OUGD602 - PPP - End of Module Evaluation

I have enjoyed spending time on PPP as an ongoing development throughout the year, trying to engage with the industry as much as possible. I have really tried to be proactive with the PPP module. I have tried to interact with the professional world as much as possible in order to prepare for when I graduate. My aim for this year was to be able to get a job or an internship for after I graduate. I have succeeded with this through networking with Craft and getting in touch with my favourite studio, Robot Food, to get a month internship. I have also attended a couple of interviews for a 6 month paid internship - A Design Academy - at WPA Pinfold, while I don't like this studio as much as Robot Food I feel this is an opportunity I’d be silly to say no to. These events have pushed me to update my portfolio and be able to talk through it confidently within the interview environment.


I have really enjoyed exploring my personal practice this year, I feel like I have now found who I am and want to be as a designer. I’ve really focused in on my specialism of branding and packaging, trying to build up a successful portfolio for this area. I have learnt the importance of getting your work out there this year and to not be shy to share things with the world. I have really focused in on my social media and online presence this year - adding things to Behance and Instagram where possible. This has meant I have had a lot more engagement from other designers and some great feedback.

The DBA brief was a fantastic experience that I enjoyed immensely. Our final outcome for DBA was really professional and I think that it’s the best work that I have done so far. Also to win out of the whole class, full of really talented people and amazing pitches, was a really nice confidence boost. To get that validation from industry professionals about my work was really encouraging that I was going in the right direction.

I feel that as a whole I am now a professional designer, rather than a student. I’m confident in my abilities and communicating with clients thanks to my work as Communications officer in the Students’ Union. I believe that my portfolio that I have created this year is of a really high standard. Also validation from places like Craft agency has made me realise this.They really liked my portfolio, and have offered to feature me in a “Best Grads of the North” blog post on their site. I’m hoping this will get me a Junior designer job in the near future.

OUGD602 - PPP - Manifesto & CV

I printed a double sided version of my CV and manifesto. 

After going to workshops about CVs I found that all these fancy designed CVs can often put employers off. So I went for a really simple, easy to read layout with a drawn portrait of me that I used within the hotdog book I sent out to studios earlier this year. It contains my work experience, education, and a small personal statement. I found that using software skills wasn't necessary and would have just cluttered up my CV. 

My manifesto again is really simple. I wanted to just show what inspires me to design. A lot of the points on my manifesto are quite common but I believe that I have taken them aboard my design process, like "do good work for nice people". I believe that throughout the years at university I have grown a real love for design, more than I had before. It's made me passionate about designing for good. I would never want to accept a job that had a huge payout that was a subject I didn't agree with. This is because I believe that design is improved when you enjoy it or feel passionate about the subject. I also really believe in being empathetic with others and therefore understanding any situation that they may be in. And of course, the most important thing is to be happy while you design. If it doesn't make you happy, don't do it. I believe life is way too short to being doing something that doesn't make you happy. 

OUGD602 - PPP - Herd Leeds Digital Job Fair

Today I attended the Herd digital jobs fair at the First Direct Arena to see if they had any design jobs available. I really liked all the wayfinding that was around the venue, the branding for the jobs fair was really bright and playful, it was actually part of the reason why I went to the fair. 

When I got in there I was a bit lost in where to look. There was a lot of big corporate companies there like Jet2, Asda and Barclays. I was a bit scared to approach any of the tables but I saw one with design on the banner and asked. They told me they have a graphic designer currently, just the one, so they weren't looking, even when they were advertising design. 

After this all the tables I looked at were mainly looking for people in software development, UI/UX design or QA testers. I thought I might find a few more design positions but I realised because it was a digital jobs fair the majority would be more digital based jobs. I suppose the problem is I am looking for a design job that is print based, and the digital jobs fair wouldn't advertise any print based jobs. 

So I left a bit disappointed but realised that it probably wasn't for me because of the specialism in design that I have taken this year. I think it was good experience though to go to a fair like this and seek people out, forcing me to network. 

OUGD602 - PPP - Design Strategy Presentation

The main aim of the presentation was to show my progression as a designer throughout the time that I have spent at University as well as my plans for the future. I based the actual design around my personal branding, using the same colour, shapes and typefaces that I have tried to use throughout my branding. 

