Business of Design

Following on from our PPP studies, we had a presentation on the 'Industry Sectors', how we were a part of it and how to manipulate it, amongst other points of business in design.

First we looked at the UK economy...

I found a page on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office government page which stated 10 key facts about the UK economy.

The UK is the world’s 6th largest economy and one of the world’s top 10 manufacturers.

The UK is the world’s 2nd largest services exporter and the world’s 6th largest trading nation.
The World Bank rated the UK 2nd in the EU and 7th in the world on its "Ease of Doing Business" ranking.
The UK is the no.1 location for European headquarters: more overseas companies have their European headquarters in the UK than in France and Germany put together.
6 of the world’s top 10 vehicle makers are based in the UK – the industry accounts for 11% of the UK’s manufactured exports.
The UK has the world’s 2nd largest aerospace market share, with an annual turnover of £20 billion/yr.
London’s global financial centre was ranked 1st in the 2011 Global Financial Centres Index. Across the UK, there are >1 million people employed in financial services.
UK academic institutions include 4 of the world’s top 10 universities.
The UK has created 5 of the world’s top 20 best-selling medicines.
The UK’s low carbon industry is worth £112 billion/yr and employs 910,000 people.

What is an Industry Sector?
Industry is the sector of the economy concerned with the production of goods and services.
Within Industry, there are 4 sectors
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Quaternary
There is also a fifth sector, not really too relevant however, called, the Quintenary.

Primary Sector
The primary sector, also labelled 'extraction', involves changing natural resources to primary products. Most products from this sector are the raw materials used across the other sectors.

Agriculture

Farming generates around £5.9 billion per annum in the UK.

Largest factors of this income being milk, beef products, fresh vegetables, wheat and poultry.

Mining

Fossil fuels including, natural gas, oil and coal are still mined in the UK alongside metals like tin and lead. There has been a decline in the mining of certain metals such as copper and iron due to globalization. Industrial minerals are sourced from UK mining too, including, cement, sand and gravel. Slate and china clay are also mined in the UK.

Fishing

The fishing industry generates around £673 million per annum. There are 4 important seafishing ports across the UK, being, Whitby, Grimsby, Lowestoft and Fleetwood the home of the Fisherman's Friend. Processing of the fish is done by companies at 3 of the ports in the UK, Birds Eye at Lowestoft, Young's at Grimsby and Whitby Seafoods at Whitby.

Forestry

Around 12% of Britain's land surface is wooded. A decrease from how it once would have been. The UK has perfect ground for growing trees and the perfect conditions for mature trees such as oak. Each year the UK produces on average, 3 million cubic metres of sawn wood, 2.5 million cubic metres of wooden panelling and 5 million cubic metres of paper-based products. Generating around £2,500 million across the year.




 
Secondary Sector
The secondary sector is, commonly known as manufacturing, takes the outputs of the primary sector and produces finished and usable products to either export or sell within the country. The sector can also be split into two categories of light and heavy industry.

Automotive Industry

The automotive industry in the UK has an annual turnover of around £50 billion. Providing close to 1 million jobs across the UK. Automotive production includes top manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover, BMW Rolls Royce, MG Motor, Aston Martin Lagonda and Nissan.

Aerospace Industry

Turning over around £20 billion annually, hosting some of the world's largest companies, BAE systems, QinetiQ and Rolls Royce.








Pharmaceutical Industry

Generating around £15 billion a year, the pharmaceutical industry is the third highest industry in the secondary sector. Employing around 80,000 people and boasting facts such as one in five of the world's biggest-selling prescription drugs were developed in the UK.










Tertiary Sector
The tertiary sector, also labelled the service industry or the service sector. The tertiary sector serves both businesses as well as the general public but mainly focuses on the interaction between people as opposed to physical goods.

News & Media

BSkyB is the largest paid TV service provider with well over 11 million subscribers. Worth around £12 billion, one of the largest companies within the UK in relation to media and the news. Although the news and media also crossover from the public sector into the private sector.

Tourism & Leisure Industry

The tourism and leisure industry in the UK is worth around £20 billion.

Hospitals & Healthcare

The NHS is the biggest provider of healthcare across the UK, providing the general public with free services as part of the public sector. Other establishments include BUPA amongst other private sector establishments.







 
Quaternary Sector
The quaternary sector is the label for the research industry, looking for new ideas, production methods and different ways to manufacture goods.

