Task 2

Where are they? How will they find me?

Where are my potential clients located?

Brand Identity Developers within the area of retail use graphic designers as part of their way of creating new visuals which is important with a continuous change of styles and consumer needs. Leeds has a growing sector in retail, which boasts international based luxury stores from flagship premises for London based companies, Leeds also offers small exclusive boutiques, a variety of restaurants and diners, as well as health and beauty treatments. Leeds also has an airport and a busy train station attracting an audience that is international and developments in The Holbeck Urban Village, The White Rose Centre, Leeds Trinity and others continue in helping Leeds' retail sector further, all this means that retail is growing and there is a demand for Designers.
In terms of media, this can take various forms such as advertising, brand planning, local marketing and POS, these may change due to seasonal factors such as Christmas and sales. With recent technologies such as internet shopping and self service checkouts being implemented in most food chains, people are less likely to notice advertising at till points and POS.

Local graphic and advertising design companies in Leeds such as Gratterpalm, Sixteen Hands, Pure Creatives and 7nine focus their practice on retail graphic design to increase sales from local projects to national. Gratterpalm focuses its design for chain clients and high profile stores/companies such as ASDA, Umbro, and M&S. I would like to focus more on design for local business in Leeds, looking at existing small businesses which compete with these high profile stores. Within a recession there is a high probability that people will tend to stay in a comfort zone, shopping more locally and familiarly, where there is a less national and more of a community perspective, this puts pressure on local business to perform.

Resources:

Leeds: Live it Love it

Gratterpalm

Retail Week

Task 1

Who am I?

As a designer in the making i feel i have developed a stronger awareness of design in general especially in relation to my key area of Graphic Design, through development in my first year i think i never truly understood the fact that this is all a way ultimatly to make money and offer something new to the market, myself.

Over the past year i think these skills have been focussed yet some need more refining and development. Although the briefs last year were so varied in subject, i feel was able to adapt the the situation quickly and more so effectively. i feel therefore i am a strong creative thinker, who can adapt quickly to a pace of work that varies, ranging from an hour to 8 week long briefs. In contrast i sometimes lack the quality of proper documentation skills and sometimes move too quickly from the idea to the final product without writing information down and then become stuck.

I also feel i have a strong sense of visual qualities and aesthetics which could link back to that idea of moving straight to the visuals instead of idea developing. i love illustration, craft and photography, both doing and looking at, and this helps inform my image composition and layout skills. Throughout the first year i also learnt software skills to which are increasing still in the Adobe Suite.

What skills do you have?

Overall I would like to think I offer skills in:

Layout and composition

Craft

Visualisation of concepts

Attention to detail

Who are they?

Although i have learnt a lot over this past year i have found it difficult to actually image myself within a design studio. i do feel that i would be useful within a design studio but what kind of space, what clients, what colleagues and of course what would i produce.

Starting off small i have always been interested in craft and intend one day on opening a letterpress/screenprint paper based practice, maybe even working just for myself in a small studio space producing work for clients including stationary items and such. But it may not be very profitable, this i think would be better to lok at with some financial backing and a clear practice, so a good way to gain some experience would be to work for a design studio. I should work for a small design company, gaining experience as i go working my way up for bigger companys and bigger clients. Starting out small i thinkis the best way to go at the moment, looking for design work in my local area, competitions and work experience are some of the more current interests as well as my education.

Retail has also been some part of my life i therefore would like to pursue this further. Having had experience before working as a visual merchadiser and working in retail part-time i would like to look at doing something within the retail sector.

What skills do I need and how do I go about developing them?

Should i wish to look at pursuing a career as a retail graphics designer it is necessary to have a good foundation of personal interest into trends. Viewpoint magazine offers the latest in trend forecasting which is often a good information source for retail graphic design.