More Design Studios//Contacts//Potential Work Experience.

Beginning to research more design studios to add to my existing contact list for potential work experience and industry placements in the new year- having sourced some really fantastic looking companies, which I feel I could fit well into, and/or could learn a lot from, aligned with my particular fields of interest 

within the wider design field.

Once I have worked on my re-branding design and produced an innovative and insightful portfolio of work (PDF?) to send to the studios, I will be in contact as soon as possible- looking for a work placement in the summer, or potentially even sooner in the Easter break.

http://www.taxistudio.co.uk/

Taxi Studio- heard a lot about them in the past, a very impressive and broad range of designs within their portfolio- and, if their website is anything to go by, (and I do, admittedly, judge a company by their website...) they look very fun, playful and innovative (love the "wheel of fortune- esque feature on the site). Also, an added bonus, their studio is in Bristol- somewhere I would definitely consider moving to after graduation- would be a great insight into working life in the city, and to see whether or not it would live up to my hopes and expectations.

CONTACT DETAILS:

93 Princess Victoria Street
Clifton
Bristol
BS8 4DD


0117 973 5151


JOBS//WORK PLACEMENT:


Send CV and work samples to Terry (Design Studio Manager)
terry@taxistudio.co.uk

 http://www.burst-design.com/index.html

Wonderful packaging and branding design- burst* appear to be a very youthful, fun, and stylish company- certainly the sort of design (in their portfolio) that I aspire to achieve myself, and really admire.

CONTACT DETAILS:

2-4 Dubarry House, 

Hove Park Villas, 

Hove 

BN3 6AE

+44 (0)1273 731110

JOBS//WORK PLACEMENT:

helo@burst-design.com

SEND CV AND SAMPLES OF WORK

http://www.creativeorchestra.com/home.html

A truly amazing website (the homepage is quite sensational)- I couldn't help but smile when I came across their design work. Fun, youthful (they boast about the average age of 25 and 50/50 split of male/females- a great place for me, getting on with both genders, and, of course, being a young student designer). Really good mix of design work in their design portfolio.

CONTACT DETAILS:

Creative Orchestra

206 Belgravia Workshops

159-163 Marlborough Road,

London,

N19 4NR

0207 272 2297

JOBS//WORK PLACEMENT:

CHRIS ARNOLD- CREATIVE PARTNER

chrisa@creativeo.plus.com

07778 05 66 86

VICTORIA GALLARDO- CREATIVE PARTNER

victoria@creativeo.plus.com

077 46 95 2072

http://www.pearlfisher.com/contactcms.php?cmspageid=3

Pearlfisher... you are... THE ONE. I think I may have found my dream work placement company- really excited about their work and their ethos, sounds like just my cup of tea! And, whatsmore... they designed the typeface for the Innocent Brand. Swoon. My branding is now an absolute priority so I can get in touch re work placements... exciting times!

CONTACT:

50 Brook Green 

London 

W6 7BJ England

 

T  +44 (0)20 7603 8666

Nellie Veltman nellie@pearlfisher.com

JOBS//WORK PLACEMENT:

In your email:

– Tell us why you want to work for Pearlfisher

– Write a couple of lines about a brand you are particularly passionate about, giving your reasons

– Include a PDF portfolio of your proudest work

– And let us know any other creative things you get up to in your spare time including any blogs, MySpace pages or websites that show us what you're capable of.

Pearlfisher London:

placement_talent@pearlfisher.com

Freelance//Preparation/To-Do List.

A personal list of (long overdue!) freelance and preparatory work for personal development throughout the next month and through the festive period before returning to Uni in January;

- Redesign blog headers
- Peter Pan 6-9 month onesie for Ethan/Ally
- Seagull 6-9 month onesie for Ewan/Emma Bevan
- James M Business Card (Architect)
- Amelia E Business Card (Private Tutor)
- Redesign/Rebrand own work/business card
- Add to Behance/Cargo
- Start applying for work placements Summer 2012

Enterprise//Potential Business Ideas for Enterprise Group.

Before returning to University, after the Christmas break, in January, I have begun to consider potential design paths/business proposals to persue within our Enterprise group- already having discussed a few ideas with other members, which seemed to be taken quite well, and felt like an appropriate and suited design path to follow. 

Written below are some general considerations for the business proposition, along with notes about each specific group member- what I assume to be strengths in their design practice, or what interests have been announced since working together, along with the aforementioned business plan ideas thus far.

