TASK
Over the past 10 weeks you have been asked you to research and respond to 5 key questions in the form of a set of tasks. These are:-
o Who am I – who are they ?
o Where are they – How will they find me ?
o How will I promote myself – what do they want to hear ?
o Who else is out there – how good are they ?
Statements summarising your research should have been posted to your enterprise blog and should form the basis of an ongoing inquiry.
Write 10 short but informative statements that identify your distinctive ‘positioning’ as a Graphic Designer. Your statements should consider your ambitions, skills and areas of creative interest in relation to the market, your clients, competition and possible collaborators and should be based on the information that you have collected in response to the set tasks.
You will need to compare a list of your skills and services against customer/client needs to those of your competitors, this should help you determine how your company is unique.
- My skills and experience include project and financial management which provides me with a distinct advantage over a Younger Graphic Designer just graduating from Uni.
- My areas of Creative interest are still both print and digital based at the moment. I engage with and enjoy most areas of Graphic design we have explored at Uni. There will be increasing opportunities in App and mobile advertising design over and above say Website design. For example I noticed a Website design agency based on Huddersfield called The Common Agency have changed their direction to Mobile design.
I intend to research Apps and Mobile platforms more fully as part of my PPD development and Design Context research. I see this is an area of potential collaboration between myself and the 'Technical' developers.
3. I am drawn to Branding and Identity mainly because I enjoyed the Design for print module so much. The research we did for this area in our Business Development proved quite alarming in terms of the number of successful businesses in the Huddersfield and Leeds area. The Bundles/fixed price idea is quite a unique selling point for a high end agency.
I have been working on a live brief Re-branding a Labels and Packaging Company which is going well. I will post the outcome of this should he go with one of my logos.
If I should start to head in this direction I would definitely try to work for an experienced agency like 10 Associates before attempting to start my own business.
This area of Graphic design demands experience and knowledge of a wide range of skills such as marketing, photography, digital technology as well as print based skills. I believe the only way to gain this is through working with an Agency.
4. The Business Group task was inspiring in terms of realising I have the financial/business skills necessary to set up a business. One area which could hold me back is my Presentation skills. I would need to set up the business with at least one partner who was strong at pitching as this is a essential to win Design contracts. Also visiting The Unit opened up a whole network of possibilities and support.
Certainly when considering my future in Graphic Design Freelancing or setting up an Agency myself could be my only option given my age and the state of the current employment opportunities!
5. The Design module has made me realise how weak my typography and layout skills are. In the sessions with Graham I feel like a fish out of water. The positive outcome from these sessions is I am learning a great deal and I realise to be any good at this at all will involve lots of PRACTISE. Also I am starting to 'recognise' good and bad layout and question the readability of text. This area is fundamental to being a Graphic Designer no matter which direction you head in.
6. Promotion/Networking go hand in hand in this industry. I will endeavour to create a website, set up a Tweeter account and continue to explore Networking opportunities.
For example I found out the father of a friend of my son Oliver's is a Freelance Graphic Designer. I took an opportunity to introduce myself to him and I have arranged to meet up with him over the Easter holiday. He has not got a blog or website so I see this as a potential opportunity to offer him a service. Equally he has twenty years experience in Branding and Identity.
7. Following on from 6, one potential'niche' for me could be to offer to collaborate with Freelancers, perhaps around my age, who feel they have lost contact with what is currently 'cool' and happening. I can offer my experience gained on this fantastic degree programme and perhaps 'freshen' their practice. The two people I have spoken to so far do not have websites and also don't blog or attend networking events.
8. I will continue to explore the Culture sector and now also Education sector opportunities for Graphic Design. Even though there have been Government cuts there will still be opportunities in this area. I want to extend the research i have started on the Academies and explore the opportunities available in the Yorkshire area.
9. Location is pretty much a given in that I need to be able to commute within a 30 miles radius of Huddersfield. Virtual Office services and hot desking is a concept I had not considered until doing the research for the Group Business task. I can see these services can offer a Self Employed Graphic designer not only a 'city' address but also lots of other support and networking opportunities. The facilities at Inc. enterprises are excellent and include ten hours use of their boardroom and all the presentation equipment. The visit to Inc. Enterprises made me believe I could potentially work from home but also have a 'professional' outward facing appearance to the client.
