Visiting Professional: Evolution Print

This morning, we had Evolution Print visit us. Evolution Print is one of the premier printing houses in the region, formed from the merger of Evolution and Slater Print. The company is headed by Jonathan Newbould and Graham Congreve and employs 38 people. Their clients come in all shapes and sizes as do the jobs they do for them - whether it be a simple short run requirement, a complex printed design or a large-scale multi layered project.

They are commerical prints work with litho printers which work well for high volum print using Aluminium Plates (CMYK) using vegetable based inks. Paper - Gloss, Silk, Matt and Uncoated. 

Things they told us designers/clients get wrong: 

• Bleeds needs to be 3mm
• Business Cards and Spreads need to be single (they do all the pagination themselves) 
• They need a PDF and an original format 
• You can't get a sharp finish on uncoated paper
• Image size 300GPI

Below are examples of their print work they brought in: 

OUGD502: Visiting Professionals/Numiko

Numiko

Today, we had a talk from a visiting professional alumni Thomas Squire, he now has a job in a design studio in Leeds called Numiko. I thoroughly enjoyed the talk and it was great to see someone from our course do so well. He spoke with such passion about digital design and it was good to see what projects they have been working on. 

A point I found interesting was that he said that he hasn't really touched code since uni but he still designs websites, it is useful to know code but not necessary as that can be someone elses job -sigh of relief- 

Visting Professional: Numiko

This morning, Numiko, an award-winning digital agency based in Leeds visited us. I found the talk really interesting, inspiring and also motivating. It was also good as one of the guys, Thomas left Graphic Design at LCA this summer. Their clients include BBC, Channel 4, WaterAid, NHS and more. Below are is an example of the website they have done for Design Council this worked well as a responsive design. Across all devices (desktop, tablet and iPhone) the iconography and positions would change to fit the screen/pixel size and requirements, this would also change when the size of the window was changed. It impressive the amount of huge clients they have as well as the range of styles that they are able to work in well. What shocked me was the amount of considerations that go into the design of the website.

Research into Personal Branding

I've began researching into Personal Branding, I've deliberately been looking at colourful, bright eye-catching ones, as I tend to play it safe with colour. Below is Amanda Mohlin personal branding I found on Behance. I love how she has hand rendered name something I would like to do. It is really punchy and eye-catching, 

LS is the personal identity of Leta Sobierajski, including a logo, business cards and letterhead. The collateral is printed in a set of white and sunshine yellow with a patterned reverse side.

I loved the thought process that went into this Personal Branding: "The idea was to create a personal identity and portfolio. The logo was developed from the initial from my first name where the uppercase ‘D’ would become an addition symbol. I love music and moon so the result when combined musical symbol, uppercase 'D' and full moon together that form simple me."

First Session Back//My Brand

In the first session back with John Watters we looked at our brand identity and how we want to build ours.  We looked in to being individual and executing our branding in a way that portrays us as we would like to be seen, as individual and unique. 

We watched a Tedtalk by Jacob Cass, a prolific Graphic Designer from New York,  this really highlighted the importance of social media as a tool for creatives.



Next, we broke of in to groups round the tables to discuss and evaluate our branding from last year. I was really embarrassed to show mine (I did a visual CV sort of thing), as I really rushed and left it to the last minute. We discussed about whether over the summer our personal image had changed. We gave and received feedback to each other.I am really keen to build a visual brand that is personal to me and individual! I am very keen to get started in my branding.

One problem  we did discuss in our groups is whether I want to call myself Vanessa or Ness! I feel Vanessa Cain is corporate and professional. However, from feedback  I was told Ness is more approachable and friendly. This is something I want to discuss with John.  

Below is some Design Tips I got from an e-mail from John, which I found really helpful. 

5 Design Tips for a Social Media Logo
There are several aspects that go into a logo design – colours, fonts, descriptors, and more. But, when you’re designing what we like to call a “social media-approved” logo, there are many other variables to consider as well:

Be mindful of your aspect ratio – A majority of social media sites will require you to convert your logo to a square (or nearly square)-shaped thumbnail. Your logo doesn’t need to be a perfect square, but should have the capability of being easily converted to one. It’s best to make use of all the space you have so your logo won’t have to be compressed or reduced to fit into the small space. Try not to create ones own problems. (Remember Mo?)

Be consistent – With an effective social media strategy, your logo will be seen on a variety of sites – Facebook, YouTube, and your personal site to name a few. For this reason, it’s best to have one logo you use for every site. This is also helpful in case a site requires you to crop or resize your image – you want a logo that looks the same, regardless of what’s done with it. Use detached text and graphics – When designing, make sure your text and graphics are separate elements. This will help if it ever needs to be converted to a different size. In fact, some companies use a single graphic or single letter in social media for ease of use. 

Simplicity matters – If you have an intricate logo, you run the risk of some of the elements not being recognisable when it’s resized. For this reason, you should avoid long taglines, thin lines, and detailed graphical elements.
Limit colours and shades – A logo that uses 2-3 colours will work better on a “busy” social media sites because it stands out and won’t get lost in the backdrop.

7 Ways Your Logo Design Impacts Social Media Marketing

Whether you like it or not, social media gets many aspects of your business “out there” and visible to a wide audience. And your logo has a strong impact on how you are perceived in the market. It lets your customers, colleagues know what you’re offering and can even help them remain loyal.
It can help increase followers, friends, and shares – A professional and attractive-looking logo on a webpage or blog post is more likely to be shared with friends than one that doesn’t look reliable or trustworthy.
It increases perception of your business size – Having an attractive logo and branding will make your business look professional and bigger than what it is – even if you’re a team of two or three that work in your pyjamas from your bedroom.
It shows professionalism and increases trust – A well-designed identity shows that you company are a professional and more importantly, can be trusted. Customers will get the sense that your company should be around for years to come.
It communicates your story – Your story can be communicated in many ways, from a meaningful picture or a constructed and communicative element of your personal identity.
It helps you stand out from competitors – A logo that’s visually interesting and relates to your clients will help your business materials – from your website to all print materials – stand out from the competition.
It drives brand recognition across platforms – When a logo/identity is used consistently over many platforms, customers will get several impressions of the logo, thus creating more memorability. Since many people are visual learners, they’ll remember your brand better when they see it, rather than hear or read about it.
It helps make your customers happy – An attractive and effective logo will appeal to your customers and make them happy to be associated with you. This includes everything from the logo’s colours and fonts to its overall image. You want customers/others to get a good “feeling” from you.