MEMBERS

Eddie Cooper


Illustrative design- hand rendered and vector-based, tablet skills
Printed publications, book, journals, zines, etc
Book binding, book making
Innovative ideas and concepts
Animals
Fun, playful design


Matt Chatfield


Vector based design
Illustration
Bold use of colour
Packaging design

Chris Van Niekerk

Type and printed publications

Logo

Identity and Branding

Vector-based design
Photography (DSLR//35mm)  

Sarah Roberts

Illustrative design- hand rendered and vector- based

Tablet skills

Type, printed publication, layout

Book binding

Magazine and book/Grid
Photography (DSLR//35mm)

Sophie Wilson (Myself)

Fun, playful design

Illustration- Hand Rendered and Vector-based

Book binding

Colour

Research

Finance

Presenting

Networking & Communications
Print
Photography (DLSR//35mm)


POTENTIAL BUSINESS PROPOSALS 


- Zine & Journals printing/retailer- own designs and the promotion of local designers
- Traditional print company- inspiration from existing companies such as 'Awesome Merchandise'
- Hand-printed stationers- creating unique repeat pattern, logo, illustrative designs at competitive prices
- Design network for illustrative/print-based designers, networking platform tool


* This idea went down really well with the group- potential for us to actively design ourselves whilst also working and networking with others. Online as well as physical retail space sales, a lot of potential to cover branding, identity, logo, etc- keeps everyone satisfied.


POTENTIAL BUSINESS NAMES


GRID
THE GRID
GRID*

GÜD

BÜK
ZINE
D*ZINE
FANZINE
PRINT
THE PRINTING CO
SNAP TO GRID
RULE
TYPE
ILLUSTRATE
DOODLE
NIB
INK WELL

Enterprise//Preparation/To-Do List.

A to-do list of the work to complete throughout the festive holiday in preparation for the return back to Uni at the beginning of January;

- List potential ideas on blog

- Task V Research

- Check all tasks are completed

Wizarding Winter Fair//Macclesfield Craft Fair 2011.

On Friday 16th December, I travelled down from the end of term of University at Leeds to Maccelsfield public library for The Wizarding Winter Fair- a Harry Potter-themed arts and music tribute event, which I was asked about through my Etsy store, when one of the organisers, Laura Crow, spotted the Harry Potter cards and bookmarks I sold within my online shop.

Very tired travelling down with all my belongings for the holiday break, along with sale stock, I didn't feel as prepared as I could have been- and a little short on stock (having rushed up some more designs in the past twenty-four hours- Uni gives me limited time for outside work!)- but with my lovely Mum meeting me half way in Macclesfield (between Uni at Leeds and home in Shropshire) and a trusted Innocent Smoothie by my side- I was really pleased with the feedback and sales- matching my day at Reetsweet (Sunday) in just three hours- yay.

For me, the fair, all in all, wasn't ideal- it was a tiny room, poorly sign posted and a little dated for my liking- though the people were friendly and enthusiastic- so I shouldn't complain too much! Sales were good, but it did prove quite a challenge to get there considering my luggage, train journey, poor winter weather, etc. Definitely a learning curve- but, again, I still made money (horray!)- I think I've just been spoilt with the amazingness of Reetsweet! Still, a great experience- my second craft fair, done! Hopefully, there will be many more to come!

- Pictures above taken by organisers at the Wizarding Winter Fair- please ignore my grimace "I hate my picture being taken" face.

Enterprise//My Skills Set & Interests.

Starting to seriously consider important factors for the development of the enterprise project, I decided to make a list of important skills and interests I believe I can bring to the group for future reference and guidance.

GOALS/INTERESTS

- Environmentally aware

- Ethically lead

- Publishing

- Illustration

- Retail

- Animation

- Entrepreneurship

- Freelance

- Infographics

- Vector design

- Photography

- Branding & Identity

SKILLS

- Hard working

- Organised

- Contacts

- Networking

- Motivated

- Finance

- Freelance

- Leadership

- Creativity

- Illustration

- Crafting

- Meticulous

- Tea & Cake!

POTENTIAL NAMES

-Ribcage

- Clockwork

- Grid

- Güd

Enterprise Business Group.

Very pleased to "announce" the newly formed group for the Enterprise Business Plan Module Presentation Brief.

The members of the group include:

Matt Chatfield

Eddie Cooper

Sarah Roberts

Chris Van Niekerk

Sophie Wilson (myself)

Really excited to be working with the group- I'm close to Sarah, I feel we have a lot in common in both life and work, and have always enjoyed the company of the three guys. I feel we offer a wide variety of skills which will still compliment each other with our ways of working, and, from seeing our design outcomes, the styles of our work.

