Enterprise - Craft - chosen location.

Charlotte was tasked with looking into possible locations for our business, Studio space at a reasonable price, preferably in Leeds. This was following discussions as a group regarding pros and cons of particular locations, Leeds was chosen as there should almost always be business due to the number of independent companies setting up in the area. Also the fact that we will all be in Leeds following graduation and the availability of resources in the College of art are big deciding factors. Not to mention Leeds being the business capital of the North, with great links to all other areas and a good central location.

"Duke Studios are, as stated on their site, a multi disciplinary creative space in the heart of Leeds, offering studio spaces, co-working membership and services. It is located in Munro house, above Leeds Gallery and Cafe 164. 

We wanted to be surrounded by like-minded professionals therefore we thought Duke Studios was a perfect place to set up our new business. Although not officially opened, this will provide a new and contemporary working space for us. There are plenty of resources, the space is more than adequate and provides 'endless collaboration potential' Business is social, meet, work, collaborate, explore, learn, grow and succeed. "

Joe Warburton, 2012

Information Charlotte gathered regarding pricing and the strengths of the studio based on first hand experience. 

Pricing

Space (2): £399 p/m 

Broadband: Included 

Electricity / gas: Included

Strengths

- Close travel networks

- Situated in the business capital of Yorkshire

- Surrounded by like-minded creatives therefore there is a potential for collaboration

- New, contemporary and fresh studio space

- Meeting room for client contact

- Bills inclusive - relatively cheap cost

- Resources / workspaces etc

- Gallery below - potential exhibitions?

Enterprise - Craft - Cost of living.

In order to work out our daily charge rates, we first had to work out what salary we all needed, and this came from our cost of living. Our salary was then based upon how much the highest amount needed to live was. I was factoring running a car into my cost of living so I came out with the highest.

Enterprise - Craft - Delegating Tasks

Reading week we felt was our best chance to get together and really get into 'Craft' as a group. The first thing we did on the Monday of reading week was delegate tasks for each of us to undertake, in order for us to quickly and effectively get through the work that needed doing.

With Charlotte as delegated list writer, among other tasks, we went ahead and worked out what each of us needed to be doing, I was tasked with looking into our possible competitors using SWOT analysis to gauge the effect they would have on our practice.

Enterprise - Lecture 8 - Stash your cash.

Looking after your money.
Accounting
-Keep track of who owes you money
- See how much you're spending on materials & services.

Invoices & statements.
Invoice is essentially a bill.
Statement is a reminder 

essentials of an invoice:
-Business address  (your business)
-Customers address
-The date of the invoice
-Item by item detail of the service provided
-Total amount due.
essentials of a statement:
-Your business address
-Customers address
-List of recent invoices
-Details of invoice (paid/unpaid)
-Total amount due.

Terms & conditions
-Designed to protect your rights and interests
-Costs
-Delivery arrangements
-Payment terms
>estimate given is based upon pre-arranged conditions for the work
>They can be in breach of these conditions

Terms    |    shorthand you might use in communicating. So you know who you are referring to.
(terminology)

If things aren't written then they will argue any loop hole.
30 days credit > have 30 days to pay > pay after this you can charge interest.
- Credit limits
- A commitment to quality
- Data protection

The statement
- send out on or the day before due date
- send out every month thereafter
- how much is owed
- how long it has been outstanding
- a call to action.
 Accounting Software
Quick books - £75
Online quick book essentials - £19 / month
Bank Tree - £26
Sage - £240  < pretty good!

> know who is spending the most money with you - best customers.
Profit > loss standard 
Accountant
Chartered - NO
Certified - yes
} ask for a quote before you agree to any work with an accountant.

What do businesses spend money on
1. Start up costs
2. Overheads - things regardless of work > rent etc.
3. Direct Costs

Start up
-New equipment
-Register company
-Decorate premises
-Website design
-Design logo
-Launch party?
> alot of businesses get a loan...Risky...
>Pay back each month over 2-3 years

| Where from? |
Banks 
-Barclays - Natwest - HSBC - LLoyds TSB
Crowd Funding
-find them online
-reasonable funding for no return
Funding organisations & investors
-The Arts Council, Yorkshire forward, Venture Capitalists, Shareholders > % of a business
Prizes & Awards

What do investors want to know?
-Marketing plan
-How much money you need
-How much money you've got
-How will you spend the money
-How will you pay it back
-How much you'll earn & when

Indirect costs
Also know as:
Overheads
Fixed costs
Cost of doing business

-Utilities
-Office supplies
-etc

Direct costs
-Cost directly attributed to the manufacturing of a product.
-Or what the customer takes away

Bottle of water
water | bottle&cap | Label | Tray & cling film 

Tangible assets
-vehicles - equipment
Intangible assets
-trade secrets - trademarks - reputation - copyright - good will

Cost & price? 
What you spend - what you can charge
Capital
-Money - property - other valuables which collectively represent wealth of an individual or business
Capital assets
Receipts 
-Money coming into the business e.g. from safe
Payments 
-Money going out of the business - for rent - materials.
Cash flow // net cash flow
-cash receipts minus cash payments.
Balance
-the amount of money in an account at any given moment
Profit
-The positive gain from investment or from a business operation after subtracting all expenses.
Loss 
-Position in which a companies expenses are more than their income.

