Visiting Professional: Only

Why Design for Print?

• Constantly evolving and theres endless opportunity
• Primary source of information 
• It's experimental and interactive
• Motion and actions in websites have been used nowadays to add character to the websites for brands- usage of typography and animation
• Having motions also creates a better experience for the users and takes them on a journey 

Design Process

• Spend time researching analysing the brand that they are working for and things that they can improve on.
• Run workshops with the clients and really find out what the audience are and create persona's -> persona is then used in order to figure out and see if the application will actually do it's job.
• Wireframing - helps to visualise what the application will do and how the user will use it and separate it from the aesthetic and visual designs first.
• Design - bringing in the content and fleshing out 
• Front end (Developers) - take the design to the developer and communicate with them e.g. how the animation needs to work, how it'll move etc.

Case Studies

*Printworks - idea of printing and motion in traditional printing processes

-really simple idea that has been taken to so many levels and mediums, e.g. website, posters 

- usage of type, layout and composition have been pushed 

Tools

-Invision

-Marvel App

-Adobe XD

-Sketch

SB1: Reply from Rick Cho

Today, I got a reply back from Rick Cho regarding the questions that I have sent him from last week. I was really surprised by his reply and was very thankful as he gave such sincere and detailed answers, which really gave me inspiration for my own practice and fresh knowledge and insight into him as an individual practitioner and his practice.

As I wanted to know more about his practice in relation to the music industry as well as collaborative work between other creatives and artists, I think I gathered really insightful things about Cho's practice which I was really curious about. In particular I was really curious about his use of collage art in particular and how he's used this tool in his practice. I've asked him how he decides when to produce literal or more subliminal pieces of design and he has mentioned how "(I) prefer a literal visualization approach. Collage art is a mixture of incongruity and humor. It already has that subliminal, chaotic imagery..." Looking at his designs, I have interpreted some of them as quite subliminal through their abstract nature, therefore I've immediately thought of them as quite minimal but thought provoking designs enticing me more to listen to the music while looking at the designs. Cho also repeatedly mentioned the importance of "visual communication between an artist and a listener" which struck me as his main goal as an album cover designer. To add to that, he also said how "every interpretation is sensible and meaningful". I really liked this as I think especially with cover art designs it's always easy to just stick the name and face of the artist on and the design ends there, however Cho uses collage art effectively in order to communicate to the audience the song and artist whilst bringing in the audiences imagination into it and engaging them to look and listen at the same time and "discover their stories through my (his) artwork".

Another point was, his communication and collaboration with the client and other creative, especially as he works with clients who are also creative minded and have their own specific styles I wanted to know how he balances this to his own. Cho mentioned how it can be good when clients have their certain aesthetic and vision, though pushing their own ideas makes it quite hard. He also said asking lots of questions and bringing out the clients character is a good way in creating a balance as he "catch key-points and make a backbone of artwork". I found this really interesting as I think he has found being quite friendly whilst still gathering information from the client as a good way to balance between the two. Also the fact that, his clients also have their own creative mindset and not just companies who have strict rules and format means that he can be quite free and leeway in the art direction, at the same time balancing with the artists'. 

I was also really curious as to how he's been working with Jay Park for a long time, and made me realise that having contacts and connections is really helpful within the industry and knowing and working with great people can help you in being recognised and known. 

The back end of my questions were more geared towards collaborations with other designers which was something that I want to get insight in mostly. His answer surprised me as he said, "I act as a chief creative officer but I never make a "relationship between subordinate and superiors" and I know in Korea the superior-subordinate culture is a very strong part of their working culture so I was really  surprised about his answer, but in a good way. I think having the free mindset and not thinking you're above everyone is key as it'll let you be open to learning new and different skills from people you meet. Furthermore, I also asked him how's it's like working collaboratively with international clients as I've read that he has worked with American artists like 6lack before. There were definite setback that he'd mentioned as mostly labels would want someone that works in the same country. So, for me this has kind of made me prepare in the future if I was to want to work internationally or collaborate with others, as it's evident that sometimes you can get denied work. 

