Theory

Week 1: what to expect http://www.ink2industry.com/work-placement-in-design/

Happiness Connective Discount Card

http://www.plasticcardonline.com/blog/?tag=discount-broadway-tickets

Monday 17th March 2014

This morning when I arrived I completed the alterations that Adam suggested for the Secure By Integrity website. As I had completed the majority on Friday this only took me an hour to finish. I sent proofs to Adam and he said that they looked much better and that he thought they were ready to send to the client. I then forwarded the proofs to Julian who was full of praise, saying that I had done a really good job, that he was impressed and that I could go ahead and arrange a meeting with the client to discuss my progress. In addition, he also said to arrange the meeting for Tuesday or Thursday, if I wanted him there, suggesting that it wasn't a necessity. This really made me feel good about the project and makes me feel like my designs are even stronger again. I feel like I am constantly improving in this job but to have completed the proofs for my first ever website design and have such praise from the director, and the chance to hold a meeting on my own really is a huge compliment. 

Despite the opportunity I would like to arrange the meeting for a time when Julian can sit in, as I don't think I am quite ready to run a meeting alone. However, I am excited to see what my client thinks of the work I have done so far and push forward with this project.

The rest of the day has been quite slow as I don't have any other work to do right now. I spent the rest of my time chasing clients for information which means that I haven't been able to get on with any other design work. In between emailing clients and talking to colleagues I have been looking on numerous design websites and blogs to try and get some ideas of things that we can tweet and Instagram to boost the social media for Revolution Inc.

Friday 14th March 2014

Following my conversation with Adam yesterday he used the printed version of the pages to make notes for me to follow and refine my design on screen. These notes were very helpful and I think that I have learned a lot from Adam yesterday and today, but most of the notes were picking up on the finer details such as spacing, alignment and text sizes, meaning that all of the tweaks I had to make were quite time consuming. Originally I had planned to complete the website by lunchtime to then send to the client so that I could then spend the afternoon working on other projects. However, these changes took me a while to do. After I made the initial changes Adam told me to concentrate on making two page perfect (the home page and one inner page) so that I could send those to the client because I don't want to spend a lot of time completing all of the pages for the client to not like the style of it and want to make major changes. I decided to work on the home page and news page. After I had completed both I sent them to Adam who then had some more changes to make that were, again, finer details. This means that unfortunately I didn't quite get the site finished today as we finished early and I ended up spending all day refining the pages.
Hopefully I only have an hour's work left on this website, so I should easily be able to get that finished on Monday morning, before moving on to a compliment slip and letterhead that I was asked to do today that I also didn't get round to working on. 

Thursday 13th March 2014

Today I spent another day working on the website for Secure By Integrity. Yesterday I managed to complete the home page and some of the inner pages, so I spent the morning working on the rest of the inner pages. By mid afternoon I had completed everything that I thought I could do, so I sent each page to Adam who then printed them off and spent and hour going through it with me and giving me pointers on how to improve. 
I had mastered the basic design of the website; I had a solid colour palette and fonts styles that run consistently throughout all of the pages, but I wasn't aware of how different modules work when building a website. The actual building of the website is something that I hadn't even given a second thought at this stage and it didn't cross my mind that I would have to design the website to fit a certain framework; I thought that you would be able to build a website in any way you designed it and didn't consider that their would be limitations on the developer's side of the process. Adam took the time to explain to me what different modules there are and showed me some websites that he has designed previously so that I could visually understand how the different modules work together. He then went on to show me how the modules look when logged on to the website to edit it, and explained that I should separate everything as best I can so that the modules are as flexible as they could possibly be. In addition he told me to consider what changes may be made in the future, all of the modules for the website will be added at this early stage, so changes need to be considered and incorporated into the initial development. 
After this conversation I definitely had a better idea of how to lay out web design to make the modules as flexible as they can be. In addition I also learned other smaller tips such as how to align everything, how much space to leave in between each object on the page and how to use different font styles to break up the text on the pages, in order to maximise the level of engagement that the website has. 

Wednesday 12th March 2014

Today I spent the day working on the website for Secure By Integrity. I managed to finish the home page quite quickly so I looked at completing other pages. I have always found that I am better off completing drafts of work and refining them rather than trying to produce a piece of work that doesn't need developing, so I decided to just come up with a simple home page that would need to be tweaked, before doing the same for the other pages. Today the most important thing I have learned is what layer comps are and how to use them. The PPP handbook by ustwo suggested that I use layer comps, but didn't really explain why, so I searched online for more information and discovered that they are used to show different variations of things. As I was designing inner pages of a website where the header, navigation bar and footer would remain consistent, I thought it was an ideal time to try to use layer comps. I managed to create a layer comp for each page which is now making it a lot easier for me to flick from page to page to see how the layout of each one compares to the others. In addition, because I am using layer comps I need to be organised with all of my layers, meaning that it is motivating me to group all of my layers and specifically label everything and put it all in the correct order to make it easier to turn layers on and off when it comes in updating the layer comps. This, in turn, is keeping my layers panel very organised which is a lot easier to work with.
By the end of the day I had got to the stage where I had something on each page, but I still don't think that it looks right. Tomorrow I would like to learn how to save all of the layer comps and individual files and get opinions off Julian and Adam in order for me to move forward with my design. I think it might also be an idea to go back to the web and research more website designs that I really like (or don't like) to try and inform my design a little bit more. At the moment I have create a flat design, but a lot of the modules have coloured photography in and they don't quite tie in together. I either need to make the background and skin of the website more interesting by adding gradients and textures, or replace some of the photographs with simple illustrations to match the style of the skin. 

Tuesday 11th March 2014

Today I worked on the actual design of Secure By Integrity's website, and as predicted the Pixel Perfect Precision Handbook by ustwo studios has really come in handy today. I had previously used this guide when designing the holding page for Sales Force 10, and therefore Photoshop still had the right system preferences for designing for the web. However, I still needed more tips if I wanted to create a professional website. 

Today I learnt how to properly set up a grid with subdivisions, how to snap shapes to a grid, and how to properly align and distribute things within my file. The latter has been the most important today as I already had an idea of how to change my grid setup and my shapes were already set up to snap to the grid, but I have been simply using grid lines and rulers to line things up which isn't a 100% reliable method. Thanks to this document I have now learned how to align and distribute things so there there is equal spacing between each object and they are perfectly in line however they need to be lined up. I have only been working on the home page which is mostly made up of boxes that will lead to different pages, but as I have to work at 100% to ensure that when I nudge an object it moves by one pixel, lining up the text in the navigation bar and footer would have been difficult if it wasn't for learning how to align and distribute.
I think I have made a good start on the home page today and I am happy with the design. However, I am very confused about the content, and although I shouldn't be worrying about this because I am only designing the website, it does have an effect on my design because I need to be able to map everything out so that I can design all of the relevant pages. The business I am designing for runs screening on people that are to be employed in certain job sectors that require such checks, for example cash handling. During our initial meeting the client discussed a website layout, explaining that they want a banner image with a list of the sectors they cater for that each link to a page, as well as separate boxes underneath for each service that they provide, with a page leading to each of these aswell. This means that today I haven't been able to get very far with the design as I have no imagery for any of the boxes, nor do I have confirmation of any of the sectors or services. I have emailed to ask, but I got a vague answer back, so tomorrow I plan on pressing the client for specific information so that I can push my design forward. 

