who are a London based design company.
As a result of this analysis a few opportunities for my own practice have been posed. Firstly a website would be very useful in my field. I already have a blog set up , however I feel that there are limitations within the ease of navigating through blogs. After evaluating BLANKA's website and deciding that the text was too small and perhaps a larger lower case font would be more successful makes me aware of how important a fully comprehensive website will be.
BLANKA is an online shop. Other independent designers such as Adam Tickle who is a London based designer who has set up an online shop on his website Cultural Domain. An online shop would be a huge opportunity to gain status as an independent new designer. It is also a effective way of generating revenue and getting my work out there. After evaluating these two design companies websites, it has made me realise that most designers websites contain a synopses as to what the company is about. As it stands on my blog I give no email address or further contact details available for prospective 'clients'. When I evaluated CHK's website the lack of contact details was a potential issue for consumers so I need to provide more in my practice. Neither of the websites that I researched and evaluated contained a downloadable portfolio. This is something that I would like to contain in my future webpage to enable clients to download a printer friendly version of my work.
On both sites there is no mention of enviromental or sustainable issues within the deisgn work that is contained within the webpage. Enviromental issues are important to me as a designer and moral implications of the work that I produce is an important factor that I want to consider in my future work generation.
I have completed a SWOT analysis on two different design companies. BLANKA who are a website that contain a collection of original designers work in many design disciplines, and CMK who are a London based design company.
As a result of this analysis a few opportunities for my own practice have been posed. Firstly a website would be very useful in my field. I already have a blog set up , however I feel that there are limitations within the ease of navigating through blogs. After evaluating BLANKA's website and deciding that the text was too small and perhaps a larger lower case font would be more successful makes me aware of how important a fully comprehensive website will be.
BLANKA is an online shop. Other independent designers such as Adam Tickle who is a London based designer who has set up an online shop on his website Cultural Domain. An online shop would be a huge opportunity to gain status as an independent new designer. It is also a effective way of generating revenue and getting my work out there. After evaluating these two design companies websites, it has made me realise that most designers websites contain a synopses as to what the company is about. As it stands on my blog I give no email address or further contact details available for prospective 'clients'. When I evaluated CHK's website the lack of contact details was a potential issue for consumers so I need to provide more in my practice. Neither of the websites that I researched and evaluated contained a downloadable portfolio. This is something that I would like to contain in my future webpage to enable clients to download a printer friendly version of my work.
On both sites there is no mention of enviromental or sustainable issues within the deisgn work that is contained within the webpage. Enviromental issues are important to me as a designer and moral implications of the work that I produce is an important factor that I want to consider in my future work generation.
SWOT analysis for two design companies
The first company that I want to evaluate via a SWOT analysis is Blanka
'Blanka is both an online gallery and permanent visual archive devoted to celebrating the very best in creative communication and print on an international stage. We are an open and enthusiastic co-operative of people from all creative disciplines expressing themselves through exceptional, innovative and inspiring printed items. Blanka has been created to act as a permanent archive and virtual gallery space to display art and design, photography and print. We are constantly growing and evolving to showcase the talents of our contributors to deliver the best recent work, unearth some classics from our past and also bring you new, inspirational pieces hot off the press.'
The overall strengths of the website is the ease of facilitating your way around the site. Tabs are clearly labeled to allow the user to navigate around the site. There is a small summerative sentence that allows the user to gain a quick contextual understanding of who the company is and what they are about. The website enables designers to sell their work alongside other successful designers in the same field.
The homepage reflects their competence as a design company using a limited colour palette of cyan grey and white. The lack of design 'fuss' within the sight allows the designers work to speak for itself, which shows a sort of confidence with the designers contained within the sight.
Interactive thumbnails allows the user to click on images of interest that then easily navigated them to a more detailed description of the work and the price and the opportunity to purchase the item.
However the fact that the text is all in capital letters makes the bulks of text less readable. The tone of the grey chosen within the text in the site is a little pale. Perhaps they text could be larger and the vast amount of cyan 'space' could be reduced. The site does contain web pages of the designers that are featured in the site, however the designers web pages are not links which hinders the ease to navigate to a certain designers page.
The sight would benefit with more details as to how they set up the company and maybe even a list of the creatives who put it together, ultimately this would gain them more exposure. Another opportunity for the site could be to provide more contacts details as only a email is provided which is minimal and does not provide consumers to have personal contact. A phone number or address may have been useful. Some of the photography of the design work is very hard to see, the sight would benefit from larger images sizes especially if the work is available to buy as small photograph sizes doesn't give the consumer a very clear view of what they are buying which could result in lower sales.
