Selling Work at End of Year Show Art Market

At this years End of Year Show I will be selling some of Bootees screen printed t-shirts! I will make a variety of sizes for the show. I will also make Bootees notepads and earrings for the show. Many people at the show will be Bootees target market of young creatives, so if anything is sold it will give a good indication to what designs are best allowing us to develop further in the future. 

PPP Module Evaluation

Personal Professional Practice has been an incredibly valuable module this year, it has been useful to work out where I want to be within the graphic design industry. Visiting exhibitions, going on placements and talking to people in the industry has broadened my graphic design knowledge, this module will always carry on even when leaving uni, developing my connections, visiting different places and always going back to my personal branding updating web presents. 

At the start of the year I knew I wanted to experience a graphic design studio and go on placement. I collected names of graphic design studios I wanted to contact in Leeds and Birmingham as I was confused to whether I wanted to stay in Leeds or go home after uni and I thought getting placement in both cities would help me make my mind up. I got emails back from three studios, Vast in Leeds, Fluid in Birmingham and Risotto in Glasgow. I was over the moon just to get replies!

I was sooo happy just to get an e-mail back off Risotto, a design and print studio I have always admired. I decided to go on placement at Fluid and Risotto, I would of loved to have gone to Vast too however there just wasn't enough time to do all three, and Vast were really busy. I was excited to go to Risotto to work with someone who has gone freelance after university to ask her questions about how she did it. I was also interested to visit Fluid and design with them to see what its like to work with a team of designers in a 9-6 job. 

I learnt a hell of a lot going on placements that I would of never of learnt at uni, simple things such as the need to strictly organise your files, how there isn't ever enough time in the day to get some designs how you want and how demanding clients can be and sometimes how clueless they can be about design. I much preferred working at Risotto with Gabriella Marcella in Glasgow than Fluid, Gabriella was always creating much more interesting design, Riso printing at her leisure whereas Fluid was very much more corporate working with huge clients such as Sony. It was great to see each side, Fluid wasn't as creative as I thought, people didn't seem to really enjoy the projects they were working on, just churning out design they weren't 100% happy with. Working with Gabriella has made me think about going freelance more and gaining help from the college to do so. 

This year I also visited Berlin a place I have been meaning to go for a long time now,  experiencing their culture was great, going to galleries, exhibitions and tours of the history of Berlin. This is definitely somewhere I can see myself living in a few years time, the design scene out there is pretty big and the city is just an overall creative hub full of things to look at and experience. 

Previously I have always been comparing my work to peoples on the course, thinking my designs were never good enough, however placement has gave me more confidence in my work and ideas. I have also gained more confidence within presenting my ideas something I was always very nervous about in first year. 

I am really happy with my final outcomes from third year, I feel I have managed my time well and began to create a portfolio I can be proud about and talk about confidently. I have really enjoyed seeing all my work come together an collaborating with people of similar interests. 

The job hunt begins as soon as the End of Year show ends, I will begin this strategy but contacting studios I actually want to work for by sending them mail in the post so they have to open it and view my work. I will search job websites and apply for all jobs that I am interested in. Hopefully my design career will begin soon.

Overall PPP has been a valuable module throughout the three years, teach me how important it is to actually talk to people, visit places and keep connected with the design world. I feel happy and confident with my design work to take it into the real world and pursue my desired design career. 

Personal Branding- Evaluation

Overall, I am really happy with the way my personal branding has turned out, I think it represents myself as a designer well. The promotion pack includes a variety of materials I can use to contact design studios including a mini printed portfolio, postcards, business cards, letter heads and a creative CV. I have created a lot of printed promotional material as I would like to go into print. I have also developed my web presence this year by setting up my own website a good platform for studios to view my work I have created, other online portfolio’s such as Behance and Instagram accounts to gain feedback from other creatives. 

Doing your own personal branding can be difficult trying to figure out who you are, what you like and what defines you as a person making you different from other designers. I began researching into other designers promo packs, what at they include and the overall design of them and how the design reflects their work. This was useful and gave me some good ideas for my own. I also researched into logo design and began to develop my own, this was a lot harder than I expected I finally came up for one that I will use for by website header. When I started to transfer the logo onto business cards the cards seemed cluttered and I decided I wanted more of a clean design. I decided not to push my logo any further and develop my business cards using screen print bold colour and pattern. The type I decided to go for for my branding is Monseratt a clean type that works well with the screen prints. 

Screen printing the patterns was an enjoyable experience, nothing went dramatically wrong. If I was to develop the branding further I think I would of like to have different coloured waves and spots with complementing overlapping colours however I realised from my previous branding that less colour was more. 

I have developed my layout skills while developing my branding getting my CV to fit on one page so it can easily get sent to studios. The layout of the printed mini portfolio and the booklet was also important, large images explaining the work visually and small descriptions to add context. Gaining feedback on my portfolio from Robot Food was great it has really helped my decide what to put in my portfolio and what to leave out, they also gave me good feedback on the layout of my portfolio each project should have enough images to explain the project but not too many to bore them. 

