Portfolio Review

I signed up to a portfolio surgery last week to speak to two visiting professionals from Elmwood in Leeds about my work. Surprisingly it went really well and they loved my illustrations! I do however had a LOT of work to do and amendments to make. Nothing too difficult though so I'm excited to begin. I got so much from it and found it really helpful. I went in thinking I was a graphic designer who specialises in vector illustration, however when I came out I knew that I hadn't been quite right and that my real passion lies as an illustrator. It was a valuable experience. They taught me to be more confident about my work, who I am and what I do. I shouldn't be afraid to make a living out of doing something I love and generally just drawing pictures. There are people out there who do just what I do and make a really good money from it. I just need to put myself out there and put across my work in it's best possible way. In the mean time I just need to keep developing my portfolio pages!

Portfolio Development

I'm currently trying to collate work to put into my portfolio. I'm struggling a bit however due to the fact I'm working in InDesign which I'm not very competent with. I'm also trying my best to keep consistency throughout my layouts by using the same template. Border, logo, brief description etc... So, these are some screen grabs of what I've put together so far.














I hope to get a sign up session with a visiting professional next week to see if they can advise me on how to improve it and make it look as professional as I can. (More FMP pages still to be added.)

Business Card Quotes

I've had responses back from: Generation Press, Wood & Richardson and Pressision. Each quote is very similar however, all quotes are way out of my price range. I thought this would be the problem I'd have... Now I need to either change my business cards to not be back to back if I want to try and pursue the block foiling effect or change my concept all together and get them printed with a spot UV varnish on them to make the whole thing cheaper. This puts me in a tricky situation because then I feel like I'm settling for second best if I go with the UV varnish finish as opposed to the foiling. Decisions decisions.

New Portfolio

My new portfolio has arrived today!
I ordered it from:

http://www.portfoliosplus.com/default.aspx

I'm really excited to pick it up. I got it delivered to my home address in York because it had to be signed for and there was no guarantee that someone would be home at my flat for it. So I'll be able to collect it Thursday night when I go home. It's a black Prat Pampa display book described as:

Prat Pampa Book with Matt Polypropylene Sleeves 143
'Black or burgundy red bonded leather presentation book. The modular spiral mechanism opens and closes to add or replace sleeves. Soft deluxe bonded leather cover and lappet closure. Black protective cover inside. Includes 20 matt polypropylene sleeves with luxury black paper inserts. Also see Pampa books containing the clearer polyester sleeves.'

These are couple of images I pulled offline of it:

Logo Update

I have been updating my logo again... No change there. I've had a couple of ideas that I wanted to experiment with. My initial design is just my name within a black circle. Simple black and white. Say it how it is. That's me. But then I got into thinking how I am as a designer and not just as a person. I want my logo to say something about me and the way I work. My approach to briefs and my specialism. So, I started experimenting with including some illustrative lines and placing them behind the circle so it appears that they are coming out of the centre.

This was my initial design which I mocked up and too with me to my Bivouac interview in York....

I've carried them about since then, but I'm just not keen on them. They're too fussy and just not what I want. I'm not that fussy so therefore I just don't think they're right for me anymore. I like the concept behind it but just feel it needs to be simplified a little more. Here is the new design which I am now using instead...


At the moment I'm looking into getting them printed up for real and not just mocked up downstairs in digital print. But what I want to do is block foil an area of the new logo on the front. (The cards will still be back to back, with my details on the reverse.) My options will be one of the following:

1) Block foil Liv
2) Block foil the entire circle and swirls
3) Block foil the circle
4) Block foil the entire area behind the logo so there is no white space

At the moment I'm pretty set on option 1. This is because I feel the circle and swirls should all be kept the same colour and not separated. I also feel that block foiling the entire circle and swirls would detract away from the the logo which is 'Liv.' I want the foiling to be subtle, so it is just enough to add that extra touch but not be over powering so that the logo is lost. The only other thing to think about is weight of stock, type of stock and colour of stock. I know I want them to be a minimum of 400gsm, possibly heavier if I can. I also want them matt so that they have a nice feel and contrast well with the block foil.

Type layout development:











I also tried white out type on black and colour but I just don't like it as much as I like black type on white.



I was leaning towards a portrait layout because I like the way the type works on the reverse of that. However, I know that this just wouldn't be appropriate from the logo on the front. The way in which the logo works is set to a landscape format. Anything else, and it would just be lost when scaling down or pulling it about. Therefore I feel I will have to go with a landscape business card.

Logo layout development:



This was the initial logo which I just wanted centered, but it just wasn't working for me. Below are alternative layouts with the new logo I have decided to use.







This is my favourite layout so far and is most likely to be the one I go with.

Business card update...