Other sites that sell design works such as Amazon could pose a threat to an in dependant website like Blanka, however Amazon does not sell such niche design and designers work like Blanka. Sites such as .... and ...... pose serious competition as they to sell diverse amounts of designers works all integrated on one website.
The second company that I will do a SWOT analysis is CHK design who are a design company based in London.
CHK's website contains very simple and direct language, their company approach is clear and concise and written clearly as context+concept+collaboration=communication. This statement clearly informs the audience that the company has no frills and don't need gimmicks to sell their design, effectively the design speaks for itself.
One can easily navigate through the well layed out website and the simple and consistent use of san serif type facilitates navigation. The company 'projects' are clearly labeled under the genre that they fit under. The sight feels "smooth" and very well thought out.
The simple interactivity is well complemented by the white background which allows the work to really take centre stage, which it should do as it is excellent.
However the website provides no further details of the projects that the company have completed. We are given no indication as to where the project was completed, who was involved, where and how it was successfully executed. This lack of information lets the website down.
The site also does not contain any interior photographs of the books that have been published, this is a little disappointing and is not allowing the website to exploit how good the work is.
A good opportunity for the company would be to provide an online shop where consumers could navigate to to products that the company have produced. Another expansion could be contact details of some of the companies that CHK have worked for.
'Blanka is both an online gallery and permanent visual archive devoted to celebrating the very best in creative communication and print on an international stage. We are an open and enthusiastic co-operative of people from all creative disciplines expressing themselves through exceptional, innovative and inspiring printed items. Blanka has been created to act as a permanent archive and virtual gallery space to display art and design, photography and print. We are constantly growing and evolving to showcase the talents of our contributors to deliver the best recent work, unearth some classics from our past and also bring you new, inspirational pieces hot off the press.'
The overall strengths of the website is the ease of facilitating your way around the site. Tabs are clearly labeled to allow the user to navigate around the site. There is a small summerative sentence that allows the user to gain a quick contextual understanding of who the company is and what they are about. The website enables designers to sell their work alongside other successful designers in the same field.
The homepage reflects their competence as a design company using a limited colour palette of cyan grey and white. The lack of design 'fuss' within the sight allows the designers work to speak for itself, which shows a sort of confidence with the designers contained within the sight.
Interactive thumbnails allows the user to click on images of interest that then easily navigated them to a more detailed description of the work and the price and the opportunity to purchase the item.
However the fact that the text is all in capital letters makes the bulks of text less readable. The tone of the grey chosen within the text in the site is a little pale. Perhaps they text could be larger and the vast amount of cyan 'space' could be reduced. The site does contain web pages of the designers that are featured in the site, however the designers web pages are not links which hinders the ease to navigate to a certain designers page.
The sight would benefit with more details as to how they set up the company and maybe even a list of the creatives who put it together, ultimately this would gain them more exposure. Another opportunity for the site could be to provide more contacts details as only a email is provided which is minimal and does not provide consumers to have personal contact. A phone number or address may have been useful. Some of the photography of the design work is very hard to see, the sight would benefit from larger images sizes especially if the work is available to buy as small photograph sizes doesn't give the consumer a very clear view of what they are buying which could result in lower sales.
Other sites that sell design works such as Amazon could pose a threat to an in dependant website like Blanka, however Amazon does not sell such niche design and designers work like Blanka. Sites such as .... and ...... pose serious competition as they to sell diverse amounts of designers works all integrated on one website.
The second company that I will do a SWOT analysis is CHK design who are a design company based in London.
CHK's website contains very simple and direct language, their company approach is clear and concise and written clearly as context+concept+collaboration=communication. This statement clearly informs the audience that the company has no frills and don't need gimmicks to sell their design, effectively the design speaks for itself.
One can easily navigate through the well layed out website and the simple and consistent use of san serif type facilitates navigation. The company 'projects' are clearly labeled under the genre that they fit under. The sight feels "smooth" and very well thought out.
The simple interactivity is well complemented by the white background which allows the work to really take centre stage, which it should do as it is excellent.
However the website provides no further details of the projects that the company have completed. We are given no indication as to where the project was completed, who was involved, where and how it was successfully executed. This lack of information lets the website down.
The site also does not contain any interior photographs of the books that have been published, this is a little disappointing and is not allowing the website to exploit how good the work is.
A good opportunity for the company would be to provide an online shop where consumers could navigate to to products that the company have produced. Another expansion could be contact details of some of the companies that CHK have worked for.
Friday 4 December 2009
Task 3
How will I promote myself – what do they want to hear?
