Archives

OUGD602 — Manifesto Presentation
































As always with presentations I felt a bit nervous while talking in front of everyone, however I feel like it went very well in comparison to past shaking ordeals.

I spoke clearly, didn't babble (too much), and managed to communicate my progress, journey and ambitions with confidence. I am happy with the way it went and I look forward to more presentations so I can practice speaking with confidence to groups of people.

OUGD602 — Krink // Modernica Collaboration Chair

As my life focus revolves around graphic design, I will often admire the products of other disciplines.

I came across this beautiful fiberglass, maple & walnut chair which was designed between Krink and Modernica which retails at $395 / £257.


Modernica and Krink team up to bring a new color with a unique shimmer to a California design icon. Understated and neutral at first-glance, a closer look reveals the Krink Fiberglass Side-Shell shines in classic Krink silver. The individual strands of fiberglass catch and hold the silver-pigments producing a soft luster with changing light and perspective. As two companies who produce handmade goods in the USA, we are extremely pleased with this collaborative work that sees New York City and Los Angeles sensibilities perfectly combined.
The Krink Fiberglass Side-Shell chair comes in Krink silver with solid walnut dowels, black wire and embossed plate on bottom with Krink logo. Open edition. Handmade in the USA.





I have always had an admiration for hand-made products and consumables with a lot of thought involved. The chair from afar appears very ordinary however on closer inspection, the strong details and craftsmanship are brought to light. This reminds me that everything that works well or looks good has had a lot of thought gone into it, everything is designed and it creates a human link to every product, it is when that is obvious, that I tend to admire it as more than just what it has been made for.

OUGD602 — Stay Inside The Lines

Colours May Vary hosted the launch of Untitled #01, a publication celebrating the British art show which is coming to Leeds in 2015.

The launch celebrated with a large vinyl mural illustrated by Lucas Jubb, Jay Cover and Kristyna Baczynski which was mounted on the wall for people to colour in with paint markers.

It was a really fun evening and I was hoping to meet Kristyna as I really love her work and have bought art from her in the past however I found myself struggling to network as I had no idea what the creatives looked like!

Had a couple of beers and some Bundobust bar snacks, coloured in and had a good time. It is nice that this kind of thing is organised and so I thanked the owners of Colours may vary for hosting it before leaving.





OUGD602 — Leeds Print Festival

I took my girlfriend and I to the Leeds Print Festival talks as I thought it would be a really interesting bulk of knowledge from different speakers as well as possible networking opportunities.


Alec Dudson — Intern Magazine

Alec spoke about his opinions on the independent magazine industry and it's relationship with the digital age.

It was interesting to hear about his journey into editorial print design, the fact he interned at Boat magazine for a while before deciding to set up his own magazine based on the idea of internships. What really interested me was the fact that his experiences of that made him push intern into a printed matter that pays the contributors who are in the interning community for their work, turning it in a sense against it and being fair to those who are deemed not worthy of being paid for their hard work.

Counterpress Letterpress Studio

Counterparts spoke about how they came to exist through a love and passion for printing even though they were both made redundant.

They didn't really understand themselves how they got to where they were but it was sparked from the redundancy of them both and the spare time they were presented with. They wanted to make beautiful prints from an old beaten down letter press machine and it slowly grew out of control until they rented out a studio space and turned it into what they did for money.

It was great hearing how they were so into something that they put everything they had into it and it became a success at the same time as enough of an income to keep them going.

Perrott Bespoke Printing

Prorate told us their story and showed us a beautiful video to bring it to life.

It was so nice to hear directly from a specialist printer of this caliber that still uses die stamping. I also found it interesting when someone asked how their work has changed over the years from a lot of corporate identity stuff to specialist documents, wedding invitations and business cards for higher end businesses.

I have always been really interested in traditional print processes and to discover one that I had no other knowledge of other than the name of it and a rough idea was great.


Paul Heys — Neubau / Kubrick Archive

Paul Heys enlightened us to his journey of research and archiving with a gut wrenching twist at the end that made me cringe on my seat.

Paul spent eight years developing an archive of Stanley Kubrick's work in the form of a publication. This was intensely indexed with reference codes and impressive grid structures that both looked beautiful and functioned incredibly well / easily.

We were later disclosed that upon the final day of working on it, it was deemed a breach of copyright by Warner Bros and he was unable to publish it or turn his work into a reality because of this breach that he wasn't informed of.

Ben Freeman — Ditto Press

I had already heard a similar talk from Ben when he came to uni to brief us on our methodology task, however I wanted my girlfriend to hear it as she has a huge interest in self publishing, zine culture and DIY comics.


Ben went through his talk on his life story of acid trips and the 90's rave scene and how it got him to where he was today, one of the founders of Ditto Press. This place specialises in publishing and art as a whole.

Unfortunately we had to leave after that due to preconceived arrangements however what we saw was absolutely fantastic.

OUGD602 — Kinoko Opportunity

On the 21st of January, three days into my Analogue placement, I received an email from Max Lewis, the owner of Kinoko, a London based premium cycle boutique which I am a huge fan of and have purchased a lot from.

He had found me on instagram and enquired about working with me on something which I found immensely exciting. I replied straight away to show my enthusiasm but inform him of how busy I am at the moment in the studio. He was absolutely fine with it and told me to get in touch when my schedule was freed up.








Once I finished my placement I emailed Max again to let him know that I was free. He asked about my current plans and what I was doing along with a request of references, etc. I heard that both Nathan and Tim were already close with him so I asked them for references as there'd be more trust between them than random strangers.

Tim gave me an amazing reference and Nathan gave me a ring to tell me how close they were and said to tell him that he can give Nathan a ring if he needed reassurance that I was good at what I do.

I answered his questions and sent the email.



Max began asking questions about where I stood now, what I was wanting to do and also asked for references. I have never needed a design reference before so I messaged both Tim and Nathan, whom I have done work with involved in the cycling community and also know him.


I constructed my response professionally as I really wanted to work with them. The reference Tim sent me was absolutely fantastic, I may go back down my client list and ask for some references from them too for use on my website or if future clients request them!



I saw on instagram and twitter that Max and Josh (the brand manager at Kinoko), went on a tour of italian factories so I wasn't expecting a reply any time soon!


The final straw was pricing. I am one that pulls up a very fair price structure for my work that obviously develops along with myself. I always remember that I have rent and bills to cover in the real world and of course want some extra out of it for my efforts. However in the case of clients that I really want to work with, I play with these prices to make them seem more appealing but at the same time make them aware of how much I want to work with them and hopefully develop a professional relationship that would bring more work forward in the future.







Once the weekend was over I got an email from Max agreeing to my rates and confirming briefs to be sent.



This is really exciting being granted some work from one of my favourite stores, I will push myself to work quite hard with the intent to establish a tight professional relationship with Max and the company.
 

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