OFFSET Sheffield

Offset Sheffield was a great experience in better understanding the creative industry and how designers and studios go through their creative process.
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First speaker was Studio Laucke Siebein who are a graphic design studio based in Amsterdam and Berlin. This is a studio that aligns most to my current interest. Their work is heavily influenced by typography and love using it as artistic expression. Despite not being represented in my work, understanding the role of typography and how flexible it can be has changed my level of interest in using typography. It has become an area I want to do more in my work and to represent that explicitly in the designs.

In dealing with clients Studio Laucke Siebein a story is paramount. They regard clients to be ordinary people and not design orientated which makes it easier for their solutions to be understood. Another interesting point was how they designed their typeface, HSD sans. 

Forming the strokes of typeface out of small segments was a way I had not thought of when typographers design typefaces. The result is a very flexible and artistic typeface which can take on a varied tone of voices. In line with PPP and how I as a future professional should develop my design identity, Studio Laucke Siebein state that you have to work hard to create your own identity and taking youre interests and forming it into a symbol. If you copy someones work there's no reason to take it to the client as everyone can copy but not create original ideas. Finally, the last point which I should adopt more frequently is how Studio Laucke Siebein form their solutions. Their design process is more of a zig-zag line. They have fun with their work and don't know the final outcome. Having fun with their work was something that was common with all the creatives that spoke at OFFSET. It was clear that the more fun they had in their work, the more creative and confident they are of the solutions. 

Next was Steve Simpson who was a very engaging speaker and had an interesting portfolio. Being the longest at OFFSET, his speaking style was natural and seemed off the cuff. His whimsical style of illustration values the relationship between type and illustration. Working in a limited palette for each brief, Simpson states how this limitation often produces more focused pieces of work. This is something to consider when designing my work. A good oppurtunity to experiment with this is with the smaller responsive brief such as Secret 7 and Penguin. Forming a limited palette that representative of the content for example. Much like having blogs to explain the design process, Simpson values having sketchbook that documents past ideas which may not have been greenlighted at the time but may be appropriate in the future. 

Moving Brands highlighted the relationship between the studio and the client. Firstly their design process is one that I should adopt. They don't try and make the process a hermetically sealed environment. It should be a messy process that is open to a range of ideas. Taking this further, Moving Brand's relationship with the clients is a constant conversation. Bringing the client into the studio, showing them the creative process and making them part of the design process as well. The result is a solution that the client is confident in and properly represents their aims. Not only that but Moving Brands create their own designs tools which then is passed on to the client. This allows the client to create their own adjustments and be creative with their identity. It was also encouraging to see that even at a professional level, their initial solution may not come into fruition in the end. This was seen in their Stella McCartney installation. 

MPC's Boss Everyone campaign highlights how going against the grain can sometimes better than adopting the current trends. With the Boss Everyone campaign, MPC adopted a rougher design visual that was appropriate to the younger audience. The use of memes, emojis and a sense of humor that makes adidas look more approachable brand by relating to the customers interests. This is an aspect that should considered when designing to appeal to a specific audience.

Ian Anderson of the Designers Republic sparked a possible design process for Secret 7. Ian Andreson's art work for Sheffield bands were hand done. An analog process which produced work that were characteristic and tactile. Doing it by hand also makes you think about the design process. You're invested in forming the design elements which is better than just pressing a function key. Another good point was how if you design with the intention to follow a trend, it often dates faster. This is something to consider with my interests in experimental type. With the influx of young designers creating this kind of work, it becomes a trend that may not become a mainstay in the design scene. So although it is good to explore trending facets of graphic design, it should not become the bulk of your identity. 

Aaron Duffy's unique presentation style listed the 12 steps to closing the gaps between doing the work for the money and doing the work for your passion which he calls "doing it for the meal and doing it for the reel". 
1. Why are you creative?
2. Remember where you started
3. Rethink art history
4. Give credit
5. Ease up on the personal style
- this was a point that could be a counter argument to basing your style of work on interests. Duffy turned down an offer to do an ad that wasn't his style but was encouraged to do it by his peers. The ad then received praise and got him more work offers. Relating this point to my own PPP, eventhough my interests in graphic design are within editorial and typography, I should still be open to different forms of design which will expand my skill set.
6. Turn creative solving into creative problem making.
7. Help develop new technology
8. Consider illusions
9. Forget the meal and the reel
10. Create new business models
11. Keep making stuff.
12. Know that it'll be hard

