OUGD602: Work in the Web 2015

OUGD602: Placements & Events // Back at Bloom

After a successful and enjoyable summer internship at Bloom - the discovery agency in Leeds. Where I gained a wealth of knowledge in my first formal design position, I've been asked to go back for a couple of days during the coming week to do some work for them at the rate of a freelancer rather than an intern.

I only received the phone call on Friday evening so this is fairly last minute - I won't include it in the mandatory 10 days of placement we have to complete throughout the year.

OUGD602: Placements & Events // United By Design

As part of my personal and professional practice - I'm in the process of branching out to some studios which practise similar specialisations as to that of what I practise; Identity and Web Design. I'm also, obviously, looking for studios which I admire the work of.

United by Design is an independent creative agency, based in York, UK. They specialise in brand & communications design - a large part of which includes web. With a great track record for creating & nurturing brands, they work with individuals & organisations across a range of sectors in the UK and overseas.

I send over an initial email enquiring about a studio visit and the possibility of an internship in the future. 

They weren't able to offer any placements at this time of the year, as they're booked up until the first quarter of the next year. Instead, I have arranged to meet them, for a studio visit, on the 20th of November. 

OUGD602: Studio Brief 1 - Design Strategy Presentation

Level 6 Presentation 02

OUGD602: Placements & Events // Bloom Agency

Over summer, between level five and level 6, I was lucky enough to work at Bloom, in Leeds, as a Design intern as part of their fantastic team of creatives. I found Bloom, honestly, by a fairly random search of design studios in the area. I was amazed I'd found this place - the standard of work was extremely high, it looked ace.

I sent them an email, enquiring about a summer placement/internship, a quick interview and showing them some of my work a week later and I was in. I don't know what I was worried about to begin with.

I was at Bloom for a total of eight weeks, from late July to late September, just before we came back for our final year. I worked on a range of projects, for a range of different clients - all varying in size. Clients from small start up businesses to well known companies such as National Trust. I'm not really a loud to say exactly what I produced there, at least not on my blog. But I can say what the projects helped me improve in terms of how I work as a professional.

OUGD502: PPP2 - Module Evaluation

Self-evaluation Form Ougd502 Level 5 by antjtw

OUGD502: STUDIO BRIEF 2 - Design Presence // Final Branding Boards

For the submission of this module, I've created the final design boards which demonstrate the branding as a whole, how it works together and what it consists of, when laid out as a whole. The images in the boards show the range of the collateral produced for the project, and demonstrate how it all works together as a whole. 

OUGD502: PPP Boards by antjtw

OUGD502: STUDIO BRIEF 2 - Design Presence // Photography Session

 

OUGD502: STUDIO BRIEF 2 - Design Presence // Logo Development

I've designed a logo for my brand, I started by mapping out who I am, as a brand. Based on my research into who I am, and how I should present myself.

Breaking it down into various sections, such as hobbies, interests, design formats, design styles, personality and myself as a professional. Doing this will allow me to decide what would be appropriate to brand myself as, and the themes which it would undertake. I spoke to my flat mates, Grace and Adam, who are also on this course, to verify I'm not over selling myself. 

I also thought of what I should call myself. I broke it down into various elements of who I am, and what I'm called. I quite liked the idea of using my rugby positions as the numbers, an alias, rather than something plain, like 'Anthony'.

I began with sketching out my logo using a very precise and plain grid system... which as you'll see later, ended up being scrapped due it's plain boring nature. 

I constructed the logo in illustrator, and it doesn't look terrible, but it could be improved. 

Approaching the logo from another angle

I went to town, using the fibonacci spiral, as I had just developed my understanding of this system in another module, Which I think gave a better result for the logo than my previous attempts. 

I then used a deep blue and red for my colour scheme, these colours have been sampled from the Munster Rugby colours. I've used colours of my favourite team, as the brand is rugby orientated, so I thought I would be appropriate. I altered the colour slightly, to make their contrasts more aesthetically pleasing.

I tried a colour invert, and some tweaks incorporating the alpha channels. It looks alright, however it don't think it works. The contrasting colours suggest a divide in the logo, This also means when the logo is applied onto one of the colours, the logo only will look like half a logo, as the colours will blend. To fix this, I would have to add a third colour to the palette. It also looks like the mass effect N7 logo. 

Applying the Logo to Business Cards

For a test, I applied the logo to the business cards. I created an 85 x 55mm document with a 3mm bleed around each edge. 

