At the start of this academic year, Ben and I put all our focus on WYS, in turn developing who I am as a designer and finding my particular style. I have focussed my design work towards editorial, using research to heavily inform much of the work I produce. This has helped me to learn about distinctive figures within the industry such as Catalogue and Kiosk Books.
Because of this, my engagement with industry has been directly focused on the studio throughout the year. Because of WYS, I spoke to professionals i wouldn't usually interact with. I did this solely to talk about WYS, whether it be asking for feedback on the studio or asking about their practice to help inform our own. One such professional we spoke to was Rose Nordin who explained how we could make a living creating books. As WYS has pushed me to speak to professionals, I have also learnt how to act professionally towards my peers, learning that it is all about having confidence in myself.
To help develop my professional skills I attended the short courses at uni that help to set up independent businesses. I found these were valuable as taught about components within a creative business we had not previously considered. These sessions were also useful as we were introduced to Sharon Heleine who also run the summer business school and interviews applicants for Duke Studios. After graduating, Ben and I hope to move into a small studio in the hope we can develop WYS into a fully fledged graphic design studio. Research on Duke Studios showed up this would be our best opportunity and creating a relationship with Sharon is one of the best opportunities for us to get to where we need to be.
Our hope is that we will spend next year kick starting the business by working freelance whilst also producing exciting publications that we strived to do. Despite planning to move into Duke Studios, I have started to look at internships that may be appropriate if I decide to go down a different route. This consequently gives me a back up plan if all else fails.
It would be important that my personal branding away from WYS is of a high quality so potential clients and employers can see what I am capable of one my own. It was decided that my WYS business card would be used whilst talking to clients as this is the best way to promote the studio face to face however I designed a personal website/ portfolio on Adobe Muse so my own work can be seen in one place. This also enables clients to contact me easily
Overall, this year has been successful in term of ppp however I hold the work I have done for WYS responsible for this. I also feel my tutor Alec has helped considerably; pointing me in the right direction and helping me to focus on considerations that I hadn't previously thought through. Because of my development as a designer this year I am confident that I will progress into professional industry with ease. I look forward to graduating and producing work for clients through WYS.
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