In addition, I also asked a more personal question, if he could offer me advice on working within the music industry, as it's something that I definitely aspire to do. He was really kind and realistic in his response and I was really thankful as it given me inspiration and motivation to want to do it even more. - 

"Working with big names could be a good experience but it doesn't always lead you to a quality. If the result didn't reach your expectation, it will not quench your creative thirst. Do not hypnotise yourself by thinking you've done enough because you have worked with these names. Always remember why you started and do not lose your creative happiness."

Thoughts & Reflection

Overall, I think this interview went really well and better than I expected. I was really thankful for Rick Cho to reply to me with in-depth and lengthy replies to my questions despite it being via email and written. And, through his responses I have gathered lots of information and wisdom which will really help me in my own practice and learning about his processes also made me think of my own practice and my own practice, like the kind of style that I'm good at? How I could use this to create good design. How I approach people and woking more effectively when collaborating with other people. All in all, it has given me a much wider view of album cover art design and the relation between graphic design and music industry.

SB1: Questions for Rick Cho

After, I emailed Rich Cho last night, he immediately gave a response back this morning which was quite a surprise as I thought he would reply later. Nonetheless, I decided to refine and add more to the questions which I've wrote from yesterday, so hopefully I can send another email back in order to get a response back as soon as possible as well.

I've drafted more questions, just questions which I think would be relevant and things that I am interested in and would like to know more about Cho as a designer and a person. I tried to make my questions quite open ended as I'd hope for them to expand on the questions when they hopefully answer back in order for me to gather as much feedback as I can from them, as well as learnt from them and how they work in their own discipline. I also thought of writing questions which relate to different topics in their discipline in order to get to know them as much as possible and understand them more as a designer in their practice. Some of the topics that I've tried to cover are: their own design process, how they work, their intentions in their designs, how they work with clients and other designers, advice they can give to me and other designers. I wanted to ask these questions as these are the things in particular which I'm very interested about in the industry and environment that he works in and it's also somewhere that I'd like to work in one day. I also think these would be beneficial for me as I'd like to be able to be insightful into the kind of processes that he partakes as well as how he approaches the projects that he gets as they are not like normal graphic design briefs and he is also dealing with another type of art/design as well as works with people who are also creatives an artists in there own disciplines (musicians).

From the draft that I create, I refined and combined some of the questions together and set them out in a nice and smooth direction. Especially, as it's a written interview, I didn't want them to be quite randomly ordered and suddenly jumping onto topics, so I tried to order them in a way were it feels a bit like a conversational interview were the questions smoothly leads to another in order to hopefully get a nice cohesive response for the interview. Also, because the questions maya be quite long and they may not want or be able to answer all of them, they may answer some questions together as a whole and summarise it, therefore ordering them in the same topics would make it much quicker and easier for them to respond. 

After, looking through the draft, once again I feel like some of the questions have could've been worded better, therefore I decided to refine them again. In addition, because it's a written interview I don't have the choice of being able to talk in a less formal way, therefore I felt like some of the questions were a bit too serious, therefore I decided to add a few more bits which hopefully lightened up the interview questions, as if I'm talking to them in person. Although, I think by the end of it I got a bit too carried away with the questions and realised I have 14 of them, which may not be too bad but also may be a bit too long? I'm not sure if it may put them off, of how much questions I've asked them however hopefully they'd be willing to answer them and expand on the questions as I'd hope they do. 

FINAL QUESTIONS

Thoughts & Reflection:

Honestly, I feel quite nervous sending these question of to my contacted artist as I feel like it may be a bit too long and too much of them to ask 14 questions. I've talked to other people who've sent their questions off to their chosen artists and they've only sent about 10, so I don't know if mine might be a bit of a stretch. However, I did talk to other peers as well and Orlando and they said that maybe it's better to ask more all at once that asking more later; as the artists may be quite busy and may not have the opportunity to answer back again or may find it inconvenient. Also, because I've drafted and refined my questions so many times, I felt like going back and reading them through again would just make me want to refine them again. I don't want to overdo it with the questions, but at the same time I'd like to know more about them and their practice as I genuinely am intrigued and would want to learn more, however in the back of my mind I'm still scared that they might be put off or burdened by the amount of questions (as they might be really busy as well, and not exactly close to the UK and are 9 hours ahead of us) or even decide to not answer all of them or any of them, which may leave me with little content and understanding at the end of it. Overall, although I'm a bit nervous and worried I will send these questions ahead and hopefully get a fruitful reply from them, at the same time try and keep the conversation and emailing going.