I used the type within the logo to dictate the spacing around the edge of the logo, to the edge of the card.

Final logo on the business card.

Another Branding Idea I tried (failed)

In an hour of doubt, I also tried to create a logo based on the Star Wars theme, as I'm a huge fan of the films, and the culture behind it. I'm particularly interested in the stories which are set before the films, thousands of years before, what's known as The Old Republic. Choosing an aspect of this would almost be like an inside joke. 

I decided to try a starship as the basis for the logo, I used a ship known as the Ebon Hawk, which appears in numerous novels in the Star Wars universe. 

I used the fibonacci system to create the proportions for the logo. It was an ambitious idea, just to make the logo look slightly more aesthetically pleasing, whilst maintaining it's current shape. 

The what would've been final illustration for the logo. It looks okay, however the idea seems to out there for feasible branding. 

Final Logo

OUGD502: STUDIO BRIEF 2 - Design Presence // What is a Brand?

As part of my research for this task, I want to establish what a brand is, to do this, I've followed one of the resources from estudio, which lead me to http://justcreative.com/2010/04/06/branding-identity-logo-design-explained/ Which goes onto explain what a brand is, whilst also offering links to publications which take the topic further and further. 

What is branding?

Branding is certainly not a light topic – whole publications & hundreds of books have been written on the topic, however to put it in a nutshell you could describe a ‘brand’ as an organisation, service or product with a ‘personality’ that is shaped by the perceptions of the audience. On that note, it should also be stated that a designer cannot “make” a brand – only the audience can do this. A designer forms the foundation of the brand.

Many people believe a brand only consists of a few elements – some colours, some fonts, a logo, a slogan and maybe some music added in too. In reality, it is much more complicated than that. You might say that a brand is a ‘corporate image’.

The fundamental idea and core concept behind having a ‘corporate image’ is that everything a company does, everything it owns and everything it produces should reflect the values and aims of the business as a whole.

It is the consistency of this core idea that makes up the company, driving it, showing what it stands for, what it believes in and why they exist. It is not purely some colours, some typefaces, a logo and a slogan.

As an example, let’s look at the well known IT company, Apple. Apple as a company, projects a humanistic corporate culture and a strong corporate ethic, one which is characterised by volunteerism, support of good causes & involvement in the community. These values of the business are evident throughout everything they do, from their innovative products and advertising, right through to their customer service. Apple is an emotionally humanist brand that really connects with people – when people buy or use their products or services; they feel part of the brand, like a tribe even. It is this emotional connection that creates their brand – not purely their products and a bite sized logo.

What is identity design?

One major role in the ‘brand’ or ‘corporate image’ of a company is its identity.

In most cases, identity design is based around the visual devices used within a company, usually assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines that make up an identity usually administer how the identity is applied throughout a variety of mediums, using approved colour palettes, fonts, layouts, measurements and so forth. These guidelines ensure that the identity of the company is kept coherent, which in turn, allows the brand as a whole, to be recognisable.

The identity or ‘image’ of a company is made up of many visual devices:

• A Logo (The symbol of the entire identity & brand)
• Stationery (Letterhead + business card + envelopes, etc.)
• Marketing Collateral (Flyers, brochures, books, websites, etc.)
• Products & Packaging (Products sold and the packaging in which they come in)
• Apparel Design (Tangible clothing items that are worn by employees)
• Signage (Interior & exterior design)
• Messages & Actions (Messages conveyed via indirect or direct modes of communication)
• Other Communication (Audio, smell, touch, etc.)
• Anything visual that represents the business.

All of these things make up an identity and should support the brand as a whole. The logo however, is the corporate identity and brand all wrapped up into one identifiable mark. This mark is the avatar and symbol of the business as a whole.

What is a logo?

To understand what a logo is, we must first understand what it is for.

A logo is for… identification.

A logo identifies a company or product via the use of a mark, flag, symbol or signature. A logo does not sell the company directly nor rarely does it describe a business. Logo’s derive their meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolises, not the other way around – logos are there to identity, not to explain. In a nutshell, what a logo means is more important than what it lookslike.

To illustrate this concept, think of logos like people. We prefer to be called by our names – James, Dorothy, John – rather than by the confusing and forgettable description of ourselves such as “the guy who always wears pink and has blonde hair”. In this same way, a logo should not literally describe what the business does but rather, identify the business in a way that is recognisable and memorable.

It is also important to note that only after a logo becomes familiar, does it function the way it is intended to do much alike how we much must learn people’s names to identify them.

