Personal Development III//Fedrigoni Acroprint White Lies Exhibition at Leeds Gallery

This evening I attended the Fedrigoni Acroprint White Lies exhibition at Leeds Gallery, with a room filled with prints designed by The Design Project, printed by Team Impression, and on the stock of the new Acroprint Fedrigoni paper, showcasing the 'White Lies' as frequently told by designers.

With an innovative and playful exhibition concept, this gave way to a great source of idea generation for the proposed Geek Table exhibition, to be held in May (see my Final Major Project blog for more information), as well as being able to take away some great stock samples including business cards, two A1 poster prints (beautifully screenprinted), a sample book, and more.

A great find, huge thanks to friend and fellow BAGDer, Lisa for giving us the heads up about the exhibition. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for more events like this in the future (...particularly the free ones!).

Personal Development III//Fedrigoni Event at Leeds Gallery.

www.fedrigoni.co.uk/events-more.asp?id=46

Tomorrow, I, along with a small group of friends and fellow BAGDers will be going along to Leeds Gallery for Fedrigoni Acroprint White Lies exhibition/opening night, to showcase their new stock range, in collaboration with Team Impression, with each guest also recieving a limited edition poster.

Excited for free print, as ever, myself and some of the other members of the Geek Table Collective are excited to learn more about the exhibiting and promotion of work in the support and hope to presenting our own exhibition in May.

Personal Development III//BAGD Studio Promo.

My new promotional branding design for the LCA BAGD Studio, just in time for the visiting professionals and portfolio review week, to keep in balance with my existing branding and to ensure consistency throughout the projects, also reflecting my ambitions to travel with my work, along with a friendly and more personalised approach to business that I always aspire to maintain.

Personal Development III//Leeds Print Festival Exhibition Visit

Image Source | www.designweek.co.uk/whats-on/leeds-print-festival/3035901.article

After attending the Leeds Print Festival last weekend, one of the clients I am currently working with, Alex Warren, throughout the Final Major Project module, and I attended the open exhibition, which provided a great platform for me to introduce new print methods and designs to the client, as well as being able to get more of an opportunity to see the work.

Coming from a design background (Architecture/Architectural Design), it's great working with a client who actively engages with print, and I could tell he was particularly interested in the production methods used, which should provide me the opportunity for a great deal of experimentation and conceptual thinking throughout Alex's rebrand brief, which, hopefully, I should be starting to initially develop and explore throughout next week.

Personal Development III//Trip to Pressision

www.pressision.co.uk

Today myself and a small group of BAGD friends were invited along to a print and studio visit at Pressision, a Leeds- based commercial printers, after I had initially been in contact with them a few months ago (after being given the contact via Graphic Designer, Joe Gilmore of Qubik, Leeds).

Although unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me to document the visit, the work they carry out in their small unit space was remarkable, and it was a great opportunity to be reminded, in particular, of the lithographic printing process that we first looked at over a year ago in the Design for Print Level 05 module of the course. 

We were also given free reign of the studio floor to explore the different mechanics, such as binding and folding machines, traditional letterpress and foil flat bed presses, and the ink channels for the litho printers (which played the theme tune to ET when it was being programmed... amazing).

As well as getting a feel for the print environment, we got to meet the staff, and in particular, the Managing Director, James Taylor, kindly showed us round, and let us get a feel for some of the samples and work produced in the studio (we were particularly impressed with the fluted foil- a combination of embossing and foiling that had always left us scratching our heads).

A great insight into the printing process, which, much like the Leeds Print Festival just a few days ago, has certainly left me inspired to get designing. Really looking forward to getting stuck into work for my Final Major Project now.

Personal Development III//Portfolio 2013.

Today I finally got round to updating and redesigning my portfolio, with the addition of new work and projects and, most importantly, in preparation for some important studio visits and portfolio surgeries commencing next week.

I decided to keep the portfolio really minimal, like my work, reflecting my ethos of simplicity= effectiveness, as well as only adding the projects which I felt were really significant or demonstrate my design work well, hence having just six projects in there (perhaps a concern, but I feel positive that by the end of year show there will be at least another 3/4 projects to add from the Final Major Project module, along with other personal work). 

As the printing was been cut quite fine (with James in print at Uni fully booked up for this and next week), I decided to take the recommendation from a friend and fellow BAGDer, Baljeet, to use Dox Direct printers online. Despite being based in South Africa, prints can be sent, and received, anywhere in the world within 24 hours. Although, of course, it is costly, it's certainly worth it in regards to the quality (as shown in Baljeet's portfolio) that I'm assured will be produced.