SB1: All About Creative Report's w/ Alec

First and foremost do research - work out what I'm interested in, who it's about and what I want to talk about. Research will help you in figuring out what you want to do etc. In addition, it'll also make you aware of how accessible (or not) for my subject. Particularly, when the artists may have a large following or is quite a prominent designer/artists who may not be able to get to you.  Therefore, knowing who you really want to research and getting in contact with them as soon as possible. In addition, looking at the social feeds like twitter and Instagram will help to inform the tone and methods of interviewing the artists (fundamental things), therefore, If you understand the subject/artists, you've got a better chance of getting more information with the artists. 

How to initiate contact? 

Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn? For example, Insta stories are far more personal and raw which can be a good are to look at and approach from. Also, try to reach out to people on platforms that they use regularly and personally. In addition, also reach out in a manner that's consistent with the tone of the artist's voice. If possible, move the conversation, face-to-face meeting or email thread as soon as possible.

What if the artists are hard to pin down? 

Entry level : Website
Next Level : 'Hunting Season' -> LinkedIn, Google and Hunter 
Hunter: allows you to add a URL and will find any associated emails, website fro that URL. 
Google : Tools -> Verbatim (use for confirming email address etc.) 
*If you have multiple guesses in emails, use BBC feature to put all the email guesses which helps you to get a quick process of elimination. 
On Google Chrome*ViewPageSource 

How to Proceed?

After the initial interaction, it's important to keep the conversation going. Keep the email short and simple and get straight to the point as well as easy for them to reply.

Follow up with a calendar invite.  -> links up events, extra info, time, date can be linked. If the invite is accepted the event will be synced to their calendar. 

Where possible conduct the interview in person or over a voice or video call. Having, the interview in person will be much quicker therefore it would be more convenient for the artists as well. Therefore, if you have the interview in face to face, carefully consider the questions that you ask (don't ask them questions that they'e bene asked before); it can also be adaptable as you can keep the flow of the conversation going while keeping it on track. 
*Recording  - put close to speaker if video call / put recorder on smooth cloth to avoid unnecessary noises. 

Always, follow up with a thank you message - reassures them that the time they've spent was well spent. In addition, also share them the finished Creative Report. It's good to keep up with them and add them on social and LinkedIn to give you foundations and connections and it'll also be easier for you to contact them in the future if possible.

The finished outcome should clearly relate to the subject and their practice. It's also important to think about each design decision you make keeping it related to the concept and context as well as the artist that you're talking about,

*Get hold of photographs or create. It would be good to collaborate with photographers or Illustrators in order to get high quality photos and illustrations. Maybe take on an art direction role i order get the exact image that you'd like - always communicate; create mood boards etc, encourage sending drafts. In addition, it's also good to get a good feel of how you can collaborate with other designers and artists in other disciplines.

Thoughts & Reflections:

This lecture was really helpful to me as I just received a response from the artist that I want to interview and the tips that Alec gave to us would e really handy in how I'd approach them and communicate with them. I'm also quite worried about how I can keep the communication going and the tone of voice I'll need to have while emailing the artist. There's also really helpful extensions I've learnt today, like Boomerang on Gmail - I though this extension would be quite beneficial for me as I may need to set the times I need to send emails, as the artist I'm in contact with is based in Korea. Overall, I thought the lecture was great and really informative, although I wish I could've gotten an Intern magazine copy though, too see all the information and how editorial design can be set out.

SB1: Contacting My Chosen Artist (Rick Cho)

Today, I've emailed my chosen artist (Rick Cho) via email, to ask his permission if I'd be able to interview him about himself, his design process and his role as a Graphic Designer within the music industry. I was quite scared to send the email as I didn't want to seem to be intruding or making him feel like he needed to answer my email, so I kept it as short as possible while still including all the things that I wanted to say to him. I do hope for a reply, but at the same time I am also anticipating a rejection and don't really want to get my hopes up, as I understand he might be busy or have other things to do. However if I do get a reply back, these are some of the draft questions in which I might ask him:

1.) As you mostly create album cover design work, do you have a sort of communication between other designers in other parts of the creative process e.g. MV producers, which also works with the client/artist in order to create a cohesive and consistent overall design?

