END OF LEVEL 05, BEGINNING OF LEVEL 06!!!!

OUGD203 Evaluation

This module has been my most successful to date, I have produced a body of work that I am finally proud of, without an incredible rush at the end. I have finally managed to get on top of my time management and I think that this shows through the work that I am presenting.

The collaboration brief was an eye opener for me. Working with two people increased the pressure to perform and really put the work in. I feel it was this that made my work ethic turn around. I was in a group with two strong students and I wanted to impress them with what I could do…with my input and the amount and quality of work that I produced. We worked very well as a team, we collaborated as we should and put together a strong body of work that we were proud to send to YCN.

At the beginning of ‘Product, Range and Distribution’ I was somewhat undecided as to what to do…who I was, in effect. This brief was meant to be the first real opportunity to really get to grips with what we wanted to specialise in both third year and then in our careers. For some reason, this really pressurised me and I got a bit worried about whether I was going to pick/write the right brief for me.

The competition briefs and the sessions with Fred helped a lot to define what exactly it was I wanted to do. I had a vague idea… I knew I wanted to incorporate merchandise design and mixed media, but I wanted a definitive brief to work to.

Two briefs amongst my five chosen ones really stood out to me, the D&AD ‘Diesel one, and the ISTD ‘78rmp –mp3’ briefs. This was probably because they were both focussing on music, but there were other aspects of them that drew me to them. Such as the similar target audiences; ‘fans of the band’. These were briefs that were not making people aware of something, this was, in effect, preaching to the converted. This gave me the opportunity to be creative, to work for an audience who already appreciated the subject matter. Finally, a brief where I could focus on the aesthetic value of the product.

I set myself an extraordinary amount to do. Producing a range of merchandise for 6 separate songs. In hindsight, this was very over-ambitious. I set about this task by analysing the lyrics of these songs, and then experimenting with mixed media. I put a lot of time into illustrative type experimentation, which I didn’t even end up using.

My tutorial with Fred was a real eye-opener and really helped me focus my idea down. This was when I decided to produce a very strong body of work for one song, and then proposing the other 5. This was when things really started moving.

I produced a 12” vinyl cover for the EP and then a range comprising of a poster, a 7”single cover, a CD single cover, 3 t-shirts, 2 tote bags and packaging for each of these. My distribution method was designing them a website and logo.

If I had more time I would go about printing the t-shirts and totes, and following that, produce the ranges for each of the other songs.

I think all in all it has been a real learning curve for me.  I put the work in – I get the results. It is as simple as that. I have learnt an incredible amount about software and different methods of idea generation, analysing and both image and type production. This module has really got me excited about 3^rd year. 

Enterprise and Innovation - OUCE255 - Evaluation

As this module was spread over such a large amount of time, and structured very differently to any other that we have undertaken, I found it very difficult to manage my time and plan it out as efficiently as I would have liked to, admittedly, mainly with the tasks, there was an air of “oh I have a lot of time before I hand that in” and I lacked somewhat in motivation.

I found each lecture very interesting and useful in it’s own way, but found it difficult to really get into it as it was mainly based on starting up a business of your own, either freelance or as a collaboration, whereas I am far more interested in working in an established business in the industry. However I learnt a lot about things that will be very useful in the future and the tasks themselves really got me thinking about my own work and life after the course and how I can progress in the industry to really capitalise on my talent and skills. There was no way we could have left the course and been fully successful without knowing the things which we learnt during this module. It really opened my eyes to issues such as costings and how much I may be able to make in the future (which was very exiting). I guess this was the module that really made me think about my career after the university bubble.

I was surprised to see how well our collaboration worked as a team. It was difficult at first to all be free at the same time as we are in separate rotations during the week and had jobs and placements which interfered with our schedule, however when we did come together we were productive and got it done.I am pleased with the result, especially with my work on the logo. I think it added to our presentation that we had designs for business cards and other visuals as it simply helped to show who we are/want to be as a company.

I think I played my role well within the collaboration, finding us a solicitor, accountant and insurance, as well as coming up with marketing strategies and working with the logo. It was a very interesting process and one which I haven’t worked with before. I guess you don’t think about this kind of module when you apply to art college!

If I could re-do the module I would definitely manage my time a lot better and do the tasks straight after the relevant module as it would  be fresh in my mind and be a lot more beneficial on the whole. 

Marketing ourselves - Getting ourselves out there

As well as internet advertisements for our company, we wanted to create something different to send out to possible clients. Sending them out in batches of 10 just in case too much work comes in at once. 

We decided to play on our name and the essence of the company and tried to come up with special mail-outs we could create to make an impact. 

Much like a business card - but much more memorable. 

Love hearts. Every body likes sweets. Could we make some love hearts with our company name on?

Apparently so...

These are an example of what we would send out...

Or... use existing love heart messages... with our own personalised wrapper...

(this would be cheaper)

Gift Box with 50 rolls of Love Hearts with Personalised Wrappers

£24.99

Whether for a special birthday, Christmas or anniversaries - there are so many occasions where adding that personal touch can make the day all that more memorable.