I'm really happy to finally have a portfolio that I can start to feel proud of, particularly with the addition of more personal and developed projects, and I look forward to hearing feedback during the surgery sessions next week.

Professional Development III//Leeds Print Festival 2013.

Notes and documentation of today's Leeds Print Festival (2013), as originally founded by BAGD Leeds College of Art tutor, Amber Smith.

The event itself was amazing with exhibited work from various designers, as well as talks from Nick of The Print Project, Matthew the Horse, and the remarkable Alan Kitching. 

I’m feeling so inspired for my projects ahead, particularly working with the combination of typography and print… I feel like this was exactly what I needed right now (along with getting some beautiful print and Yorkshire tea bags in a goodie bag...always a plus for a caffeine-fuelled zombie designers, like me).

Big thanks to Amber, I hope she was as delighted with the day as all the guests and attendees were.

NOTES

-

THE PRINT PROJECT

* Nick, presenting on behalf of The Print Project, Bradford.

* Influenced by skateboarding and music through teen years which lead on to working with print. Started fanzines, inspired by skating and trash metal. 

* Inspired by designers like David Carson- experimental, punk-esque, of the time.

* Employed as a litho printer in 1999 after a design education.

* In 2005, he bought a 100 year-old press for £60 to begin experimenting with letterpress design- traded in at a later date for a more updated design.

* Became The Print Project through printing at the 1 in 12 Club, Bradford.

* Learnt independently how to develop experience with letterpress- first inspired by friend Peter who worked with letterpress printing.

* Featured at the LPF Pop Up Shop- allowed people that aspect of "having a go".

* Pink Milk Float printing in Leeds- open print experience.

* Enjoy the freeness and lack of convention in letterpress printing and type- very expressive and free- can't be effectively digitally replicated.

* Grotesk No9/ Headline Bold type for "Nothing Twee Here..." print.

* Cut type on free saws on improve and specify kerning to experiment.

* Letterpress "is what it is"... and "does what it does".

* 'All sorts' publication sold at book fair. Rep from The Tate came and bought the book and put it in the Museum. Experimental print and type- "faces" and characters made from letterpress.

* Colophon for book in 10pt Bembo, set by hand.

* LPF responsible for more exposure and work within the industry.

* Grambe (sp?)- Susan Blake type foundry/typeface used on letterpress invites for LPF. 

MATTHEW THE HORSE

* "These are my opinions today"- observations, make your own thoughts...

* Like to have fun and be playful- name reflects the silliness.

* Enjoys co-ordinaring socks with drinks flask (fantastic).

* Very passionate about "graphic art".

* Illustrator & Graphic Artists, but commitments also lie elsewhere within being an educator.

* Context + Concept + Form = Illustration/Image- Making in response to a brief.

* Does a lot of editorial work- worked for The Guardian for 3 years. VERY short deadlines, visual thinking.

* 30 minutes for one illustration... PROUD moment.

* Graphic Art: Self initiated art, conceptually driven by it's own agenda.

* Marcus Oakley is his #1 heartthrob of design. 

* Illustration isn't just vocational- it's about hustling and business too.

* You need to BE your work to inform your practice.

* Created work for Pick Me Up print fair in London.

* Likes to create work that expresses moments of epiphany, euphoria and spontaneity. 

* The original idea is the gold, and you want to maintain this as much as possible.

* Don't work for free, but if you can, you will learn from it through spec work.

* Graphic Art is driven by agenda and concept.

* It's all about finding balance and brining your tone of voice to the work.

* Fine Art has turned its back on image making in more recent years through Artists such as Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, etc.

* An illustrative practice is commercial and needs value.

* Graphic Art is affordable and inclusive.

* Building a collection makes it yours. Shouldn't be a symbol of wealth or intellectually inclusive. Follow YOUR JAM.

* You define your own tastes- they can be developed, we all start somewhere. Ikea canvas prints CANNOT be excused, however... Create work that means something TO YOU... counteract the mass-produced.

* Appropriate art and be inspired.

* Matthew the Horse may well be the happiest man in the World.

ALAN KITCHING

* Talk for Wolff Olins in November 2012. Asking why designers did what they did... he replied 'B'cause, B'cause, B'cause'... verbally and visually.

* Traditional methods learnt from letterpress.

* Anthony Froshaud, 1964 > Alan was studying at Watford College of Technology, taught by Anthony as Senior Lecturer (taught at the Bauhaus. International reputation, 20 years his senior).