Monday 10th March 2014

This morning I worked on the first four pages of the brochure I will be designing for Dutch Nurseries, a florist based in York. The brochure will be 12 pages in total, but we agreed to design 3-4 pages to allow the client to give some feedback on the layout, just in case they don't like it and want to make changes. I decided to design the front cover, two pages of text, and one page of images to ensure that every aspect of the design of this brochure will be included in the sample pages to allow the client to give feedback on everything that will be included it the final product. I was able to complete and send this before lunch, so hopefully I will have some feedback tomorrow or Wednesday, enabling me to continue with the rest of the design.
After lunch Julian came to talk to me about two websites. The first is for Secure By Integrity, who's branding I have just completed, and the second is for PML Plating, who I attended a meeting and completed a proposal for a few weeks ago. He told me today that he has had the deposit for both and wanted the first draft of the design finished by Friday. He also asked if I would be able to do them both or would rather hand one over to Adam. I didn't want to seem incapable, and initially I felt disappointed as I would have liked to have continued with both projects as I have been involved with both from the beginning, but the sensible side of me told myself to admit that I would rather work on one. I have never designed a website before and I would rather work on one and create a stronger design than rush two and they both be average. I had the choice of which I would rather do and although it will be more complicated I have chosen Secure By Integrity. As well as designing the website Julian is going to teach me how to develop it, meaning that if I continue with this project I will have a full, diverse project to include in my portfolio while working more closely with a client that I have already had two meetings with.
This afternoon Adam talked me through how to set up my Photoshop file to design for the web, and also referred back to a PDF that he printed off for me a couple of weeks ago with everything I need to know about designing for the web. So far I have only got as far as mapping out the site and drawing wire frames for each page, but I think that I will easily be able to get into the actual designing of the website tomorrow, thanks to this PDF.

Secure By Integrity Website

http://www.thereferencingagency.com/

http://www.equifax.co.uk/

http://www.lloydspharmacy.com/

http://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/steps-perfect-website-layout-812625

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/284430532690166195/

http://neatdesigns.net/50-beautiful-inspiring-corporate-websites/

after first draft...

http://www.webdesign-inspiration.com/web-design/arbor-restaurant-co-uk-11650

when writing, pick out some websites that don't work and explain why. coloured blocks don't go because it has photography in it, but photography and white doesn't go because of coloured brand. can't be a simple landing page because she wants a lot of info on the first page to catch attention.

Friday 7th March 2104

This morning I started the day with a meeting with the client that Adam and I have been working on logo concepts for. In the end Adam and I both came up with four concepts, so unlike last time with Sales Force 10, both Adam and I had an equal chance of our concept being chosen for the branding. While it is most important that the client is happy with their logo as opposed to who designed it, as I will be designing the stationary and website for them it would strengthen my portfolio to be able to say that I also designed the branding.
I was apprehensive about the client seeing the logo concepts as they seemed very precise during the first meeting, so I thought that they might not like anything that I have designed. In addition, I have a different style to Adam and although I followed the brief, all of my concepts seemed a little more contemporary compared to his, which in this case I didn't see as a good thing because they wanted a corporate style, meaning they would edge towards his designs. However, when they sat down their gut reaction was to go with one that I had designed, and after a couple of minutes they had dismissed four, and of the four that were left three of them were mine. In the end they chose the logo that I designed that they were originally drawn to which I was really happy with. I was happy when Sales Force 10 chose my logo design, but I had an 80% chance that they would, whereas this time it was 50/50, so to still have one of my designs chosen makes me feel like I have improved. I feel like my designs were stronger this time, and to have three out of four remain after cutting the selection in half reflects my thoughts. This is the second branding project I have worked on now where I have been particularly pleased with what I have produced. Although I think I struggle in the beginning because branding it an open project and I never have any concrete ideas, I think I am actually more confident working on branding because the client always gives enough indication of what they would like that I can research until I get some ideas and turn them into concepts. Branding is something I had never really considered doing before but I actually really enjoy working on branding projects and I think it may be a specialism to consider in the future.
After the meeting I spent the rest of the day working on a brochure for a florist. I haven't got very far with this project yet, I have only been briefed and started to put together the content in InDesign. However, I am excited to work on this brochure because I have never designed one before and I think this is the perfect time to do this brochure, as I will be able to get some hints and tips, and feedback on what I design, that will hopefully help me when it comes to designing the documents that I will hand in for assessment at the end of this module.

Thursday 6th March 2014

This morning Adam and I printed off the logos we have been working on all week for our colleagues to see and offer opinions. At first we didn't tell anybody who did which logos, and my colleagues seemed really impressed with all of the designs. Scott said that he thought that all of the logos were really good and we should save the ones that don't get used in case we can incorporate them into any future branding. It was such a compliment to hear this and it made me feel really good about the work I have done; even if the client doesn't choose one of my logos I still feel that I have improved since the last time I completed a project. 
After we had printed out the logos and looked at them all, we talked about tweaks that could be made to each one, and considered using different colours, as both Adam and I had used shades of turquoise and blue. From there we both went back to the screen versions and polished the logos ready to print off. I had originally chosen a palette of blues, but I also created a variation for all four logos in a different colour palette, consisting of orange, grey and cream. In addition, I created a third variation with a coloured background to show how the logos would work if they decided to use another coloured background other than white.
These alterations didn't take long which meant that we were able to print them off again and lay them out ready for the client. Julian then rang the client to arrange a meeting, but they couldn't come in today and will be coming in in the morning. This gave me enough time this afternoon to prepare a mood board of potential images for their website. The client has already paid the deposit for their website, so I thought if I got a mood board prepared then we could get an idea of the sort of images they would and would not like on their website and we can push the project forward. 

Wednesday 5th March 2014

Today I spent the day finishing off my logo concepts. I had already made as start yesterday and therefore had some fonts and symbols prepared, but today I worked on arranging them into logos. From the work I had done yesterday I had two concepts with multiple ideas for each, which meant that by lunchtime I had almost finished. Adam then asked if I would be able to get a third finished by the end of the day, so I spent the afternoon working on another concept. I had already completed two concepts that involved the business name and a logo mark, so I concentrated on developing a concept that was text only. As I had the time I decided to try something new with this. In the past I would have just chosen a font, typed out the business name and arranged it in a number of ways to come up with the best logo. However today I decided to try creating outlines for the letters and then using the direct selection tool to alter the anchor points of the letters to make a more unique font. I didn't want to change the letter forms too much as I have never done anything like this before and I didn't want it to look unpolished, but I had chosen to edit a slab serif font, so I altered the kerning of the name and then joined some of the anchor points so that the serifs on certain letters joined together. This was a subtle change and I probably could have been more experimental, but I think that it made the logo look unique, and it still looked polished and professional. I also came up with a fourth concept that isn't as strong, but involves a symbol I came across when researching integrity (as the name is secure by integrity), which I thought would be good to use. After designing the concepts I looked at the Laura Ashley website for colour inspiration, as the client said that they like the tones found in Laura Ashley products. they also mentioned that they liked blues, teals and creams, so I focused on wallpapers that used these colours to develop a colour palette. While these colours were along the right lines, they didn't quite look right so I looked on design seeds for some more colour palettes and came across one that fit perfectly with the brief.
Now I have added colours to the logos all I need to do tomorrow is print off the concepts and go through them with my colleagues. From there I will be able to make any tweaks needed, and also look at how the colour palette looks when printed. Hopefully the concepts will be finished and ready to present by the end of the day tomorrow and we will be able to arrange to meet with the client on Friday.
I have recently been working at a slower pace on projects because I am aware that there isn't a lot of work for me to do at the moment. However, today Scott asked me how much design time I spent on the Vape Vendor social media graphics, and when I said that I had worked on them on and off for two days he wasn't very happy. He wasn't angry with me, but he learned that Vape Vendor haven't been paying enough for the time that has been going into the artwork, and he now thinks that Danny is using more studio time that he should be. However, this is not either of their faults, it is mine for working slower. Like I said I have only been taking my time because I am aware that I don't have any other work to do, but I had never considered that Scott and Julian will charge designers for number of hours that I spend designing something. This has made me feel bad today and while he said that he had no problem with me, I do feel like I am the reason it has taken that long. In future I just need to work at my usual pace despite how much work I have to do after it and then cross that bridge when I come to it.

