sdhppp2-blog

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FINAL PROFESSIONAL PACK As you can see, my final pack is cohesive, and the mouse prop further backs up my computer based concept. The use of my graphic logo, bright blue, and body text throughout ensures uniformity. I decided to get this pack printed at Hobs, and they seem to have been a little careless when it came to matching up my pages. Some font does not overlap onto the next page, and some footers do not match up. None the less I am very happy with my PP, and I believe it really promotes my graphic style.

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CASE STUDY - DANIEL ELLYOT

I was lucky enough to work with Daniel Ellyot, a professional photographer, graphic designer and makeup artist based in London. His dark and eerie style is something that I find fascinating. Not only that, but he also uses a lot of texture in his work, especially in the skin. Many fashion photographers edit the skin into a flawless blur, but Daniel enhances the tenure, highlights and contours of the skin to produce truly unique pieces.

Daniel took me to his studio, which was actually a grey wall in his lounge. I was shocked that all of his images were taken here, and it proved to me that really anything is possible with enough creativity and drive. He asked me to model, so that I could experience the whole process, and began doing my makeup. It took Daniel 15 minutes to complete my face and body makeup, and the whole shoot was finished within an hour. This proved to me that he uses his time wisely and effectively. He also edited a photo whilst I was there, which took him around 10-15 minutes. He used a range of tools that i have never used before, and explained the function and benefit of each to me.

I really enjoyed my time working with Daniel, and walked away with a much better knowledge of how to shoot, how to use my time effectively, and how to edit. I also learned that there are really no limits when working creatively, experimenting with photoshop and other computer software will ensure that my skills develop, and my work will quickly reach a professional standard.

The top three images above were images from our shoot, layered with Daniels trademark illustrations. The second row are images taken by Daniel when working for the famous makeup brand Illimasqua. The bottom row show his range of makeup styles and portrait styles.

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CASE STUDIES

I have sent my case study questions to a range of designers, Elliott Barnicle, a friend who works in graphic design, Muir Mcneil, a typographic designer that I have been a fan of for over a year or so and Daniel Ellyot, a fashion photographer from London. I plan on sending out a few more within the next couple of days.

Elliott has already replied with great enthusiasm.

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FINAL CORRESPONDANCE WITH PRESSISION

So after all of the effort to amend each document, and all of the correspondence with Shelley, they have given me a quote of £363.28... To me, this is a ridiculous quote. The printing process is digital, not Litho, and I do not understand the extortionate cost... Thus, I will have to screen print my PP, meaning I will not get as crisp an outcome as I had first hoped.

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FURTHER CORRESPONDANCE WITH PRESSISION

After Shelleys first email, i amended each document.  I set the ink to a spot colour called 'White' (see attached) and the paper colour has been changed to a deep blue just so that I could see what I was doing.

I did have some difficulty doing all this, and has to rope in a technician to help. I thought it best to send you one document which I exported as a 'PDF Press Quality', and will also attach a couple screenshots to show you the work just in case it doesn't come out correctly.

I sent one document to Shelley, who had no objections to the format, and will send off all documents within the next day or so.

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PRESENTATION

On 17/3/2017, I had to present my professional pack and search for a placement/case studies to my tutor and a few of my collegues. I wanted there to be a clear visual aesthetic throughout, so i used the same font as my logo, and the ‘computer coding’ like font for the body text. I kept all information on each slide to a minimum, only key words/sentances. The first slide is minimal, showing my logo and colour scheme. The second shows where I got this inspiration for my Professional Pack. The third is a mock up of my cover letter, so that the group could see how the computer coding theme works. Due to complications with pressision, I was unable to have printed pieces in time for the presentation. I spoke about this in my presentation. I then showed how my portfolio is formatted, and my promotional istagram. I then went on to explain my search for work placements, and that I have had no replies. After this, I spoke about my ‘experience day’ with Daniel Ellyot, and how this has fed into one of my case studies. All feedback from tutors and collegues was very positive. To improve, I would have had some printed matter there, and maybe some GIFs or moving image/audio to give the presentation a more dynamic edge.

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CASE STUDY QUESTIONS

Failing getting a placement, I have developed a range of questions to send to professionals to get a grasp of what it is they do, what they have learn since being an active part of the industry, how they do work, challenges, exciting projects etc. The questions are below:

What is your name/the name of your company/brand?

What do you offer/how would you describe your service?

What is your specific job title? if you don’t have one, what title would you give to your job role?

Do you work within a team or independently?

How long have you been established for?

Where do you work from, and why do you choose to work from there?

Please describe an exciting project that you have complete/are currently working on?

What has been the most challenging part of your job so far? Did you encounter there challenges at the start of your career?

What is the most satisfying part of your job?

What do you think your customers/clients find most satisfying working when with you?

What benefits have you experienced/what skills have you developed from working within your industry?

What tips/advice do you have for somebody wanting to work in a similar role to you?

In your opinion, what three words best describe you/your style?

I will send these questions out to professionals that will give me valuable advice.

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APPLYING FOR WORK PLACEMENTS

I have applied for 25 work placements using FashionWorkie, a website that advertises a range of fashion internships and work placements. I decided to apply for placements that suited my style and involved activities that would enable me to evolve and grow in the area of fashion that I would like to be part of, graphic design, photography/styling, social media. I applied to a graphic design work placement at Boy London for example, a styling internship at Dazed Magazine and a Social Media intern at Cow. 