When promoting oneself there are many areas one has to look into as a young designer. When looking at self promotion looking at the Marketing Communication Mix helps to realise the most effective way of effectively communicating with target audiences. This method of direct selling is both cheap and an excellent way to be actively involved with direct face to face selling with customers. It is also a good way of generating a involved relationship with customers. Personal selling will be an effective and direct was of connecting to my target market. Next week some Christmas postcards that I have designed along with my peers will be sold on a stall at the Brudenel Social Club in Hyde Park. I would like to have work available to buy in small independent shops or bars such as north bar where the clientele suits the modern graphic design feel of my work. I think that the benefits of direct selling in relation to me as a young designer is the opportunity to build up a good relationship with clients as is it is important to establish good relationships with customers. A negative of this method would be the fact that it would be time consuming initially. As advertising can be an extermely varied part of self promotion and can range in cost. For part of out second module, 'design for web' we wil gain the knowledge to set up our own website which will be a very useful way of promoting one self. Development of a website does not require huge resources. All that is needed is good copywriting, and coding skills thats hopefully will evolve within the module.
When promoting oneself there are many areas one has to look into as a young designer. When looking at self promotion looking at the Marketing Communication Mix helps to realise the most effective way of effectively communicating with target audiences. This method of direct selling is both cheap and an excellent way to be actively involved with direct face to face selling with customers. It is also a good way of generating a involved relationship with customers. Personal selling will be an effective and direct was of connecting to my target market. Next week some Christmas postcards that I have designed along with my peers will be sold on a stall at the Brudenel Social Club in Hyde Park. I would like to have work available to buy in small independent shops or bars such as north bar where the clientele suits the modern graphic design feel of my work. I think that the benefits of direct selling in relation to me as a young designer is the opportunity to build up a good relationship with clients as is it is important to establish good relationships with customers. A negative of this method would be the fact that it would be time consuming initially. As advertising can be an extermely varied part of self promotion and can range in cost. For part of out second module, 'design for web' we wil gain the knowledge to set up our own website which will be a very useful way of promoting one self. Development of a website does not require huge resources. All that is needed is good copywriting, and coding skills thats hopefully will evolve within the module.
Sunday 15 November 2009
Task 2: Clients and PEST analysis
Design Companies
Local- love, pixel8, wolfclub,
National-mother,toast,firedog, bandlondon
European- Design Bolaget, studio360, graphixpol
Transnational- iA
Possible clients
Retail- high street chains, stationary shops, supermarkets, clothing companies
Magazines/newspapers- editorial layouts typographic compositions etc
Small companies whom may be in need of a 'brand'
Large multinationals
Music industry- CD and vinyl packaging promotional materials.
Cosmetics Industry- packaging and design
Computer gaming Industry- gaming design
Clients in need of web design- including flash
I am going to look at the retail industry as it is an area that I would like to see myself designing for. To specify a little more in-depth I am going to look at the high street fashion industry. As a Graphic designer, I don't want to design the actual clothes, however I would like to be involved with signage, window displays, swing tag design and promotional materials
Examples of High Street fashion chains
Local- Blue Rinse vintage-Leeds
National- Topshop
European- Zara
Transnational- American Apparel
Now I want to look into the factors that will effect the High Street fashions chains use of design. Blue rinse are based in Leeds and Manchester city centre selling vintage and customised clothes.
"Established in Leeds in the summer of 1997, we’ve grown from a little clothes shop run by just a few staff into a well known brand, we’re proud of how we’ve paved the way in Leeds for
vintage fashion and we continue to grow from strength to strength."
http://www.bluerinseleeds.co.uk
The politics that will effect such a small company may include any increases in tax on small businesses, this may mean that such a small company is unable to afford a graphic designer so choose to publicise themselves other political issues may include the Blur rinses ability to apply for a regional grant as they are a relatively young business. Blue Rinse would have to consider trading restrictions within the clothing industry as they use second hand clothes that come from the UK and Europe. This would also mean that they would have to consider tax implications of importing clothing from overseas and they would need to be aware of European trading agreements also as on their website they state that they have a wholesale company importing and exporting used vintage clothes and also trade from ebay.
The economic factors that may effect a small company include unpredictable currency exchange rates if Blue Rinse were to import oversea clothes to customise and sell within their store. This would mean awareness of when is a financially good time to buy/sell. Blue Rinse would need to be fairly aware of the economic profile of the consumers in Leeds.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/profiles/00da.aspAbove shows some incite into the economic profile of Leeds taken by a census in 2001. It tells us that there are over 18 thousand economically active students which shows Blue Rinse that their student friendly relatively low priced clothes may be high in demand. The census also shows how over 103 thousand household are without a car in Leeds which confirms that Blue Rinse being in the city centre is good for business as they are easily accessible.