Personal Professional Practice is something that I will develop though out designing and something that I will keep updating after uni and forever, the design of it will change a lot as it has every year of uni. I am really happy with this branding, I will make a multiple copies of the printed material and send them of to studios and people I would like to work for.  

Personal Branding- Promo Pack

The final business cards are screen-printed, half tone dots in green and pink the colours overlay. Each card is unique and features all the necessary contact information and a website to view work. The creative CV will be printed and sent with a print of the waves overlaying for decoration and show my love for print. The postcards feature contact details and space to write a message to each individual design studio. The printed mini portfolio gives studios a brief over view of work, at the back of the portfolio features contact details and website to see more work. Sending this to design studios will show more effort than just sending an email, having something physical may make it more likely for them to get in touch. The publication is printed on a bulky newsprint a stock that is cheap and adds texture. The publication is printed on a laser printed as when I finish university I can print more myself easily at home to send to studios, I really like how the ink has printed onto the stock giving it more of a worn feel, not being perfect just like screen-printing. The overall branding is simple and uniformed through all printed materials. It is screen printed as I enjoy traditional print methods. The colours represent my work well, halftone dots to add texture to the designs and overlays, I like how each screen print is unique. 

Life after college- Be your own boss

I have just applied to take part in the summer week long workshop to 'Be your Own Boss' this is a workshop that I would like to do with Hollie Webb a fashion communication student working on a screen printing t-shirt brand 'Bootees' that we would like to expand further into the real world after uni. The workshop will give us valuable marketing advise from professionals and help us learn more about the business side of things to develop the brand. 

The plan for the week: 

What’s your big idea? Confidence building and pitching your idea – Part 1            

Monday 15 August 9.30-12.30

This is your chance to tell other people about your business idea.  In this workshop and throughout the week, you will learn how to improve your presentation skills, so that on Friday afternoon you can deliver a polished pitch in the competition to win one of three prizes worth £500 or £250 of business mentoring.  Rick will give you the confidence and techniques you need to present yourself to an audience in any situation. 

master practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming.

What does it mean to be a creative entrepreneur? 

Monday 15 August 1.15 – 4.15

Keith Evans will facilitate this session, covering what it means to be a creative entrepreneur. Keith will address how to ensure that business skills promote your work while you remain in control. The workshop will help you to clarify your business vision, identify your values and embed these into your creative practice. Practical activities will focus on choosing the best business model for your idea, articulating your USP and developing empathy with your customers.

Is your idea viable?                     

Tuesday 16 August 9.30 – 4.15

Do you have an initial idea for your business or becoming self-employed? Need to know how to develop that into a tangible business proposition? The facilitator Anamaria Wills will lead you through a process of checking how realistic your ideas are and will help you to develop new ones, assess the market potential and create a framework business plan. The session will use COSTAR, which is an innovation tool that helps to identify opportunities, communicate your idea to others and collaborate to build expertise.

Managing your Money                   

Wednesday 17 August 9.30-12.30

Keith Evans will go through everything you need to know about cash flow, the amount of finance you need to start your business, where you get it and how to manage it to ensure you can do the work. Keith will also address the topics of managing your personal and professional accounts, costing, pricing and creating your own cash flow.

Self-Employment                        

Wednesday 17 August 1.15 - 4.15

This session will focus on what self-employment means and how to register. You will learn about key business terminology, record keeping, tax and national insurance and explore strategies about managing your money.

Practise Pitching - Pizza and beer will be provided 

Wednesday 17 August 5.00 -7.00pm 

Rick Ferguson will help you develop your elevator pitch, prior to your presentation to senior directors on the Friday afternoon. Rick will help you to start with an impressive opener, gain rapport, use pauses effectively, eradicate bad habits and structure your pitch using memorable strategies. As a result of the evening’s training, your physical stance, voice projection, eye contact and performance will be enhanced and ready to practise your presentation on Friday morning before your pitch.

Everything Legal     

Thursday 18 August 9.30 – 12.30 

Keith Arrowsmith will help you choose the most appropriate legal structure for your business and understand the relevant registration and reporting requirements. He will address the issues surrounding your legal responsibilities, give you an understanding of Intellectual Property Rights and address the need for organisational policies and procedures.

Marketing and PR  

Thursday 18 August 1.15 – 4.15

If you are considering working for yourself once you have completed your course there are a lot of areas to consider. Marketing yourself, your idea or product well is essential to ensuring that you reach the right market with the right communication channels. This workshop is for people with worked up ideas about what they want to sell (a tangible product or your skills,) as well as people just interested in gaining a grounding in what to consider once they have pinned down their concept.

It will explore

• How to identify your target market
• How to research your market and understand their needs
• How to use the 4P’s of marketing (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) as a framework to creating a marketing plan
• The importance of using the right promotional mix for your market (e.g. branding, print, digital, advertising, PR)

Pitching your idea Part 2                 

Friday 19 August 9.30 – 12.30  

Pitch your idea to the Senior Management Team and win £500 of mentoring and business support. You will give a five minute elevator pitch then answer questions posed by the panel. The Award winners will be announced before the end of the programme.