• I’ll start by talking about my personal branding. Looking back at my branding from second year I appreciated the print process but felt that it didn’t represented me as a designer. I wanted to create something that was more playful as I have tried to develop a more playful style within my design.
• I played with the shapes of my initials to create shapes that act like confetti. I feel that this design is a lot more ‘me’ than last years design.  
• (Show business cards)

• I have also updated my portfolio site, which I have created through My Adobe Portfolio. I wanted to have an accessible portfolio online so using this platform was really helpful when I didn’t know how to code. 
• I try to update my social presences as much as possible to connect with professionals and other creatives. I have been keeping up to date with my Behance this year and I’m really proud with the amount of attention my work has been receiving.

• Overall I’m really proud of the work that I have produced this year. I think that it is clear that I have developed my own style. 
• My favourite projects this year have been the packaging briefs, so I am glad that I specialised in doing branding and packaging briefs for this year. I have found that this is what I would like to do in industry. 
• If I was to choose my favourite brief I think it would be DBA, because I really enjoyed creating the packaging and patterns. Also I found it so helpful getting feedback from industry professionals and I think that it was a really good experience to meet the directors of companies and get my foot in the door as it were.

• I feel that I have become more confident in my abilities as a designer and as a creative. I can present a lot better than when I first started and feel that my skills have progressed really well too.
• I found what I wanted to specialise in at the end of second year and focused on them.
• I have really tried to be pro-active about finding a job after graduation, the result of this was numerous interviews and I have made some good contacts at Craft Agency. 

• I have found it difficult this year juggling briefs with design work for the students’ union and executive officer meetings. A lot of my spare time has been spent with the student union but I am glad that I applied myself to something good like this.
• The dissertation was probably the most challenging part of the year but I feel that my hard work paid off as I got a grade I was really happy with. 
• I have found it a challenge going to interviews as well as trying to contact people for placements. I sent out Christmas Cards with my CV in at Christmas in the hopes of getting a placement at a design studio, but to no avail. In fact I never heard back from any of the studios I sent the cards to.

• I feel that this year my networking skills weren’t that great.
• I could have had much better time keeping when it comes to blogging and documenting work. 
• I also regret not using the facilities more, and experimenting with them for a brief. I feel like I should have taken advantage of my last year here trying everything out but I feel like I have had no time for this. 

• Here is a selection of my favourite pieces that I created at Hallmark.
• I learnt a lot about illustrating commercially on my placement. I found it really interesting to be in an environment 
• It made me realise how important it is to design for an audience and not for myself. I think this was an important lesson to learn because unless I’m doing a self initiated brief I’ll never be designing for myself, I’ll always be designing for a client. 
• Experimented with new techniques that they used within the studio like foiling & flitter.

• I have been offered a month internship at Robot Food, a branding and packaging design agency in Leeds. I hope from this I could get a junior design role at Robot Food or a similar company. 
• I was also employed as a Freelance Designer for Hallmark so hopefully I will get some work from them.
• If all of the above fails then I’m not sure! I want to stay in Leeds as I feel like it is a wonderfully creative city. There are plenty more studios I could apply for. The main aim is to get a job!

OUGD602 - PPP - Final Portfolio

Having completed and photographed all of my projects for this year I updated my portfolio with my newest work. This makes the portfolio a quite long but I feel that I can always cut out some of the projects if need be. I'm quite pleased that it shows my choice of specialism in branding and packaging. Also, not to brag, but I feel that the work that I have created this year is of a professional standard and I'm really proud of how polished my portfolio looks.

See the updated portfolio below or follow this link to view on issuu.

OUGD602 - PPP - Personal Business Cards

My business cards arrived from Moo.com today and I'm really impressed with how they have turned out. They came wrapped in this lovely little package with a ribbon and "wax" seal. 

The print quality on them is perfect and the stock itself feels very tactile giving that extra feeling of quality. I'm pleased I went for the rounded edges because I think that it gives the business cards that extra it of playfulness and friendliness. 

Here you can see the duplexing, which I'm surprised how well it matches my colour scheme. Also I really like how when they're all lined up they create this unique pattern on the side. 

OUGD602 - PPP - RAW Studio Talk

The Creative Director from RAW, Rob Watson, came into to talk to us today, going through how he went about setting up his own studio, his past and some of the work that RAW do. The name of the studio actually comes from his initials.

The reason that he set up the company was to have fun, and challenge himself. He said that a Mark Twain quote inspired him: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

He said that he learned more from his failures than he had from his successes, which was really inspiring to hear a professional say it is alright to fail. And also that your environment has a huge impact on what you produce and what you do. A nicer environment means better more exciting work.