The social factors that will effect a business like Blue Rinse are firstly lifestyle trends. If young consumers who blue rinse are targeting (between the ages of 18 to 25) fall out of love for their quirky "vintage" fashions, the business may suffer. Secondly, sustainability issues need to be considered within Blue Rinses' importing and exporting, yes they are recycling used items however what is their carbon footprint like with multiple types of transport bringing their goods from overseas? If I was to work alongside Blue Rinse to produce signage or promotional materials for the shop, I would have to be aware of lifestyle and social trends of consumers in order for a campaign to target the target market successfully.
Finally how will technology effect Blue Rinses business? Better clothing machines will improve business productivity and make it easier and cheaper to produce clothes. Outsourcing would also create the same effect by subcontracting to another third party and may achieve a lower production cost. Within Graphic Design technology plays a huge part. Blue Rinse now have a website and examples of promotion materials for the company. Software such as Dreamweaver and potentially all of the Adobe suite would need to be accessible for any designer who was to develop their promotional design. Blue Rinse would need to be aware of technology abroad in order to evaluate what their competition and potenially they could have acess to. As the company imports and exports good telecommunications is important may this be via emails or on Skype.
Friday 30 October 2009
Task 2
As a young graphic designer potential clients are everywhere. Due to the huge amount of competition that exists within the field, us as designers need to diversify ourselves in order to stand out from the competition. This could mean that I get both skills as typographer but also I need to be able to be a competent photographer, have a good sense of printing techniques, so clients see me as the 'whole package'. Where are my clients? Well everywhere really, anyone who is in need of a graphic designer could be a client. As I have limited language skills (bar English!) overseas graphic design might be difficult due to the language barriers. The demographics of my clients will be varied as they may be a small business in need of a corporate identity, or a bar or restaurant in need of publicity. Large multnational companies could be launching a new product or what to launch a new 'look' in response to their consumer market and that is where I come in.
Last year I set up my blog which has been excellent to publicise myself and I can give the blog link out to prospective clients and they can see my work and evaluate if it is in keeping with a similar vison as to what they want. A regional grant for young businesses would give me the boot I need in relation to publicising myself, I could set up a website which is something I will learn how to do in the new year when we start our design for web module. I would not waste money using flyer's to promote myself as the are not cost efficient at all. Diverse business cards would be another promotion material that I could use to spread the word of myself as a designer.
The geographics that effect my client base are transport, would clients want a graphic designer who lives nearby i order to save on transport costs? If I locate myself in a city centre I feel that transport links would be easier to meet up with prospective clients. Due to the fact that my clients could be located mainly across the UK, being in a large city like Manchester could give be an able amount of work. However the rent prices for office space within city centres is rather high so there is a trade of to be considered here.
My potential clients would generally be up to date with technology. Graphic design is a technology based field so my prospective clients will also be media aware. They may use the Internet and the adobe software, they may also be up to date with graphic design journals such as creative review and graphik magazine.
I need to ensure that I have a good reputation as a designer. I want to ensure a high level of customer care in order to become a successful freelancer if that is the direction I take.
Thursday 29 October 2009
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Task 2- defining my market
demographics
This could vary as a graphic designer/illustrator as different briefs will be aimed at different target markets etc. For example:
A campaign for mother care would have a target market of parents of young children/ parents to be/grandparents/childminders.
However a advertisement for a new sports car would have a target market of young possible male professionals/businessmen with a lot of disposable income.
geographic factors
How location could affect cost, for me this could be a high rent for an office space in the centre of Manchester and the trade-off between a high rent for a small studio in a popular area to maybe a larger unit in a smaller, cheaper location. The location of where I am situated could possibility generate more business as if I am in a large city centre I could benefit from a better and more productive client relationship as I am easily accessible for my client due to better transport links in inner city areas.
The large population density of a city such as Manchester could also bring in more business if I am working freelance or for a company as there is greater passing trade and a improved chance of being noticed for example The North West had a population of 6.9 million in mid-2007,an increase of 1.0 per cent since 1997. This compares with an overall increase of 4.6 per cent for the UK over the same period (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/).
(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/)
The above diagram shows that in 2007 the population density of Manchester was 2,500 people per sq km, this compares to near by Lancaster which has just 100-249 people per sq km. This proves that if I situate myself within Manchester city centre there will be a vast amount of increase with the amount of consumers I can target nearby. However this would also mean increased competition, which will be a factor to take into account.
psychology
I have values as a young designer. With increasing knowledge about environmental factors that are effecting us I like to ensure that I do my bit to keep environmental repercussions at a minimum. I have a keep interest in second hand goods! This may result in re-using existing materials and products and transferring them and evolving their purpose within my design. For example I like to collect old fabrics and use them in illustrative collages. This I feel is a good way to reuse existing materials and avoid wasting paper unnecessarily. Sustainable design is important to me and minimising the use of non- renewable resources. Recycled paper is something that I like to use aswell not only for its environmental benefits but its aesthetic qualities too! Choosing non-toxic paper coating and sustainably-produced or recycled paper is a value that I hope to use more within my design.
behavior
Good business and consumer relationships is an important way to build a reputable rapour. According to Forbes. com IKEA are ranked 4th in their list of reputable companies.