The logo identifies a business or product in its simplest form.

Summary:

Brand –The perceived emotional corporate image as a whole.
Identity – The visual aspects that form part of the overall brand.
Logo – Identifies a business in its simplest form via the use of a mark or icon.

OUGD502: STUDIO BRIEF 3 - Life's a Pitch // Final Presentation

The Presentation

On friday, our group were able to present our pitch to the rest of the year. The presentation was created putting all of our ideas and research results together, to formulate our business model. We felt our presentation was quite strong, and well constructed, with a large body of good research.

The presentation, shown above, was received rather well by the group. It included all the information we felt it needed. Only one question rose at the end, and that was regarding the shares within the company, which we knew the answer to, although we didn't include it in the presentation. The answer being, we have appointed Danielle the company director, and we each hold equal 20% shares within the company.

Short-sort-of-Evaluation

I'm really happy with how the presentation went, I felt Mel, Danielle, Sarah, Daisy and I worked really well together throughout, and I would love to work with them again. I thought our research skills were really efficient, we were able to get all the information needed to start a business, which I was very surprised about.

I fell far more confident about how the system of starting a business works, I think I would be able to do it now if I were to start a business post graduation.

In regards to the presentation, and my personal skills, I really need to improve the rate of which I speak. I speak extremely quickly when nervous, although it is better than not saying anything, it is very difficult to understand, and this is something I really need to focus on improving for the solo presentations in May.

OUGD502: STUDIO BRIEF 3 - Life's a Pitch // The Company Logo and Branding

As part of our company and presentation, I've created a logo and a small set of branding for our company. We're called Sublime. A pun from the colour lime, as we wanted that to be our brand colour, after brainstorming everything to do with limes, we finally arrived at Sublime.

The logo is very simple and professional. Typography based with a simple lime illustration at the base. 

An example of stationery we could have is the business. It features our logo and our colour scheme throughout, an impactful image of our brand for the client to remember. I sent the branding to Danielle for the presentation, however due to an error, it was not featured. 

OUGD502: STUDIO BRIEF 3 - Life's a Pitch // Studio Space

As part of the presentation, we would like to show what the studio space might in fact look like. We would like to demonstrate the space we will work in, the space which the design would, hypothetically, take place in, if we were to get our funding.

The studio space is a blank canvas almost, an empty space, ready to be filled with ideas. A clean relaxed environment, with hints of the signature sublime green throughout, to remind us who we are. The empty space is just ready to have the walls filled with works, boards and pieces, to turn the office into more of an home-office-from home, a welcoming place, where everyone is relaxed. 

OUGD502: STUDIO BRIEF 2 - Life's a Pitch // Hosting Ins and Outs

Server Hosting
Offering hosting will be one of the features of Sublime, offering hosting along with website design and development just makes sense. An all in one service. Hosting requires a dedicated on site server, which will need to be expanded over time, the more modern style of hosting is cloud hosting, which we would hopefully plan to expand the service to over the coming years, if successful.

• All in one package; just makes sense
• On site hosting
• Expansion into cloud hosting in the foreseeable future

OUGD502: STUDIO BRIEF 2 - Life's a Pitch // Banking

I've begun to research into banks, in terms of which one will offer us the best deal to start up our business. You'll need a business bank account - but don't just go straight to the bank you've used as a consumer. Find one that understands your business and who you feel comfortable with. Most banks also offer incentives for new sign-up. For example, NatWest offer two years' free banking and access to an experienced business manager.

I've decided to grace Natwest with the hypothetical privileges of giving us a loan and hosting our business account, I've chosen Natwest as the provider for our business account because they offer the best deals for us. 

As this is a start up business, we'll be free from charges with Natwest for the first two years, as we're a new business we'll be exempt. Natwest also offer an unlimited annual turnover, so hypothetically, we can make as much money with no cap on the max. 

2 years free banking
Free banking will commence from the date your account is opened and means that the charges for the day-to-day running of your account (known as your ‘service charge’) will not apply during the free banking period. Charges for “Unarranged Borrowing”, “Additional Services” and “Bankline Charges” are not part of the free banking offer. At the end of this period, you will automatically revert to the Standard Published Tariff. However, you will also have the opportunity to select a different tariff if your business banking needs have changed.

No annual fee on your Business Credit cards for the first 12 months
This offer applies to UK businesses when a Business Credit Card application has been made within 6 months of account opening. Business Credit cards for UK residents/businesses and for business use only.