Tuesday 4th March 2014

I originally said that I was going to translate my sketches on to screen this morning, but when I got into work I thought that it made more sense to spend the morning drawing out more concepts and then the afternoon on the computer. It took me a few more hours this morning to draw out more ideas but by the afternoon I felt that I had five potential concepts down on paper. I didn't expect all of them to work, but I felt confident that at least two or three of them would be strong enough to use. 
After lunch I spent the rest of my day downloading fonts and drawing out my ideas on screen. I am yet to put any logos together, but I focused on experimenting with fonts using different combinations of fills, outlines, and capital letters, as well as using the pen tool to draw out the symbols that I had sketched on paper. This has prepared me well for tomorrow because essentially I now have the sketches that I drew on paper translated onto artboards on screen that I can experiment with tomorrow. I think that some of the symbols I have drawn will make good logos and some won't, so I need to decide which are the strongest and then maybe think of something else that I could try as a logo instead. Alternatively, I think that two of the symbols will make good logos so it might be good to have my third logo as just text to show variation, in which case I just need to experiment with fonts and maybe find some other fonts that will suit the brand and help it to stand out. I will also need to add colour, but the client seemed very set on having pale blues, teals and cream involved in the colour palette, so it won't take long to choose the shades of colour. One thing I haven't tried yet is the layout of the actual text, I have been simply drawing the title out in one line. The client did actually say in the meeting that she prefers boxy looking logos as she thinks the name is too long to have on one line, with which I agree, so tomorrow I would like to look at different layouts of the actual title of the company. In addition, I think it might be good to play around with the fonts a little to make them look more unique, so I would like to experiment with the outlines of the letters to see if I can come up with a unique typeface for the brand.

Monday 3rd March 2014

Today I had hoped to spend the day sketching out ideas for the branding I am working on, as well as creating some concepts on screen. However, I only got as far as sketching out the ideas. As hard as I try idea generation seems to be a very slow task for me. I originally set myself the task of coming up with 30 sketches in an hour, but I couldn't come up with ideas that quick, nor could I draw them out that quick. I decided to start by looking back through the research I completed on Friday for inspiration, which as I predicted was a huge help to have at hand today to reference back to while brainstorming. 
I think it took me a while to get going, but after looking at the research I had collected on Friday I soon started coming up with ideas and after that I got into the flow of sketching things out. The research contained influencing colour palettes and imagery which was a good start, and then I started looking on font websites for inspiration when designing the typeface for the logo.
This morning I felt like I wasted a lot of time trying to think of ideas and I started to feel under pressure again and then disappointed that I had let myself get in the same situation as last time where I felt like I didn't have enough time to do a good job. However, I went into Hillsborough for lunch which I don't normally do, and came back with a fresh head and a positive attitude and told myself that I could get my sketches finished, which seemed to work. By the end of the day I had a number of sketches of different symbols and fonts that could be used to make up the logo and I am confident that there are two concepts there to work on. In the morning I plan to translate these two on screen to see how they look, and then continue sketching to come up with a third concept. I also need to double check how many logos I am to produce because I haven't actually been told a specific number yet. 

Friday 28th February 2014

This morning I worked on the second set of graphics that Danny wants for the next Vape Vendor competition that he will start to run after the first one has finished, where participants have to send in their best flavour combinations for the chance to win 10 e-liquids. Designing these banners have been more time consuming than I first anticipated as we have struggled to settle on an idea. Originally I was working on an illustration of a chopping board with fruit on that would accompany the strapline "mix it up", but after I finished one attempt I decided that this design would look too flat and out of place on the website. My second idea involved coloured smoke coming in from either side of the banner and mixing in the middle to represent the combination of e-liquids. Danny liked this idea, but he didn't like the design as it had a white background with brightly coloured smoke and he thought it looked too clinical. However, the smoke I used was an image from Google, and the way I edited the smoke to make it coloured meant that the background had to be white, which I found it very difficult to explain. Jack then heard us having this conversation and asked for the dimensions of the banner I was working on as he knew how to make coloured smoke on a coloured background. This made me feel a little put out because it was supposed to be something I had been given to work on. 
Looking back now I think I was just being sensitive, I thought that Danny was going to work with Jack on the banner and I didn't want him to think I was incapable, but at the end of the day getting the design done right is the most important thing, not who designs it (although Jack didn't complete the design, he just worked out how to make the smoke and the background two different colours before showing me how to do it). After all that I edited it in a different way which ended up looking stronger. I think in future I need to be more patient and experimental as I usually try to design an idea and if it doesn't work I give up and think that I can't design what I or my colleagues want. Sometimes this may be the case, but most of the time I think I am just not patient enough with an idea. I think if I was more persistent then I would find a way to make it work, but until I learn to do that I can't blame people for stepping in and trying to help if I make it out that I can't do something.
After I had completed this banner I started collecting research for the branding project that I met with the client about yesterday. I finished early today so I knew I wouldn't have enough time to start designing, but I got as much research done as I could. This made me feel very organised and it has prepared me for when I go into work on Monday morning. I think I have learnt from the last branding project I did as I tried to go straight in to designing the concepts and I found it difficult as I didn't have any ideas. This time I have taken the time to thoroughly research the topic, and I already have some ideas to start working on on Monday. In addition, I think that breaking down the project into smaller tasks that I tackle one at a time makes the project much more manageable. From here I can now go straight into sketching out ideas on Monday, and hopefully start translating them onto screen. On Tuesday I can then finalise my ideas ready to show my colleagues, before making final amends on Wednesday.

Secure By Integrity Research

Current Site
http://www.securebyintegrity.co.uk/


Competitors

http://www.agendasecuritynews.co.uk/bs-7858-has-changed-are-you-aware/

http://www.agenda-security.co.uk/

http://www.checkyourstaff.co.uk/

http://www.vettingandscreening.com/


Influencing designs

https://www.behance.net/gallery/OperaPro/4932463

https://www.behance.net/gallery/Gekys-Key-Fashion-Brand-and-Clothing-Store/6987011

https://www.behance.net/gallery/Neurotrend/13803757

http://inkbotdesign.com/portfolio/corporate-branding/

Influencing logos WIEDEMANN, Julius (ed.) (2011). Logo Designs Volume 3. Cologne, Taschen.


What is integrity - https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=integrity&oq=integrity&aqs=chrome.0.69i59l2j69i60l2j0l2.1166j0j9&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

Symbols for integrity - https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=integrity&espv=210&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0LMVU9uDLI25hAeEvICgCQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=667#q=integrity%20symbol&revid=857806221&tbm=isch&imgdii=_

SBI - http://www.pinterest.com/pin/196680708701190374/



Colours

http://www.lauraashley.com/home-decorating/wallpaper/icat/hfwallpapers?esp_filter_pdxtcolgroupft=Blue

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/339529259379386196/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/339529259378915897/

http://design-seeds.com/index.php/home/entry/teal-tones2

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/65654107041886608/

Thursday 27th February 2014

This morning I had an early start and had to be in the office for 8:30am, but it meant that I could sit in on a meeting with a new client. Originally she wanted some flyers printing for her business, but when talking to Julian on the phone they got on to her website and how she doesn't like the look of it and by the time she came in this morning Julian had convinced her to allow us provide her with a four logo concept branding package, and a website, as well as flyers and e-shots once these have been done.
I am really pleased that I came in for the meeting this morning as I have now been put in charge of this branding project which means I will be doing something similar to what I did for Sales Force 10. Additionally, it allows me to build on what I did last time, and use the critical analysis I completed for the last project to hopefully complete a stronger branding project. 
I definitely feel more confident about this branding project and I am excited to get started on it. We discussed the Sales Force 10 branding with the client to explain the process, using it as an example of how we create the logo concepts, how many they will see and how the next meeting will go when it comes to choosing a logo and how we will move forward from there. While looking at the logo concepts she actually picked out the teals and blues that we had used in the branding, explaining that this is the sort of colour palette she likes, and she also picked out some of the fonts because she liked that they were soft and simple. This has given me a clear idea of the fonts and colour palettes she would like to see, so it literally a case of coming up with layouts and logos to show her. This means that I feel a lot less apprehensive about the time I have to complete this task, unlike last time where I felt completely overwhelmed. 
What I am really looking forward to during this task is the website design. As much as I enjoy branding, I have already completed a branding project, whereas designing a website is something new that I can learn about and add to my portfolio, so I am eager to get started on this. I am almost certain that I want to go down the print route of design, working on branding, typography and editorial projects, but I think that while these could become specialisms, it is also good to have a wide range of skills as it will help me stand out as a designer. In addition completing a variety of projects while I am on placement will help me develop a varied portfolio.
For today I have been finishing off the social media graphics for Vape's £100 giveaway. Unfortunately Danny wrote a misleading tweet about the competition with a shareable image I had designed which meant that people have been retweeting instead of participating on the website, but on the plus side the tweet has had over 60 retweets in just one hour which is by far the most they have ever had. This makes me happy because I must have created an engaging image to have so many people getting involved.