Companies such as The Reputation Institute specialise in working with many of the most highly regarded organisations in the world as large multinationals know the importance of reputation as happy consumers mean more revenue. Important factors to consumers are trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling and when I graduate I want to ensure that customers that I have get a good quality product and an excellent level of service.
This could vary as a graphic designer/illustrator as different briefs will be aimed at different target markets etc. For example:
A campaign for mother care would have a target market of parents of young children/ parents to be/grandparents/childminders.
However a advertisement for a new sports car would have a target market of young possible male professionals/businessmen with a lot of disposable income.
geographic factors
How location could affect cost, for me this could be a high rent for an office space in the centre of Manchester and the trade-off between a high rent for a small studio in a popular area to maybe a larger unit in a smaller, cheaper location. The location of where I am situated could possibility generate more business as if I am in a large city centre I could benefit from a better and more productive client relationship as I am easily accessible for my client due to better transport links in inner city areas.
The large population density of a city such as Manchester could also bring in more business if I am working freelance or for a company as there is greater passing trade and a improved chance of being noticed for example The North West had a population of 6.9 million in mid-2007,an increase of 1.0 per cent since 1997. This compares with an overall increase of 4.6 per cent for the UK over the same period (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/).
(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/)The above diagram shows that in 2007 the population density of Manchester was 2,500 people per sq km, this compares to near by Lancaster which has just 100-249 people per sq km. This proves that if I situate myself within Manchester city centre there will be a vast amount of increase with the amount of consumers I can target nearby. However this would also mean increased competition, which will be a factor to take into account.
psychology
I have values as a young designer. With increasing knowledge about environmental factors that are effecting us I like to ensure that I do my bit to keep environmental repercussions at a minimum. I have a keep interest in second hand goods! This may result in re-using existing materials and products and transferring them and evolving their purpose within my design. For example I like to collect old fabrics and use them in illustrative collages. This I feel is a good way to reuse existing materials and avoid wasting paper unnecessarily. Sustainable design is important to me and minimising the use of non- renewable resources. Recycled paper is something that I like to use aswell not only for its environmental benefits but its aesthetic qualities too! Choosing non-toxic paper coating and sustainably-produced or recycled paper is a value that I hope to use more within my design.
behavior
Good business and consumer relationships is an important way to build a reputable rapour. According to Forbes. com IKEA are ranked 4th in their list of reputable companies.
Companies such as The Reputation Institute specialise in working with many of the most highly regarded organisations in the world as large multinationals know the importance of reputation as happy consumers mean more revenue. Important factors to consumers are trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling and when I graduate I want to ensure that customers that I have get a good quality product and an excellent level of service.
Saturday 17 October 2009
Task 1: my marketing mix
When looking at the marketing communicating mix, I can evaluate each of the four P's in relation to me as a designer.
Product - First of all my product is me as a graphic designer/ illustrator. The product will also be what I produce, whether it be illustrations which could be contextualised within a child's book or promotional materials for a company such as a website or advertisements. As I have many skills in different areas within my field the products that I create will be diverse. Depending on clients budgets and the briefs that are set, will also effect the product produced. Design companies such as Seymour Powell take a diverse approach to the range of products that they produce, whether it be reinventing the horse saddle or inventing Felix the cat. They create a variety of products that target different markets and their briefs have been set by a wide range of companies. Responding to consumer needs is important when producing products and will effect the success of them.
Screen grabs Taken from Seymour Powell's website
Many of the products that I produce will be tangible such as an illustration or a postcard. However the products may be augmented if I were to frame them or print an illustrated t-shirt. I could describe myself of the products that I produce in different ways in order to generate interest. This could be including features in my work such as marking my illustrations with "limited addition" or writing 1/10 on prints. This will show the customer that what they are purchasing is one of only a few that have been made. I often screen print posters that are hand printed. I could use the word handmade on my product to show the consumer that it is original and not mass produced.
