It's been a long time....

Woah!! How long has it been since I posted on here! That's due to my life being really busy but that is no excuse I know! But I am back and will hopefully be keeping the blog up to date!

Since blogging last I have handed my final projects in, it's been marked and I am happy to announce that I am now a graduate with a 2.2 in BA (Hons) Design & Art Direction!! I was hoping for a 2.1 but trust me to get slap bang in the middle of both! But no worries as I have a degree!! :) 
Also we have had our 'On Your Marks' Degree Show (end of year show). This was a big hit! The whole show was a success. With a piece of work from everyone on the course on display, it was nice to see the variety of work and to see the different approaches people took to the similar briefs.  

 

And obviously I can't take photographs of the degree show without me next to my work...So cue the cheesy pose!

I can't believe how fast the 3years have gone! It's a great feeling to have a degree but the only downside is that now I have to find a job. This is a downside because I have yet to have any work experience and to be let out into this wild world without it is a scary prospect!! Here's to hoping that my next post will be either about getting a job or receiving some relevant work experience!!

Portfolio Surgery

As a way to get us use to interviews and meeting people from industries the university had set up portfolio surgeries with companies which included  The Chase, Creative Lynx, The Designers Republic, Glorious, Music and Topman to name some. My portfolio surgery was with Craig Oldham from Music. It was a great opportunity to get feedback about the way we present ourselves and our portfolios. The initial approach was to be made by us by e-mail with a sample of our work.

The whole day kinda started out bad as I turned up at the wrong place! *Panic mode* (Nightmare!! ) But to work in my favour Craig was running late in his meetings which allowed me enough time to get to the place and calm down! As there was meant to be 5 of us who were going to speak to Craig I had images of people waiting for me to turn up to start...luckily this wasn't the case as there was only two of us who turned up which proved to be more helpful as there was more time for each of to talk to him and there wasn't anyone hogging the limelight. We got the feedback and help we needed. I was nervous, as you would be, but after being in the studio for 5 minutes I realised there was no need. The atmosphere was relaxed and the people were really friendly, (We even got drinks!) also the office reminded me of Ugly Betty, when she walks into the glass doors!!

We started of by talking about the initial e-mail that we had both sent to Craig, we got tips and advice on how the e-mail is the first point of contact and how the person recieving the e-mail would have made an asumption on what type of person you are just by the way you type the e-mail. For example a simple 'hello' or 'hi' shows that you are confident about yourself and shows a bit of personality, where as 'Dear' or 'To whom..' portrays a feeling that the e-mail is generic and formal. As both me and Matt had made mistakes the main advice was to check the e-mail before sending it.

After that it was straight into the portfolios and by this time I was relaxed enough to go through my folio with ease and I knew what I wanted to say. The advice given was really helpful and the main aspect that was wrong with my folio was that I had just a little too much and had to be ruthless with the choosing of what goes in.

Currently my folio looks like this:

Open publication - Free publishing - More folio

Obviously there is a lot of pages there and it does need shortening down. It just comes back to what I think and what I think is my best work. Craig did use a lot of reference to films and to treat our folio like a film. The e-mail is the trailer-a quick insight into the work, the start of the film always grabs the attention and grips the viewers- put the best work first, with the middle being the informative area- the less meaty projects and then has a big finish- have a meaty project at the end or have an ongoing project which allows more conversation and makes the person more intrigued. (Hopefully that makes sense!)  But overall it was a really good experience and I learned a lot just from a few hours.


Check out Music Design's website: http://www.designbymusic.com/
         Also Craig Oldhams website: http://www.craigoldham.co.uk/

The Young Creatives

The Young Creatives is 'a platform for talented young people to showcase their creativity to the world' and this is my feature on the website! ...my call to the design industry...maybe! :)

My feature:
http://theyoungcreatives.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/krupa-mistry/

Check out other budding creatives out there:
http://theyoungcreatives.wordpress.com/

OWT 'Atmosphere' Zine

In March I managed to get my work featured in OWT zine!!