He made the decision to complete change the work environment for the studio - he reached a point where he just decided enough was enough, rather than commuting 30 hours a week to having a studio in his own home. He said it was the hardest decision he has ever made but the best one he has made to improve his life and happiness. It was really nice to see someone talking passionately about design, who isn't doing it for the money, but for the love of design itself.

He then went onto to talk about their self-initiated projects, saying that it was the best and most promising work that they have done. It is what made their name big on online blogs like Form Fifty Five and Creative Bloq.

http://weareraw.co.uk/work/jims-scarf-project

One of the first examples was Jim's Scarf Project, a website where they promoted an artist's project to knit 400m of scarves to cover his building. They created the website for free simply because they appreciated the project that Jim was doing. He linked this back to doing good and therefore feeling good. The more good that you do the more it comes back to you. This is really inspiring, showing that helping the community can really bring good things to you.

Another project that was self-initiated was about thinking about where your turkeys come from. This really resonates with my beliefs and it was nice to see a studio really thinking about their values and real issues happening in the world. They also tried to use humour and positive thinking to persuade people to think about this issue without guilt-tripping people. Off the back of this, the vegetarian society asked them to create some work for them about the benefits of being vegetarian.

The one piece of advice that he gave us was to be your best, not the best designer that there will ever be but the best version of yourself. It was refreshing to see someone talk about things like this because I feel like in the industry it's very dog eat dog. Overall it was just really nice to see work that wasn't corporate and had real values and meaning behind.

Finally, he talked about Make Work Play, a company that they set up to create their own products and projects for a bit of fun. They launched a children's book called "Len Legsworth" to add subtle truths to a children's book. They self-published it to independent bookstores in Manchester, London and online. I really like the idea of being able to create your own products, after all they do have so much experience at advertising other peoples products, why not advertise their own.

Another great peice of advice that he had to give us was that good things take time. He asked us to guess how many times people like Walt Disney were rejected. Things don't happen immediately, you must be patient. He left us with a simple message:

"Have fun and make it up as you go along"  

OUGD602 - PPP - WPA Pinfold Design Academy

I found out about WPA Pinfold's design academy through a friend. I'd never really heard of this studio before but the design academy sounded like a really good experience.

What is the Design Academy?

"Our Design Academy programme is a fantastic career opportunity for graduates that helps bridge the gap between university and working in the design industry.

On a 6-month paid placement as a Junior Designer, you will join one of our multi-disciplinary teams, specialising in: Brand Identity, Brand Communications, Digital Design, Brand Packaging, or Retail Design.

Graduates go through an induction, learning and personal development programme that helps them build up their expertise and confidence.
Each graduate is assigned a mentor and they work with our teams on live projects, whilst also carrying out personal assignments and undertaking specialist training."

After looking at what it actually is it sounds very promising. To have a 6 month paid placement would be very helpful over the summer and it would mean I could stay in Leeds like I planned to. Also I really liked the idea that they would teach you new things that you wanted to learn more about. They held a taster event and portfolio surgery so I decided to sign myself up to go.

I attended the event and was a bit baffled if I'm honest. We were sat down to have a presentation, to what I thought was going to tell us about the placement opportunity, but they proceeded to brag about all the awards they win for their work. It felt like they were trying to sell themselves to us, which I appreciate you might need to do this for a client. But having looked at their work already and attending the event showed my interest enough without them blabbing on for a good hour about their various design effectiveness awards. The bit that was interesting and relevant about their design academy was cut short at the end with a few words from people had done the academy. 

After this we were split into groups for group portfolio surgeries, this was a nerve-wracking but interesting experience because it meant that I got to see other people's portfolios from different institutions. I didn't really get much feedback for my portfolio, other than I could talk about my work confidently so I was a bit disappointed about that, to not get any constructive criticism. I left the event feeling a bit odd and unvalued. It would be a fantastic experience but some of the people working there left me feeling a bit cold. We were told we might hear back if we were selected so I shall see what happens. 

OUGD602 - PPP - Robot Food Interview

After talking to Craft about contacting Robot Food they recommended that I send a reminder email to Martin rather than wait for a response. Martin got back to me really quickly and found my previous email, asking me to come in and show them my work for the possibility of a placement or internship.