Place – Being a designer, my product may be distributed in a variety of places depending on the product. For example illustations for a sale in Selferidges may be used on promotional materials such as posters or could be used for an in-store shop front. However a brand identity for Whittard's Tea may be seen on their website and on the bag and products within the store. Marketing channels of the product will be important to get my product to the the consumer. For example if I produce an illustration for The Guardian newspaper the illustration would need to be transported to where it is inserted in the newspaper, then the paper would be printed via a rotary printing press and the paper would then be packaged and sold. Finally the paper would be bought and read by the consumer in their home or on the train etc. Using a retailer would offer me a fixed location, such as a department store or a boutique to sell my product, this would offer me a good location in prime spot where my product can be seen. It would also enable my work to be sold in a concentration of similar businesses such as other illustrators whether is be book, or t-shirt based etc. However competition within a department store may hinder the sale of my products unlessI have a good USP. The benefits to my consumers would be the convenience of my product to be situated in an easily accessible location and I would reach a broader market. As i am still in university the best places to sell my product will be via an online store on my website which I hope to set up in the new year, or at craft fares as they are cheap to get involved with.
Price – The average sallary for a graphic designer is £25,000 according to http://www.salarytrack.co.uk/.
However price will depend on lots of factors and my income will depend on where I work or what I charge.
The price will also be the amount a customer is willing to pay for a particular product. The price will be determined by a number of factors including competition of what other designers charge per hour or per brief. The cost of producing design work will be a huge factor when I decide what to charge a client. For example I have to take into consideration time costs, stock and ink cost, the scale of the publication and how many of what I design will be produced and what production method will be used, may it be digital printing or screen printing and how many colours are used etc.
Expenses and overheads will need to be considered in order to calculate a successful price that will be fair and consistent to consumers, but will also give me a good profit return.
Pricing strategies such as competitive pricing so pricing my design just lower that competitors could attract business to me initiallyas I get started up in the field, I may also price the same as other Designers however offer more i.e give myself a USP such as if I create an illustration/ etching that I sell I may offer to frame it this may help to build good customer relationships. When pricing what I want to charge I need to be aware of cost plus pricing as I need to have by labour and time covered at least. My hourly rate would work out as the time I have taken on a particulat design plus my overheads such as rent for a studio or lighting, heating etc. If I was to undertake a one of brief for a client, I would look to charge the cost of my time and expenses. I need to ensure that my pricing id fair and consistent and represents value for money. When discussing pricing with a client I would leave room for negotiatio and still enure I allow myself room for growth in the field.
Promotion - As I am now in my second year self promotion is key. I already have a blog that has been up and running for 2 years and it is an easy way to show potential clients and employers what design you create and how you think. in our second module, design for print, I hope to set up a website which I feel will establish myself fully within the world of design. Business cards are affordable and an instant way of promoting one self . Usual business cards are a7 landscape, however changing the format and using innovative stock and type may generate myself a USP. Also general networking on websites such as Facebook is useful as a young designer. Flyer's in general I feel are a waste of time any money and often get discarded so I would tend not to use this to promote myself. I am hopefully going to be involved in an exhibition in April with a few others from my course, it is early days, however this would be an excellent promotional tool and a priceless way to get myself on the may. Discounts of my work may temporarily boost sales, howveer it is expensive and maybe irrelevant to my field of design. When I do get established, I could use direct marketing and offer customers invitiations to an exhibition for example, this would create a personal touch and help build a good reputaion howver it is potentionally expensive and a high cost per consumer.
Product - First of all my product is me as a graphic designer/ illustrator. The product will also be what I produce, whether it be illustrations which could be contextualised within a child's book or promotional materials for a company such as a website or advertisements. As I have many skills in different areas within my field the products that I create will be diverse. Depending on clients budgets and the briefs that are set, will also effect the product produced. Design companies such as Seymour Powell take a diverse approach to the range of products that they produce, whether it be reinventing the horse saddle or inventing Felix the cat. They create a variety of products that target different markets and their briefs have been set by a wide range of companies. Responding to consumer needs is important when producing products and will effect the success of them.
Screen grabs Taken from Seymour Powell's website
Many of the products that I produce will be tangible such as an illustration or a postcard. However the products may be augmented if I were to frame them or print an illustrated t-shirt. I could describe myself of the products that I produce in different ways in order to generate interest. This could be including features in my work such as marking my illustrations with "limited addition" or writing 1/10 on prints. This will show the customer that what they are purchasing is one of only a few that have been made. I often screen print posters that are hand printed. I could use the word handmade on my product to show the consumer that it is original and not mass produced.