15% off Business Insurance for the first year
Not available in conjunction with any other Business Insurance offer. New policyholders and over 18s only. Excludes hospitality businesses, heating, plumbing and ventilation engineers, and cover for terrorism. NatWest Business Insurance is arranged by UK Insurance Business Solutions Limited and underwritten by UK Insurance Limited trading as NIG (UKI). If UK Insurance Business Solutions can’t offer cover through their insurer, UKI, they’ll help you find a solution from their preferred independent brokers.

No loan arrangement fees
This offer is due to a £2.5bn fund, which is available as part of our participation in the Government’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS). It is a limited fund and all loans approved under the fund will be fee-free and offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) cannot be applied to overdrafts, or business credit cards. The offer is only available for loans. Usual lending conditions apply. Structured Finance and Real Estate Finance are excluded.

6 months’ free Streamline online card payment processing
Streamline is provided by WorldPay UK Limited, our preferred business partner for card processing.

Dedicated support

• Our teams of trained Business Managers are dedicated to providing support in helping you reach your business goals. We’ve extended the hours you can call our Business Managers to 8am-8pm weekdays and 9am-2pm on Saturdays.
• BusinessLine, our telephone banking service, is available should you wish to speak to a member of staff regarding account information such as balances, payments or transfers. With the choice of self service or speaking with one of our UK-based advisors, the service is available 24hours a day, 365 days a year. Please note, you must be fully enrolled in this service to make payments. System updates may mean the service is unavailable for short periods in the early morning.
• Online and Mobile Banking are available 24 hours a day, allowing you to carry out your day-to-day banking transactions, make transfers and payments and view up to 7 years of transactions. Our free mobile Business Banking app means you can stay in control of your finances wherever you are.
• Business Quick Deposit Facility for paying in cash and cheques at any branch without queuing (subject to acceptance).

Getting a Loan to start the business

No product fees. No early repayment charges.
At NatWest, we’re committed to backing British business. That’s why we’re giving small businesses the opportunity of fee-free lending with our Fixed Rate Business Loan. You can borrow from £25,001 up to £250,000

Funding for Lending Scheme
This is a Government initiative designed to incentivise UK banks to increase their lending in support of the UK economy. The Funding for Lending Scheme will do this by providing funding to banks for an extended period, thereby creating an ability for NatWest to offer a fee free product.
This is a limited scheme and will be available on a first come, first served basis.

What our Fixed Rate Business Loan gives you:

• A fixed rate – that gives you certainty of cash flow for the fixture period. 
• No early repayment charges – giving you the flexibility to repay your loan at any time. 
• Fee-free borrowing – no arrangement fees for new borrowing. 
• Choice of loan amounts – borrow from a minimum of £25,001 up to a maximum of £250,000. 
• Repayment holidays – take a break from making capital repayments. Interest is charged during the repayment holiday and your monthly payments may increase afterwards.

To find out more about the Fixed Rate Business Loan, talk to your Relationship Manager or call us.

Funding for Lending Scheme conditions
Usual lending conditions apply. Structured Finance and Real Estate Finance are excluded.

Take 3 steps to lending success
For all the information you need to help you choose the right lending for your business and prepare an application, see our new section on Business lending.

OUGD502: STUDIO BRIEF 3 - Life's a Pitch // Web Hosting Research

As part of my area of research, I've been asked to look into web hosting, how it works, what it costs and all the ins and outs of hosting, but, more importantly how it can be applied to our team/company. 

What is Web Hosting?

"A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organisations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data centre. Web hosts can also provide data centre space and connectivity to the Internet for other servers located in their data centre, called colocation, also known as Housing in Latin America or France."

The basic job of web hosting is to provide the accessibility to a website by making it readily available to the public, by hosting the files which contain the website's date. Basically. 

"The scope of web hosting services varies greatly. The most basic is web page and small-scale file hosting, where files can be uploaded-via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or a Web interface. The files are usually delivered to the Web "as is" or with minimal processing. ManyInternet service providers (ISPs) offer this service free to subscribers. Individuals and organisations may also obtain Web page hosting from alternative service providers. Personal web site hosting is typically free, advertisement-sponsored, or inexpensive. Business web site hosting often has a higher expense depending upon the size and type of the site.

Single page hosting is generally sufficient for personal web pages. A complex site calls for a more comprehensive package that provides-database support and application development platforms (e.g. PHP, Java, Ruby on Rails, ColdFusion, or ASP.NET). These facilities allow customers to write or install scripts for applications like forums and content management. Also, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is typically used for e-commerce.