Taxes
Income tax
Corporation tax
Business rates
- open a separate bank account
- Find a certified accountant
- Find a local solicitor
- Register your business with inland revenue

Google.
Business link
Start ups
HM Revenue & customs
Creative choices

Enterprise Task 5 - Proposed Position Statement

- Interests lie mainly in design for print, focusing on music, culture, artistic sectors due to my creative interests alongside those of the industry.
- Improve in my ability to design for screen, I think developing my own personal identity throughout the ppd module will really help with this. Building a website is an important part of this process and I think it is an entirely different yet equally useful side of design.
- Continue to build on the list of practices that I'm interested in, in order to develop my own practice. Starting a diary with a list of contacts would also prove beneficial in the organisation of this.
- Use the ppd module as a starting point for my continued networking and contact with professionals in the field of design and practices that I'm interested in. Looking abroad also to gain an international view and possible opportunity for the future.
- Aim to work within a fairly small creative practice, I feel I need to work in collaboration as it helps my practice having others around me. However not really interested in going into a huge creative team as these tend to be much more impersonal.
- Focus on building a portfolio which reflects my interests in typography, layout, print and design for the creative sectors.
- Also work on logos and marks as I feel this is an area of design which are a necessity to be proficient in, and I'm currently not pleased with my abilities in this area.
- Work on some self initiated projects with, type, image, layout and wording in order to improve my abilities in these areas, with the possibility of creating work suitable for a portfolio.
- Look into the possibility of completing some live briefs, working from making contact with friends/clients etc and making use of opportunities that arise. Having a business card will help in my ability to jump on opportunities as soon as they come up. 
- Focus on gaining studio visits, placements and industrial experience to know how to be around professionals and also as additions to a strong creative CV.

Forest
Forest is the Brooklyn, New York based studio of Joel Speasmaker and pursues graphic design in the form of art direction, editions & publishing, branding, illustration, web design & development, various curatorial projects, and other stuff. 


OCH
OCH is a graphic design studio based in Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden.
We work in a variety of media creating identities, books, magazines, posters, signage, stationery, websites and packaging and exhibition design. Our creative solutions revolve around accuracy and we strive for high quality in everything we do; from overall holistic concepts to the smallest details. We care about the tactile experience that the use of materials, a printing technique or inventive binding can communicate in an image or object. Various projects have seen us collaborate with photographers, writers, programmers and printers, allowing us to build up an extended network that we continue to call upon.

QUS QUS 
QusQus is a graphic design studio founded by Dima Kuzmichev. We love magazines and books, presentation booklets and annual reports, typography and high-quality paper. We develop trademarks design and visual identity.
The studio works for a wide range of clients from various areas, regardless of their scale. Our works achieve success also due to our clients, who share our approach to design and who appreciate individuality and quality even in details.
Currently we are working with clients from Saint-Petersburg as well as from other cities. We are always glad to see you and are open for cooperation!
Catalogue 
Catalogue is an independent graphic design studio based in the North of England. The studio was founded in 2010 by Tom Pratt and Oliver Shaw. The studio specialises in design for print, branding, identity, books, exhibition and web. We work for both commercial clients and on self initiated projects.
  
Lundgren+Lindqvist  

Lundgren+Lindqvist is a Sweden based design and development bureau offering services within branding, design for print and digital, illustration and Art Direction.

We believe that good design is more than ink or pixels on a surface; it is understanding how a message is received and experienced. By identifying the essence of that experience, we can create efficient and interesting communication that is uniquely conceived for each project. We embrace the constantly evolving possibilities of digital design, and approach web design with the same attention to detail as we do in print.

We have a wide base of national and international clients that include a variety of corporations, media and cultural institutions. We work across many disciplines including identity design, web design and development, art direction and print design. The message will dictate the media. For each project we choose the method that has the most impact.

 

Enterprise - Jane Discussion notes 2.

