Tips for design students

Work Placements
Even if you have a lot of projects that you are working on, make sure you find some time to apply for internships and placements in design agencies. Make use of your Summer and Easter periods - this will benefit you in the long run!

Network
Get the most out of your lecturers industry knowledge, they have the contacts, so go meet some designers!

Be one step ahead
The final year is very tough and time consuming but it might all be for nothing if you can't get a job when you graduate! Make sure you start applying early, to beat the flood of graduates that are all leaving university at the same time.

The life of a design graduate

I have been very busy since I left Staffordshire University, my weekdays and sometimes my weekends are spent applying for jobs, finding opportunities, and e-mailing design agencies. There are a lot of jobs out there but it is tough to find the right one. The design world is going through a change - digital and web design is taking over!

Here are some tips if you are still looking for a job in a design agency:

Be honest
If the job advertisement is asking for a designer with skills that you do not have then don't waste your time or theirs.

Stand out
Everyone sends e-mails - try sending a letter, some samples of your work, or something that you have made for that particular agency.

Ask for advice
The best thing I ever did was to send a heartfelt email to my favourite designer and I still use the advice now.

Network
The most effective way of getting a job is by being known by the professionals in your area. Be in the right places with the right people, be helpful and offer to do favours.

Get personal
If you are sending the same e-mail to every agency, stop. The e-mail has to be personalised to the company that you want to be employed by.

Be Passionate
I have had the best responses from companies that I have really shown a genuine interest in. The cover letter is not about you, it is about them and what makes you want to work for them.

Put the effort in
Short and sweet is not always the best way - put the time and effort in and write a long, detailed, thought out letter.

Be professional
Social Networking sites can be seen by everyone, so make sure that you are not complaining or posting inappropriate photos and articles online, that may deter potential employers.

Be persistent
If you really want to work in that agency, don't stop trying.

Face to Face
Stay in the mind of the employer/director, let them put a face to a name. It's harder to ignore someone if they are standing right in front of you.

The last tip 2 tips are where I am at now. My next step is to go in and sign up with a creative recruitment agency, and visit my top 10 or 20 favourite design consultants with handwritten letters, business cards, work samples and a piece of work designed especially for them.

To any other design graduates out there who are in the same position;

Good Luck!

Design Inspiration 2 - Alison Carmichael

I couldn't leave without revisiting the Inspiration blog posts that I started earlier this year, especially when I realised that I had not yet enlightened you all to the work of Alison Carmichael! Alison is a freelance hand lettering artist that I have been a fan of for many years. I love her ability to create so many different styles, with such ease. And look at that client list; Twinings, Cadbury's, Bourneville, Rioja Wines, Nescafe and Waterstones - It would be a dream!

Everyone should recognise this self-promotional piece - very gutsy!

Springett's front reception desk to look like old fashioned box of matches.

Print campaign for Anchor - I just love the warm feel of this.

Poster campaign for Anchor - a good take on fifties style lettering.

The colour choice and the shape of the 'V' shows great attention detail.

Real tea leaves and tea cups have been used here to spell out the message in the medium!

Lovely Medieval style initial caps and fairy tale letters. 

Look at this Creme Egg campaign - anything can be made in to type!

Personal direct mail - one of those things that you wish you had thought of first!

I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do

http://alisoncarmichael.com/

A New Stage of Life

I have finished University, and I am almost a Graduate! Hooray! So you ask, why has it been so long? Well, I have come to apologise, as my last year at Staffs Uni was very full-on and so I haven't had any spare time for blogging, only quick tweets here and there! However, I feel that I can happily say that I put all of the effort I possibly could have into my final projects (Very little sleep and very very little play!) and I can not wait for the Degree Show (The opening is on Friday 7th June - 6:30pm and it will be open until Saturday 15th June).

Here are a few examples of the work I have done in my final year:

*I must note that this was HAND CUT not laser cut

*I must note that this was HAND CUT not laser cut

So, as you can see I've been very busy! I am in the middle of perfecting and finishing my portfolio (pdf and print versions) so that I can get started in the real world! Wish me luck! Oh and find me on twitter at @sianysknitter as I am on there much more often! Please get in touch :-)

William Morris stained glass windows

Recently I have been looking at stained glass window designs for my research as I have been designing a book cover for the Penguin competition. I came across some lovely examples whilst I was busy looking for stained glass knights, damsels in distress' and orchids... but these designs by William Morris were particularly enchanting. The pictures are not mine of course as I found them on this "Stained Glass" group on Flickr. The pictures seem to have been taken by a Flickr user called Kotomicreations at the Birmingham Museum.  

The brief was to design a cover for The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. In the first part of the book the Detective Marlowe notices a stained glass window with a knight rescuing a naked woman who is tied to a tree - Detective Marlowe is playing the role of the knight in this novel. Later on, he also says this line to himself while Carmen is laying naked and uninvited in his bed; "Knights had no meaning in this game. It wasn't a game for knights...". There is also a symbolic meaning for the orchids in the story which are meant to represent the two Sternwood sisters who are deceptive like the orchid and are much more evil than they appear to be.

Alice in Wonderland - Stained Glass Windows

Alice In Wonderland stained glass windows found in All Saints’ Church, Daresbury. 

Photos sourced from Wikipedia - Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints'_Church,_Daresbury

Design Inspiration 1 - Louise Fili

Louise Fili Ltd was founded in 1989 and specializes in logo, package, restaurant and book design. Fili was previously a senior designer for Herb Lubalin. She has taught and lectured on graphic design and typography and her work is in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, the Cooper Hewitt Museum, and the Bibliotheque Nationale. In 2004, she was inducted into the Art Directors Hall of Fame.

Elegantissima. A 256-page monograph featuring the nearly forty-year career of Louise Fili, from books to restaurants to food packaging and identities, with illuminating case studies.

A custom script evokes the lost art of correspondence for this logo design for Paperless Post, a website for elegant online stationery.

Pearl Oyster Bar introduced the lobster-roll craze to Manhattan in the 1990s. Fifteen years later, Louise Fili Ltd was asked to give Pearl the graphic identity it deserved.

ocated on the historic Post Road in serene Bedford, New York, this is a lovingly-restored cafe, restaurant, and inn. The postage stamp-logo is a portrait of the owner’s grandfather.

This identity was designed for Darby Litho, a multi-generational printing business, to commemorate its 80th anniversary. The logo references letterhead designs from the early 1900s.

Where do Florentines go for the finest handmade shoes, leather gloves, artisanal chocolates, and lingerie? All this and more (especially gelato) can be found in this pocket-sized guide.

Mermaid Inn is a charming restaurant in the style of a seafood shack that one might stumble onto while walking along the beach—except that it happens to be located in the East Village.

Designed as a classic French enamel sign from the thirties, the logo for Le Monde, an uptown brasserie, weds vintage dimensional letterforms to a contemporary visual aesthetic.

The design of the Pink Door logo signals the eclectic character of this lively Italian eatery in Seattle. The pattern and typography are reminiscent of 1930s pasticceria papers from Italy.

A logo for a dentist shouldn’t have to look ordinary. Nor should the reminder card be off-putting. The identity for this Madison Avenue prosthodontist is as distinctive as his practice.

Over 8400 mosaic tiles were digitally manipulated to create this subway poster for School of Visual Arts. It can now be seen as a 38-foot blow-up at 23rd Street and Third Avenue.

Creating a mark for Tiffany was an interesting challenge: to design a monogram that could be small enough for the winder of a man’s watch, or large enough for a construction shed.

When Tocqueville moved their successful five-year-old restaurant a few doors down the block, the logo was upgraded along with the decor. The new version was created on blotter paper.

All information was taken from Louise Fili's website - here.

If you want to know more, I have just found an interview with her, carried out by Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge...

 Enjoy the inspiration!