The host may also provide an interface or control panel for managing the Web server and installing scripts, as well as other modules and service applications like e-mail. Some hosts specialise in certain software or services (e.g. e-commerce), which are commonly used by larger companies that outsource network infrastructure."

Web hosting requires a hosting computer, if you're able to host your own website, however, you need to assure you're connected to the network at all times, which means having a reliable ISP. Otherwise, the site will appear down, and the users will be unable to access it. 

Examples of Web Hosting

As website I've used in the past to host some of websites i've created is wordpress. Wordpress host blogs and websites, and offer a series of templates and default layouts for those who wish to use the site. 

When you're creating your website, you can download wordpress and install it to your website, then you upload the files for the site, and wordpress hosts it for you. Alternatively, you could choose an existing template on wordpress and customise the HTML and CSS to suit your needs. 

Wordpress offers an interface where you're able to easily manage your website, this is known as a content management system. 

Wordpress also offers plug ins, such as e-commerce, which I've used to create a web store in the past.

Domains

Domains can be purchased from third party sites, then applied to websites. An example of a domian supplier is TSO Host, who I also use to obtain my domains, they offer one click wordpress installs, which allow you to transfer the domain address to your website, easily and quickly. 

You're able to search the domain you wish to purchase, and see alternatives if it's already take

OUGD502: Personal and Professional Practice 2 // Study Task 2 - Contacting Agencies

Investigate a list of methods you can employ to contact other Creatives, studios or agencies.

• Studio visits, by e-mailing a studio and asking for a visit, recently I visited Numiko, the web design agency, based in Leeds. We simply asked for a studio visit, following a recent talk they did in University a few weeks prior. When we visited the studio, we had the creatives right there with us, so we were able to ask them questions about their creative process and also ask them about work placements - to which they told us how to apply and that they do in fact pay their interns (...yay).
• Attending Events, it's important to attend events which exhibit the areas of creativity which interest you. It's likely that there will be professionals there, which are the leading creatives within your interest, gateways to highly renown professionals. By meeting them and befriending them, you're more likely to collaborate with them. An example of this is Leeds Print Festival. I managed to meet loads of professionals who use the methods which interest me, and obtain their contact details. 

OUGD502: Personal and Professional Practice 2 // Task 1 - PPP Fundamentals

1. Reflecting on your Summer what is your most memorable event and why?

• The most memorable part of my summer was being able to design for my first 'real' client. I was able to design the business collateral for a small brand, located in Malton, North Yorkshire. Seeing my work being used a real environment, rather than within a hypothetical sense, as done with typical educational briefs. 

 2. Have you made any contacts over the Summer that you feel could be helpful over the coming year or so and what outcomes did you feel you achieved?

• I haven't really made any new contacts over the summer unfortunately. As much as I would have liked to improve my creative scope and meet new contacts, I was engaged with commitments and festivals/stuff. 

 3. How did you meet/contact these contacts (methods used or how it happened)

• None applicable. 

 4. If you didn’t make any contacts, why? too busy working? holiday? commitments?

• I spend a large portion of the holiday engaged in commitments, I managed to work on a small project, but there were no creative contacts gained. I spend a large amount of the summer training for a series of obstacle races, know as the Spartan Race, and spending time with family and friends.

 5. What methods of contacting creatives can you think of and what would you ask?

• To contact creatives, you're able to use LinkedIn, which is a less personal approach, but it's an effective way to present your skills and contact circles and communities of designers through suggestions and common ground. You can also contact creatives by e-mailing them directly, perhaps asking them about what they do, or ask for a studio visit. 

OUGD502: Personal and Professional Practice 2 // Why is Networking Good?

Why is networking good for ME personally? 

• Networking is good for me personally, as I'm able to explore the creative industry around me, as someone who's quite split between the physical and digital elements of Graphic Design, I find it's useful to see creatives around me and see what they've done, what they're doing and where it's taken them. Doing this helps me plan out what I would enjoy doing, and if the road to which it leads is suitable for me. It also helps me find new people, friends of friends, colleagues and family members that offer unique skills which I can utilise to enhance my practice, or work with to produce something fantastic. 

For what I may get out of it is it worth it? YES/NO 

• Yes, yes it is. 

WHAT can I get out of this? 