2.) Having worked with both Korean and international artists, how would you describe their approach on creating design for their music?

3) How would you describe your design process when being given a brief?

4) How do you balance between the clients wants and your own design decisions when working on an album/single cover design?

5) Working with artists for consecutive amounts of times, for example Jay Park, has this changed the way your relationship as a client and designer work?

6) How has working with 'long-term' clients, such as Jay Park, change your relationship as a client and designer? Has it changed at all? Would you say you have a lot more freedom?

I tried to make my questions open ended, as I hoped for the designer to expand on their points, therefore hopefully giving me more insight and knowledge into their design process and discipline. So far, I only have these 6 questions, but will definitely add more or refine them more. I might also ask my peers and lecturers to look over my questions, to make sure they're okay and don't seem rude or too much.

SB1: Creative Report Crit

Today, we had our first crit for our ideas on the artists that we find interest in and can influence us in our own design practice. I've chosen to show Rick Cho and June Digan as I felt that they were the artists that I confidently talk about as I felt that I've made enough research on them and their practice relating to my own. I've said for Cho how I really like the way he keeps the communication between him and the client, including not only his subjective take on the music when he's designing the album covers but also takes into account the target audience that the music is intended for. As I am very interested in a career route within music and the music industry as a graphic designer I really find Cho's creative process to be informative and helpful for myself as he works in a way where he can work with the methods and elements that he enjoys as well as concepts for his designs, but at the same time still keeping the balance of the commercial side of it and how the client themselves would like the design to look like as it has to also tie in to the rest of the promotional, marketing and branding identity of the client e.g. fashion design, video design etc.

Whilst talking about Digan, I mentioned how I like her personal self practice and how she keeps herself inspired and motivated to do work therefore I  would also like to learnt and understand how and where she gets her inspiration from, what she does, where she goes, what activities does she do, her everyday life? In addition, culturally I felt closer to Digan as she is Filipino, and her doing workshops with local youth also inspired me as she spreads her knowledge and experiences with them which I find really fresh and new in a country where artistic jobs and routes are deemed 'not real jobs' or unstable; she aims to show that it is possible and can be done.

After my crit, because I showed two different designers with two very different designers and disciplines I've been asked which one I leaned towards to the most, so I mentioned that although two have very interesting disciplines that I can learn form I was still deciding. However, Orlando told me that the creative report is about me and what I want to learn and what I am aiming to do in the future, which made me realise that I my original aims where - ever since last year, was to possibly have a job within the music industry as a graphic designer therefore it would probably be best for me to chose Rick Cho, as not only does he have a style and design process that I really like and would aspire to work like but also he works within the specific music genre and scene that I'd like to work in, which is Korean Pop and Hiphop. Therefore, I've decided that I would do my creative report on Cho. The only thing that I'm worried about is that he doesn't have an email that I can formally email him on, but only has social media accounts like Instagram and Twitter. I did ask Orlando if messaging him on Instagram  would be appropriate and formal, and he said that it is very possible and something that I can do as everyone these days use social media sites so much that they may be used as another normal communication tool in some way. Although, I still thought that it may be a bit too much and would not really make me sound serious and kind of invading their space in a way. In addition, I was also advised to probably revise the ethics policy of the University and see the guidelines. Other than that, I think I might just need to research a bit more about him in order for me to choose questions that relate to his work as well as give me more knowledge and understanding about how graphic design works in the Korean music industry; what his approaches are to different clients? How he approaches the brief other than listening to the music? Does he also discuss or collaborate with other creatives that work with other aspects of the client's album or overall brand?

SB1: Chosen Artist Research: @rowdee38 Rick Cho

As I'm quite interested in album art in particular Korean music cover art I ought to sought out the designers for actual cover art which I really like. I follow an artist named Jay Park and recently his album art covers have caught my attention and I really wanted to know who does them because they really capture the essence and feel of his music through the use of a few swatches of colours and usage of imagery and type.

After some researching I found out graphic designer Rick Cho (Rowdee) created them. Cho is a Seoul-based graphic designer who works in collage style mixtape influenced design. His early influences was the mixtape from The Diplomats. Cho got his start by creating cover arts for his neighbourhood friends though before this he used to work in the VFX industry working in TV and films. Cho got to work with 6lack for his cutting ties album as well as other international artists such as Taylor Bennett.

