Mid evaluation/run down on current status of briefs

This post is to look at where I currently am with my briefs, looking back at how things have changed since my statement of intent was written, and to outline some decisions made about the briefs that I havent blogged until now.

First up, my rationale:

'To produce Typographically driven, concept based visual solutions for layout and branding with a focus on print outcome'


Good news, I am pleased that this is still relevant and accurately describes the work I have been doing since I wrote it.


Now to a rundown on the current status of my briefs: (order as described in SOI)


1) Leeds creative Time-bank
Brief completed, this was the first one I finished this module so it seems a long time ago! I don't think I will re-visit this one as I achieved all I wanted from it.  As a pitch for a design direction it's a credible solution I feel.


2) Exhibitions brief
This brief is well underway and I am planning to finish it before the end of this week, I have an interesting design direction for each exhibition and I just need to push out the brief to explore "what can it be" (© Fred) 


3) Lights camera action (film posters brief)
This brief I started ages ago but it has stuttered to a halt unfortunately, its an ideas led brief and tragically I have had only one really interesting idea for it: the James Bond Goldfinger poster. Even this poster isn't really completed yet as I have some adjustments I want to make. The plan is to spend a day on this brief to finish the bond poster and print it and thrash out some more ideas. I would really like to get something good out of this but if nothing new comes from another day brainstorming then I will drop the brief as I cant afford to waste more time.


4) Its all too much (roses 2011)
This brief was always a stand-by, incase something more interesting didn't come in, but I have done some small live briefs instead of looking at this one, so its officially dropped now.


5) Calendar brief
Another brief currently underway, I hope to have something completed by the end of next week. Its been a long term brief, and although I feel I have some some interesting work for it, its still based around experimental and quite minimal layout and STILL lacks real world context so I get the feeling it wont meet many grading criteria unless I can quickly make much more out of it.


6) Creative Networks brief
This was a quick live brief (but not nearly as quick as it should have been!) with only a postcard as an outcome which wasn't really worth the time invested unfortunately. I could revisit this to push the brief out a bit but I would really prefer to leave it and put it down to experience. At least its a real world job, but I learnt more about client management than actual design doing this!


7) KTP brief
This is a brief that I should have never started, I think I felt compelled to do something for this because I went to a briefing to find out more and found there was only 3 of us in the briefing! To be honest I wasn't really interested in the brief, and the 'pack' as it was originally described to us is a longer term project in planning stages that wont be ready to print anytime soon. A week wasted, brief dropped.


8) 2020 perfect vision
A one week live pitch that came on the back of a week placement I did for the company. I pitched the DVD packaging as they asked, but I can see some ways to make this brief slightly bigger so I may revisit this before hand in to expand the scope of this. I think I have come up with quite a neat solution for this and taken existing branding in a new direction so I am pleased with this work even though its more commercial and client led job.


On the whole I am slightly concerned at the moment about the amount of work done, even though I know where and why the time went, I have been working on briefs (or on placement), just not always doing the right briefs quick enough!

KTP brief, proposal for pack

I did this last week so it should have been blogged then really, but here it is now. This brief was quite a vague one, but it was obvious ideas were needed on how to deliver the KTP information to potentially interested parties. Steve Edge who briefed me on this was thinking about having separate leaflets for each course in the college inside a pack, but I thought a simple way of delivering this information would be one leaflet explaining all about KTP, with a partnered leaflet explaining about the college and giving an overview of all the courses.

My concept for this was to use the idea of 'knowledge transfer' in the typography, one side of the text mirroring the other as if the ink has transferred. Other than that I have kept it very simple. A presentation folder with two pockets, holding 2 square format booklets. It would need to have the college branding on it and a probably bit more text as explanation on the covers

This was just really a draft idea, and just laser printed but Steve got the concept straight away and liked it. Unfortunately there is no definite time scale on when this will be needed and budget isn't set, let alone copy for it, so I am not going to develop this any further for now. Hopefully it will happen before long but I have a feeling this will slip to a date way past my graduation.

KTP brief

A new live brief I am involved with, details are slightly sketchy but its going to be a client led brief so I dont need to be too concerned at this stage, many of the decisions that still need to be made arnt really mine to make, but I have had two constructive meetings about the project so I feel fairly sure it will go smoothy.