Presentation - OUGD502

Studio Start-Up Costs - OUGD502

Starting up a business costs a considerable amount of money. Especially a design studio, as the equipment required can often consume a considerable chunk of the budget, excluding the space you rent. However it is a one-off, so once all equipment is purchased, you do not have to concern yourself with it again, unless something is needing to be repaired/replaced/upgraded. However these factors are not something to worry about in the first year of business as warranties would be in tact.

Here is a list of the equipment needed to start up our design studio including an estimated rundown of the costs:

• Monitors x3 (To connect to MacBooks) - £750.00
• Apple Keyboard x3 - £237.00
• Apple Mouse x3 - £195.00
• Wacom Tablet x3 - £300.00
• Adobe CC License x3 - £160.00 / Monthly (£1920.00 / Annually)
• General stationary (Pens, pencils, sketching stock etc...) - £400.00
• A2 Printer + Ink - £600.00
• Backup HDD's (6TB + Expandable) - £200.00
• Surge protection x3 - £60.00

1st Month Total: £2707.00 (1st month equipment setup cost)

1st Year Total (inc. remainder of Adobe CC): £4307.00

Partnership Agreement - OUGD502

Taking Care of Business - Study Task 01 - OUGD502

Drew Boulton, Gaby Renavent and I have taken it upon ourselves to create our very own business, the following post will provide a brief outline of what it is we will do, and how we will go about setting our business from the rest.

• What skills and services do you have to offer?

With good knowledge of digital design whilst maintaining the versatility of experimental work through a vast range of media. By having a unique approach to conjuring up simplistic yet effective ideas and applying them in many different ways. Nothing isn't doable.

Drew:

Out of box thinking

Maintained creative flow

Experimental using mixed media

Lettering

Publication design

Advertising

Gaby:

Typographer

Layout artist (Print/Digital)

Minimalist

Mock up specialist

Illustrator

Colour theorist

Myself:

Digital based

Web / App

Animation

Vector

Practical application

Logo

• Who is your target market?

Our client base will be diverse. We will not restrict our market based on the importance of our clients: Big company dreams with small company values.

• Who is your competition and how will you compete?

As much as we will try to separate ourselves from the rest, there will always be a healthy amount of competitors that will be breathing down our necks, the competition will vary greatly based on the scale of our studio and client base. Positive reputation is what will deter us apart from the rest. 

• What are your costs, charges and financial considerations?

Studio workspace:

1. Possible rent costs
2. Furniture (Chairs, desks, tables - Create a presentable environment where we could potentially meet clients but also keep an ikea state of mind, don't spend a lot on furniture.)
3. Production materials (Initially, but when profit is made, this won't come out of our own pockets)
4. Equipment such as iMac's, however this could be eradicated by using our own computers (MacBooks), but screen size may need to be larger so monitors would have to be bought to accommodate for this consideration.
5. Drafting boards
6. Wacom tablets
7. Software subscriptions (Adobe CC, Fontographer, etc...)
8. Travel costs
9. Outsourcing costs (Printing, development)
10. Swatches (RAL, Pantone, etc...)
11. Beverage making equipment (Kettle, coffee maker, fridge, microwave and other appliances)
12. Backup server (FreeNAS based to eradicate software cost, this can also be used as a cloud to store work on for 24/7 access from anywhere, useful for when you pitch to a client and they may ask you for something you didn't bring a long with you.)

Client Charges:

Between £30-60 per hour split 3 ways depending on the difficulty of the work they are asking for.

• How will you structure your studio?

A calm social environment with work scattered around the walls/shelves for inspiration purposes or simple to exhibit to the clients what kind of work we produce. Quiet area for when music/talking is too distracting in the main studio. Plenty of natural light and the ability to take breaks whenever it is necessary if the workload allows it.

• Who will be responsible for what?

The company will be created in the form of a Limited Liability Partnership. This will allow us to figure out our own financial situations such as vat/taxing but utilise each others individual skills to gain more clients. We will individually bring in briefs, and the person that is handling the client will carry out the research as it is key to know all about who you are working for, then the responsibilities of actually executing the work and generating ideas will be a collective effort.

• How will you promote your services? To who? Using what media?

By using a strong brand, we will apply out identity to various social media and other promotional services like classified ads. Our mainframe (being the website) will supply all links to social media and creative hosting sites.

USP:

We are a versatile and diverse creative thinkers, by priding ourselves on communication skills we can execute any form of work the client may need. 

My Summer ☀️ (And my first ever invoice) - Studio Brief 01 - OUGD502

Before beginning summer, I set myself the task of being productive and to expand my knowledge of Graphic Design as a profession rather than just something I’m studying. So I set myself the task of entering a competition and getting at least one bit of paid work, and that I did.

The contact for work came through as somewhat of a bit of luck, like they say, it is not what you know, it’s who you know. I don’t really agree with this statement entirely, but it does in fact have a large impact on how you can get your work in the real world, and that is in the form of word-of-mouth. I have posted this job to my PPP blog, highlighting aspects that I had learned and the differences that are predominantly different from education to the real world. Having successfully generated an outcome that the client was happy with, and I took the task of invoicing them, something of which I've never one before:

The competition I entered was something passed to me in the fresher’s fair at Leeds University, the week before enrolling. To design a poster that made people more aware of theft of their possessions. I found this a little difficult as I hadn’t done sufficient research or development. But I submitted what I thought was an appropriate response to the brief.

Overall, I am fairly pleased with my attitude over the summer, the brief which was set by Simon prior to the end of level 4 was completed well in time for the start of level 5, something of which I haven’t done in the past, set myself a deadline and stuck to it. My attitude towards design as a profession has developed into something more than just a subject, I am becoming more and more aware of the world around me every day and how to flourish in the design industry.

Interviews - Studio Brief 01 - OUGD502

What's an interview? - A series of questions

What does it require? - Good planning, proper preparation and sensitivity to the complex nature of interaction during the interview itself.


Tips:

• Arrange the interview. Plan every aspect of the interview, time scales, questions etc...
• Consider beforehand: how and where?

Skills:

• Be attentive, actively listen to what they're saying in order to give a response and ensure they are aware of you engagement and interest into them.
• Be empathetic, tolerate silences, use prompts, use open questions, use probes, ask for clarification, examples and more detail. Using checks; Summarise the interviewee's thoughts.

Conducting the interview:

• Be friendly and ensure you are coming across as trustworthy, ask if you can record the chat etc...

Recording the interview:

• Notes
• Audio
• Online communications

Beginning of the interview

• Opening question is the most important.
• Ask them about themselves and who they are

Finalising the interview

• It's up to the interviewer to close the interview in a subtle way
• Ask its there is anything more they want to add to the interview
• Finally thank them for their time (Goes hand in hand with common sense and good manners)

PPP2 Briefing - OUGD502

Aims:

• Understand practical and professional concerns of individual creative practices.
• Investigate the personal, professional, innovative and entrepreneurial aspects of the external creative industry.
• Establish independent understanding of the practical and contextual location of individual creative ambitions.
• Develop higher level of comm skills through programme specific practical and contextual research.

Studio Brief 01:

"Creative Report", contact a design practitioner or organisation and devise a report. Show at least one interview with the selected creatives.

Studio Brief 02:

"Design Strategy Presentations", same as last year, produce a 7-10 minute presentation that represents my progression in the last couple of years, and more specifically, what direction I want to go in.

Finally: Blog