In an interview, Cho described his work method to be heavily based on the sound of the music and it's atmosphere. He bases the starting points of his ideas and designs to keywords he could describe the music with e.g. for 6lack's 'Cutting Ties' "gloomy black, dark blue, murky but crispy texture-wise". I really like this approach to design especially for artists as he prioritises the music in comparison to the image of the artists and the feel of the music, however at the same time not to say that he doesn't refer back to the artist themselves, but often the theme and vibe of the music correlates with the artist themselves therefore this is a complete image that is being created with the design overall. In addition, Cho doesn't just go by his own subjective view of the music; he also asks the artists themselves and communicate with them as much as he can as he said, "When I work, I talk with my clients a lot. Even if a client tells me, "Do you," I ask them various questions because I know every person has their own imagination." This way I also admire how he takes time to converse and make sure that at the same time the client is satisfied with the visuals that they are given for their work as well as the clients themselves will want a design that will be eye-catching even before listeners will listen to the music as the clients themselves just like Cho said will have their own way of interpreting their music, especially in a more personal way and so this way the client will feel as if they have participated in the design work and be more satisfied as they are given visuals that suit their preference as well as Cho's.

Looking at some of Cho's designs, I can see that his collage style slightly varies depending on the kind of music he deals with much more than the clients that he works for, and this may be because of what I've said before in this blog. His also got a strong typographical style that matches the aesthetic of the whole song itself which also helps achieve the overall atmosphere of the design in relation to the music. Take for example, Jay Park, he takes on different genres of music and you can actually see the different styles that Cho creates for these genre's.

1) 

https://open.spotify.com/track/7y9Xospz6eMMJBtqELet7d?si=GHyvmozKSOWX2A-4OUEflg

2) https://open.spotify.com/track/5qLBvWgMbMYaAdCY98iA8W?si=nkqsoVB0SkOxbB_cva-Paw

3)

https://open.spotify.com/track/4ZJ5sSEcLwFFCXRdCXgZOQ?si=y_1XsTRgTpe6wYwoQM5lrg

1) Yacht ft. Sik K - This song has a very smooth tropical vibe, it's quite 'breezy' and poppy and makes the listeners associate it with a beach of the sun. The usage of heavy imagery, emphasis and obvious link to the sea and a yacht makes the design appropriate and effective as the feel and atmosphere of the music heavily influences the listeners imagination. The use of subtle links to the sea such as the illustrated map trails and compass such as the direction of the type is also very effective as it ties in the design and concept really well without being too much and too literal to the concept. I think it's imaginative enough and actually a good balance of being visually straightforward whilst still being imaginative with how other links could be used making the design work overall. The use of contrasting type styles also help balance the minimal use of colour and imagery in the design as the use of the white space with the contrasting serifs and styles make up for the 'lack of design'. It's also effective as it grabs the listeners attention enough to read the title and artists while looking at the imagery as well.

2) Love My Life ft. ph-1 - This song has a more bouncy feel with quite futuristic bass. Automatically, the use of bright vivid colours caught my attention and immediately made me try and associate the sound of the song to something quite poppy and happy whilst the minimal abstract imagery made me think it's one of those trendy poppy trap songs. Upon listening to the actual song whilst looking at the design, I felt that the design effectively captured the style of the music. This time, instead of being literal with the imagery and connotations, Cho used certain elements like colour, white space, image and layout of text in order to portray the atmosphere of the music which I thought was very successful.

I think, as I went through Cho's work and his archive, I've noticed the consistent effective use of space and layout and balance between text and imagery. This for me is really important as it shows his awareness of being able to showcase the album art itself as well as the client and the song. Having clear hierarchy in information helps listeners and the audience, distinguish which is the most important information e.g song title and artist name and which one's aren't as important.

3) Hulk Hogan - This song was quite different from the other two in the fact that it was quite dark and trap/rap heavy with a deep bass and moderate bpm. Similar, to the previous cover art, Cho has chosen to portray the feel of the music. I think in particular the collage imagery works particularly well as it successfully gives a subtle reference to the concept of the song and at the same time listeners can have their own interpretations of the cover art and assumptions of what the song is going to sound like as well that is very much heavily connoted to the elements that Cho has used e.g. dark colours, rough handwritten typography, handcrafted imagery.