-Blog - complete 
4th March.

include the quote we got from Generation Press

Deligation
Agenda

Branding // editions // magazines
communication to local businesses

Generic advertising (all encompassing)
Direct mail?
buying business listings?
Look at a 20 mile radius focusing the audience .
Web presence
Corporate events
Opening businesses

Portfolio of branding
Daily Rates?
Buying/renting Macs
Think about where to invest...
Printers } build relationships with a number of printers with variation in quality and price
(job dependent)

Will we offer more than the branding?
Look at the competition!?
Cost effective.

Branding & beyond | possibly change the strapline

Think about the cost of surviving/living.
Against the cost of working (money made)

Work out hourly and daily rates
Metro - yorkshire post
Legal paper.

OUGD202 Self-evaluation.

What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
The main skills I feel I have developed through this module have been software based and the ability to use an entirely new software package. Although not hugely competent in the production of work using After Effects, I think it is a very useful piece of software to understand and could have recurrence on future ability to gain jobs/placements etc, knowing something that a lot of other don't. Along with this comes put down skills, and drawing etc, getting back to hand rendering for story boarding was very useful and I feel I have gained a little in this sense too. I also feel I've gained a lot in terms of organisation, both during work on complex software packages like after effects but also in the production and presentation of that work. I've learnt to think much more logically and systematically when working on the computers, naming and organising files so that it doesn't become a problem in itself on top of the work. The collection and presentation of my work I think is also improving due to the use of the blog in this module being much different, with a lot of work going on that has the ability to look very cluttered and busy. Issuu and vimeo have both been abused however the outcome is a much more organised and clear blog than in previous modules.
Despite this, I think there's always room for improvement and by no means have I used these skills to their full potential, especially in terms of the software. I think moving away from working on a whole, and doing a lot of smaller tests may have benefited in the production of more effective final outcomes for both briefs.

What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? 
Similarly to the last question, I feel the main approach to design production that I've developed through this module has been organisation as it has really helped speed up my development process. it also helps access work easily allowing you to see the development you're making. Furthermore, story boarding was very useful as it allowed visualisation of ideas on paper and gave much more direction moving through onto the software.

What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalised on them?
Strengths I could identify in my work, as normal tend to be the use of type. I really enjoy typography and it's something I try to get across in all my work, although I'm aware that the type in these sequences isn't anything special, I think it complements the visuals nicely. I also enjoyed making the packaging and took some time out of after effects to actually craft my sleeves. My design practice blog I think is also a little better than previous modules and I hope it will continue to do so throughout the rest of the second and third year.

What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future? 
Weaknesses I'd identify in my work from this module I'd say were my willingness to experiment and change the work I'd already produced. I felt I had something fairly strong visually and became a bit too focused on the images and animation of them, as opposed to the bits in between them, which is where I think my animation suffers, transitions. Had I been a bit more willing to experiment, I probably would have come up with something I was much more pleased with.

Identify five things you will do differently next time and what you expect to gain from doing these? 
- Try no to get caught up on producing what I had in mind, even if there is chance that I can better it. If it goes wrong it's not the end of the world I just need to be able to identify why it is and know how to change it.
- Try to keep on top of my context blogging, it has taken a back foot in this module where in the last it was almost a focus, I feel there can only be beneficial results from getting a lot of research.
- Aim to work more on paper in order to develop more informed and creative solutions to problems. I often find myself working on screen and not really knowing what I want to produce, taking a step back and working out on paper what I want to achieve always helps.
- As usual, time management, I feel I've become much better over the course of this module particularly because of the amount of work needed and the time spent on it, however it can always be improved. Especially towards the beginnings of a module.
- Write lists and be as organised in my approach to work as possible. These always help focus my effort and I think if I were to do this I'd be more productive with my time in the studio, so I will actually be able to go home and relax at some point.

Attendance  -  5
Punctuality  -    5
Motivation   -    4
Commitment  -    4
Quantity of work produced  -   3
Quality of work produced  -   4

Top 10 final sequence.

Top 10 Final idents

Jimi Hendrix Ident



Jack White ident




Jimmy Page ident




Tom Morello ident

Top 10 DVD sleeve

 The packaging with the simplified outer sleeve, just black stock with a ten cut out showing through the white of the inner sleeve. I also cut a little pull tab out in the shape of a plectrum, thought this would be a nice touch...

The inner and outer sleeve together.

 A little more detail of the ten cut from the black outer sleeve.

The inner sleeve showing through the ten cut from the cover.

 a bit of type detail from the inner sleeve.

Enterprise - Task 4 - Who else is out there? How good are they?

Box-head*

Box-head* are a Leeds based creative agency "working with businesses, individuals and organisations who want to better communicate their brand. Box-head* has an established reputation for delivering succinct visual messaging."

 Strengths
- Independent design studio with a lot of successful work to show.
- Not intimidating, don't think smaller clients would be put off as their website really effectively showcases their work.


Weaknesses
-

Opportunities 
- