End of module evaluation

This has been a module of very mixed feelings. I feel often that the explanations of what we needed to do were slightly lacking and it was easy to feel lost in terms of what was expected. It has in this sense been a lot more of an independent module which could arguably have been a good thing on some levels. However I was left fairly frustrated at times as I felt a few areas, especially in the third, self branding, brief were under explained and ambiguous. It felt at times like we were being told one thing and then advised to do another, however this meant I had to be very adaptive and had to finish the final brief in just a matter of days after some misunderstandings. In this sense I can be very proud in my output. I feel like the quality of design is far diminished from my studio practice work, however I appreciate that PPP isn't really about the quality of design.

Working in groups has given an extra dimension to my work and made me more able to take control of a situation and lead a little more, whereas before maybe I would have sat back to a greater extent in group scenarios. This is of course an essential skill to develop over the next 3 years if my ambition is to be a creative director or art director. The module has supplemented my freelance work to some extent as its all about how you interact with people in a creative setting. I am looking forward to see how it develops in terms of  real world briefs in the future.

Talking to industry professionals in film project brief was an incredible opportunity. Despite Maria Walnut not quite being to my taste and a live interview unfortunately not being possible, it was still a great experience to learn from her. I think opportunities like this are invaluable and would love to be able to do more similar things in future. I will look to independently contact artists and designers for my own work in future and this project gave me more confidence to do so.     

Overall I can be happy with my work, in the face of slight adversity, and look to build on it in future.

Work for Karma Curry

I have been working on packaging for a client since mid August with the first products hitting the shelves on the first of December. The product is a range of 3 homemade curry sauces that I had to design an identity for, just in the form of 3 labels so far. The client came about through a recommendation via a long term client at Rapt.com gifts. The project was like nothing I have done before in terms of scale because most of my previous freelance has just been website buttons here and there or a few logos. I do have some concerns that I'm not charging enough for my services, however I feel the fact I cannot be by any means full time on client based work due to uni commitments makes £8-10 an hour and £100-150 for an identity a fair fee.

Its a really interesting learning kerb in which my favourite idea will often not be selected and I'll have to work on something I didn't like as much. However finding the balance between my own preferences and that of the client is always an interesting and at times exciting process.

I've entered this blog post now because I've just been informed that Karma Curry is now set to be sold in Provenance Village Butchers, who have 3 branches in Notting Hill, Chelsea and West Hampstead. A very exciting development as previously they had only been stocked in a limited quantity in my local Butcher in Somerset. The development shows that clearly I did something right with the branding and that the sauces are very tasty of course (I can confirm they are). However the move to London stores has meant that I've had to include a barcode on the back of the pots and make a few other adjustments. The world of barcode legibility and how they format is very new to me and I can only hope I've got it right. 

I look to continue with this work as well as a long standing client who has just been in contact regarding more work. 

  

PPP Self branding end of project presentation

Today was the end of project presentations for self branding. I went into the presentation feeling very unprepared in terms of the slides I had as I didn't follow all of the suggested format and aesthetically the show was really lacking. This was due to some poor time management from me as I was still finishing my deliverables late last night. I think this sums up my fairly poor understanding of the task as a lot of presentations didn't have many physical deliverables at all. Me a few other peers have felt a bit lost with the project over the two weeks as it appeared to be very open yet the actual type of project we needed to produce was fairly narrow but I have a better understanding of it now. This meant that I didn't really start working on the project in it final orientation until Tuesday. However I agree that maybe the project in its current capacity is more appropriate for my fledgling level and should have been seen by me as more of an opportunity for humour and a unique idea than actual serious branding.

In terms of the presentation itself, unsurprisingly due to its bold, provocative nature certain elements went down well and were perceived as being humorous. I feel like this did make up the presentation a lot easier and it was in general well received as a strong, innovative idea. One negative was the manner in which I presented as I was self depreciating in terms of the actual presentation and maybe too apologetic. The easiest way to stop this in future would be to have greater confidence in my presentation and have time to actually rehearse what I was going to say. This is probably the main asset that the most successful presentations had as even though I was think my idea was more innovative, the best were very polished with clear colour schemes and layout design with a clear plan of what to talk about on each slide. To improve my own presentation visually more pictures and short passages or quotes should be included as at the moment its text heavy at times.  Over all peers presentations were a very interesting assemble ranging from bright, punchy and loud to cold, clinical and structured, portraying personality along the way. The slickest presentation weren't necessarily the most original ideas and vice versa, a balance must be struck.

research into the little finger within culture

“There is only a finger’s difference between a wise man and a fool.” 