50 mini rolls of Love Hearts sweets are presented in a beautiful gift box, along with 50 personalised wrappers displaying your chosen message.

It couldn't be easier to personalise your Love Hearts Wrappers. Simply:
1. Fill in required quantity and click PERSONALISE ME! button
2. Click to select your desired Wrapper design
3. Write your message
4. Click green NEXT button to see preview of actual wrapper with personalised message
5. If happy click green ADD TO BASKET button or if you want to make any changes click grey EDIT DESIGN button 

What's included: One gift box containing 50 mini rolls of Love Hearts, plus your 50 personalised wrappers.

Notes:Suitable for vegetarians. Free from artificial colours. Shelf life: 18 months

Not too sure about the 'I Love you' bit...

PERFECT!!

£175 for 500 of these with our name on. 

I think this is a very interesting idea. Sending out a packet of personalised love heart sweets will make people remember us. 

Include in the package... a business card and a personalised envelope. 

Love 4 Design - Solicitor - Lee & Priestley

It is important to have legal representation in case anything goes wrong with our business, which we all know it could go very easily. 

I have been looking at a few in and around Leeds and this seems to be the best for the price. 

About Lee & Priestley

Lee & Priestley's origins date back to the Bradford practice of James A. Lee established in the early years of the last century. A hundred years later we are now a modern law firm based in Leeds, successfully developing a growing business based on a strong core of commercial and related private client work.

Our corporate culture is founded on values which emphasise client care, a team ethic, continuous learning and mutual respect. We aim to operate efficiently in delivering value, expertise and high quality personal service to you.

As a medium-sized practice, we are at a scale to be able to enjoy developing strong individual relationships with you whilst still having a sufficient depth and diversity of expertise to meet all of your legal needs. Our commercial clients are typically owner-managed businesses with a turnover of up to £20 million per annum, together with a number of larger companies and institutions in areas where the firm has particular strengths, such as: 

• Care Homes
• Commercial
• Commercial Litigation
• Corporate Services
• Debt Collection
• Employee Share Schemes
• Employment Law
• Entrepreneurship
• Innovation
• Insolvency and Business Recovery
• Intellectual Property
• Media
• Pharmacy
• Property
• Technology

We also provide expert personal legal services. Our private client department deals with wills and probate, trusts, family settlements and conveyancing matters. We are also one of the region's leading firms dealing with family and childcare work.

Lee & Priestley LLP is registered with the Law Society,regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and governed by the Solicitors Code of Conduct. We are also regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

A copy of our detailed complaints policy is available upon request. 
Any complaint should be made by contacting the Partner dealing with your matter or by contacting the firm's Managing Partner Jonanthan Oxley.  In the event you remain dissatisfied with our response then you may refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.  Contact details are PO Box 15870, Birmingham B30 9EB. Tel: 0300 555 0333; enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk;www.legalombudsman.org.uk.

Start-up business Package...

Business Start-Up Package

"Protect your ideas, your brand and yourself with our Business Start-Up Package"

When starting out in business it is crucial to establish a solid legal framework for your business to ensure that both you and it are protected

Unlike other products sold by agents our Business Start-Up Package is tailored around your specific circumstances.  This is important because it will ensure the legal structure of your business is the right one for you and your requirements from the outset.  Our Business Start-Up Package is put together by experienced lawyers and will save you both time and money in the future.

Our business start up package includes the following:

• Company formation tailored to your requirements
• Articles of association compliant with the latest legislation
• Full intellectual property audit to identify what IP you have and what needs protecting
• A UK trademark application (in up to three classes of goods and services) including research, advice and preparation of the application
• Terms and conditions of sale for your goods & services
• Shareholder agreement
• Company / statutory books

This product will provide you with the correct legal foundation for your new business and covers the bulk of the legal aspects you need to consider when starting out in business.

How much does this cost?
We understand that as a new business you need to be mindful of your costs which is why we have put together a fixed cost package with an easypay interest free scheme of £300+vat per month.

Luxury Boutiques and brands in Leeds - Getting ourselves known

We have decided that our company 'Love 4 Design's target audience is going to be high-end, luxury brands and boutiques (retail)... mainly focusing on Leeds to kick start our business. 

We are going to send out mail-outs (more details to follow) to the following ten to start us off in getting our name out there. 

Pop Boutique - A vintage boutique in Leeds city centre. I picked this because they give away canvas bags with designs on with whatever they sell. 

Mulberry - This is a brand with a lot of imagery attached to them. From the logo to the ever-changing window displays - some of which include type installations. It would be a brilliant one to produce work for. 

Azendi - A luxury jewellery boutique in Headingley. Small but very high-end and will be branching out all over the country, would be good to create work for them before they started to expand...

Harvey Nicholls - Perfect for our company. Very high aspirations from us, but worth sending the mail-out to. 

Mobarak - A luxury vintage boutique, selling clothing, jewellery and accessories. 

HIP - A very up and coming boutique. 

Moda in Pelle - Luxury shoe shop

Label Boutique  - an expensive men and womenswear boutique selling exclusive pieces. 

Kiosk78 - A luxury and exclusive menswear shop near the corn exchange. 

