Week 1 to 3 // application process

• Things that interest me and that I would look for in the agencies: 

  editorial design, interactive design, exhibition design, good organisational structure, good vibes

I've already had my CV and covering letter ready so I just customised it a bit to fit the agencies
I've applied to three agencies:

»Verve« (they had editorial projects that they were presenting and had a great attitude)

»Mesht« (they like to work for events and exhibitions and were experimental in their designs)

»Common ground collective« (was what I didn't look for and didn't expect: working on self presentation & letting agency for the other agencies. she was very organised and convinced me because I always wanted to work on my portfolio and website)

I've had interviews with all three of them. 

Common ground collective and mesht were both one on one (or in mesht case one on two) casual chats about what I like doing as a designer.

Verve was the three of them with three third year applicants. It was hard for me as an international student with english as my second language to get into the fast and slightly chaotic (but surely fun) conversation they all had

After the interview I liked mesht and common ground collective the most and got into mesht

Week 4 to 6 // working on the GF smith task

The first task we were working on was the GF Smith paper task
The task was the following:

Your task is to produce a printed publication that conveys your idea of ‘a homage to paper’…your own paper shrine.For that we started off with a hands on brainstorming of any ideas that we had and went from writing things down to cut and fold paper

For that we started off with a hands on brainstorming of any ideas that we had and went from writing things down to cut and fold paper

• How I come up with a concept in a group project:
  I'm a very conceptionalist person, but I would normally come up with ideas for myself and then later come together as a group and pitch my ideas. Therefor when working in a group my concepts are already very thought through when I pitch them and I tend to be very passionate (which is good) but at the same time not very flexible (which is bad) with other group members ideas. I really liked working with mesht like this.

From the workshop we decided to create:

A glossary of terms of selected words from the paper making process in the look of a sample guide.  
It will have a glossary word, a definition of the word, a small sentence as if the paper was saying something about itself and a artsy visualisation of the word.
Every team member has to create something for two words: Fibres, Lignin, Grain, Bulk, GSM, sheet size, Opacity, Coated and Uncoated, Lightfastness and deckle edge

Choosing the paper was also a group decision on what we liked best: solid coloured, uncoated paper from the Colorplan collection in factory yellow

• How I'll take part and communicate ideas in a group project: 
  I usually get very passionate about projects, especially in the concept phase and when it's about finding a technical solution for something that's where I'm good at. I feel always comfortable communicating my ideas. 
  For this project I already knew a lot about paper making and all the words related to it. And I'm really passionate about that. But there was a huge language barrier as this was technical language and I only knew the German words and descriptions. Because of that I felt I don't fully contribute to the project the way I actually could. I think I should have communicated that and take a minute or two to prepare myself with a few words and translations

Week 7 // Bernat Klein exhibition & Beths brief

We went to the National Museum of Scotland to visit the Bernat Klein Exhibition about his lifework of Colors, Patterns and Fabrics

• How I'll get inspiration for a project:
  For my projects a lot of inspiration comes from initiative ideas. I see or hear something and then start to create something around that. This can be anything: a phrase I overheard, a colour scheme I've seen, a pattern i noticed… What usually never works for getting inspired is to forcefully visit an exhibition or a gallery after I've read a brief. Going to an exhibition and afterwards getting briefed was actually so helpful and I've never done it this way around. I actually ended up being inspired by the exhibition for Beths brief

we had a brief with Beth from Warriors Studio in Glasgow which was the following:

Your challenge is to develop a creative concept, identity system and promotional materials for the 2023 campaign. Explore what an “identity” can be in new, unexpected and unconventional ways.
we had to create a Logo, a Colour Palette, 3x Posters,Bonus: Merchandise in two weeks

our team decided we each create our own

• How I function when working on a project: 

  I panicked a bit when I heard the workload Beth was giving us on top of the still ongoing semesters projects because I tend to be a perfectionist and get lost in details. I like the work with organisational structures and timetables. I'm never really a "go with the flow" kind of person. So for this I thought the only way to achieve all of the tasks for me was to go with my initiative ideas and not to overthink anything in this project. I was really surprised that I was actually able to to come up with a concept for my project that I actually think is pretty strong.