Thoughts and Reflections: 

Overall, I really enjoyed looking through Cho's work and as I've made myself familiar to his designs it's made me appreciate album art even more as lots of components and thought are put into it than seen through the actual final design. The process that he goes through and his way of working is also very inspiring for me as he heavily converses and communicates with his clients which is something that I also think is very important. In addition, his working environment and field is something that I'm very interested in as well as I consider music as a big part of my life, I think of it as one of the reasons why I want to do graphic design as a whole, especially with the kind of music that I'm particularly invested in where design in every aspect is very much considered. I also thought at some point of wanting to work in the music industry in some way and I think how Cho operates and his whole ethos speaks to me which is why I have chosen him as one of the designers which I would like to perhaps make a report on and find out more on how he operates and his design processes and more on his beliefs and ethos with working with clients.

https://djbooth.net/features/2018-02-27-rowdee-interview-covered-6lack
http://rowdee3886.tumblr.com
https://www.instagram.com/rowdee38/?hl=en

SB1: Creative Report Artists

For the crit that we will be having later today, I'm going to drop down artists which I like and could somehow influence me in a way.

June Digan

Graphic Designer and Illustrator who mainly does hand drawn lettering and illustrations using watercolours and paints. I used to use water colours and illustrate all the time and she was one of the artists that I looked up to for references and typographical influences. Maybe researching more and possibly talking to her will help me get back on my drawing flow at the same time get to know more of her work and other work expect form the ones that I see on her feed.

Eric Hu

Eric Hu is on of the designers who I've currently been starting to be interested in. I actually found out about him through Ben when Ben talked to me last year about my own personal style and the work that I have been doing since last year. Ben mentioned how I tend to lean more towards Eastern designs and culture in general e.g. when I did Kpop Design for my PPP presentation and I did Korean Hiphop for my micro-genre module in the Studio Brief. And, he suggested that maybe I should start looking more towards eastern graphic design and how it may differ from western graphic design.

Eric Hu is a designer and creative consultant based in New York and Montreal. Hu mostly works in fashion and music and has established a distinct stylistic use of big image making paired with high impact typography.

SSENSE 

Eric on Rebranding - "rebrands have become a spectacle'
"audiences are more visually literate..."
"the higher the design deviated the higher the likelihood of it being interpreted to fix something and if the audiences sees that you're trying to fix something, it draws the conclusion that something was broken..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ShfgTVXJ8

SB3: PPP Manifesto

Manifesto: a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate.

Today for PP we looked at some examples of manifesto's from designers which gave us a sneak peek and ideas for Studio Brief 3 of this module. To look at the manifesto examples, we went to www.manifestoproject.it . Looking through the website I recognise some of the works that were there such as The Vignelli Canon. I've actually read this manifesto last year as part of my studio practice, mostly for typography purposes, however as I read through the canon I've learnt a much broader understanding of the different aspects that is considered when designing. Though the canon itself was quite a long read, I actually quite enjoyed reading it - though it is quite a modernist manifesto I did agree with the ideas that Vignelli has put forward but at the same time I also think that they could be applied to broader aspects and not necessarily focused on being traditional but instead also apply some expressive and individual approach.

Looking through the manifesto's in the website, I found some manifesto's that are quite similar in terms of their layout and one's which I also actually quite liked.

• The Cult of Done Manifesto (Bre Pettis & Kio Stark)& The Edenspierkermann Manifesto (Edenspierkermann)

Both these manifesto's had the same manifesto layout consisting of 10 short sentences. I really liked this layout at it effectively summarises their points and gets straight to the point which can be understood very easily and stick to your head quickly. I particularly liked The Cult of Done Manifesto, as I feel like the statements that they've wrote down are things that I often think about as well so it impacted me and made me agree to the points that they said. Particularly, #4; for me I feel like for most of the ideas that I've conducted I feel like I didn't know where the actual idea will go, however I went with the flow of development of the idea anyways to see where it will lead me. Instead of, halting the idea which I didn't feel was adequate I went with it and saw through the results which in turn helped me evaluate the advantages and disadvantages which will help me develop the idea further. Reading through the Edenspierkermann manifesto I felt like it was a good way of showing their ethos and what they what to achieve. It made me think that maybe I need to start thinking about the kind of principles and ethos I'd want to have in my own practice as well as recognise what I'm good at and what I struggle at in order to gain confidence in my own practice.