Best Vintage - A large vintage shop in Leeds

We have a variety of different shops and boutiques, each with reasons why an account with them would be incredibly beneficial as starting points for our company.

Personal development of Love 4 Design logo

This is some work that I did for some branding for our company 'Love 4 Design'. We thought a logo would be good to visually show who we are for the presentation. 

I think the typeface I have chosen for this series of ideas is too thin for a logo for a graphic design company. It hasn't got enough impact. 

I then chose to use one of my favourite typefaces 'Champagne and Limousines' to come up with some different ideas. 

I think the use of red is predictable but adds context and impact. We want it to read both ways... love for design and love four design. 

I think adding the heart imagery made it look slightly childish... however small. 

I then tried to work the '4' into the actual word. It makes it look a lot more sophisticated and clever... which is what we need for our studio as we are working with luxury brands. 

Final design.
I think both words work a lot better together in upper case. 

Finding an accountant

Whilst pulling my hair out on search engines to find an accountant based in West Yorkshire who specialises in the design industry... John came up with a pretty simple but effective solution... ring up design studios around Leeds, ask to talk to their account team... and then ask for recommendations.

So far I have rung up B&W design who said that their accountant is nowhere near West Yorkshire (which was interesting) and have e-mailed Vikki at Turnkey Design. 

I then contacted the Director of Analogue Design in Leeds... after a slightly awkward conversation he gave me a recommendation.
A good one. 

So we have decided on an accountant firm called Thomas Coombs & Son based in Leeds.

Business Start-Up

Most people who start up in business do so because they have a good business proposition. We can help by evaluating your ideas and helping you develop them into a viable business.

We will help you:

• decide on the most suitable structure for your business (i.e. sole trader, partnership, limited liability partnership or limited company)
• prepare a business plan, cash flow projections, budgets and trading forecasts
• assess your finance requirements and advise on the most appropriate source of financ
• help you establish relationships with banks and solicitors and any other necessary professional advisers
• carry out registration procedures with Companies House and H M Revenue & Customs
• set up an internal accounting system

Public Liability Insurance

When this task first started... immediately I started thinking meerkats... singing go compare... and saying "confused?!?!?!" to myself... yes. Good advertising. And it worked. 

Confused.com gave us several different quotes and outlined what they each would cover. 

We opted for... 

These were the results...

I now need to decide on one. 

I think that paying an extra £400 or so a year is not worth insuring our equipment abroad as this comes under our travel insurance. 

And we definitely need insurance for goods in transit in case something goes wrong delivering work to clients. And loss of revenue. 

So realistically... Ageas is the only one to cover all of our needs. 

This seems to be a very good deal overall. 

This is the summary of the policy. 

Information on starting up a new business if you have never had one in the UK.

Open publication - Free publishing - More business

Thoughts on finance so far...

So these pages have really helped me to understand all the financial aspects of both starting a business and keeping it going over time. 

I have signed up to businesslinkyorkshire so that I can access more parts of the site which will help in my investigation. 

I also need to... find us the perfect accountant. 

Find us an insurer for personal liability insurance and travel insurance

Build up a business plan

Although our studio space which we rent covers insurance, it does not cover personal liability insurance. It essentially covers possessions but not people. 

This is important to have as anything could go wrong and could result in us losing a lot of money. 

Business Link - Equity Finance

Equity Finance

What is equity finance?

Equity finance is a way of raising money in return for a share of your business. The investor would probably also expect to have some control over the way the business is run.

You will not usually have to pay interest, or return the money by a certain date. Instead, your investor expects to benefit from dividend payments.

You will need a professional and compelling business plan to successfully apply for equity finance.

Who provides equity finance?

The two main providers are:

• business angels; and
• venture capitalists, also known as private equity firms.

Business angels are wealthy people who will often invest in a new or growing business.

Venture capitalists usually provide significant amounts of money for rapidly growing companies that will eventually float on a stock market.

What are the advantages of equity finance?

• Equity finance may be available if your bank will not provide a loan.
• You will not have to pay interest on a loan and can use spare cash to invest in the business.
• An external investor may bring invaluable knowledge and experience to your business.
• Business angels can make fast decisions about whether or not to invest.

What are the disadvantages of equity finance?

• You may not wish to give up a share in your business or control over the decisions you make.
• Business angels can be hard to find.
• Dealing with venture capitalists can be a long and complex process, and will involve the payment of legal and accountancy fees – even if your application is unsuccessful. 

Business Link - HMRC

HMRC

What is the role of HMRC?

HM Revenue & Customs  (HMRC) is responsible for:

• collecting direct and indirect taxes;
• paying child benefit, the child trust fund, and tax credits;
• border protection;
• environmental taxes;
• the minimum wage; and
• student loans.

HMRC will need to know about your business, its legal structure and if you employ anyone. This is to ensure you pay the correct taxes and National Insurance.

 

Can I deal with HMRC online?

 

Yes. From registering a new business and filing your tax return through to downloading forms and keeping up to date with the latest business laws, HM Revenue & Customs’ website is an invaluable resource for your new business.

For further information see our guide Online transactions with government.

Register for online services with the Government Gateway on the HMRC website.