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.