I've been searching for a printers that do block foiling on business cards. I have found a few that do it, but it's just a matter of whether or not it might be feasible to go through with it. Foiling is something I would really like to add to my business cards once I have settled on my over all design.
These are the names and links to a few sites I have looked at so far:

Auroraprint - http://www.auroraprint.co.uk/
Generation Press - http://generationpress.co.uk/
Duffield Printers - http://www.duffieldprinters.co.uk/index.php
Target Print - http://www.targetprint.co.uk/
AFP Design and Print - http://www.afpdesign.co.uk/index.htm
Gold Design Print Ltd - http://www.gdpl.co.uk/
Print Leeds - http://www.print-leeds.co.uk/

Internship Interview

The opportunity for an internship at a design company in York arose recently. I applied and to my surprise got an interview. As I'm from York it seemed the perfect opportunity. The company was Bivouac Design Solutions in Castlegate, York. These are the emails in which I have had in communication with them:

Hi Kate,

Just a quick note to say that I am currently a 3rd year Graphic Design student at Leeds College of Art and would be interested in finding out more about the internship with you at Bivouac. I have attached an up to date CV and I am currently producing an up to date PDF of some of my work. If you would like to have a look, please don't hesitate to ask. Alternatively this is a link to some of my work:
http://livportfolio.blogspot.com/

I look forward to hearing back to you at your earliest convenience.
Many thanks,

Olivia.

----------------------
Olivia Greaves

og81730@students.leeds-art.ac.uk
liv_952@hotmail.com
(+44) 07731831802

***

Thanks for your email Olivia.

We'll be having a good look this week and will be in touch.

All the best

Kate

Kate Pettitt MCSD
Creative Director

Bivouac Limited, Castlegate House, Castlegate, York YO1 9RP
Tel: 01904 679305 | Mobile: 07779 075142 | http://www.bivouac.co.uk

***

Hello Olivia

Thank you for your internship application.

Your interview will take place at our studio in Castlegate House, York at 4.15pm Wednesday 27th January. Please bring a recent portfolio and any samples of work you think will support your interview. When you get to the studio, just press the Bivouac buzzer by the door and we'll let you in.

The interview is likely to take about 30 minutes and will be carried out by myself and our Studio and Interpretation Manager, Helen Osbond.

We would like you do a fun little project to bring with you to the interview on Wednesday. Please make a little cubic box measuring 6cm x 6cm x 6cm. Decorate that box in any way you feel represents you and put an object in it that has meaning to you. We're not expecting wonders of engineering in the timescale and it's not going to be judged on its finish so there's no need to spend lots of money on printing or materials, but your ideas and approach to the project will tell us a lot about you and will give you something to talk about in the interview. Don't stress about it – have fun with it!

If you have any questions before the interview, just call or email me. If you need to rearrange, please contact me asap.

I look forward to meeting you next week.

Kate

Kate Pettitt MCSD
Creative Director

Bivouac Limited, Castlegate House, Castlegate, York YO1 9RP
Tel: 01904 679305 | Mobile: 07779 075142 | http://www.bivouac.co.uk

***

Hi Olivia

Thank you so much for coming yesterday, and for the effort you put into your box project and portfolio. It was lovely to meet you and to talk through your work with you.

Unfortunately, we have decided to offer the internship to someone else on this occasion. Your portfolio showed strong illustration work, which you are obviously passionate about (and good at), you came across as very well verbally, and we liked your little box, but we didn't see the evidence of layout and typography skills that we need for the work we would be asking you to do during the internship. We would suggest you to develop that side of your portfolio further before you look for work at the end of your course, even if you have to set a few projects for yourself, as employers will be looking for it. It would give your portfolio more variety and prove to a potential employer that you are a good all-rounder, which is essential, particularly in a small studio and in the current economic climate.

We would encourage you to stay in touch with us, and keep us informed of your progress. You are welcome to come for a portfolio review any time you like – just phone first to arrange a good time. We are keen to help talented students, so just pick up the phone if you need any advice or have any questions during your course and we will be happy to help.

I will be sending a cheque to cover your travel expenses to the address on your CV, so you're not out of pocket (I was a student once, many moons ago, and remember what it's like!).

Thanks again for your time and effort, and all the very best with the course and final major project. I look forward to seeing how you progress, and what you do next.

Kate


Kate Pettitt MCSD
Creative Director

Bivouac Limited, Castlegate House, Castlegate, York YO1 9RP
Tel: 01904 679305 | Mobile: 07779 075142 | http://www.bivouac.co.uk

***

Although I didn't get the internship, I didn't feel too disappointed and was really pleased I went along anyway for the experience. It wasn't as daunting as I thought it would be and the two women that interviewed me were both really nice and welcoming. They took a long while looking through my printed portfolio and asked questions about my work. I also took along a digital version of my portfolio which I had recently just finished updating for them to keep and some business cards. They took the business cards straight away and had a good look. It is true that all designers like to touch and play with print based products! I also enjoyed doing the little design brief they asked me to bring along and made a concertina fill and on the outside covered my box with sheet music and my logo stickers. I plan to stay in touch with them and take them up on the offer of my portfolio review. All in all a great experience.