In a Q&A panel with Pam Bowman (SIA/SHU), designer Shane Griffin, editor Alec Dudson (Intern Magazine) & industry recruiter Paul Wilkes (MPC), outlined how designers look at portfolios and what they like to see. Pam Bowman offered an interesting point in that sometimes even a good portfolio may not give you the job. There are other factors most namely the persons personality that can affect the offer. Alec highlighted how graduates and creatives should value their worth. This is an important point in a working culture where companies offer unpaid internships. Not only that but showing that you value your worth also comes through in how you sell yourself for potential employers. Portfolios need to be succinct and to the point to get the readers attention. Show what you have and if they're interested they will ask for more. 

Overall OFFSET was an eye opening experience in which made me understand that designers are human too and don't have a perfect solution for every brief. 

Challenges from first year

Looking back on First year, there were clear challenges and difficulties that can be addressed in Level 05. 

A difficulty that often appeared throughout the year was being on top of the work schedule, especially with multiple modules and briefs going on at the same time. With Level 05 requiring the student to be more independent than last year, time management is a high priority. What can be done is to break down the briefs to identify the key dates and requirements, and to break down my ideas in response to the briefs to identify the bookings needed and timeline of where I need to be in the project. Doing this would help me have a clear idea of what I need to do and where I need to be without stressing unnecessarily or missing out on key areas. In relation to bookings, it is better to book them in advance of a deadline so that mistakes can be accounted for. This was an issue last year when I had to re design the note for the Money Is_? exhibition due to screen printing errors as well as having to outsource the printing of OUGD404's Studio Brief 02 publication. Making these mistakes in the First year is beneficial however. Now in Level 05, knowing these mistakes will prevent me from making similar ones, especially in a pivotal year.

Secondly is my tendency to be too ambitious with my ideas, which can be seen in my evaluation for OUGD404's Studio Brief 02 publication. Speaking in context to my ideas for that brief and the content of the publication, I took on too much of Raf Simons career that ultimately lead to a publication that was not as focused as it should be. It was full of conflicting layouts that evidenced this. Being ambitious and aiming for elaborate design solutions is encouraged as it pushes the definition of what is graphic design, however I must consider the scale of the ideas alongside the other briefs. What I noticed was that because of that large idea, I spent more time on OUGD404 Studio Brief 02 than the others which potentially limited the outcome. This relates to the first point of breaking down my ideas. By breaking it down I can identify every component for criticism and narrow down the ideas to make my proposed solution stronger overall. 

Thirdly was the difficulty in identifying myself as a type of designer. In last year's presentation I identified as a fashion influenced editorial designer. This has changed. I still hold an interest in fashion and try to follow whats going on but I have realised it is not something I want to pursue after graduating. My relations to fashion only extends to my personal interests. I am not passionate enough or within the fashion world to justify why I should become a editorial designer in fashion. My interest in editorial design however still remains but I am more concerned about creating my own identity for editorial work. This stems from my admiration of how magazines are a platform to convey such unique and characteristic identities that can be recognisable enough without seeing the masthead. 

NEST magazine

During the summer NEST had an open invitation to all students of the college to publish work relating to the zine's theme, Form. I took this opportunity and entered a submission of my own. 

This was my submission. The rationale was to question our perspective in how a particular way in which a thing exists or appears. Since we typically imagine the sky being one shade of blue, I wanted to show that there's a whole spectrum of blues, even in a small area. The compositions are thus fragmented images of the sky, giving a new perspective to how we see it. 

From the point of submission to the launch of the zine, there was no acknowledge of whether i made it in. Where I did find out was at the actual launch of the zine at Village Bookstore. There we were able to have a conversation with the editor in-chief of the zine, Josiah Craven. 

Talking about NEST, it was great to find out how widely distributed the publication is. Having the zine being displayed in bookshops such as Village Bookstore, design studios and the college allows for my name to be at least be exposed to an international audience. A big factor in its wide distribution is the fact that its free to purchase. This extends the opportunities for the zine to be displayed anywhere and offers no hassle to the stockists. 

This is the first time I've had a submission be published in a publication as professionally received as NEST. This comes as a surprise as I did not spend a lot of time in formulating the idea and composition of the submission idea. This highlights how the act of taking the opportunity is beneficial regardless of being selected and it encourages me to try out more open submissions in the future.