Biggs & Co - New York Design Agency

Recently I went on a University trip to New York City. Before I went I organised to go and visit two design agencies with my portfolio while I was there. One company I have been interested in for a while is Biggs & Co. The company have the contract for branding, packaging and advertising Soap&Glory beauty products. Soap&Glory is very well branded, using strong typography, retro images and excellent, witty copywriting. The products definitely stand out against the rest of the competition and it is one of the brands I looked at for inspiration during a recent re-brand project for Holland and Barrett.

Lauren and I both visited Biggs & Co with our portfolios and we saw a lady named Alli Truch, who is a Creative Partner at the New York office and also tutors third year degree students a few nights each week. I had been contacting Alli for a while before the visit and therefore had knowledge of the type of projects she was working on at the time, which made meeting her less daunting. Alli was extremely welcoming and before we even got round to showing her our portfolio's she showed Lauren and I her own portfolio of work. This made a nice change as designers are usually very busy and therefore cannot spare much time. Alli went through many projects she had worked on; explaining the highs and lows of each and describing certain obstacles she had come across, giving us advice on what to do in certain situations. It was a brilliant opportunity to see how rough ideas had been developed in to commercial, professional identities and product packaging. It was great to hear such informed advice from a designer working in a different environment and compare her experiences to the design industry in the UK.

Afterwards, I showed Alli my portfolio and talked her through each project within my folder. Alli then went back through the work to give feedback on what she had seen and was overall very complimentary. She stated that our use typography was at a high standard, much higher than the students she taught herself. She said that this must be a reflection of the emphasis Stockport College much put on crafting type. She told Lauren and I that this was impressive and a good skill to have because a lot of students neglect the importance of typography and concentrate on other aspects, which lets the final outcome of work down.

Alli was impressed with the layout of our portfolios and liked the fact that we had thought about how we would present our work in a professional manner, with the use of the box and sliding the pages across. However, she told us that we might want to think about personalising our folders. She suggested embossing our names and decorating the portfolio boxes in a creative and unique style, in order to ensure that we stand out and designers remember who we are. Alli also advised us to think about creating a leave-behind of our work to remind designers of the work we show, and also to think about designing business cards and ‘branding’ ourselves. She gave us a few examples of business cards and letterheads for Biggs & Co to take away with us and asked us to keep in touch.

Alli specialises in identities and packaging design, therefore Lauren and I plan to keep in contact with Alli and email her examples of our packaging work for the Holland and Barrett brief. We hope to gain feedback and advice from her as how to progress our ideas further and develop our ideas in to advertising and point of sale material.

Rubik's Cube Typeface

This is a really nice idea by Jas Bhachu, a student studying at Liverpool School of Art & Design. It's the kind of idea that makes me wish I had thought of it first. Jas has created a Rubik's Cube, which is actually Font Generator. The cube has rubber stamps attached to four faces of the cube, leaving two of the faces blank. The moveable sides of the stamps can be combined to form characters which can then be printed, enabling a full typeface to be created from the Rubik's cube. The typeface looks great when used to full effect.

 

The packaging is really nice too.

Transformers...

or usb's?  I found these looking at the Designboom blog:

"Transformers are no longer just toys, they're usb's too". 

These very cool usb sticks were created by Japanese company Takara. The range also include usb hubs and computer mouses. These could prove very popular, especially with the new Transformers film soon to be released. Who would have thought usb sticks could be so much fun?

CR in print

My June issue of CR has just arrived, here's the Thoughtful 6 article in print:

Creative Review

Creative Review have wrote a very nice article about the Thoughtful 6, which is featured on their website and also in the printed magazine. I haven't yet seen the printed version but should have it some time today. I can't wait.

To view the online version click here

Engagement With Industry: Thoughtful

Working alongside Thoughtful on a day-to-day basis has meant I have been able to experience first hand what it is like working for a design studio.  The way I engage with Thoughtful has developed over the five months that the project has been running. I suppose that this would be the same with any new job or placement, but due to the nature of the project, because we spend so much time with Thoughtful and they put all their time and effort in to ensuring that we are constantly learning new things, the placement seems to be a lot more intimate and intense than any other would be. Throughout the project Thoughtful have stressed the importance of keeping our eyes peeled open, constantly on the look out for new ideas and fresh ways of thinking. We have been encouraged to read blogs, which are a great source for inspiration, introducing us to new work and debates concerning the current state of the design industry.