Wednesday 26th February 2014

Today I spent the morning designing three boards for Hallmark that needed to go to print today in order for them to be ready in time. However, this simply involved placing three images on three different boards, tweaking them and then adding the logo so it didn't take long and I was easily able to get them off to print for the time that they needed to go. 
After that I spent the rest of the day working on the banners for the Vape competition. I have managed to get a Facebook banner finished and am waiting for Danny to okay the design before I translate it into a website and Twitter banner. I then just need to work on the second competition that Vape will be running soon that involves participants choosing the favourite flavour combination from the liquids available on the website. The winner of this will win 5 eliquids of their choice. We have already discussed this competition and came up with the strapline "mix it up", so I have created a draft of the next banner with this strapline and an illustration of a chopping board, but I am not happy with the illustration and tomorrow would like to give it another go.
There is not a lot of work to do in the office at the moment and I think that this is an after effect of having two students here on placement. Jack has been working here for three and a half weeks now and it has been good and we have been working on separate projects so we haven't been stepping on anybody's toes, but I think that now it is starting to show that the studio doesn't need three full time designers as at the moment there isn't enough work. Jack will be finishing this Friday and going off to do another placement elsewhere so it will be interesting to see if my work pace picks up again in a week or two. As much as it is nice not to be completely rushed off my feet, I do think that I work better under pressure, so knowing I have a lot of time to do little work is making me work at a slower pace, whereas being under pressure would keep me focused. In addition, for the first week or two I completed a lot of work and had a few things come back from their print run that I can use in my portfolio, but for the past few weeks I feel like I haven't worked on half as much, and therefore the work I have to show is not as frequent. If the work load doesn't pick up in the next few weeks I am going to ask if I can write more blog posts and design banners for them and spend more time on the social media for Revolution Inc. so that if I can't work on projects then at least I am doing something to get myself out there and network. 

Tuesday 25th February 2014

Today I finally got the opportunity to work on the social media for Vape that Danny and I discussed last week. The current competition is a chance to win £100 worth of products if you like the page on Facebook, but because the Hallmark work took me so long, the competition now only has two days left. I asked Danny if he still wanted me to work on it and he said yes and that he would extend the competition. I therefore had to design something eye catching, as the competition will only run if 300 people like the page, and so far only 17 have. The competition can only be found on the website, and it isn't obvious what it is about, so I want to design a Facebook banner, a website banner, and something for Twitter, so that it is obvious that there is a competition and it is clear what you have to do and what you win. The competition is currently a small box on the website that could easily be missed. I originally designed the artwork for this too, but I used a grey background and I think it blends in too easily, so for this design I have focused on creating something bright and eye catching to try and boost the number of participants for the last few days of this competition. 
I believe that the lack of participants is down to the fact that there is only one small image advertising this competition, and that is on the actual website. In addition, it is a competition that involves you liking their page on Facebook, so to have it running on the website is confusing. Finally, the image that I did design for this competition was put together very quickly and is simply images of the products on a grey background, that doesn't stand out.
For the next competition that they are going to run, I would really like to come up with an engaging concept, and produce bright graphics so that more people participate. 
After seeing the results of this current competition I have been thinking more about ways that we could get people to interact more with the business and increase followers and I am eager to come up with some new, refreshing ideas that might help Vape Vendor. Hopefully I will have all of the graphics that Danny and I discussed, finished before the end of the week, so I can start thinking about potential future social media marketing we can do. 

Monday 24th February 2014

Today I have spent the morning working on the banner and three boards that Hallmark want printing for their stand at the wedding fayre. I have spent a lot more time on this project than expected because the client has been very indecisive about what they want. In addition, they seem very particular about every design we have sent them. I am starting to find it very frustrating how indecisive they are because it is starting to affect the other work I have to do. Everyday I work on their designs and send finished products by the end of the day, in the hope that the next morning it will be signed off and I can get other work done. However, every morning they seem to have alterations or new ideas which means I have to spend more time on it and I am starting to get behind with the social media work that Danny asked me to nearly a week ago.
I understand that the client will want their products to be perfect, and I don't want to design anything they are less than 100% happy with, but it's a frustrating situation to be in because they are asking me to design flyers, banners and boards with images of their workshop on. I appreciate they are trying to emphasise the fact that they hand make their jewellery, but I don't believe that these images are appropriate to use on material that will be seen at a wedding fayre. We already discussed this concept at our initial meeting and both Julian and I advised that we keep the images from the workshop on the flyer, and clean images of finished rings on the boards and banner, to which they agreed. However, this morning I have come in and the client has sent a design through for the banner that they want it to look like, with three images from the workshop on it. Neither Julian nor I think that these are appropriate, but we have already advised against it and I have designed alternatives and they still want their products designed this way so there is not a lot else I can say. This puts me in a difficult position because today I have been designing products that I really don't like, and it is hard to be motivated and spend time on a project when you don't think the design is as strong as it could be. I understand why they want the workshop images on there, but I think they are focusing too much on the hand made aspect and not enough on the target audience which will be the brides at the wedding fayre, who will be attracted by clean sparkly images. In addition, had they have just told us a week ago that they were definitely going to want the workshop images on the banner, the work could have been signed off by now.

Friday 21st February 2014

Yesterday I managed to finish the design of the banner so this morning I printed off the two variations I had designed so that Julian could go to the client with some designs for them to choose from. When he returned he was able to tell me which banner they wanted to go with, and he also had the wording for the flyers which meant that I was able to make the final adjustments on both the flyer and the banner and send them off to print ready for their wedding fayre in a week's time. In between working on the Hallmark flyers and banner, I started to think about the social media materials that I need to design for Danny. I managed to come up with a simple design for one of the competitions, but as the day went on we discussed the different competitions and came up with some new ideas so I will work on the designs for these on Monday. 
Unfortunately today was probably my worst, and only bad, day on placement. This morning we discovered that the business cards and letterheads for Sales Force 10 had been printed with the wrong postcode on it. I had written the last two letters of the postcode the wrong way round, and not noticed before I sent them both to print. Nobody was mad at me and I was told not to worry about it but I still felt extremely bad. The client is liable for this mistake because there is a proofing stage between designing and printing where the client has the opportunity to look at the design and check it for any mistakes in details etc., so I was assured not to worry about it and that all designers make mistakes, but it doesn't make me feel any better. I feel awful that I have cost the client extra money, because although I did ask them to check all of the details and they signed off on them, it was still my mistake writing the postcode in the first place as most clients probably would just skim over the details, assuming that the designer would have also checked that they had written every letter in a postcode and every digit in a number. 
Today has taught me how important it is to check everything you design again and again to ensure that there are no mistakes as it is very costly if something is printed wrong. In addition, it has taught me how important that proofing stage is, to give the client the opportunity to check everything that has been designed to avoid mistakes like these. In future I will be sure to thoroughly check everything I design and get another person to check it before I send anything to print as I do not want this to happen again.

Thursday 20th February 2014

Today I spent most of the day working on the Hallmark banner. I spent a lot of the morning manipulating the photographs I took yesterday using the techniques Adam has explained to me. Using these tools he introduced me to I was able to edit three images of a ring so that they all looked like they had been photographed in the same frame. In addition, I was able to edit the background so that the rings looked like they were on a pure white background, while still keeping the shadows so that the photographs looked more natural. 
Just from learning these tips from Adam I already feel a lot more confident in Photoshop. I have always been interested in Photography, and always take photographs when the opportunity arises, especially when I go on holiday, that I can then edit in Photoshop and upload to my blog and Instagram. However, I always take photographs of places and scenery, or I do some documentary photography, but I have never really taken photographs of people. I think I always shy away from photographing people because I don't know how to edit the photographs in a professional way, but now I have learnt how to use these tools I can see how these would help me with portrait photography. 
I love working on photography projects and this task has reminded me how much I miss my photography course. I am definitely motivated to continue with photography as a hobby and I am eager to incorporate it into my final year projects. Adam explained to me that at his last job he always got asked to retouch photographs because he knew how to use some of the basic tools whereas the other three designers didn't know how to retouch photographs at all, and used this as an example of a situation where being a designer and having strong photography skills will really be useful and help you stand out from the crowd. 
After the last couple of days I have decided that I definitely want to spend more time working on print and photography projects, branding and editorial design in particular. At work I have really enjoyed producing logos and business cards, and I have especially enjoyed working on some photography for the last couple of days, and in my own time I have been drawn to a lot of editorial design while looking for inspiration for designing this logbook.

