Getting To Know People - Study Task 01 - OUGD402

Today we were introduced to the basics of personal & professional practice. We were briefed on what we would have to execute throughout our time on the course, this was to document what we do/don't like, what inspires us and in turn combine our personal lives to inspire our design and outcomes.

For the task, we were split up into groups of 4/5 and given a design studio to research, we were given Sagmeister & Walsh. We then answered 5 questions to investigate.

• Who are they?

• Where are they based?

• What do they do?

• How do they do it?

• What makes them unique?

The answers would then be made into a 3 minute visual and verbal group presentation.

             

Jessica Walsh + Stefan Sagmeister

With their small studio based in New York, Sagmeister & Walsh have pushed the limits when it comes to design. They have a huge range of work and aren't afraid of taking their clothes off…

The image that 'made the Creative Arts studio come to a stand still'.

In an email to Creative Arts magazine, Sagmeister wanted to declare that he'd be adding a new member to his team, to grab the attention of the creative industry. That he did.

Their work is extremely varied, according to their website, they specialise in the following area's:

• Advertising
• Art Direction
• Branding & Identity
• Consultancy
• Concept Development
• Content Development
• Commercials
• Curation
• Design System
• Environmental Design
• Event Design
• Exhibition Design
• Film/Video
• Furniture Design
• Identity
• Interactive
• Naming
• Print
• Packaging
• Signage
• Writing
• Website Design

Here are some good examples of their work:

Design, Art Direction and Illustration for the rebranding of EDP.

Function Engineering rebrand.

A new design for the New York festivals trophies.

As you can clearly, Stagmeister and Walsh show good originality throughout their work. With Jessica only joining in 2012 to make Stagmeister Inc. (est. 1992) into the name it is known to have now.

Stefan consistently uses interns to see what potential hey will have. When Jessica joined his studio he didn't want any other studio to snap her up once her time at his studio ended, so he employed her full time and now she is successfully working along side Stefan.

Looking through the pieces they have been commissioned for, I can agree that not all of their work is appealing to me, but I do agree that a good design studio doesn't restrict itself to working to a single mantra.

Questions & Answers - Induction

During the induction of the Graphic Design course, we were asked to identify 5 answers to the following questions:


Why did I choose to study on this course?

1. Gain the ability to think more conceptually.
2. Explore a wider range of techniques and processes; be more adventuress!
3. Enjoy the music scene Leeds has to offer.
4. Have the confidence to successfully respond to any given brief.
5. Gather a better idea of my own identity and gain a more established feel of my personal style

What do I want to learn during my time on the course?

1. Take advantage of the facilities Leeds College of At has to offer.
2. Draw more.
3. Expand my knowledge of Graphic Design as a subject and generate a successful brand for myself.
4. Narrow down what subject in the discipline in hand I would like to focus on.
5. Freelance more outside of study time to gain a better name for myself before graduating.

What inspires you?

1. Astronomy and naturally occurring pattern.
2. Discovering new music and mixing/producing my own electronic music.
3. Finding new hobbies and adding them to the long list of existing hobbies. (Fish keeping, building computers, producing/DJing, cycling)
4. Urban exploration and abandoned buildings.
5. Exploring creative networks such as Behance, and discovering people with increased abilities to my own. Then setting my own targets to exceed my own creative barriers.

What are your strengths?

1. Tallness…
2. Having the ability to teach myself how to accomplish new techniques by researching on the internet and using tutorials, etc.
3. Taking on new work without worrying about what the outcome must look like, e.g. being able to adapt my abilities for the client to achieve what they want.
4. My sarcastic and dry sense of humour.
5. Finding creativity through anything I enjoy.