The fact that Thoughtful are a fairly new company has meant that they have been flexible enough to do the project. I can’t see many design studios packing up their offices and moving in to a college for the foreseeable future. I think this sums up Thoughtful’s approach to design, always looking for something new and exciting to do, and as they state in their Thoughtful Commandments; to nurture new talent. I think the project has been a big learning curve for Thoughtful as well as myself, due to the fact that there is only three of them and then suddenly taking on six students, bringing them to a total of nine, can’t have been easy. We have all had to work hard, but the first few months must have been difficult for Thoughtful. Having six students constantly needing to be looked after, told what to do, etc, and then having to go home and produce all of their work for the clients! I think that only the past couple of months have we been functioning properly as a design studio. This is not a bad thing though; it couldn’t have been any other way. For the first few months we were all finding our feet, settling in and most of all learning. A lot. We would all wait for Thoughtful to tell us exactly what to do, not having the confidence to do things for ourselves. 

However, over the time that we have been doing the project things have gradually developed and that way I engage with Thoughtful has now changed. There is normally a lot going on at once in the studio, so to avoid confusion we divide the jobs up between us, a lot of the time in pairs so that we all have our own roles. This way of working means that we all know exactly what we are doing, and when it needs to be done by. It doesn’t mean that we can’t go over and see what everyone else is doing, and throw some ideas their way, we just know what our main priority is. 

Thoughtful can now trust us to get things done, without us having to be constantly checked on. I’m not saying that I now know everything there is to know about working as a designer, because I definitely don’t. But I do know enough now to have the confidence to get on with a job, and Thoughtful are always there to guide us and give us their input along the way. 

 I see Thoughtful on a day-to-day basis, so I see how they deal with clients, how they tackle a brief and generally all of the things they do in order to make Thoughtful a successful company. As well as the noticeable things I have learnt, I also pick on lots of smaller, but just as important things about the way Thoughtful work. It seems everyday I am learning something new, which is great. If Thoughtful are not in the studio we can always get in touch with them via email or skype, which is the good thing about having macs, we can be flexible and mobile but are always able to get in touch with each other, whether it be in the evenings or at weekends. Thoughtful treat us as their employees, trusting us with their work and to do a good job. We pay them the same respect and, I speak for all six of us when I say we all want to do the best work we possibly can for Thoughtful.

My Experience With Thoughtful

At the beginning of this year I was chosen to work alongside Thoughtful for six months as part of the Thoughtful 6. We are now five months in to the project, with only around six weeks left so I think it’s time for me to share my thoughts and experiences so far.

When I was first chosen to work with Thoughtful I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I knew it was going to be a lot of hard work, and I was slightly nervous that I wouldn’t be able to keep up. Having said that, I still couldn’t wait to get started, and on the 8^th January, a few weeks before the rest of the course returned from the Christmas holidays, it  all began. Our studio was not yet ready, but there was lots of work to be done so it was a case of working wherever we could.

On the first day Ed and I were asked to work on a typographic route for the Tate Liverpool summer exhibition; Colour Chart, which was to be pitched the following week. We only had a few days to complete the work, which included creating typefaces to represent the different artist’s work being exhibited. This was an important task and the work had to be of a high standard. This was a chance for Thoughtful to win a job for a high profile client and the work we were doing had to help Thoughtful’s chances of winning the pitch. Even though this was only the first week, it was clear from day one what was expected of us and that it wasn’t going to be easy. We would have to work hard, be challenged, working to tight deadlines that we weren’t used to. However, I didn’t see this as a bad thing. It was good. After only a few days, it was clear how much I’d learnt. I had gained experience of working as a team, dividing tasks between the two of us in order to manage our time efficiently. Also, using Adobe Illustrator, a program I had never previously used. 