Instagram Research

http://digiday.com/agencies/5-agencies-to-follow-on-instagram/

http://www.fix8design.com/our-top-ten-designers-to-follow-through-instagram/

http://www.whowhatwear.com/50-stylish-instagram-accounts-you-need-to-follow-now

http://chic-type.com/blog/top-10-designers-to-follow-on-instagram/

http://www.businessinsider.com/top-instagram-photographers-in-advertising-2013-3?op=1

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/use-instagram-and-pinterest-for-your-company/

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/instagram/

http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/using-instagram-in-the-professional-world--photo-16775

Social Media Research

http://www.ebannerstands.co.uk/how_to_design_a_banner_stand.html

http://webdesignledger.com/tips/how-to-design-a-proper-banner-one-that-actually-works

http://timelineslicer.com/

http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/best-practices-for-designing-effective-banner-ads--webdesign-15766

http://www.skycig.co.uk/

http://www.vipelectroniccigarette.co.uk/

http://www.vapourlites.com/

http://uk.govype.com/why-vype

http://www.e-lites.co.uk/

http://escape-ecigarettes.co.uk/

http://www.ecigbase.co.uk/

http://www.joyetech.co.uk/e-liquid#.UwShmPl_uSo

Wednesday 19th February 2014

Today I spent the majority of the day working on a pop up banner that the Hallmark clients want for their stand at the upcoming wedding fayres. I began by designing the layout of the banner in Illustrator. I created coloured boxes where I want photographs to go that I can later use as clipping masks when I have the photographs to add.
We had already decided with the client that it was a good idea to have a large picture of a sketch of a ring, with the finished product sat on top. I left a space for this photograph, but as it was be landscape there was a lot of space left underneath so I added three more boxes where images of the finished ring could go.
During lunch, Julian went to the shop and when he came back he had the ring and the sketch to photograph. He took a few photographs himself, but I wasn't really happy with them as they were very dark and the composition wasn't right. He then asked me if I wanted to have a go at taking some photographs and I jumped at the opportunity. I like to think I am good at photography; I got an A* at A level. However, I have also continued it as a hobby over the past three years, and really enjoy it. I really wanted to have a go at taking some photographs for the banner as it would look ever better to say that I designed it and produced the photography for it. 
I spent a good half an hour taking shots from different angles and finally produced a collection of photographs that would be perfect to use on the banner. I then spent the rest of the afternoon editing them in Photoshop. While I have used Photoshop a lot, especially during my photography course, I have only ever done simple editing, and still don't know what a lot of the different features do. I looked for tutorials online that helped with editing jewellery photographs, but I couldn't really find anything useful. I did find one step-by-step guide that showed you how to cut out rings so that they stand alone on a white background, but the process didn't look very natural when applied to my photographs and as they will be printed at a large size on a banner, the Photoshop effects need to be realistic. I tried to edit them using the processes that I already knew, but nothing seemed to do the photographs justice and make them look professional enough for a banner. I then asked Adam how he would edit them and he showed me a few tricks which will be very useful in the future.
He showed me how to manipulate the photographs using clipping masks, the paint brush, the spot healing tool and the patch tool. I had never used any of these tools when editing photographs before and I was really Impressed by what I could produce. It has now made me really eager to research and understand what all of the tools do in Photoshop as I am now aware that it has a lot more potential than I have been using it for. At the end of the day Adam asked me more about photography and I said that I had an interest in the subject and he said that if I enjoy it then I should take the time to learn how to manipulate photos in Photoshop as it is an extremely good skill to help you stand out as a designer as not many graphic designers know how to professional edit photography. This had never even crossed my mind, but increasing my knowledge in Photoshop, practicing photography more often and incorporating photography into my projects are definitely things I will look to do in the future. 

Tuesday 18th February 2014

Today I have been working on designs for the marketing ideas that I discussed with Danny yesterday. He asked me to focus primarily on the competition that asks participants to make the best flavour combinations, but in addition he needs some design completing for another competition that they are currently running. This involves participants liking their page on Facebook to be in with a chance of winning £100 worth of products, but it is not doing well and only had a few days left so Danny wanted me to design something eye catching that might boost the number of people involved in this competition. However, because it only has a week left this is why he has requested that I focus more on the next competition that this one. Alongside these competitions, he will also be adding a list of "vape friendly" venues, to show the audience where you can smoke e-cigarettes inside, so he also wants material designing for the website to accompany this. 
I am really happy that I get to work on the marketing because I started working on designs for Vape Vendor just after they started, so I feel like I have been involved since the beginning and it is nice to help them grow. In addition, all of the marketing material I design will be able to sit alongside the web banners, loyalty cards and discount cards I have previously designed for them in my portfolio, showing a full body of work I have completed for a client with a variety of components. 
Getting involved with designing the marketing material and also working alongside Danny with the marketing strategy has sparked an interest in this side of business. I had never considered marketing before but I am definitely excited by what I will be working with Danny in the near future and while designing the material he needs is my priority, I would like to research social media marketing a little and find out what works well and see if I can come up with some more ideas that we could use with Vape Vendor.

Monday 17th February 2014

Following the meeting I attended on Friday I spent this morning working on the flyer and banner that Hallmark want designing for the wedding fayres they will be attending in the coming weeks. Before designing anything I made a mood board of different displays from wedding fayres to familiarise myself with the sort of design that our clients will want in their display. As expected, the majority of designs were clean and contemporary with white backgrounds and little text, just images to visually tell the story. The father of the business wanted a typography based banner that matched the sign they have outside the shop, but after seeing these images I really don't think it's appropriate and won't help them stand out. In addition, the daughter wanted an image of her father at work, which I also don't think would be appropriate because it wouldn't look clean in comparison to others that will be there. We discussed this in the meeting and there was a suggestion to have an image on the banner of a sketch of a ring, with the finished product sat next to it which we thought would look much more professional and clean, while still getting across the message that they hand make bespoke wedding rings. After seeing typical competition I definitely think that this is the way to go, but it meant that I couldn't design the banner as I am waiting on that image.
Instead I started working on the flyers. The daughter seemed really set on showing pictures of her father at work so I thought it would be nice to have these images on the flyer to visually tell the story of the process he goes through. I already had images of her father at work, and the logo, but I still needed additional components such as imagery of finished products, and information that they want including on the flyer. However, I was able to get hold of good quality images of their products that Revolution Inc. had photographed when they produced the website, which allowed me to experiment with designs and layouts and simply leave space for the text. I came up with four different designs, which I then narrowed down to two, and sent both of them to the client with space for the text. This means that, as promised, they were able to see a proof by the end of the day, and they also now have an idea of how much text they need to write for the flyer. 
The flyer designs took me most of the afternoon, but in the morning while I was waiting for content for the flyer I had a meeting with the SEO, Danny about the social media marketing for the e-cigarette company, Vape Vendor, that I mentioned last week. I am excited to work with Danny on this project. During the meeting he asked me about ways that I think we could increase sales, increase followers, and increase traffic by using social media. I have to admit I didn't have any ideas as this is all very new to me, but I still wanted to be involved. We talked about a competition where people tweet their best flavour combinations and the best idea wins e-liquids. Danny explained that the combinations can be anything, and then the winner would get a random selection of e-liquids that Vape Vendor sell. However, I pointed out that a participant may be disappointed if they come up with exciting combinations, only to win boring flavours, so the competition should ask people to come up with their best combination from the flavours available and the winner will win their combination. This will also increase traffic on the website as participants will have to visit to choose their combination. Danny really liked this idea and is now running the competition this way, so although I think I don't have creative ideas, I can still offer something. This has made me more enthusiastic about working on the marketing side of Vape, and I am now on the look out for innovative ways that other brands use social media to market themselves that we could perhaps use for Vape. 