• I can get a great deal out of networking! I'm able to expand my creative links by meeting new people, using the common ground we might have. Using this, I may be able to get work placements, employment, attend events, and boost my creative knowledge, to a level far superior to what I might obtain left to my own devices. I could also get the chance to collaborate with other creative individuals, or companies, from which I can learn new skills. 

Am I doing this simply because I am being asked to? 

• To begin with, I was doing this because I was asked to. However, once the ball started rolling, I began to quite enjoy networking, attending events, where I was able to meet and learn about creatives within our community. Whilst also building my LinkedIn profile, which represents me as a professional. 

WHAT do I think that I am NOT doing as far as networking? 

• I feel I could be attending more events, I've only been a limited number, thus limiting my networking abilities. If I were to increase the number of events I attend I will be able to meet more creatives, and expand my scope of social links, to which I can draw upon in the future. 

Do YOU think that in this kind communication, language is a major barrier?

• To an extent, I do feel that there is a language barrier in this kind of communication. However, in this industry, I feel the quality and production of an individual's work and say more about them than a strip of text, or a speech. Of course I won't be able to understand their justification of their work, but there's always software available to translate texts, roughly. 

OUGD502: Leeds Print Festival 2014 // Print Talks

Following the, extremely sudden, recent realisation that this course affects the rest of my life, I've decided to get more involved in Graphic Design and it's culture. Yesterday, I attended Leeds Print Festival 2014's Print Fair, Today, LPF were hosting talks in Leeds College of Music, which is why the lecture theatre/performance hall looks extremely classy. 

The talks consisted of Mr. Bingo, talking about his love of illustration, and his hate mail scheme - he was a fantastic illustrator, and a very funny guy, I really enjoyed his talk. He talked us through his career, his previous works and what he's doing now. It was a fantastic insight to see how he works. After a brief interval, we then heard from NOMAD Letterpress. He showcased his works and showed us what he's currently doing, how he works with his father a few days a week in a traditional print studio, using a dying breed of print methods. He also showed us a project he did, whilst at Glastonbury, how he and a small team, one of the members being The Print Project, attempted to create a daily newspaper, however due to equipment issues they were unsuccessful for the first few days. 

Si Scott was unable to give his talk, so instead, as a last minute stand in, we heard from The Print Project and Print for Good, who did a sort of 'Adhoc Q&A', where they spoke about the collateral for the festival - which was amazing, created using GF Smith's wonderful stock. Finally, we heard from Creative Review. Who showed plenty of underground forgotten Printers, who all use traditional printing methods, and creating fantastic prints. Plenty of short films were shown to give us an insight into the print studios. 

Now onto the loot...

Copper-plated press, from Print for Good, the stock has a lovely deboss from the printing press, on a thick GF Smith stock. It looks wonderful. 

On the left, you can see the ticket, produced by The Print Project on GF Smith's glitter-highlighted paper. It looks and feels fantastic, something I'm certainly looking after. 

GF Smith Loot, a sample book and other stuff!

OUGD502: Leeds Print Festival // Print Fair

As a developing professional, I thought it's about time I should start going to events, experiencing some of the culture associated within our industry. So, myself and a couple of course-mates who I live with decided to go to Leeds Print Festival - the third annual Leeds Print exhibition. 

I managed to snag some freebies, a programme which contains all the dates and information about Leeds Print Festival, a NOMAD Letterpress card, and Ditto Press swatch booklet. They all feel fantastic, I really love the feel of the slight debossing on letterpressed prints.

I found this really amazing bound book, using book rum and paper to create a hard case bind. It looks and feels fantastic, something I really want to try!

A small collection of fantastic little note books. All of which using different methods of binding and different process to create them. 

A range of great screen prints. Such high quality inks used, and some very interesting artworks. 

A pencil case with a debossed look. Covered in print technical info. 

Leeds Print Festival info sheet. 

OUGD502: Personal and Professional Practice 2 // Numiko Visit

Yesterday, Grace, Adam and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit Numiko, a web design agency based in the heart of Leeds. I thought I might benefit from visiting a web design studio, to see how it operates and what the staff are like - mainly because after seeing their work, I'm very interested in applying for an internship there. 

http://www.wahoo.wateraid.org/uk/

http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/

Above are two the sites they have worked on, both the sites are due to go live soon. They showed us previews of them, and how they worked and the design process involved; the scamps and wireframes, the designer's work and the developers and their work. It was really exciting to see the process from how some wireframes, simple drawings, are transformed into wonderful functional websites.