• The Pesto Manifesto (Peter Nowogrodzki)

The way this manifesto was fresh and fun which I enjoyed. Using another mean of getting across your message in a familiar setting e.g. a recipe in some way gets rid of all the seriousness and formalities of the manifesto and in turn make it sound more approachable and relatable for the readers, not to mention it's also more interesting and new to read. Using references to food is also a good way to make the readers understand the message better. Furthermore, I thought maybe when I start thinking about how I'm going to write my own manifesto, maybe I could approach it in a similar way- maybe could write it as a poem? a play? but something not too complicated that will completely dilute the message I'm trying to get across.

Personal Task:

My personal manifesto suggestions? 

• Don't procrastinate 
• Stop stressing about being stressed because it's gonna make you even more stressed.
• Stop working after 9pm.
• PLAN PLAN PLAN
• Home time is Me time.
• Always ask questions, question questions.

*These are some of the manifesto points that I've made for myself, it's also a way for me to encourage myself and to keep my self on track. In addition, I'm someone who liked to have a mental plan in my head of what I need to do in a week at least, even though it may just be a rough idea. It also takes me a long time to do things therefore planning it out in my head way ahead in time kind of prepares me to actually do them on the time/days/week that I want to do them. I also like to set myself boundaries between uni and 'me' time, as I know myself that it's nearly impossible for me to do work at home, it's necessary for me to tell myself to do certain things at uni rather than at home. In relation to this, I also give myself rules and restrict myself of doing things at certain times, in  order to manage my time wisely e.g. only doing PPP work during PPP days. And, because of these rules I'm able to properly have my 'me' time as it separates my work and social life - and it's not necessarily that my social life doesn't correlate with my design life anyways, as the things I do outside of uni also evolve around design in a way, as design is everywhere. I subconsciously think about design but at the same time I know that at that time I am prioritising my social time, which I think help balances my life out between the two and minimises the stress that I feel. 

Group Task:

Overall group manifesto? How can we relate this to Level 5 Graphic Design?

• Be responsible 
• Remember you have a life outside the studio
• Draw the line between home and work
• Take breaks often
• Go at your own pace and don't think about other people.

* Uni isn't open 24/7, so neither should we :)

*Ultimately, we choose 'Uni isn't open 24/7, so neither should we'. This manifesto is very similar to the manifesto that I've written for myself and relate to a lot. I think that we do need our time for ourselves to process everything that is happening and balances different aspects of our lives so that we don't get as stressed as much. In addition, I also think that by doing this this will make us produce better quality work and work that we are more satisfied and confident with in the future.

Other groups Manifesto's:

• "An idea shared is an idea doubled" - I really liked this manifesto as it's quick and simple. You don't need further explanation in order to understand the message that they are trying to relay. In addition, it's also very relevant to our practice as graphic designers and having communication and conversations in order to create better quality work should be done more often by use e.g. setting up our own crits or going around asking more people for feedback.
• "Blood, sweat and tears" - I didn't really get this manifesto that well as I feel like their summary is quite vague; just like what someone said from another group, the sentence could be interpreted in other ways ad may not be understood at ones. Having the rest of the explanation with the sentence would work much better, however, it may make it too word heavy, perhaps re wording the message could work just as well, if not even better?
• "Feedback should be constructive not offensive." - This message is also quite relatable and something that most of us experience especially in this course. Although, I do feel like we do have that unspoken border or where it's appropriate and where it gets offensive as we work in the same field and have the same mindset in a way. However, all of us have individual opinions of what we find offensive and constructive therefore in a way I think it may be how us as individual take on someone's opinion on our work. In addition, as mentioned by Orlando before, our own opinions on our work may also affect how we'd like to be seen by people e.g. being confident about the work and being confident on showing it to people and okay with them ripping it apart and you taking it in as constructive criticism and vice versa. 
• "Experiment more..." - I also liked this group's manifesto; although I forgot to get their full manifesto. IN contrast to the other groups where maybe it didn't need the extra summarisation. This groups manifesto sounded more effective and believable for me with the extra text as in a way it's a kind of validation for us that we are doing great work. It also elicits empathy for us and encourages us to work harder from what we are already doing.