Friday 14th February 2014

As expected, when I arrived at the office this morning there was not a lot of work to do. Most of the staff were in a meeting and I didn't want to interrupt, so I decided to refine my blog post. I thought that it could be written with more of my personality injected into it to engage the readers, so I began working on the writing style. As I had saved it as a draft on the website, I asked Adam to read through to see if he had any suggestions. He took the time to print off a copy and make notes on it to help me refine my writing which I thought was really useful. He confirmed my thoughts they it needed to be written more from my perspective rather than just giving a general guide, and he gave me a number of ideas to help me do that, so I spent some time re-writing my blog. Once I was happy with it, I made some adjustments to the banner. Adam really liked my idea and thought the design worked well, but he suggested that I rearrange the eight images so that they went in the same sequence that they would arise throughout the placement process, so I moved them around and adjusted the colours. After finishing this second variation I agree that the banner does look stronger. I then separated the images so that I could include them in the actual post, and readers would easily be able to link the banner to the content.

It took me a while to get into the flow of writing for this blog post, but now it is finished I am really happy with it, and I love that I have had the opportunity to blog for the company. I have been trying to get into the habit of regularly writing posts on my personal blog, but sometimes I don't feel that I have the right writing style for it, and my posts don't get many views, so it is good to have the opportunity to practice this at work where I can get a second opinion and learn how to write for blogs In addition, improving my writing style will encourage me to write more on my own personal blog.

In the afternoon I attended another meeting offsite with Julian. This time it was to go to Hallmark jewellers, who would like a banner and flyers designed for a wedding fayre that they are attending in two weeks time. I feel that I was stronger in this meeting that I was in the other one I attended last week. I think that I learned from last week's experience and made an effort to give more input. The clients are father and daughter and they were struggling to agree on a design for the banner so rather than just listening I offered my opinion this time which is something I possibly wouldn't have done previously. I really enjoy the experience of going offsite to meet clients and being more involved directly with clients rather than just designing for them and communicating through Scott or Julian, and now I am getting more confident talking to clients and offering my advice I look forward to any similar opportunities in the future.

Thursday 13th February

Today there wasn't much work to do so I spent the day looking for things that I could post about on the Revolution Inc. blog. In the end I decided to write a post about placements, providing our readers with a guide to getting a placement based on the process that I went through before Christmas to get the placement that I am on now. To do this I looked on Creative Bloq and Pinterest and found useful articles about how to produce a great CV and portfolio. I used these sources to write the first part of the post, a list of points for each that the reader should consider while designing their self promotion, accompanied by a short explanation of how I went about designing my self promotion. For the second half of the post about the interview stage and the actual placement I wrote it from my perspective, talking about how to prepare for an interview, including typical questions that they may be asked, and what to do at work if and when they get the placement.
After researching topics to write about and finding material to back up my experience applying for placements, it wasn't until after lunch that I finished writing the post. I then added it to the website but only as a draft as I want Adam to read through it before it goes live. I don't think that it is ready to go live yet which is why I want a second opinion, as I think i've written the post in a very general manner and not chosen an angle to write from. I have written general tips and included what I did when I think really I should either write just about the tips and produce a general guide to applying for placements, or write about the entire process from my perspective and focus on my experience.
Adam was busy this afternoon and I didn't want to disturb him and ask him to read through my post, so I decided to make a banner to go with it for when it does go live. Creative Bloq used a banner on their article that was made up of a number of coloured squares with different illustrations inside that I thought was a great idea for this article. I searched online for a number of vectors that represent placements and found eight images including a pencil, two shaking hands, and portfolio that I thought would be perfect. From there I traced over them all in Illustrator and put each one in a box that then made up the banner. I then used retro colours including red, teal and mustard to colour in my illustration.
Today has probably been the slowest day since I have worked there as I didn't have anything to do. However Adam added more jobs to my list at the end of today so tomorrow I will have new projects to work on. 

Wednesday 12th February 2014

http://www.ehow.com/info_8494789_size-should-standard-landing-pixels.html

http://helpx.adobe.com/en/photoshop/using/aligning-layers.html

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/create-shape-layers-in-photoshop-cs5.html


This morning I got in and saw an email off my client saying that they were happy with both the business card and letterhead design and wanted them to go to print, so I sent the files over to Julian who has sent them to print. As these were both fine I spent the morning working on the holding page for the website. This didn't take as long as I thought as it is simply an image with the logo and some contact details on, so it was just a case of redesigning the business card so it was suitable for a website. 
Before starting, I told Adam what I was working on and he asked if I had ever designed a website or holding page before and when I said I hadn't he printed off a PDF that he said he found useful when he started designing for web. The PDF is 108 pages long so I haven't had chance to read through it all yet, but the first section was really helpful when designing my holding page this morning as it gave me all the information on how to properly set up my document in the right colour mode with the preferences set so that the colours won't change on screen, as well as how to properly set up a grid, and how to snap all shapes to pixels. This document went into details about everything you could possibly need to know about designing for the web in both Photoshop and Illustrator so it was definitely helpful when creating my holding page, and will make things a lot easier for me when it comes to designing the rest of the website. 
Reading through this document has made me realise that even though I am competent using the Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, I don't think I use any of them to their full capabilities. There are still a lot of things that I don't know how to do that would enhance my designs and make my experience working on the computer smoother, an example being using shape layers like this document recommends. In the past I have always created smart objects, and pasted graphics from Illustrator in as smart objects, but this document informs me that if I use shape layers then they are easier to manipulate, they don't slow Photoshop down as much and they keep the file size down. 
I think to improve on this I need to read around the subject more. There are lots of tutorials and PDFs online that are full of information that would improve my skills in these programs and generally help me improve as a designer that I could save on my computer or print off and use as guides when working on projects. In addition, Adobe provide endless tutorials, and design blogs and agencies always relay this sort of information, providing their readers with hints and tips to use when designing. I think I need to get into the habit of reading design blogs and news feeds and following relevant twitter accounts and generally be aware of the information available online as these tips, tutorials and guides can come from anywhere and the knowledge is can be extremely valuable.

The afternoon has been quite quiet. I have some projects coming up that I look forward to doing, including working on designing and building websites which I am excited to learn about. However, at the moment there isn't a lot that needs doing so I spent the afternoon looking at blogs and trends for 2014 to try and find a topic that I could write a short blog post about for the Revolution Inc.'s LinkedIn account. A reoccurring trend was flat UI design, but Adam informed me that Jack is planning on writing a blog post about the same thing, so I have decided to change my idea. I didn't have time to work on a new blog post today, but in the morning I am going to write a post about getting a placement, as I thought that this would be a good thing to write about from my perspective, having gone through the process of contacting agencies and arranging my own. I definitely found the talks from other students more useful than ones from tutors or designers when I was applying for placements as the students giving the talk knew exactly how I was feeling as they had been in that position themselves and I really felt that they could relate. Adam asked me to write an article about something that would get a lot of hits and I think that this will. Writing it from my perspective will allow me to provide information that students really want to know, such as what questions to prepare for in an interview.

Tuesday 11th February 2014

This morning I had a meeting with my client to discuss the logo concepts Adam and I had produced for them. They particularly liked two of the four that I had produced, so we immediately narrowed the choice down to these two. It meant that the other four logos Adam and I had spent time on got dismissed almost instantly, but Julian explained to me that a large percentage of choosing a logo is down to gut instinct, so if a client says they don't like a logo, remove it from the situation before they have time to think twice and consider certain elements of it. Likewise, if they are immediately edging towards one logo then you should push for them to choose that one, as it is their gut instinct. One of the logos the client was drawn to was the logo that me and all of my colleagues hoped she would pick as it was the strongest of the collection, so Julian and I both focused on talking about this one, and it didn't take long for them to set their mind on that logo. 
The name of the business is "Sales Force 10 Recruitment", which is what I designed logos for, but the client came in this morning requesting that the business cards and letterheads have a shortened logo with just "S10 Recruitment", as this is how they will answer the phone. However, because their email, web address and business name is "Sales Force 10 Recruitment" they still wanted to keep the long logo as well.
The client talked about needing business cards as they are spreading the word about their business but have nothing to give out yet, so I told them that I would have a proof of both out to them by the end of the day. As soon as they left the office I got straight to work on these tasks. I began by creating a shortened logo for "S10 Recruitment" so that they could see what it would look like, and emailed this over to them with a request for what contact details they wanted including. While waiting for a reply I worked on the design of the business card and letterhead, meaning that when I received their contact details I simply had to paste these in. After I received the details it didn't take long to add them to my design before sending the proofs to the client. I am now awaiting feedback.
At the end of the day Julian asked me if I was pleased that they had chosen one of my logo designs, and to be honest I hadn't even thought of that all day because I was too busy trying to make sure that my client had a proof of a business card and letterhead as I promised I would have these done. However, after I got them sent off and they replied immediately saying that they were perfect, I stopped to think about how much this project has progressed today, and when I thought about it I was really pleased that they had gone with one of my designs. Although there was a bigger chance that they would choose one of my four in comparison to Adam's two, it is still a big thing to have a client choose your logo for their business and be responsible for the whole of their branding. 
My next steps are to creating a holding page and hopefully designing their website. In addition, Julian has talked about giving me some training in web developing and giving me the opportunity to build a website, so if this is the website I get to build I will be responsible for the entire businesses identity and I think that is a real achievement. I have never done such a big project before and I think it will look really good in my portfolio. 

Monday 10th February 2014

Today I added the finishing touches to my branding. Considering I was very apprehensive about this project I have learnt that a week (or in this case 10 days) is an extremely long time to work on a branding project and it actually gives me plenty of time to come up with logo concepts, even if I don't have a clue where to start.
This morning all I had to do was develop the fourth and final logo concept and lay them all out on separate artboards ready to print and present to the client. Alongside the concepts that I presented to Julian on Thursday I had been putting together other compositions using just text. One of these looked quite similar to a competitor's logo that the client liked, so I decided to work on this composition and develop it into the fourth concept. Once I had finished designing them I set each one up on its own artboard with one large logo in colour with two smaller ones underneath - one black and white one and one in an alternative colour palette. This means that now when I arrive in the studio in the morning I just need to print the document and they are ready to present.
I am really happy the Julian has put me in charge of this project and let me handle the majority of the branding on my own as it has boosted my confidence. In just a week I have gone from not knowing where to start to having 5 different concepts with multiple logos for each, so I feel that in future I will not be so nervous about deadlines and not finishing the work, and instead embrace the project and make full use of the time I have to experiment with different ideas.
In terms of the actual designs I am really happy with what I have produced. Adam has to create a concept as well that the clients will see but even if they choose to run with his design I will still be more than happy with what I designed. My colleagues have all seen what I have produced and I have had positive feedback off them so I think that even if this is as far as my logo concepts go, I think that I have done well for my first attempt at a branding job and I am confident that I will only get better from here. The only thing that I would have liked to have done differently was produce logos that are more obviously connected to what the client talked about in the meeting. The client mentioned the Paul Smith brand a lot and kept talking about stripes but I tried to incorporate them into my logo concepts and they just didn't look right. Using stripy backgrounds, underlining the name or enclosing the name in a box made the logo look too much like it had been designed for a fashion label and this is not what my client will want their recruitment business to be associated with. On the other hand, they did also talk a lot about round designs so two of my four designs have illustrated vortexes included. This way I thought they have the best of both worlds as there is a round design that can also be used as a logo in its own right, and even though they are made up of spiral shapes, there is still the hint of stripes because of the different colours in the vortex.

After completing the branding I posted two blogs for Revolution Inc., wrote a proposal for a website design following the meeting I attended on Friday, and designed a banner for a blog post for Revolution Inc. I feel that because I spoke up last week about feeling like I had nothing to do Julian and Adam have started sending more work my way again. At first I thought that when something needed doing they would just send it to me, but after last week I think that my colleagues are still trying to learn how much work I am capable of doing in a week and therefore don't want to give me too much in case I find myself under too much pressure. In future I definitely need to speak up if I feel like I have nothing to do as they will soon find other jobs for me. They may not always have a lot of print design for me to do, but there may be web developing that needs doing, or marketing that needs working on that I may have the opportunity to get involved with if I speak up. This way I can keep busy and learn new skills. Failing all else, if I really have nothing to do and there are no jobs that need doing I could simply ask one of my colleagues if I could shadow them for a short while to learn any tips and tricks that may help me on my way.

From the meeting I attended on Friday, Julian asked me to write a proposal for the website design, which I completed this morning. I have never done anything like this before, but wanted to have a go at writing it on my own so I looked online for template of design proposals and found a useful one that I followed. It included a background, a statement of work, its purpose, information about the design and the site content. Then, by Julian's request, I added a page structure, a timescale, what we need from them, and the cost. I got really good feedback from Julian about my proposal who sent what I had written straight to the client. I was really happy with this as I had never written a proposal before, and Julian seemed really impressed which once again is another confidence booster.

Friday 7thFebruary 2014

I have now been working on the branding project for more than a week, so when I came in this morning I made the alterations to the logos that we already discussed. However after that I found it very difficult to motivate myself to develop that fourth and final logo. I have spent a lot of time on this project this week and although it is a priority and I will still work to my full capabilities on it, I can't help but find it a little tedious.
However, when I got in this morning they had created some more work for me which I really appreciated, and I am now glad that I spoke up about the branding yesterday, and explained that I didn't need another two days to work on it. Julian explained that Sales Force 10 is my priority, but if I want a break then I can work with Danny for a few hours. Danny is the SEO of the company, and he will be working on the marketing for an e-cigarette business that we have been working with. As he knows that I don't have a lot of work on at the moment, he has asked me if I want to get involved with generating some ideas for marketing the business as well as designing artwork for their Facebook and Twitter pages. He wasn't able to start working with me today, but he has said that we will start working on it on Monday which I look forward to.
In addition, Julian asked if I wanted to accompany him on a meeting offsite this afternoon, to which I agreed. The idea of visiting a client for a meeting was exciting as it was a new experience, and it would also be a change of scenery from the studio so this brightened up my day. The business offer silver plating services, and are wanting a new website, so I took some notes on the existing website and then came along to give my input on the design side of the website, while Julian discussed the content. This meeting has also led to more work on Monday as Julian would now like me write a proposal that we can send to the client. Once this has been approved I will be working on the design for the website.
I am glad that I informed my colleagues that I felt that the branding wasn't enough as they have now started to direct new projects towards me because they know I want something new to work. From talking to Julian on Thursday about feeling that I had almost finished with the branding he offered me the work for the plating business, and Danny has offered to involve me in some marketing work. This means now that on Monday I have a full day that consists of writing the proposal for the plating business, refining the branding and printing it off, and sitting with Danny to discuss some marketing ideas which makes me look forward to going in.
In future I am definitely going to talk to Julian and ask if we can write a list of jobs where possible at the beginning of every week so that I have my own projects to work on and I can manage my own time. I think that this will suit me better as when I worked at my own pace and managed my own time in my first week I felt more productive that this week when I have only really had the branding to work on, that didn't need a week to finish.

Thursday 6th February

This morning I worked on another business card. This time it was for a matchmaking business called "Happiness Connective". The business already has a brand and a website, they simply wanted business cards to match. This meant that I already had all of the artwork, colours, fonts and contact details and all I had to do was design the layout of the card. After I designed the card I asked Adam to take a look at it. As soon as I asked for his opinion he started making small changes. He made a lot of alterations and the design soon looked more like his than it did mine. I ask for his opinion because he has more knowledge than me, he has more experience than me, and he has an incredible eye for detail, but I just think that sometimes he gets a little carried away and rather than giving me some pointers to experiment with he ends up working on it himself. 
I made two variations of the business card, one the way I had designed it but incorporating some of the changes Adam made such as the alignment and spacing, and one with all the alterations Adam had made. We then sent both of these to the client and they ended up choosing the design that I had worked on. I think that this goes to show that my ideas are good and I need to trust my own designs more.
I think that Adam has a very specific style and when I design something it doesn't look how he would personally design it, so he starts to make changes. While I think that it is good to have a signature style, it is a little frustrating when you're working as part of a team. As designers we all have strong ideas of what he like and don't like and because design is so subjective opinions will clash. I still think that Adam is extremely talented and I value his opinion, so in future I will just make sure to ask for his opinion on what I have done, but not ask what he would do, as this is where he starts to personally make changes. While I want the designs to be my own, I do think that the alterations he suggests always make my designs stronger so I will continue to note any hints and tips that he gives me, and take on board all constructive criticism that he gives when I do ask for his opinion. Hopefully this will enhance my skills with the finer details such as alignment and spacing (which is what Adam tends to pick up on) while still giving me the opportunity to develop my own style and bring something unique to the company.