* Peter Schmidt/Alan Kitching, 1967. Watford College of Art, School of Art poster > Very minimal, pure, clean type (Swiss-like)... RESEARCH & REVIEW.

* Started t work with Fletcher Forbes Gill after college (this group now runs as Pentagram... though under varying management)... Colin Forbes/Alan Kitching, 1972.

* Typographer Matthew Carter was commissioned to design font for V&A.

* Created Broadside typographic publications/specimens to promote his practice and the typefaces available to use... used multi-lingual type with quotes from the bible for the communication of the type and how it's used.

* Experimentation of the overlays and layering of type and editorial design.

* Commissioned to make a typographic map of London as a printing guide to the city. Used the river as a key feature (as it is so distinctive)- all the blue circles are representative of the blue plaques seen on notable persons houses, but contain content in regards to notable prating (Penguin Books, Samuel Johnson, Faber & Faber, etc.)

* Tube Map can fold down to a poster/invite- getting two jobs out of one. 

* Phrases can often make very effective typographic posters- COLLECT THEM!

* Experimented with printing manually by rollers- gives more texture and an element of spontaneity.

* Baseline magazine cover using wood cut type and varying colours.

Personal Development III//Contact with Joe Gilmore at Qubik.

Hoping to start the year as I mean to go on, after further contact and talk last week in regards to being kind enough to help me with some points of my dissertation, I have got in contact with Joe Gilmore of Qubik to discuss the potential of going to work with him again in Easter time, potentially for a couple of days or even a week-long placement, again, hoping to develop my experience within editorial design as well as a studio atmosphere.

Personal Development III//Tayburn Contact.

Really pleased to have confirmed a date for a studio visit up to Tayburn in Edinburgh in the reading week (w/c 4th February) where I'll get the opportunity to meet Malcolm, the Creative Director, along with seeing the day-to-day work of the studio, as well as showcasing my own portfolio which I hope to have completely designed and printed for this time (having ordered some satin A3 stock with fellow BAGDers Claudia and Lisa specially). 

Really excited for the visit, and planning to spend a couple of days in Edinburgh, potentially also getting in touch, once more, with the team at the Touch Agency in the same city, possibly even looking to re-locate after University.

Print Visit//Confirmation from Pressision.

Really pleased and excited to have confirmed a date (25th January at 11am) for a print visit to Pressision, with whom I have been in contact with for a little while.

Along with a small group of friends and fellow designers from the course, we've agreed to go round to see the facilities, and potentially build up a contact for our own professional practices.

More documentation from the print visit itself to come.

Personal Development III//Contacting Praline.

Dedicating a little more time this evening for studio contacts, and, on this occasion re-contacting London-based design studio, Praline, with whom I had originally been in touch with and planned to travel down for a studio visit and portfolio review, but, unfortunately, at last minute, due to unforeseen circumstances had to cancel.

Hopefully this time I will be able to really plan my trip down, and potentially spend a few days in London over the reading/assessment week break, potentially even sourcing some research for my Final Major Project briefs which I am working on throughout the New Year until the end of May upon the final module submission.

Print Visit//Contacting Pressision.

This evening I went to contact local printers, Pressision, after having initially made contact in Autumn last year, and then going on to meet one of the printers, Richard, whilst working with Joe Gilmore at Qubik.

Hopefully, booking a print visit to the Leeds-based studios will help to build up a working relationship with myself and the group of fellow BAGDers, with potential negotiations and deals to also be struck in regards to budget limitations and turn around times, whilst also gaining further insight and knowledge in regards to the print industry.

Looking forward, and hoping for a reply to arrange a visit within the next couple of months.

Industry//Leeds Print Festival.

Very excited to have today paid for my ticket to the 2013 Leeds Print Festival Industry Talk at Leeds Gallery, as curated and run by BAGD Programme Leader, Amber Smith, on Sunday 20th January.

Unfortunately last year I wasn't able to attend, so am particularly looking forward to hearing talks and words of wisdom from influential designers within the industry as well as getting some rather sexy letterpress prints (definitely won me over to buy the ticket...).

More details and images will be posted after the event.

Studio Contact//Tayburn.

Taking some time out this evening to contact Malcolm, the Creative Director in Edinburgh-based Tayburn, once again, after his kind reply earlier in the year asking if I'd like to visit the studio after Christmas and the New Year.

Really excited to hopefully confirm a date and plan a short break up to the city, potentially working in time to see other studios and the city itself (which may even prove to be a potential move after graduation).