Aesthetics

I mainly picked branding and identity, it's something I will be focusing heavily on this year. I also picked a web design image, a layout (type&grid) image and an geommetrical style

1. Designed for Attido - rebrand.
2. The intended audience is corporate businesses.
3. The function is to represent the brand and appeal to the corporate businesses via eye catching colour ways and a minimal, professional feel.
4. We think the budget was moderate to high.
5. The client is based in a few countries across Europe including a uk residence in Manchester.
6. The rebrand was designed by Bond - creative agency.

1. FedEx would be the client. Providing services in delivery, ground, express, networks, trade and freight.
2. The intended audience is the general public.
3. The function of the logo is to convey speed by showing the arrow between the 'Ex' which subtly relates to the service provided.
4. The budget for the FedEx logo, in my opinion, would have been a moderate sum, but not a lot in terms of their budget.
5. USA.
6. The designer was Richard Runyon in 1991 - Leader Creative.

1. The client is Highbrow male grooming lounge.
2. The intended audience would be men who require a grooming.
3. The function is to promote the business, the design has been letter pressed on a good stock to promote a luxury feeling to the proposed client.
4. Mid range budget to produce a small run.
5. San Francisco.
6. Ian Vadas designed the promotional material with input from the owner, Shirley Takuda.

1. Nuts.com is the client.
2. 'nut-astic' people are the audience according to their website. People who generally love nuts.
3. The function is to make nuts seem a bit more cool and appealing. Changing the audience from health specialists to the general public who like nuts. The design is playful and entices the consumer to look at the product. A natural design, looking a bit childish, to maybe promote honesty within their product.
4. High budget, expand on this.
5. USA.
6. Michael Bieut designed the rebrand.

1. Nike is the client.

2. Football supporters and enthusiasts would be the intended audience or just generally sporty people.

3. The function is to be aesthetically pleasing, creating a feeling of new and a significant change from the old type styles, futuristic in a sense.

4. The budget for this product would have been quite high, incorporating fresh new talant and established talent leading me to think the price tag would have been moderately high.

5. USA - Atlanta.

6. Only More Never Less studio, by designer Stuart Scott Curren.

1. Channel 4/ 4 Creative is the client.
2. Channel 4 viewers across all the channels by Channel 4 would see these idents on adverts for More 4 either on More 4 or the other channels.
3. The function is to help show a personal feel to the channel by creating an identity which in ways represents the channel. Intricate but quality, they applied 'flippers' to various objects including stairs and a boat, in effect, bringing life to what they were applied too.
4. In terms of what it would have cost Channel 4 I think it would have been cheap as it was a Channel 4 commission but the result of a competition entry, although there was a lot of work in the mechanical flippers.
5. UK.
6. ManvsMachine - design and motion studio.

1. Icon magazine is the client.

2. The intended audience would be architects and designers, upcoming and established. And as Icon describe it, people who would be interested by "interesting new cultural movements and technologies, and review an eclectic range of exhibitions, books, products and films." 
3. The function is represent food through the way the world is heading, complex, colourful and severely man made. In essence, the overlooking of food manufacturing and production. This specific edition of Icon being inspired by 3D food printer technology.  
4. The budget wouldn't be too extortionate, seems like something the designers are passionate about. Plus, it's a one off creation... or at least, one a few designed and created solely for this purpose.
5. France.
6. Zim & Zou, a couple based in France, choosing real objects hand crafted over digital reproductions.

1. The client is Premiss, a Scandanavian political magazine.
2. The audience would be youth that are against the EU or people generally interested in politics.
3. The function of the design is to appeal to their target audience of young professionals, a united youth sort of anti-establishment.
4. The magazine isn't very well known and I could find little information on the actual magazine, just information on the design. So from this I'll hazard a guess that the budget would be rather low to a mid cost.  
5. Norway.
6. Heydays design studio, Amsterdam.

1. The client is Elm Cafe, a cafe in Edmonton.
2. Audience would be readers of Elm Cafe's magazine. People who visit the cafe. General public.  
3. The function is to promote an article in Elm Cafe's in store magazine.
4. An illustrator and a photographer were hired to create these images so maybe a medium budget.
5. Canada - Edmonton.
6. Josh Holinaty and Aaron Pederson from 3TENphoto. 

Why am I here - What do I want to learn?

Following on from our lists of 5, we were presented with our first task for PPP.