In the afternoon, I continued to work on the branding for Sales Force 10, but my pace on this project is now starting to get really slow as I feel I have developed the logos as best I can without a second opinion. I told Julian that I would like him to look at the logos before I carried on tweaking them, so I printed them off and we sat and discussed them. He really liked two of the concepts, and one of the colour palettes, but he didn't like one of the logos. This was because I had created a rainbow coloured vortex on a black background in Photoshop and added white text beneath it and it looked more like an album cover than a recruitment logo. However, he did like the font I used so we decided that I should try this on its own as the third logo. Therefore I now just need to develop a fourth logo for Tuesday.

Wednesday 5th February

Today I spent the majority of my day working on the business cards for Hare and the Hat. I received more negative feedback this morning; they didn't like my second design as they though the hare I designed looked more like a cow, and they thought that it was too manly and not sophisticated enough. This was when I realised that we were dealing with a very difficult client.
The reason I felt that the client was being difficult was because although I understand that a client will want their design to be just right, I feel that they were making unnecessary comments about the designs that we sent to them, that weren't very insightful to help us design something that they would like. In addition, they asked for a lot of variations; the client wanted two sets of card, a blue set for male customers, and a pink set for female customers, and within those two sets they wanted four variations with the four names of the members of staff on the back so that customers know who they have spoken to. When I sent the first design I put all four names on the back so that the member of staff could put a ring around their name but they insisted on four separate ones. However, after one of the Revolution Inc. partners, Simon, explained that this would cost more they soon changed their mind.
I believe that the client has become more difficult because they originally came to us with a card that they wanted to print and we advised that they don't use their design as it didn't look professional and it wouldn't have done their business any favours. Then, after all this they were under the impression that they would be able to get 500 copies of the card in 8 variations for the same price of 500 copies of the same variation so they were then told that they would have to spend more than anticipated. 
Despite the issues we have had with the client today I re-designed the card one more time. I am awaiting feedback but hopefully they will like the design and will understand why getting so many variations of a business card printed doesn't make much sense under the circumstances.
I am glad that this situation has come about as it has been interesting to see how my colleagues have handled this client. 
After the issues with the client today Simon and Adam agreed that the client may save the artwork we send to them via email but decide not to print their business cards with us so that they can then go and print the cards themselves in all the variations that they originally wanted. This thought didn't even cross my mind and to be honest the fact that clients probably do that really disappoints me. However, Adam took the time to show me how to completely flatten and password protect all artwork so that under no circumstances can it be edited or printed. This will be really useful for the future as it will enable me to send artwork via email without the fear that the receiver may use it themselves. 
Due to the problems we have had with this client, working on these business cards took up most of my day, so whenever I had free time I worked on my branding project. I am now at a stage where I have three solid concepts that tomorrow I would like to print off and discuss with my colleagues. I emailed my client about meeting on Friday but they are unavailable so we have now planned a meeting for Tuesday morning to discuss the branding. This means that I can spend Friday and Monday tweaking my ideas and developing a fourth concept ready for Tuesday.

Tuesday 4th February

Today I continued work on my logo concepts for Sales Force 10, particularly focusing on fonts. After asking Adam to take a look at what I had designed so far he advised me to look at some fonts online and try to find some new commercial fonts that I could use. I admitted that I didn't have a good eye for good fonts so we had a look at some other recruitment logos, identified that they all used sans serif fonts and began looking on free font sites such as Font Squirrel for some neat sans serif fonts that I could use in my concepts. He pointed out a few clean cut fonts that would be good to use, as well as some more unique looking ones to try to make each concept look different. He also suggested that I look out for how many styles there are of each font and to try and choose ones that are part of a big font family to give me a bigger range of styles to work with. After taking the time to go through them with Adam I think I can see why the fonts I had picked don't work, and what I could use instead. I think I was on the right lines but I kept choosing fonts that were big and chunky whereas now I am aware to look for font families I can simply choose a regular font that comes in a bold or black style that I could use instead. This also enables me to create a logo using just one font in a variety of weights rather than trying to find multiple fonts that compliment each other.

In the afternoon I received feedback on the business card I designed yesterday, and unfortunately the client didn't like it. Their name is "Hare and the Hat", so I illustrated a hare sat in a hat, and the thought it looked too much like it should be for a magician. I therefore spent this afternoon working on a new design for the business card. I was struggling with how to go about designing the sort of illustration that they wanted, so Adam told me to look for images that I could paste into Illustrator and use to trace an outline using the paint tool. In addition, when I had completed the design of the card he asked me what processes I went through to create each element. For example I curved the name of the business on the card and explained that I achieved this by warping the text. He then told me that in future I should draw an oval and delete the south point to create an arc, and write my text along this line to create a smoother curve as sometimes when using the warp effect the text can become distorted. These may only seem like small tips but this is one of the main reasons that I love working at Revolution Inc.
Adam regularly asks me how I have done something and he always takes the time to show me if there is a quicker or cleaner way of doing something which I really appreciate. Whenever I am working on a project if he has any hints or tips that will help or any knowledge that I could use he is always quick to help which I really appreciate. I get the impression that bigger studios that are busier will just expect you to know how to do things or to find out on your own, but I feel comfortable asking Adam whenever I am unsure of something and it is really helping me develop as a designer.

Hare and the Hat Business Cards

Here is a business card that a client has already designed and simply wanted us to print. However, we all agreed that this was not a good design and we convinced the client to allow us to re-design the card and have them consider that option before they got this one printed. They agreed to this and I was asked to redesign the business card.

I looked on shutterstock for photographs or illustrations that I could trace to get a simple illustration and created this illustration of a hare coming out of a hat. I was told that the business cards are for a magician, so I thought this would make the perfect imagery for the front of the business cards.

I was asked to create two designs, one for girls and one for boys. I therefore went for the obvious of a blue and a pink card. I also added stars behind the hare to emphasise the magic. I couldn't decide whether a coloured background looked good behind the illustration, so I tried a plain background on the front with a coloured background on the back. However, I still wasn't happy with either design. Although I don't think the flat colours work well in the background, I am happy with the fonts choices of Lavanderia and Futura - I think these work well together.

I then tried a bolder background with a radial gradient as I thought that maybe I didn't like the coloured background because it was a flat colour. I think that a gradient in the background looks a lot better and makes the hare in the hat stand out, but I still couldn't decide whether to leave the back of the card white or not.

I decided to make the pink card red, so there are still two variations for males and females, but it looks more professional and more like a magicians curtain. I also created landscape and portrait variations because personally I would always design a business card landscape, but the original that was sent to us was portrait.

After seeing the proof the client explained that they are not a magician, but a hat seller, so the design of the card had to be changed. They also insisted on a pink and blue variation, and wanted the card to be portrait with four names on the back instead of just one. I therefore went back to shutterstock to look for a new image that I could trace. I managed to come across a quirky vintage illustration of a hare wearing a top hat, and thought that this would be perfect. Providing the client approves, here are the finished cards!

Unfortunately the client didn't approve, they felt that the hare looked like a calf and thought that the top hat and bow tie made the design look like it was directed at men, despite the blue and pink backgrounds. I therefore had one last go at designing the cards to make sure that they were appropriate for both genders. 

The client thought that for the same price of printing 500 cards they would be able to print four lots of 125 with four different names on, with each of these having an equal amount of blue and pink designs so that they could have personalised business cards for both men and women. However, once Simon told the client that this would involve eight different print runs and that we would be charging separately they decided to have all four names on one card. We also suspected that they might say they only want one card to save money, so I decided to design two landscape versions that have gender neutral backgrounds.