Principal’s Enterprise Award            

Friday 19 August 1.30 – 4.00 

Pitch your idea to the Senior Management Team and win £500 of mentoring and business support. You will give a five minute elevator pitch then answer questions posed by the panel. The Award winners will be announced before the end of the programme.

External Engagement- Evaluation

RISOTTO / GLASGOW

I applied for a placement at Risotto as I have always admired the work and I wanted to learn about riso printing in general and how it works.

Working at Risotto a riso printers in Glasgow was overall a fantastic experience which has taught me a lot. Risotto is just a one man band which designer Gabriella Marcella set up as soon as she finished her Graphic Design degree at Glasgow School of Art. She told me a lot about her experience after university and how she got to where she is now. She explained that I should get as much experience as possible to figure out where I want to be within the industry. When Gabriella was in her final year of uni she brought herself a riso printer as a placement that she previously went on inspired her to print more, she initially started to explore the technique and realized it could grow into a business. She now works in the Glue Factory in Glasgow a factory full of creative studios. Gabriella was always recommending galleries for me to go to and exhibitions I should check out which made my stay in Glasgow a really positive experience.

During my time at Risotto I helped Gabriella develop a future notebook range that she is going to launch called ‘Jota’. She explained how she was going to put this together, the sorts of profits she was hopping to make and the things that had inspired her to make the new range. Designing for the new range was exciting, it made me realize that working for yourself makes it easier to pursue your own ideas.

From working with Gabriella I left feeling inspired and thinking maybe it’s not that scary setting up on your own, and how much I would actually love to go freelance. From this experience I aim to push screen-printing forward and develop it more. Overall the experience has been relevant to my practice and future, it has introduced me to a new printing technique and opened my eyes to the possibility of going freelance.

FLUID / BIRMINGHAM

I applied for a placement at Fluid as I wanted to know what it would be like to work with such big brands such as Sony and MTV. I wanted to experience a studio where more than one person was working on the same project at a time. Also, Birmingham is the closest city to home so I wanted to experience commuting from home to Birmingham, as this is a possibility in the future.

My experience at Fluid was interesting and it was not at all what I was initially expecting. The studio didn’t seem very creative and the people overall didn’t seem like they enjoyed being there and were constantly stressed out. The atmosphere was constantly tense as they were all working to very tight deadlines. I was working alongside one of the designers Steve and one thing he did say numerous times it that he wishes he had more time to work on certain projects.

I worked on two briefs during the week one for the new Aamardan animation film called Early Man and one for the new Sony game Mafia 3. The studio was very business like churning out designs quickly to suit the needs of the client. It was interesting to see how the creative director and the designers worked together, the director generally organizing everyone and their time to work on each brief. The ideas that the director put forward were usually the idea that the designers created and went forward.

I didn’t enjoy my experience at Fluid as much as I thought I would and it has made me realize just how un-creative Graphic Design can be however it was a good incite into a studio environment and big business brands.

EQUIP / LEEDS PRINT FESTIVAL

Equip approached me as they wanted a hand with their workshop they were running for Leeds Print Festival. I was happy they asked me and was willing to help them to make the workshop a success. I really enjoyed working with Joe and Jonny at the workshop and teaching people how to screen print. I had never screen printed using a paper stencil before so I also learnt this technique and realized how simple it can be, something I would like to develop further in the future.

The print workshop was a success and people left with prints they were proud of and having learnt something new, it was pleasing helping people trying a new technique.

EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT OVERALL

I am glad I went on two work placements in two completely different fields of graphic design as it has made me realize the scope of graphics and how different it can be. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Risotto and felt abit deflated when I left Fluid, as the studio was not as creative as I thought it would be. I have learnt a lot from external engagement not just about design but also the way I like to work. I have realized I am more of hands on designer and much prefer print over digital. Simple things such as organization of my files need to be improved, as this was something that both businesses were really good at.

All these experiences have made me realize that I would like to gain further experience within the industry and slowly set up a business of my own, as I don’t wish to be someone’s computer design monkey forever. 

Bootees - Marketing - Objectives

S.M.A.R.T Objectives

(Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timed)

1. Develop techniques of printing
2. Sell 50 t-shirts in first 6 months
3. Gain 3000 followers on Instagram and Depop
4. Start a real website

My 100 word intro to new customers
(benefits)

Features and Benefits

Handcrafted - unique, original and one off pieces.
Bold and playful - Making women have fun with fashion
Detail - Makes it more interesting for the customer
Range of products - can cater to a larger audience

The 4 P's

(Product, Price, Place, Promotion)

Price

Competitors charge £30 for a t-shirt and our cost for making a t-shirt is £3 so we would like to charge the same amount, this covers the time of making the shirt and other time spent marketing the business.

Place

Online - Our own website and depop etc.

Shops like colours may vary

Independent book stores
Trade fairs
Gallery shops
Independent fairs
Websites

Promotion

Send products to fashion bloggers for free
Own Instagram page
Trade fairs
Stickers, postcards, business cards, zines etc.

Marketing action plan (3 Months - By September 2016) 
Develop a website 
Design range of new products - new components
Gain a larger following online