At the end of Personal & Professional practice in level 04, I was able to discover that my passion within graphic design is ultimately hand crafted, luxury pieces most typically in an editorial setting. Through out level 05, I have done all that I can to stay true to this and myself as a designer. I had also identified through self-analysis that my self confidence and belief in myself as an individual and designer needed to be worked on. In level 04 I felt restricted by the briefs and that they did not allow me the opportunity to design in my desired style as they had been curated to allow for everyone on the course to experience all aspects of design, though I had previously began to identify the sort of work I wanted to produce. The freedom of level 05 in devising and choosing our own briefs was what, for me, was missing in first year. This year, the work I have produced has allowed me to further identify and establish a practice predominantly concerned with the luxury sector and bespoke, crafted design. As a result of this, the confidence in my practice and myself as a person has slowly but very surely progressed over the course of the year and I feel more comfortable within myself than ever before.
The insights and advice provided by visiting professionals throughout the year have without question encouraged my own progression and expectation of the industry. Events I have attended such as Glug and Leeds Print Festival have allowed for me to gain knowledge and advice from a great number of designers and industry practitioners. The collective perspectives of each of the many speakers I have seen at such events have enabled me to adopt a much greater understanding and appreciation of the creative industry as a whole, including the highs and lows of being a designer, freelancing versus studio professions, where the industry is currently and expectations for the future of the creative sector. Receiving such information and shared knowledge permits planning of my future practice and ensuring that it is guided by an awareness of contemporary design concerns.
The presentations required in level 05, from project proposals to communicating my practice, have forced me to face my fear in regard to presenting in front of other people. Though I believe the idea of presenting will perhaps always be something that I find hard, I have unquestionably developed more confidence in the delivery of such tasks and will continue to become more comfortable as I progress through the course - as I anticipate these will occur regularly in level 06 and beyond.
At the start of the module, the prospect of contacting professionals and the potential meeting of them to fulfil the requirements of studio brief 02, Creative Presence, made me extremely anxious as social interaction is something I still struggle with. Through lectures, seminars and sessions I was able to identify 3 key industry professionals to contact - all of who are concerned with bespoke print and finishing, these being my practice's primary interests. These three industry leaders include paper merchant G . F Smith, creative print & finishing experts Pressision, and suppliers of hot stamping foils and decorative films Foilco. Although the brief asked for just one creative report to be carried out, I planned to reach out to each of the these industry professionals to gain a more comprehensive insight into each contributor to the field of print and finishing as each party provide something different to the print industry; G . F Smith provide the paper, Foilco the foils, and Pressision the creative printing and finishing itself. I ensured the questions I devised were appropriate to the sector, professional, and complex enough to provoke considered responses. I more or less asked the same questions to all those interviewed, and by doing so have been able to identify certain commonalities and parallels between the responses that truly show where the industry is at present and the direction its heading in. This, as an undergraduate, is invaluable information that allows consideration of the future much easier. As I carried out each interview, I became more and more confident and now feel very much at ease in regard to making contact with professionals moving in to level 06 and beyond.
Studio brief 03, Life's a Pitch, allowed me to identify how collective partnerships in the future may be of benefit in creating a perception of strength in numbers and ability/skillset. This brief, in addition to the collaboration undertaken for the Responsive module has made me much more open to considering joint efforts more so than ever before.
In level 06 I hope to continue developing and refining my practice, building my confidence as a designer and individual, and gaining more and more knowledge and passion in what I do.
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