Week 01
Module Intro
Assessment
Body of work 60%
Research and Prototypes 40%
20 credit point module
200 hours of work – most is independent study
Note – Aide Memoire on Blackboard
Timeline
Week 01- introduction and workshop
Week 02- applying for a job
Week 03- etiquette
Week 04- interview skills
Deliverable 01 – CV & Covering Letter 10am Friday 22nd October
Week 05- intellectual property
Week 06- time management
Week 07- pricing and accounting
Week 08- guest lecture TBC
Deliverable 02 – Quote and Invoice 10am 19th November
Week 09- idea generation
Week 10- pitching
Week 11- catalyst TBC
Week 12- tutorials
Deliverable 03– digital product: investor pitch from 13th December (times to be arranged)
Research and supporting work to be submitted on Wednesday 5th January 11am
Module Aims and Outcomes
Introducing creative industry professional practices: assessment will be covered too; what firm do you want to be in?
Understanding idea generation and research tools for digital product design: back 1/3 of the module.
Written and verbal communication, professionally
Working on paper, supporting research and independent study: post-it notes, not just being around the computer, working to a sketchbook.
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate professional practice and skill
- Articulate ideas visually, orally and written
- Idea generation and research that gets you there
- Responsible personal and career development; managing time
Supporting material
- Research binders
- Sketchbooks (paper and digital)
- Research blog
Key dates
Week 04 – CV and Cover Letter hand in
Week 08 – Job Quotation and example invoice hand in
Week 13 – product pitches. Class will be divided into groups with each student delivering their short product pitch
Workshop
On post-it notes write down all the attributes you are hoping to find in a potential job, colleagues or a place of employment: 1 item per post-it
Why did you do this?
To help you understand you need to know what it is you are looking for before you start looking
Summary/Reflection
Crucial information this week. Found this session usual for the first week, helps with understanding the module content before we actually start the content. Working towards CV/Cover letters with some research first. Again helpful to get in the mindset of what companies and opportunities are out there.
This week’s tasks
- Find three examples of ‘local’ companies (Belfast, Dublin, UK) that you admire, represent great design/work and that you would like to work for.
- Also find three examples of international design firms that you believe are world-leading and produce exceptional work. (You should also aspire to work for them too!)
- Write a very short paragraph on each and show some work examples to back up your thoughts.
Local
No.79 Design (Coleraine)
No79 are a unique digital design agency based on the North Coast of Northern Ireland.
services
- web development
- graphic design
- eCommerce
- Social Media Marketing
- PPC
- SEO
- web design
- content creation
I think No.79 Design show great design, and I like how they show their process. The company seems to be very diverse in what they can produce, they offer work in different areas of design. I find this can be a good thing as it can bring different avenues to the company, but at the same time could bring an overwhelming amount. I think they have a nice balance from looking through their work case studies. A project that stands out to me is their design work with ‘Bob & Bert’s’. Reading the case study; Bob & Bert’s needed a redesign of both their website and print work. Visiting the Bob & Bert’s website, I noticed elements that I liked and thought represented good design.
- Whole website is very on brand – a place that I have visited myself, the website matches the vibe that is perceived in person. Bob & Bert’s would be a quirky and modern café. Elements such as brand colour and type choice (looks handwritten) fits this well.
I really like how they show their process. As you read through the case study, they outline each part they did to achieve their outcome. As well as showing visual process along the way. I like seeing visual process as it’s easier to understand.
Process Order
- Company their creating for profile (who are they? what are they?)
- The task (brief)
- What we needed to achieve (marketing requirements)
- Our Solution
- Small section with link to finished project. (website)
The process shows clearly what they produced and how they got there.
No.79 Design is a company I would like to work for mostly for how they work and the work they produce. They are also a small independent company consisting of a 7 person team as of writing this. I feel like I would feel less intimidated and more welcomed working for a smaller company knowing I can interact and communicate better.
I think I will look out for placement if they offer this.
Little Thunder (Belfast)
Little Thunder Co. is a Digital Product Design Studio based in Belfast and Dublin.
Services
- user research
- prototyping
- user experience
- visual design
- front-end development
Little Thunder’s work with EA is what really got me interested in their work. They created EA Answer Badges alongside the EA Customer Experience team. What I liked about these are they are very graphic and bold, and a great example of illustration/design. Detailed but not complicated. The use of simple shapes as the badge shapes set off the work and contain it without it being boxed in. The use of colour and different shades and hues throughout make them look more realistic and keeps them from looking flat against the interface they will be placed on.