Place – Being a designer, my product may be distributed in a variety of places depending on the product. For example illustations for a sale in Selferidges may be used on promotional materials such as posters or could be used for an in-store shop front. However a brand identity for Whittard's Tea may be seen on their website and on the bag and products within the store. Marketing channels of the product will be important to get my product to the the consumer. For example if I produce an illustration for The Guardian newspaper the illustration would need to be transported to where it is inserted in the newspaper, then the paper would be printed via a rotary printing press and the paper would then be packaged and sold. Finally the paper would be bought and read by the consumer in their home or on the train etc. Using a retailer would offer me a fixed location, such as a department store or a boutique to sell my product, this would offer me a good location in prime spot where my product can be seen. It would also enable my work to be sold in a concentration of similar businesses such as other illustrators whether is be book, or t-shirt based etc. However competition within a department store may hinder the sale of my products unlessI have a good USP. The benefits to my consumers would be the convenience of my product to be situated in an easily accessible location and I would reach a broader market. As i am still in university the best places to sell my product will be via an online store on my website which I hope to set up in the new year, or at craft fares as they are cheap to get involved with.
Price – The average sallary for a graphic designer is £25,000 according to http://www.salarytrack.co.uk/.
However price will depend on lots of factors and my income will depend on where I work or what I charge.
The price will also be the amount a customer is willing to pay for a particular product. The price will be determined by a number of factors including competition of what other designers charge per hour or per brief. The cost of producing design work will be a huge factor when I decide what to charge a client. For example I have to take into consideration time costs, stock and ink cost, the scale of the publication and how many of what I design will be produced and what production method will be used, may it be digital printing or screen printing and how many colours are used etc.
Expenses and overheads will need to be considered in order to calculate a successful price that will be fair and consistent to consumers, but will also give me a good profit return.
Pricing strategies such as competitive pricing so pricing my design just lower that competitors could attract business to me initiallyas I get started up in the field, I may also price the same as other Designers however offer more i.e give myself a USP such as if I create an illustration/ etching that I sell I may offer to frame it this may help to build good customer relationships. When pricing what I want to charge I need to be aware of cost plus pricing as I need to have by labour and time covered at least. My hourly rate would work out as the time I have taken on a particulat design plus my overheads such as rent for a studio or lighting, heating etc. If I was to undertake a one of brief for a client, I would look to charge the cost of my time and expenses. I need to ensure that my pricing id fair and consistent and represents value for money. When discussing pricing with a client I would leave room for negotiatio and still enure I allow myself room for growth in the field.
Promotion - As I am now in my second year self promotion is key. I already have a blog that has been up and running for 2 years and it is an easy way to show potential clients and employers what design you create and how you think. in our second module, design for print, I hope to set up a website which I feel will establish myself fully within the world of design. Business cards are affordable and an instant way of promoting one self . Usual business cards are a7 landscape, however changing the format and using innovative stock and type may generate myself a USP. Also general networking on websites such as Facebook is useful as a young designer. Flyer's in general I feel are a waste of time any money and often get discarded so I would tend not to use this to promote myself. I am hopefully going to be involved in an exhibition in April with a few others from my course, it is early days, however this would be an excellent promotional tool and a priceless way to get myself on the may. Discounts of my work may temporarily boost sales, howveer it is expensive and maybe irrelevant to my field of design. When I do get established, I could use direct marketing and offer customers invitiations to an exhibition for example, this would create a personal touch and help build a good reputaion howver it is potentionally expensive and a high cost per consumer.
Monday 5 October 2009
Task 1
Based on the principles that have been introduced in lecture 1 of the Enterprise module, investigate who you are as a creative in relation to who is out there looking for creative talent.
MY SKILLS
As a second year graphic design student I have started to develop the following skills
- layout-
starting to develop the ability to generate a successful layout from type/images that have been supplied to me. This may be achieved via Software such as in design which is often used when dealing with either magazine spreads, books or newspapers.
-typography-
learning in-depth principles of type, such as point size, kerning, picas. What font to choose for different publications. Historical contexts of type.
-printing techniques-
learning a variety of skills in both digital printing and traditional printing processes such as
screen printing, letterpress and etching.
-drawing-
increasingly developing my creative skills as an illustrator.
Who needs my skills?
graphic design agencies
Mother
Love
prospective clients
individuals or businesses who are in need of a graphic designer. As I want to be a diverse designer, my prospective client will be varied, they may be an individual seeking some illustrative design pieces or they could be a business looking for a graphic design identity via a website or promotional materials.
graphic design agencies
Mother
Love
prospective clients
individuals or businesses who are in need of a graphic designer. As I want to be a diverse designer, my prospective client will be varied, they may be an individual seeking some illustrative design pieces or they could be a business looking for a graphic design identity via a website or promotional materials.
