Sunday 14 April 2013

OUGD502 // Task 5 // Who am I? - Who are they?

Client groups which use Graphic Design in their products or services
Graphic design is within the tertiary sector - the service industry in particular because we are given out a service to a client. Alot of the client groups are also within the service industry - the private and public sectors, which for me as a designer would be the clients that I would aim for.
Here are the areas of design that I have identified:
Retail
Publishing
Print - screen printing, letterpress etc
Journalism
Educational
Finance - accounting and banking
TV and Film
Food and drink
Health
Public domain
Tourism
Hospitality

Client group which reflects my creative ambition:
The client group which I can identify with the most is publishing, I love publishing and editorial design, it is one of the areas that I work the best within and have the most ambition and fun when working in it. I think as an area of design it is very broad because publishing can fit within many other area of design and client groups itself. With this I would always combine book binding and print within it, these two areas are other particular favourites of mine and ones in which I think I am the strongest in, combining these areas together with publishing creates a better outcomes and something which I feel makes my publishing different.
At the minute I would want to keep this client group broad as I don't have a particular view on where I could aim or do publishing within, as I said before it can fit into a lot of the bigger client groups. If I was to choose now, it would be retail, because again this is still quite broad and offers a lot of variety within it. You can design for clothing, music, technology, food - supermarket, etc which publishing can be apart of them all in some way.

What skills and interests I have and how they relate to client group:
I am very interested in editorial design and publishing itself. I think I work well within editorial design and get a buzz of it myself. I love to work with type and image and creating a layout which displays this bout also challenges it too, by mixing the two together.
Within my recent editorial design projects I have always tried to look at the format of the publication, creating a format which is moving away from the standard A and B formats, but using these are a basis to work within as to print they have to fit within these sizes. Creating a publication that has a different format and way to interact with, makes it more interesting to both read and look through. I think this is something that I can offer to my client group.
I feel that I am strong at layout design and create a good structure to work with type and image, again mixing these together in a more creative way makes the design better. Another area I have been improving on and now using much more within my own practice is illustration, this has been coming through into all design area that I use, but mostly editorial design.
I also have a good interest in branding, I don't feel as strong within this area of design as publishing and editorial, but I think by working on it more it will get better. Using this with publishing I think I can create a good practise of being able to create a brand for a client which has a strong focus on communicating the company through publishing and other branding products.

What skills are needed and what skills are needed to develop:
Skills that area needed to work with clients:
Time management - working to strict deadlines and having the final product developed and finished for this deadline as this is key to produce work for a client in the industry.
Communication and dealing with clients in a professional manner - having the knowledge of how to approach new clients and talking to them in the right way to get the work in and being ale to work for the client.
Proposals / presentation - developing my skills for presentations, I feel quite strong at them but not for industrial proposes and pitching for a job. I also think I need to improve my presentation boards and how I present the work for the client to see the full concept and idea.
What I feel I need to develop further:
Creating work that can be produced at mass and for print within the industry - at the minute creating one of publications and printing on our printers at Uni isn't the same as I would for industry. Depending on the scale of the print run would determine if it was printed digital or through litho etc - this would change how the product would have to be designed.
Improve skills on branding - I want to get better at branding and be able to offer this as a service, if I could I think having this as a concept for my practice would work well. Being to brand a company, with the focus on publishing and other branding products - normal branding literature.
Refine my editorial design skills to be able to adjust for each different client but still offer something different - develop a style which I can work within publishing at can be adapted well for different clients, but still work as something that offers a different look/ style on the normal be this by looking into the format, printing techniques and binding of the publications.

My professional/creative aims and how they relate to the needs of the client group:
My professional aims at the moment is to carry on working within the areas of design that I am most interested in and get them to the professional standard that i feel will be good enough to be out in the industry and to get work from clients. I want to create a professional portfolio that shows my work and area of practice to the best ability, this will focus on publishing and branding and hopefully communicate the design style and way that I work within my own practice. I also want to look at getting experience in working within the this area of design and also getting visits and placements within studios that are focussed around this area of design also - publishing, print, branding.
I feel that the way in which I work and the work that I produce, if I keep challenging pushing and editorial, by using printing techniques and focussing on the format then I can will have something different to offer the clients which I feel this I necessary to do, everyone wants to see something different and have a product that is better and out there than what everyone else has. I think looking at the branding side of clients will also work in my advantage and offer a good service too.
If I develop these skills and carry on working on the areas that I have discussed above I think that this will work the best for my client group and relate to the needs that they will be looking for, but present them with something different at the same time.

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