- Diogenes

I like the concept of utilising something as universal as the human hand as part of the branding because it gives an audience of potentially 99+% of the global population. This creates the potential for a viral campaign in which the Swanker hand signal could be used by anyone and everyone helping build a strong brand identity. It was explored before by McDonalds in the 90s and Budweiser’s wassssup advert in the early 00s, which didn’t officially feature hand signals but has got people making a hand phone and answering with their tongue out even to this day. People love to quote and copy things they find amusing, making the concept of Swanker all the more powerful. From research it appeared to be the case that the little finger alone was not a popular tool for hand branding, perhaps due to its slightly more limited visual impact. However when tied in with the Diogenes quote  and the joke of it being an elitist thing that makes the user better than other people, the concept is very effective.

There are a multitude of theories as to why ‘upper class’ people drink with their little finger out including: Parisian socialites with VD were socially expected to drink with their fingers out, so that others in high society could tell who they could safely dally with. Or, the disease simply prevented them from doing it, as the upper class were so much more rife with the disease than the lower class, that it became a sign of the upper class. Whereas other stories claim it’s down to Henry the VIII’s wife who had an extra pinky finger which couldn’t bend, and copying her was a sign of those who supported the king. With so many of these stories knocking around there appears to be a bit of a cryptomnesia on the topic. In fact it’s now considered poor etiquette to drink with your finger out. All of these factors aid the Swanker brand as it is meant to be a bit of a mockery of class culture and in no way a serious reflection of Sol Chadwick. Incorporating humour into the branding is essential for its success. Alongside humour another essential factor that makes Swanker, Swanker is the slightly risqué, offensive nature of the campaign. For this it was essential to touch upon hand gestures of offense such as the middle finger. The origins of which date back to 4th Century BC Athens, when the philosopher Diogenes told a group of visitors exactly what he thought about the orator Demosthenes. This explanation makes the chosen Swanker quote all the more relevant and was a theme that needed to be played upon. 

The reason for the placement of fingers can be described as a Phallic gesture “The middle finger is the penis and the curled fingers on either side are the testicles, you are saying, ‘this is a phallus’ that you’re offering to people, which is a very primeval display.” says anthropologist Desmond Morris. Fingers are often used to portray a specific character or gang e.g. Dr Evil and the Bloods (bellow). Dr Evil the most akin to the Swanker gesture found in research but is still distinctly different, furthering originality.  

Information adapted and found on www.cliseetiquette.com/2014/11/21/raised-pinky-fingers-scone-slicing-tea-faux-pas/

Paula Scher poster

I decided to research famous poster designer Paula Scher and specifically her 1994 work for the public theatre as inspiration for my own posters. The general idea behind the branding was to inject fun and diversity into the identity. Scher worked with a limited pallet of very bright, vivid colours, alongside an energetic, original grid system that featured text of eclectic sizes, proportions and orientations. The end product is vibrant, youthful and obviously eye catching. This bold appearance is something that was effectively appropriated within the swanker posters and was certainly suitable for the punchy aesthetic intended.  

Self branding reflections and sketches

Its been a tough first week in PPP with it seemingly being quite hard to come up with an idea that Penny approves. Having done research into creative directors I feel I have built up a far better understanding of what the role entails and how an art director role differs. However there has been fairly little progress in terms of ideas. I am perhaps jumping ahead of myself too much and thinking about the final outcome instead of the bigger picture. However it seems fairly unclear as to what kind of project we're trying to deliver. I've been a bit disparaged by Penny questioning my concepts so much, however I do understand where she's coming when she says about no worrying about deliverables yet. I can't really see why I can't base my branding around visual perception for example and have some kind of anamorphic business card type thing but I get that maybe it is a bit too loose and a concept and maybe I'll get more out of the project if I refine my ideas further.

Unfortunately I missed the crit on Friday due to illness, which would have been an invaluable opportunity to get some second opinions on what will or wont work. However I have drafted up the sketches bellow and showed them to a few peers for some basic feedback.