Another thing I like is in their process they start on paper. Showing the simple quick sketches before they get to more detailed and structured designs. Starting on paper is an aspect that I both enjoy and find important within any project. It’s a project aspect that a relate with and makes me more inclined to work with them. I think I just overall really like how graphic, detailed but consistent and easy on the eye their work is. They are a smaller company with 3 members, again a bit like no.79 design, a small knit team that I would probably prefer over a larger agency.
Another company I will be looking into for placement.
Wildish & Co (London)
Founded in 2012, Wildish & Co. is a branding and digital strategy agency that have multiple locations in the UK including Marlborough, Wiltshire, Hackney, and London. Their team of 5 specialize in branding, web design, and print design for primarily small businesses. These clients are typically in the consumer product, hospitality, legal cannabis, and financial services industries.
Services
- Branding
- Creative Campaigns
- Digital Design and Development
When researching different companies/agencies, I came across Wildish & Co. and straight away thought they looked really cool, fun and innovative. their own branding is very unique and ‘quirky’. Looking through their case studies, I really liked their work for ‘Gran Luchito’. Purely as the content looks fun, and it caught my attention with how the content is laid out and presented. The finished ui’s show how the video will move instead of being a still image. As well as how the product placement is done, it’s graphic and eye catching.
I would love to work with this company as it’s fun and creative. Their designs are unique across each project, and seem to have a edge to them which is something I like when designing. They are also a independent small studio who try to make a positive impact, particularly with sustainable or environmental projects. A good design company with good ethos and morals.
International
BB Agency (Croatia)
Balkan Brothers is a design studio based in Primorsko-Goranska, Croatia. Balkan Brothers’ team of less than 50 employees have been specializing in web development and design since the firm’s founding in 2012. The firm also offers UI/UX design services to its clients. Balkan Brothers works with clients of all sizes ranging from small startups to large non-profits
Services
- branding and strategy
- user research
- human experience design
- development
Looking through their case studies, they are a really crisp, clean and professional company. I like their work with Otsuka Pharmaceutical. I think it demonstrates good ui design, iconography and branding. Overall the designs are simple, effective and clean. Their mock-ups are a very high quality. They also have every aspect covered for branding.
Throughout the case study they show;
- The Client
- Problem
- Solution
- Mock-ups/Screens
- Iconography
- Colours
- The result
I would like to work with this company as I really like how simplicity is very effective within their designs. I like how they are very user centred.
Arounda (Ukraine)
Arounda is a digital product consulting and design agency based in Odessa, Ukraine, and founded in 2016. Their team of more than 10 provides human-centric product strategy, brand identity, UX/UI design, and web design services to small and mid-sized companies.
Services
- discovery and strategy
- ux/ui design
- web design
- development
- branding
Kind of similar to BB Agency, very clear and crisp final designs. I like their project, ‘Bold’ as I think it’s a great example of branding and ui/ux design. I downloaded the ‘bold: strong and smart mind’ app that went along with this project to see how it shaped up. I really like the branding for this project, the different aspects tie into the brand, for example, the main colour is purpley blue, this associated with calm and mindfulness with ties in with the concept of the project being meditation. I think the app runs smoothly and is laid out well. Easy to navigate and no cluster. I really like the icons created for this project, simple but effective, line work is clean and works well with project idea.
Similar to BB Agency, would like to work with this company as I really like how simplicity is very effective within their designs.
Ozan Karakoc Design Studio (Los Angeles)
Ozan Karakoc Design Studio is a small Los Angeles, California-based branding company. Launched in 2015, the team focuses on branding, logo, ux/ui design, graphic design, and more.
Services
- brand strategy
- print design
- brand design
- motion
- digital
I like their different approach to their projects, a ‘design partnership’ approach. This is where their priority is to be able to think like the client. They means ‘you don’t work for the brand, you work with it. And you don’t work for the check you work for the future of the brand’. I like his project with the Museum of Humanity, reading the case study it was a very thought out process of creating visual brand content and print. All of the designs are consistent and fluent throughout. I think the project is a great example of branding.
Ozan Karakoc Design Studio is a small studio with a small team, I would like to work with them as I love how they research and create their branding work. I like their ‘design partner’ approach.