All future group meetings and discussions we be blogged as and when they occur, along with idea generation for business plans.

TestSpace: Christmas Wrapping.

http://www.facebook.com/events/147364648700118/?notif_t=event_invite

Great news from the weekend's Reetsweet Craft Fair- I was approached about selling in the Corn Exhchange's hosting of TestSpace: Christmas Wrapping- a two week pop up shop which will sell a selection of my printed work with a 30% commission charge (the same as the shop 'Nook & Cranny' which I stock in Liverpool). Taking my work down to the shop space tomorrow afternoon!

Reetsweet Christmas Fair Weekend.

Photographs taken from this weekend's Reetsweet Craft Fair (at The Corn Exchange, Leeds City Centre) where I was fortunate enough to be given my own stall to sell my design work- my very first craft fair!- (that I have made throughout my time at Uni, as well as my spare time, and sell online- mostly through my Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sophiewilsondesign?ref=si_shop). Unfortunately I forgot my camera on Saturday- the first day of the weekend's sales, so the pictures above don't show the full extent of my stock (around half)- unable to restock in the evening before the second day. 

I was really pleased I got to be part of such a great event- it was hugely busy (thank you Christmas!) and I generated the same amount of income in the first day that I would usually bring in over the space of a month through online sales! Horray. Great opportunity to network and talk to the other stall owners too- finding out that I (at 19) am the youngest person ever to have a stall at Reetsweet!

Highlights of the weekend:

1//Talking to lovely people, networking- getting a chance to be "seen".

2//Selling two pieces of work to Uni tutors- thanks Amber and Jane!

3//Meeting personal hero, Culture Show Presenter and Guardian Architectural Journalist, Tom Dyckhoff (I went all fangirly and nerdy).

4// Making money! (All to go on printing for another craft fair in two weeks time...!)

5// Getting a bulk order of £100 worth of stock to sell at the Testspace Leeds Corn Exchange Pop Up Shop until 23rd December.

Good times! Now... to work through that massive mound of Uni work...

Web Feature//Blog//Reetsweet.

http://reetsweet.blogspot.com/

Yay! Got another feature today- this time on the Reetsweet blog in preparation for this weekend's craft fair event (they look far more prepared than I am!)- lovely little feature- so glad I ended getting involved with the event. Such a lovely bunch.

French Lessson V//VI.

Notes, excercises and homework from today's French lesson- really happy that I got the opportunity to go along to this session as I wasn't too bogged down with Graphics work- and actually felt like 

a well-deserved break away!

Amazingly, (perhaps combined with a cocktail of tiredness) I did feel as though I had forgotten a great deal of my re-gained knowledge from the past week's sessions, though fortunately picked it up again quickly. Really glad I decided to take the French lessons- given me a good opportunity to refresh my memory as well as having some time away from work, whilst still being productive, and developing my skillset and knowledge to bump up my CV for work placements- potentially looking into working in various European countries.

Enterprise and Personal Development//Business Cards//Research//Moo.

http://uk.moo.com/products/business-cards.html

Having only briefly taken a look at the site in the past, I decided to take a closer look at 'Moo' today for a possible source to have my future re-vamped business cards printed. Really good possibilities in terms of variations of print (photographic, vector, typographic) as well as stock choices and corners (rounded... rather fancy)- though unfortunately not the possibility to exhaust the wide variety of print finishes available- might need to print myself- a little time consuming but I don't mind too much- hard work brings good rewards.

Very competitive prices... definitely something to bare in mind once I've completed my 

revamped designs and branding (asap!)

French Lessons III/IV.

Unfortunately, due to demands of work and illness, I wasn't able to go along to the past two week's worth of French lessons. Fortunately for me, after popping along to go and see James in SU (student union) he passed along the sessions work and the tasks to do, happy Sophie! Found it a little more difficult than usual without the supervision of Cecilia from the sessions (my French is VERY rusty) but glad that I had the opportunity to catch up in time for tomorrow's session (the fifth of six).

Really pleased I've decided to top up my French now. Yesterday my partner and I discussed where we'd like to live after graduation (he's graduated from his three years of Architecture, but still has half of his part 1 internship, his two years masters and part 2 internship to go!- i've just got one and a half years, eep!) and discussed countries in Europe such as Switzerland, Belgium, France and Norway (that would suit both of our design-y needs)- exciting times! Multiple languages can ONLY be a plus.

Work from the sessions is scanned in below.

LESSON III

 

 

 

LESSON IV