The sketches depict 3 early ideas from last that Penny didn't like and one concept at the bottom that I think has potential. The screwed up business card has been an idea since the first day and promotes the theme of juxtaposition however is having anything that looks like a business card at all boring? Admittedly the concept is maybe skin deep with this one. The next two down are glasses (potentially 3D) that in some way change what you see around you, possibly via a filter. This idea links in with the whole, creative directors need innovative vision rhetoric. Also the sponge which could be printed with my details. I selected a sponge because they absorb water just like how a creative director must absorb information at every opportunity.  

The final idea is to go back to what people said about me in the group task and embrace the fact that people think i'm posh. As a classic stereotype of the upper classes the little finger being used to drink tea is a funny quirk to pick up on and something I could potentially brand. I feel like this is more what Penny would like but I'll be sure to ask her on Monday. A potential idea as discussed with peers is the amalgamation of swanky and wanker, Swanker or the term fancy pants. Both have an air of light hearted superiority about that, which could be an interesting area to tap into. 

Creative direction research

I have decided to conduct some research into creative/art directors and companies I admire in an attempt to find a foothold in this task.

Raf Simons is one of my favourite fashion designers and a prolific creative director who has worked for the likes of Jill Sander, Dior and Calvin Klein since leaving his own renowned label in 2005. Raf started out his career as a furniture designer after a degree in Industrial Design and Furniture Design from a college in Genk in 1991. He would discuss fashion with peers in a cafe in Antwerp, namely the avant-garde designers of the time, Helmut Lang and Martin Margiela. Notably attending a show by the latter in 91, his first runway and an experience that inspired him to go into fashion. Raf built up a visual repertoire through the styles of designers he appreciated and his own knowledge of form to debut in 1995 with his own label Raf Simons thats. Becoming a household name within a matter of years. Rafs meteoric rise to prominence was down to hard work, contacts he made including as a furniture postgrad and an in depth visual knowledge of the market and what had come before. These qualities are all essential for both becoming and sustaining a creative director position, allowing the change over from designer to broader visionary to be achieved. 
I think the Raf story is particularly inspiring because of how quickly he adapted skills from a completely different field and applied them to the world of fashion, a concept that really interests me. As a creative director I would need to be adaptive and have knowledge across multiple genres. 



At this point I think I need to establish what the difference between an art director and a creative director is as a few of the companies I wanted to investigate, especially brands with publications, tend to have an art director and editor only.

My findings seem to be just around the monetisation side of the business. An art director will be in charge of creative output and fulfilling a brief by creating appropriate design. Whereas a creative director is in charge of ensuring an appropriate design is created and fulfil a business like stance also with the longterm creative outlook of the company in mind. With this new insight I would say that as a younger designer with limited knowledge of the industry, an art director role probably comes before creative direction. Unless I have an exceptional understanding of how to run a business from any previous design positions, for example running my own start up. With these advanced roles its very hard to envisage my way in now but I think its important my visual identity reflects this eye for creative vision.

In terms of art direction in publishing Mike Meiré was brought to my attention as the art director of design, culture and fashion magazine O32c. Mike has an impressive portfolio with 7 magazines that he has or still is art directing, many of fairly disparate contexts, from business to children's fashion. Once again the versatility within his work is exceptional and is a key attribute I should highlight within my branding. Meiré is an infamous provocateur as a uniting aesthetic across his work, he genre defies and uses anti graphic techniques and draw the eye. This over arching philosophy he applies to each magazine individually but also to his work as a whole shows the need for both continuity but also an adaptable skill set. This is one of the reasons I want to highlight the theme of juxtaposition within my branding as it demonstrates great range and shows my own personality traits, whilst from a design perspective giving an element of visual play that can draw the eye and compel potential clients to read on.



One thing I've found across most graphic design specific agencies (especially in the UK) is that they don't have creative directors by and large. An example of this is Pentagram which is to be honest the biggest graphic design agency I can think of. Pentagram operate a partnership model where a board of 19 creators work on individual briefs as well as the larger vision of the company. This is very interesting to me and seems to be a theme throughout most of my favourite UK studios. Spin studio has some one listed as a founder/creative director by virtue of it being founded about 25 years ago, meaning the founder Tony Brook is still the main visionary behind the output of their team of 9 employees. Spins philosophy is based around the physical act of making and stepping away from the computer screen to edit, build or destroy by hand. I also got the impression from the little information online that Tony has a brash confidence about the way he works and believes less in the process and letting a client dictate Spins every move, more in their ability to produce things in their own style. This is a very graphic design ethos I feel as a customer should come to you because they like your work, not because you do things on computers like the next company. Of course a balance must be struck and their balance is the job of the creative director.