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 3rd year.
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