Unfortunately I have heard nothing back from all 25 companies. This seems to be a running theme not only within our fashion group, but also further afield at CSM where a friend of mine is studying. This just shows that the fashion industry is formidable, and competition is strong.

Although I would have loved to have done a work placement over easter, it now seems rather unlikely. I will, however, keep on networking and applying throughout this week before I start the Case studies, these are rather a ‘last resort’ for me, and not what I would have liked to have done.

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LOGO GIF

Here I created a 'video recorder' effect glitching GIF to use on my promotional Instagram.

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PRESSISION PRINT TALK/TOUR

On 19/2/17, we took a trip to the printing company ‘Pressision Print’. Joint manager of the company … gave us a complete tour of all the facilities, from the Litho printing machine to paper stocks, Pantone inks and foiling to digital printing rooms. Pressision also print in a range of formats, magazines, business cards, leaflets, posters etc. and range from doing one-off pieces to orders in quantities of 1000+

The process I was most interested in was a digital printing method called ‘Variable White Ink’ printing technique. This technique prints white ink (digitally) onto coloured paper. This white ink comes in a range of transparencies, all the way to true white. Colours can also be printed over the top to look like images. this process would be perfect for my professional pack, especially my CV and CL. The text would be printed onto rich blue paper and would look clean and sharp, and I wouldn’t have any streaky lines running through the piece as I would with digitally printing blue onto white paper. I have asked Pressision for a quote and how to send the documents, and am waiting for a reply.

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NEW LOGO

Here I have created three variations of my new logo. The black and white versions are easily readable and can be used anywhere, whereas the blue and white combination can be used for the computer coding themed documents etc. 

I created this logo in photoshop. i used a font called ‘bebas neua’ downloaded from dafont.com, and typed out my logo. I then saved this image as a JPEG and reopened it, cropping it the size I wanted the glitch. I then added this to the first canvas slightly agar from the original to create this glitched effect.

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FINAL CV AND CL

These documents represent my style perfectly. The Logo graphic and the top with the slight glitch ties into my work, is easily readable, and memorable. The body of the documents feature a dotted line to ground the text, and are in a ‘computer coding’ like simple text, tying this whole computer graphic style together. The cut guides give a quirky edge, and the bold colours reinforce the coding theme, and make the document eyecatching. The text is now an integral part of the document, and not a secondary element.

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COMPUTER CODING

The glitched effect that I have been using frequently lead me on to thinking about computer coding. This bright screen is often the bane of peoples lives, but I think it is utterly fascinating, and plan on pairing it with the glitched effect for my CV and CL.

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GLITCHED EFFECT

This glitched effect has become a technque that I have grown fond of and am using more and more in my work. I think that my CV and cover letter should show this. I also feel as if the CV and CL I have now are too focused on my logo, and the information is secondary and hard to read. Of course I want these documents to be graphic and memorable, but I would like to achieve this in a more, discrete way. 

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HOBS REPROGRAPHICS TALK NOTES

Paper and Inks

Usually a heavy weight paper is used for a magazine, and then the interior pages are lightweight. This ensures that it sits correctly, and doesn't fold open or have a curve

Matt covers five a more professional and long lasting finish, glossy can look tacky and scratched and picks up dirt easily.

Inks are matt, and if you choose a silky paper to be printed on, the paper will go matt, so this will be a wasted extra cost.

Coated stocks darken your colours, un coated give a more true colour.

All toners are vegetable oil based

All paper is recycled or FSC paper. Recycled paper is more expensive than FSC. Recycled paper used bleach and chemicals where as FSC plants 2 trees for every 1 Tree

Matt laminated covers look best so consider this

Saddle stitch binding are the best by far.

280 gram paper for cover with a matt laminate over the top. Normal lightweight paper stock for internal pages

How to set up files for print

Cannot print in spreads, has to be printed in single pages

Choose size of page (e.g. A4, and then click 'facing pages', so we get to work with spreads, and then, when exported, it exports as separate consecutive pages)

Add a 3ml bleed, ALWAYS! The printers cut this off for a clean and professional finish

Export your document, 'file', 'PDF presets', 'High Quality PDF', and then tick the box saying 'pages' not 'spreads.', and then use 'document bleed settings'.

Ensure that the file size isn't too big, otherwise the software at Hobbs can't handle the document. E.g.. for a 28 page document a 30MB file is usually correct

Time

Hardback books take 2 days

Saddle stitch and other books take around a day. (depending on finishes it can be faster or slower. E.g. laminated covers with a lot of pages on a busy day will take longer than a simple small booklet with no extra finishes)

Location

Park Square next to Pizza Express

Email or call for any help or enquiries, the company are more than happy to help us

Can even ask for images of finishes if we are unsure

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DEVELOPED COVER LETTER, CV AND BUSINESS CARDS

A coherent set of promotional pieces have been used, clearing displaying my graphic and bold style. I decided to keep these pieces as ‘fuss free’ as possible, leaving images and work to the Postcards. I am happy with the overall effect. Each piece is easily readable, bold, and original. Seeing other peers work, I realise that my style is unique, and bold in comparison to theirs. This is something i should celebrate rather than hide. This Professional Pack is a celebration of this.

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INITIAL BUSINESS CARD DEVELOPMENT

I created quick visuals of business cards using Photoshop and the ‘Perspective Warp’ tool.