What skills do I need to develop?
software skills
In order to be a successful post graduate I have to learn the adobe suite in depth so I can compete with all the other graphic designers who will be graduating when I do in 2011. I will develop these skills through timetabled sessions we are currently undergoing and through personal exploration of the software in my own time.
image skills
I want to further my understanding of the visual language as an image maker, this will be furthered when I opt for the image module after Christmas.
typography skills
I am currently learning about the principles of typography however I still want to develop them further, I will be able to develop these skills when I complete the 10 week introduction to type that we are currently undergoing.
software skills
In order to be a successful post graduate I have to learn the adobe suite in depth so I can compete with all the other graphic designers who will be graduating when I do in 2011. I will develop these skills through timetabled sessions we are currently undergoing and through personal exploration of the software in my own time.
image skills
I want to further my understanding of the visual language as an image maker, this will be furthered when I opt for the image module after Christmas.
typography skills
I am currently learning about the principles of typography however I still want to develop them further, I will be able to develop these skills when I complete the 10 week introduction to type that we are currently undergoing.
What are your professional/creative aims and how do they relate to the needs of the world at large?
After I graduate I aim to work for a design studio and work on live briefs within a business. I would not dismiss the idea of working as a freelance designer but that is something I would want to work towards once I have spent time working and developing my skills in industry. Within my course a lot of the final outputted design is produced on Mac's as the graphic design industry is technologically advance. I find the concept of spending all my time in front of a Mac a little intimidating, as I love the art of the hand crafted, so I am still hesitant as to if I want to be a graphic designer as I have a multitude of skills that could be better applied to a different sector of the creative industry. Due to the fact that there are around 20,000 design graduates appearing every year, I need to have an extremely diverse skill set to stand a good competitive change of getting a job or earning a placement.
One of the many good things about my course is that the skill set that I am learning are invaluable and they could be transferred to another area of the industry that I am better suited in. Recently I have signed up to working on Leeds Universities backstage team where I will be able to develop set-designing skills which is a design field that I would like to get experience in.
After speaking to a good friend who is currently working for Work Club, which is a design company in London, I was able to get a contact for a design company in Manchester called Love who have worked on live briefs for companies such as Nike and Sony. I was lucky enough to take some work in and get a feel for the place. It was a brilliant opportunity and I have been able to secure work experience there in the new year. I feel that this is a positive start for myself as a designer within the design industry.
Earning a decent salary will allow me to afford rent and the general cost of living that I need to earn to satisfy my safety needs and basic physiological needs such as food and water according to Malow's Hierarchy of Needs.
If I fulfill my professional aim of being recognised as a quirky and imaginative designer within the creative industry my self esteem needs may be atualised such as earning a good reputation as a proffessional and reputable designer. Elevating my status as a designer and becoming an expert in the field of design will also help to increase my self esteem needs on Maslow Hierarchy of needs. I am an avid film watcher and I enjoy european rail travel. These indervidual persutes, if continually persued will help me to reach self actualisation as they will give me intellectual growth and self expression.
After I graduate I aim to work for a design studio and work on live briefs within a business. I would not dismiss the idea of working as a freelance designer but that is something I would want to work towards once I have spent time working and developing my skills in industry. Within my course a lot of the final outputted design is produced on Mac's as the graphic design industry is technologically advance. I find the concept of spending all my time in front of a Mac a little intimidating, as I love the art of the hand crafted, so I am still hesitant as to if I want to be a graphic designer as I have a multitude of skills that could be better applied to a different sector of the creative industry. Due to the fact that there are around 20,000 design graduates appearing every year, I need to have an extremely diverse skill set to stand a good competitive change of getting a job or earning a placement.
One of the many good things about my course is that the skill set that I am learning are invaluable and they could be transferred to another area of the industry that I am better suited in. Recently I have signed up to working on Leeds Universities backstage team where I will be able to develop set-designing skills which is a design field that I would like to get experience in.
After speaking to a good friend who is currently working for Work Club, which is a design company in London, I was able to get a contact for a design company in Manchester called Love who have worked on live briefs for companies such as Nike and Sony. I was lucky enough to take some work in and get a feel for the place. It was a brilliant opportunity and I have been able to secure work experience there in the new year. I feel that this is a positive start for myself as a designer within the design industry.
Earning a decent salary will allow me to afford rent and the general cost of living that I need to earn to satisfy my safety needs and basic physiological needs such as food and water according to Malow's Hierarchy of Needs.
If I fulfill my professional aim of being recognised as a quirky and imaginative designer within the creative industry my self esteem needs may be atualised such as earning a good reputation as a proffessional and reputable designer. Elevating my status as a designer and becoming an expert in the field of design will also help to increase my self esteem needs on Maslow Hierarchy of needs. I am an avid film watcher and I enjoy european rail travel. These indervidual persutes, if continually persued will help me to reach self actualisation as they will give me intellectual growth and self expression.
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