This scared me immensely, to go to speak to my idols (pretty much), but the actual interview I felt went really well. I talked through my portfolio and they asked me a few questions about why I like their studio and what I like about branding and packaging. They also said that they really liked my portfolio and thought that in particular, my Perry the pig range was really strong. They commented on my illustration skills and said that they were really good too. They also said that they really enjoyed my gif in my email which was really nice. Overall it went very well I thought, lots of compliments and not much criticism. At the end of the interview, they pretty much said that they would like me in for an internship but they needed to check with the Founder, Simon, first.

I'm immensely happy with this outcome - I could not have imagined last year looking at Robot Food's work that I would be interning with them this summer. They eventually got back to me and confirmed they would like to offer me a month placement in May or June. I don't think this internship is paid but I think having such a successful studio experience on my CV will help a lot.

OUGD602 - PPP - Business Card Development

I recreated the design that I had made using paper on illustrator, changing the colour to the colour I have used on my updated website. Having another look at the design I felt like it may be too playful and not professional enough. Though I like the use of the scattered type I got some feedback that it might be too much. Another piece of feedback I got was about my old monogram logo, and why I didn't use that. 

So I tried it again with my monogram logo instead of my full name and I think that it works as a really nice contrast. It seems this logo will stick with me for another year or so! The only thing is I may alter the shapes slightly to fill out the empty space, however, I really like the framing effect that it has created. 

I tried out closing the gaps a bit with more shapes but looking at it I feel like it's a little too busy. I liked the design before where it gave my logo a bit of room to breath. This just feels cluttered and a bit clumsy. 

I copied the pattern over to the back of the business card and put my new information in, with my new domain name and email address. I really like how the design is mirrored on both the back and front making a really cohesive design. 

To print the cards I'm going to have them professionally printed at moo.com. I ordered a sample pack to give a feel for which ones I would want to receive. I was tempted to have a go at spot UV varnishing my logo or the patterns but I eventually decided on their "luxe" business cards. The tactile quality to them makes them seem more sturdy than the others, at 600gsm they were the thickest. 

The other thing that attracted me to the Luxe cards was the coloured strip in the middle. I have always wanted a duplexed business card using coloured stocks so it seemed like the right time to do it. I chose orange to compliment the orange-red that I have used within my design. 

OUGD602 - PPP - Personal Branding

After looking at my personal branding from last year it left me feeling a bit cold. I was trying to create a contemporary look for myself but as I've found myself more as a designer this year I realised this isn't me at all. Though I do still appreciate the screenprinted craft I feel that the design itself is too minimal and doesn't represent me as a designer.

So I decided to have a play with my name and the shapes that are made from it. I found some coloured paper in the studio and decided the best hands on way to play around with layout was to do some cut outs of the shapes and letters.

I started out in a business card size with something quite simple, just my name and triangles taken from the shape of my last initial W. I felt that having this sort of whimsical layout was a playful way to show my personality through design. It kind of shows that I'm not perfect which I believe a minimal layout would leave people to think. 

Next I played with my initials instead, it leaves a lot of white space but has the same sort of feel as before. I think that it looks better than just my name, but I feel it is lacking something. Perhaps it is the shapes that I have been using that don't seem to fit.

Next I tried some different shapes, zig zag lines that again represent my last initial W but more stretched. I really like the use of the lines to frame the card, giving it some purpose somehow. It feels more playful than with the triangles, however something was still lacking. 

So I moved onto a bigger piece of paper and tried out combining both of the shapes that I had cut out. This created a composition that I felt really exuded playfulness. The combination of the triangles and zig zag lines creates a sense of movement rather than it being a static, boring design. 

I also tried this type of composition with my full name to see if it worked and I think that it does. The scattered type effect would lend itself really well to a gif, so maybe this is something that I could explore for contacting people. I'm going to try this ideas out digitally and change the colours around because I'm not too sure whether I like the colour palette of blue and yellow. 

OUGD602 - PPP - Portfolio Website

After building up my portfolio a bit more I decided to make a portfolio website. I found out that Adobe do portfolio sites as part of the Creative Cloud subscription so I went ahead and made one through this. I found it really easy to create the layout that I wanted and I think that it already looks miles better than my previous site.

The landing page shows my projects, which you can click through for the full project and information as you can see below. 

I also included the same about me section that I had on my previous website but with a more up to date picture, in keeping with the colour scheme.

I've also included a copy of my up to date CV on there in the hope that people may contact me through the site for job opportunities. 

I've also got myself a custom domain name so that I can look more professional rather than having the ".myportfolio" tag. Also I have a custom email along with the domain name which is hello@hattiedesign.co.uk which again will look more professional than just a gmail email address. You can see the website live here: hattiedesign.co.uk