Thoughts & Reflections:

Overall, I really enjoyed today's PP lecture and was very fruitful in terms of the ideas that we've gathered for the course manifesto as well as our own. Also, looking at existing manifesto has given me an idea and a sense of how I could also relay my own manifesto and ethos in the most effective way possible which communicate to people as well as represent me fully. Although, we did this lecture really early compared to when we're actually going to do Studio Brief three, I think that it's great that we're ding this now because it's given us a head start to start maybe thinking about our own principles and ethos for our own personal practices as graphic designers. 

SB3: Get to the Point!

Today we had our first PPP lecture with Alec Dudson and did the 'Get to the Point' workshop. In the morning workshop we were to work in groups of 6 to individually write down out thoughts and feelings in regards to our future aspirations and plans on pieces of post-it-notes. After, individually writing down our thoughts we were to pick one biggest worry we had written and expand from it. After, we then moved to another person's post-it-note and expanded on from what they have written. There were also some indicators or thought starters given to us in order for use to get cohesive ideas and thoughts for that person's worry e.g. write a solution in a form of an event, application etc. After writing on everyone's notes, we then decided as a group which worry we found the most interesting and relatable.

The afternoon session consisted of us expanding on with the note that we thought was the best. We were to pick a solution for the worry. (Our's was "Worry about work not being good enough after graduating University") - I think we picked this concern as we can all relate to this and it's something that's going to be a worry for us when we are going to 3rd year and nearing our graduation, also the fact that we won't have any help or guidance, lecture wise and equipment wise is a worry for us as it means that we may feel like there isn't anyone giving us a confirmation if our ideas are good, or that we just become unconfident in our own abilities, plus the fact that we have no access to equipment that will help us execute our ideas thus worrying about work not being good enough for commercial purposes and not industry level.

For this concern, we have thought about lots of ideas, firstly with 'basic' solutions someone may do e.g. do workshops, go to events, networking etc. But we thought that giving a solution to the concern early may be the best option as it gives us an opportunity to be more confident about it earlier and get used to the standards and not just be thrown into the industry all of a sudden.

Our group thought of having a course option in which third years can opt to present a brief or an idea to a panel of lecturers within the course and be judged on whether or not it should be done or not. The course will be mandatory for first and second years, but optional to third years. The module will be a collaborative work between all three years with the third year be the creative director (one who created/proposed the brief), second year (junior) and first (researcher). We thought this would be effective as it can give all three years a chance to experience what it may be like to work in a real industry frame work, as well as get to know each other, and most importantly give the third year confidence that they can actually do work and lead a team of creatives theme selves. We also hoped for the idea to be partially if not fully funded by the university in a way to encourage collaborative work between students and improve university standards of creative work. If it would be successful, it may be possible that other courses can do the same framework in accordance to their study, or even spread to other universities as well.

As we presented this idea to the whole class, we got some really good feedback and enthusiasm form the group and it is something that everyone is concerned about and something that they would be willing to do. We also got great feedback as the whole concept will give all three years different experiences as they move up the levels, giving them a virtual or test-run of the real industry in a way as one may move up different positions on work. Overall, the whole workshop was really good and was very productive.

Thoughts & Reflection:

I really enjoyed this workshop as it made me really think of what concerns me in my personal practice and has taught me in a way that its okay to have concerns and that I shouldn't be worried or embarrassed about it. Especially in the first part of the workshop where we had to write down our concerns I felts quite relieved in a way as I realised that everyone had similar if not the same concerns that I have and that I'm not the only one having such thoughts or worries. Also, reading everyones ideas and thoughts about my own and other people's worries was very informative as people had different ideas and point of views that they voiced out and made me realise that other things can happen too or I can do other things that will help lessen my worries. having the afternoon solution task was also really helpful because it gave us time to really think about solutions that we can do to solve these problems which was great as it means that we can actively take action of it and hopefully solve or lessen our worries. All in all, the workshop was great as a whole and was very productive, informative and relaxed all at the same time.