Once Peter had introduced himself to us, we then started lecture and first looked at what does the industry want from us? We told that the most important parts that the industry look for is:
- Independence
- Self Thinking
- Analysis Ability
- Confidence
He told us that we need to think about what career path we want to follow after our Graphic Design and Animation course, which parts of the industries do we want to work in or do you want to work for your own business. Another possibility is to start to look at placements throughout the year, I thought that this section was very interesting as I am wanting to take a placement after 2nd Year but before 3rd Year. We were told to start looking into placements and industries in design, also we need to start to talk to someone about future placements. We were told that we should engage and live our lives and to find out things we need to make sure we talk to someone, so that we understand.
Regret is ALWAYS more painful than failure. I do agree with this statement because I think that I have regretted not doing stuff and going further with a piece of work or an idea that I had in mind.
We then started to talk about how our course is broken down, which is:
120 Credits in the first year
120 Credits in the second year
120 Credits in the final year
However, Year 2 is worth 1/3 of our degree and Year 3 is worth 2/3 of our degree. But our degree classification is made from the best 100 credits in year 2 and the best 100 credits in year 3. Although we need to pass every module and the pass rate is 40%.
We were then shown how the degree classification is broken down in percentages:
First class 1st - 70%+
Second Class, 1st Division - 60%-69%
Second Class, 2nd Division - 50%-59%
Third - 40%-49%
A - 70%
B - 60%-69%
C - 50%-59%
D - 40%-49%
Anything below 40% will lead to a fail.
We were told that we needed to start and consider our work load, as time goes on for each project.
Placements
We then started to talk about Placements, I found this very interesting because I am going to be looking for a Placement this year, but for the next academic year. The first thing that we need to do to find a placement is to go onto the internet and look different design houses and make a list of the industries and design companies that take your eye. Then make some notes about the companies and research them in more depth. We need to start applying for placements if we are wanting one as the window for the top placements with the best companies are between Early October to the End of October/Beginning of November. So we should apply soon. We were told to look at Agencies like IPA, which is the Institute of Practising Advertising and another company called Pinewood Shepperton, where we should look at something called on the lot. This is a page that you can see about different jobs on the sites of the Film and TV productions taking place, as there maybe something that you might like.
There is also a site called Free Index, which is a business website. To get the manager or team leaders attention we were told that a letter would be the best option as it is harder throw away or delete like email and another important thing to do is look into the designers or agencies work and comment on posts or work that you the most. I found that this would good advice when looking for a placement, as I want to be in front of other people that are wanting to get a placement next year, we have to also think about what do they want me to do, and will I fit in and can the director, designer or agency see me working with there team. I think that this is also an important point that I need to consider in the future. I need to also make sure that I don't fluff up my words or interview, however there 1000's of design companies and agencies that are worldwide to consider looking at. I also need to update my CV and the sooner this done, you'll be front of others.
Peter also suggested that we need to look at portfolio's of work that we would be able to send to the design companies or agencies and start to put this together. Although we shouldn't worry about this too much right now. We could also start to look at competitions that we could take part in, to try and get people notice our work. Competitions like YCN, which I have looked at before and other design competitions that look interesting to take part in. There is two routes that you can take when your doing your placement the first is your university route, which makes sure that placement is a valid placement, where you also receive 2 visits a year from the university or you can suspend your course at any point however you will be on your own. Most important thing is to not work.
We then looked at the what is needed from the design and the client. We firstly looked at the client, where we looked at questions like where is the client coming from? What industry? What Subject? Who is it that the client would like you to talk to? Who is the audience? After this we looked at the design side, so how does the design need to look? It needs to look good and suit the client and the audience that you are aiming your design at.
Product Orientation- I make this product. Where is my market?
Market Orientation- I have these assets. What do you want me to do with them?
Firms
- Manufacturing
- Sales
- Management
- Finance
- Marketing
- Etc.
Markets
- Competitors
- Suppliers
- Customers
- Clients
National Economy and Global Economy
We then started then started to look into the national and Global Economy.
National Economy
Geographic Entry - A Country
Private Sector – Firms, Companies, etc
Public Sector – Financed by tax revenue
Schools, Government,
Police, Armed Service
Hospitals etc
Government / Law
Global Economy
World Trade
Economic Blocks
Micro Economics - Firm, Markets
Macro Economics - National Economy, Global Economy
It all fits into one.
When talking to a client it is important to know who they are. The next part that we did in this lecture was talk about Basic Marketing, where we were told to consider the 4 P's, which were:
- Price
- Product
- Promotion
- Place
The first P that we looked at was Price, where we need to consider the cost. As it costs to manufacture, deliver, package and it also cost the admin and management. The profit element mark can be very high 100%+ in some instances. We were also told about loss leaders.
The next P we looked at was Product, were I found out about the two different types of products, the first being a core product and this is what it must do and what it does. The next product is the secondary product, which is why does the consumer buy the product. You need to also consider the colour and what the product looks like. We then looked at promotion, which is how to tell/persuade people to buy your product. This section is the advertisement part of the process. The final P which is Place, we looked at where will the product be available. The Internet, a shop. Also where will the place of consumption be? The office, the outdoors or at home.
For the final part of the lecture we looked at what is design and the design process that we need to take to get a final outcome.
What is Design?
- Its a visual communication
- Problem Solving
- Creativity
There are two types of mental processing, these are convergent thinking and divergent thinking.
Convergent Thinking - This is consider the problem and slowly slice your way through the problem
Divergent Thinking - I am divergent. You think about the problem differently and say here is my design solution, however you will have to explain your solution so that others will understand you.
The Design Process