 

I loved the fact that the Zine was sold in a lovely brown cover with intricate hand drawn illustration which was designed by Darren Newman. 

 My feature:

Check out or buy the 'Atmosphere' and other Zines here

DR.ME

When DR.ME (collaborative creative name of Mark Edwards and Ryan Doyle) came in to their talk I was unsure of what was going to be present as their Twitter said they were preparing a 'talk'. Rumours were that they were going to present through Skype which would have been weird but what was even unusual was the way they actually did the presentation. Instead of doing the usual standing at the front and presenting work they had prepared an automated voice to explain their journey before and after university.

As usual lectures are voiced by the person from the company we tend to zone out after a bit but as this presentation was unconventional it kept me engaged and told me a lot about the duo. It told me that they were inventive, out of the ordinary and unique which is exactly what you need as a graduate. From the lecture the main idea that stuck to me was that if you try your hardest, don't get disheartened, network with designers and enjoy yourself whilst doing your work opportunities will slowly start to come up. This is proved by the fact that DR.ME had done so much within 7 month of leaving university.

Check their work out: http://www.dr-me.com/

Vaughan Oliver

When I found out that Vaughan Oliver was coming in to talk to us I was curious to see what his work was about and after looking at his work beforehand let's just say I was intrigued I instantly loved what I saw. His abstract images alongside the bright colours make his work unique to him. Two pieces that stood out to me were The Breeders: Pod Promotional Poster and the Pixies Minotaur box set. The promotional poster was just amazing, the colours were bright, attractive alongside an abstract image which just finishes the poster and makes it look beautiful to look at. The fact that the whole poster was done by staging the concept and taking photos just at the right time makes the final outcome more appealing and interesting.

The Pixies Minotaur box set caught my eye more for the book which you got with the set. The book has images in which are contrasting to each other but when placed next to each other they make sense. I really wanted to buy this box set just for the book as I was trying achieve the same effect with my connection project as I was trying to link two different images/objects together unnoticeably. However I didn't buy the book but I did find a book in the library which had similar images. His work challenges advertisers to revisit graphics, illustrations and complex poster work in ways that revitalise narrative, information and product possibility.

I found it interesting to hear how Vaughan creates moods through collaboration, he hand picks photographers for certain projects showing that he knows how to fuse each element together to create a piece of design. I loved how even after all these years Vaughan still speaks passionately about his work. 

Check Vaughan Olivers website out: http://vaughanoliver.co.uk/ It's under constuction but you can still view some of his work

Lucy May Schofield

Ok, I have been away a long time due to Uni deadlines but I think it's about time I caught up with myself!! 

When Lucy May Schofield ( A while ago!) came in to show off her handmade books, I was taken by surprise. I never knew that books could look so beautiful and this talk furthered my intrigue into bookbinding. Even thought Lucy makes lots of books she sees herself as more of a curator, giving herself the title 'Artist & Bookbinder'. She is inspired by her determined desire to make alongside a passion for the written word.  

Lucy showed us a range of beautiful books but what intrigued me most was the journey behind each book.  Two pieces that stood out to me were her readymade love letters and the raffle book. I think both of these are amazing little concepts which allow people to communicate, to my surprise these were created before social networking. These books were sold in Selfridges across the globe, from  London to New York and Dubai. As these were places abroad Lucy had to create a small box in which the books would be sold in as the books were small and fragile and could get lost. The idea of keeping handmade pieces in a box is a great idea as it keeps the object safe and it is easier to transport around. 

Another things that stood out to me was The Bibliotherapy Artist's Book Library (BABL), this consists of a modest collection of Artists' Books which Lucy has used for the 8 years to inspire other people to write, illustrate and make their own books through lecturing and teaching workshops. She wanted these books to exist elsewhere, to be discovered by strangers, live outside of the institutions. Allowing the books to breathe - no white gloves, no glass cabinets. 'Just me, a cabinet of artists' books, four wheels and the open road.' This stood out to me because it's a great way to allow other people see what has inspired you, it's also a way to make the best of the books you have. I really admire her ideas and determination to get her dreams out there.