[impressions of the Bernat Klein exhibition]

Week 8 and 9 // INTL assembly identity & CV feedback session

I was inspired by the metaverse: what that may be and how I could visualise it. The following describes the general idea and the design concept.

The Metaverse

The metaverse brings together virtual, augmented and physical realities and unites them into a new universe of reality. It is constantly changing being expanded and seems to follow no rules. Anything is possible in the metaverse. What does bring this reality together is the digital architectural space in which everything is created. Inside this technical dome, starting from a matrix base every individual designer creates their own versatile design. This architecture has no physical form or appearence. It can be a pattern, a structure, a mesh, a surface, a matrix or even only described by words. What I created for this brief is a visualisation of this open space before it is being altered and designed, as the intl assembly is also a ground base for the design industry to come together, talk, get inspired and afterwards start off creating for the metaverse.

Design concept

The metaverse is a place for the creative community to come together. Every member of the community has a different understanding and visualisation of the metaverse inside their heads. For the design concept the main idea is to work with graphical shapes and layering effects in graphics, logo and colors to create new shapes and give the design a 3D look. By working with a variable font the metaverse theme becomes fluid and non static. Finally slightly displacing the reds and blues adds a digital and irritating look to play with the uncertainty what the metaverse actually is. The posters bring every design aspect together. The showpiece is the graphical visualisation of the metaverse responding to the slogan on top – „the metaverse ist… – …[description]“. The description is changing per poster.

Sadly because of personal circumstances our mentor Beth from Warrios Studio wasn't able to listen to us presenting our concept in person at her studio in Glasgow. We presented it in week 11.

Feedback Session on CV

We also had a feedback session about our CVs.

My feedback was very good in general. The main thing I had to do was some microtypography and replacing & corrections of some words I used.

• My Strengths and Weaknesses:
  Looking back I'd say my strengths lay in accuracy, precision, speed of execution, assertiveness, problem and application orientation. Whereas my weaknesses are superficiality and small-scale thinking.

[concept for the INTL Assembly Identity]

Week 10 // copy experiments

For our session before the last one we decided to have a bit of fun and create little one or two coloured, collaged pamphlets on the copier.

• my personal toolbox
  I like combining different creative techniques and coming up with costumes solutions for every project of mine. I love to experiment. When I think about what materials, techniques and applications I like to work with as a graphic designer there are a few that come to mind: paper in every form, notebook & black fineliner, two-dimensional graphics software (Illustrator andIndesign) and printer & folding leg…

Week 11 // poster concept

For the summative assessment the task, apart from this reflective journal was the following:

Submit a pdf poster which communicates your long-term career strategy. It's expected the content for the poster will be gleaned, in part, from the reflective journal.

After a feedback session with Beth from Warrios Studio the following is the concept I came up with:

Posters Concept

For my long-term career strategy I would like to get into exhibition design as a graphic designer. I've been working in the industry for some time already and I'm planning to start full time after Uni. This industry suits my interest in experimentation and problem solving best. I feel very passionate about exhibition design because it gives me the opportunity to constantly learn both in terms of content and possible graphic implementations. This thematic variety is what I love most about the industry.

However whenever I say I want to work as a graphic designer in exhibition design people need an explanation what I mean by it. So I've decided to create my poster around that fact. 

Graphic design in exhibition design to me means bringing an exhibitions architecture and it's content together. It needs to translate complex content to visitors and complement the general architecture as well as finding the right materials and techniques to put it into a three-dimensional space. One needs to work close with architects, programmers, engineers, professional writers and printers. Tasks would be setting texts, illustrating, coming up with interactive tours, creating infographics… – digital as well as analog.

To translate all of this the poster I've created looks like a blue print. It shows the deconstruction of the word „EXHIBITION“ from a graphical two-dimensional typeface into a three-dimensional space. The two-dimensional part has the words „COMMUNICATION“ – as what I'm studying at my home uni is communication design, „EXHIBITION“ – as that is the industry I want to work in and „DESIGN“ in-between – as that's the thing connecting the two other words.

[process of creating the poster]