Identify and explain:

Reasons why you chose to study on this programme:

1. Reputation. The reputation of the BAGD course here at Leeds College of Art, 3 years in a row for D&AD new blood alongside a lot of other awards. I heard about how strict the course was and how well it was managed, not like any other university, instead of handing out a degree and being overly not bothered about their students, Leeds College of Art stood above the rest.

2. Professionalism. The way in which the course is delivered, with an aim to get students ready for the real world of work. I had been told that attending the BAGD course was similar to having a full time job, which is so true.

3. Facilities. The facilities at hand considering the size of the establishment are incredible. There is so many different techniques and process' that can be learned and studied. The fact that their is 2 separate parts to Leeds College of Art with different printing rooms, amongst other things, made the course very appealing.

 4. Previous student work. When I came for my interview late in August, there were screenprints by Jonny Packham in the studio and out in the hallway which I thought were really good, not to mention the other work by people who I don't know, featured some letterpress and info graphics.

 

 5. Art college. LCA really appealed to me due it being a stand alone art college, specifically for the creative. The fact it is solely art courses is a big drive of inspiration, the chances to collaborate with students from other disciplines and the decorations/exhibitions the college regularly hold are all forms of inspiration.

6. Award winning course. By the time I had come to LCA the course had won awards in D&AD new blood 3 years on the trot, showing that the course is pushing out some of the best graphic designers in the industry making it one of the best courses available.


Things I want to learn whilst on the programme:

1. Web design. Web design is a big part of what I want to learn this year, building sites with a good coding knowledge which would sit alongside a good understanding of design to form aesthetically pleasing and user friendly websites.

2. Branding/identity. Branding and identity is another main focus of this year, I would like to undertake some branding projects and become a generally better designer.

3. Packaging. Design for packaging and designing packaging are another big must for me this year. I need to start looking into creative nets and how to be clever with packaging. Packaging should hopefully run alongside my practice of branding and identity, helping me form ideas in junction with the identity of a brand.

4. Personal, professional skillset. Being confident is one of the biggest flaws in anyones design practice. Being able to talk about your work to anyone that asks is a must for any kind of designer. My confidence in general needs a boost and talking in presentations is one of my most hated parts of the course, however, this needs to be improved and better planning of the presentations should help achieve this. I need to learn to be more professional, start seeing myself as a young designer and bridging contacts with other professionals and designers.

5. Business. Alongside general design practice, we need to learn the basics of how to promote yourself, brand yourself and become appealing to the top design studios whilst understanding what to expect from clients and how to conduct business efficiently.


Skills I believe are my strengths:

1. Illustration. Illustration has always been a strength of mine, ever since I was a little boy. I've generally always had good hand eye co-ordination and a strong passion for drawing, although there is always room for improvement. Last year I used some illustration for a few projects and this year intend to use more illustration in projects when it would be required.

2. Illustrator/CS software. I've been using Adobe's illustrator now since CS3, and my skills within the software are pretty good, I don't know it all but I know enough to use it adequately within projects and briefs. I enjoy using the creative suite and have come to terms with programs such as indesign, knowing little dreamweaver and photoshop.

3. Type & Grid. I really enjoyed the lessons that we had with Lorenzo about layout and creating thumbnails. I think this improved my skillset and enabled me to be able to produce a decent layout for Andy Foster during our project.

4. Collaborating. One of my strengths is definitely working with other people, having ideas bounce off one another is brilliant for idea generation. Over the year we had to work in groups for a lot of briefs which I believe I worked well in and we achieved good outcomes in all tasks.

5. No generic style. I haven't adopted a style and have produced a range of different design outcomes across the year. Although I believe this shows a lack of identity to a certain extent but it makes me more pliable to a larger clientele.

What I would like to learn during this programme:

1. Web code & design. I'd like to learn how to code websites including CSS, HTML, javascript and flash. I think knowing all these languages would be highly beneficial to my practice. Coding well along side a good creative mind could produce some top quality websites. I hope to be able to achieve this goal.

2. Branding. During this year I will be focusing heavily on branding and identity, whether it be for large scale corporations or just myself, it will be a big part of my practice. I want to learn how to build up a brand identity from the ground up and be good at it!

3. Packaging. Similar to branding and identity, a key part of it in a sense, I enjoy being hands on and actually creating something with my hands. Constructing and designing nets for specific projects and brands to obtain the feel that the client wants would be a big achievement everytime.

4. Letterpress. Letterpress really appeals to me due to the aesthetics of how it translates onto paper. The fonts that have been used for years and years show character and I like this personal feel letterpress gives. It's dying out in commercial use but it's still a skill I'd like to learn and potentially involve in my works.

5. Personal/professional skillset. Building on my personal and professional practice would be a big help to me this year, becoming a young professional, I really need to learn how to conduct myself with industry professionals and how to be professional myself. I think if I managed to visit some studios and speak to professionals in the industry would help me learn.

6. Business. I would like to know what I was doing when it comes to making a living off graphic design. I have no idea the technical terms involved, neither that of how much to charge. Knowing this information is priceless, it's something I can't wait to learn.

7. Confidence in speaking. During presentations and crits, no matter the size of the audience, I find it incredibly difficult to speak in front of groups of people. I need to work on building my confidence and talking to and in front of big groups of people. Confidence is key.

8. Blogging. Having never ran a blog before I still find it quite alien, although I am pushing myself to become proficient with blogging, so I do not fall behind in tasks.

Ways to evaluate my progress:

1. Crits. Critiquing work is essential to evaluate your progress, having a fresh pair of eyes to look over whatever it is that's been produced, helping keep your project on track. Putting in the work to be able to produce something adequate for the crit pays off when you get the answers you needed afterwards. Turning up with no work ensures that you won't progress as the project should do.

2. Tutorials. Tutorials are a key part of evaluating work, providing an in depth look at your progress and how best to overcome any problems. One to one tutorials can really help the design process for ideas, general progress and how to keep on track with your work.

3. Feedback. Although similar to crits and tutorials, feedback from peers during projects can help you evaluate your work. Feedback from family and other designers can help and feedback can also be gained through sites such as behance and pinterest.

4. General awareness of designers. Knowing what's being produced in the industry, past and present, can be a good way of evaluating work. Looking at how working professionals are producing work and what kind of standards can help judge whether you're work is up to par, similar to a self evaluation.

5. Questioning. Having a standard set of questions to work from can be a good way to evaluate your progress and ensure you stay on track with your work as well as sometimes helping generate ideas and inform the design process.

6. Grading. Receiving grades from projects/modules helps show what level you are working at, although at the end of a project isn't much help for that specific project, at least you have something to bear in mind for the next project.

Things that inspire me:

1. Peer work. Seeing people in our year pushing out work that I would deem at industry level is inspiring, making me want to improve my work constantly to become on of the best in the year, and hopefully one of the best designers to emerge from LCA.

2. Home life. Having a broken family and strange feelings about the whole situation even to this day pushes me to want to become better. It inspires me to do things differently and to change my situation for the greater good. Not having it all gifted to me has done me a world of good, you have to work for something if you want it, and work hard.

3. Music. I am heavily inspired by music and different styles of working require different genres of music. If I'm drawing or concentrating then something instrumental and atmospherical is perfect, examples being; Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, a Silver Mt. Zion, Sigur Ros and Pavement to name a few.

4. Lifestyle. Living in Leeds around creative people is inspiring, motivating and generally a good atmosphere for the birth of ideas. I live with current 3rd years from GD, we all do work as a collective and we swap ideas and help one another out. Living with the right people can have such a positive effect on your work, which hopefully will show in my work this year.

5. Cultures. I have travelled to a few different countries in my lifetime and can remember being baffled as a kid as to how different places can be. Since starting GD I've learned that there is general rules across the industry that would apply to general design across the world, but yet the outcomes from other countries and cultures can be staggeringly different. I hope to gain some knowledge of Scandinavian design by visiting some studios out there.

6. Nature. I often enjoy going for walks, well prior to my leg dying, through the countryside or just down a busy road, I always encounter things that inspire me. Be it a curved tree imposing on the road, cloud formations in the sky or birds singing in the woods... it helps me feel at one with the world and this is a big drive. I love fresh air.

Questions I want answering:


How ready will I be after LCA? - Will I ready for the industry? Producing work to the best of my current ability? Will I have established contact with studios? Will I know what I'm doing?

How easy is coding? - How easy is it to construct a website? What's the best software to use? How hard is learning different computer languages? Is coding well paid?

Is design better abroad? - Would it be better to link with studios abroad? Are the designers abroad more professional? What drives design abroad?

Can I get a placement abroad? - When can I get a placement without it disrupting work? How do I go about trying to get a placement abroad? Will there be language problems?

How do I get noticed? - How do I get my work out there? How do I establish contact with studios? Should I be visiting studios regularly?