The following week I was asked to accompany Thoughtful to the pitch at the Liverpool Tate. I was quite nervous about this, but once I was there, with plenty of time to spare I started to relax. This was a fantastic opportunity to see how a real pitch works; what the client expects, the amount of work the designer needs to produce, and the clarity and preparation of the presentation. Thoughtful had planned everything, allowing no room for error in order to impress the client and ensure that the pitch ran smoothly. It was fantastic news, when a few weeks later Thoughtful were told that they had won the pitch.

In the meantime, our studio had finished being painted and we had been busy moving in and settling in to our new room. The room had to function as a real studio, even though it is in the college. It had to look and feel professional to visitors and to provide us with the right working atmosphere. This is something that I really enjoyed doing, it was nice to make the space our own as opposed to us moving in to a ‘ready made’ space.

By this time we had all began to work on developing Thoughtful’s initial ideas for Teepay, a tee shirt design website, owned by howies. This was a really fun project, the kind that doesn’t come round often, so I feel really lucky that I was able to be involved in this. We all went down to Cardigan to visit the people at howies and present the ideas we had so far for Teepay. This was our first experience of taking part in a presentation to the client as a group, helping me with my professional skills and building confidence. It was a really enjoyable experience, as the people at howies were so friendly and down to earth. They were really happy with what we presented to them and even sent their thank you’s via video, which are posted on the Thoughtful 6 blog.

Something that we have been gaining lots of experience with is presenting and talking about our ideas. Thoughtful have helped us a lot, giving us advice on how to conduct ourselves in a professional manner, and drumming in the importance of ‘looking the part.’ If you look smart, and professional it shows that you are serious about what you do, people will respect you more and are more likely to put their trust in you. The Thoughtful 6 project in itself has gained a lot of attention, with people wanting to know what we have been doing; therefore meaning we have had to talk to various people about our experience. We were recently interviewed by D&AD, had to stand up and talk at a CIDS meeting a Stockport Art Gallery and also give a presentation to the first years. Although these were quite informal, we had to ensure we came across professionally, as everything we say and do now reflects on Thoughtful. All of this has really helped to build my self confidence, meaning that it will be so much easier for me to deal with speaking about my work and ideas to future employers and also clients.

Lauren and myself have recently been working together on a project called Make It for the GMSA. This project has been a massive learning curve for me, meaning that I have had to email the client, organise meetings, arrange interviews, prepare and conduct interviews and plan things correctly to ensure we can do everything we need to in the time we have as well as doing the designing. This project in particular has made me realise that the job of a designer is not solely about ‘designing.’ Far from it in fact, you need to be able to communicate clearly and in a professional manner, be confident with public speaking and presenting your ideas. Most importantly you need to be able to engage with the client, get on their level and fully understand what they want. If you build a good relationship with the client it will make your job that bit easier, you will gain their respect and earn their trust. You need to be willing to go that extra mile, but this should be enjoyable and not a chore. If you are working for a client that you know and understand, you will want to go further to make them happy and therefore produce great work.

 A few weeks ago Lauren and I recorded a key note presentation to be sent out to the Steering Group for Make It. The content and the way the presentation was put together looked really professional, something I would not have been able to achieve before working with Thoughtful. The work we did received great feedback and I felt proud of what I had achieved. What we were doing and the way we did it seemed natural though, which just goes to show how far we have come in just a few months. I wasn’t worrying and constantly thinking ‘ I can’t do this.’ I felt confident in what I was doing and knew that I could do a good job, whereas back in January this would not have been the case at all. After we had recorded the presentation and got everything right, we encountered some trouble when exporting it, meaning that we had to re-record what we had done. This wasn’t a problem however, as we had prepared the presentation so well that we knew exactly what we needed to do, no matter how many times we had to repeat it. This shows the importance of preparation, something that Thoughtful have been teaching us all along.

 I could talk for so long about the things I have experienced and learnt with Thoughtful, the list goes on and on, some of which I don’t even think I am aware of yet. I think many of the qualities and skills I have learnt will become more apparent in the future, in particularly the third year when it comes to managing my time, and thinking about what I want to achieve in the future. All I know now is that the things I have learnt from Thoughtful are things that will stay with me for life, and I want to ensure that I continue to develop my skills further and keep up the pace throughout next year.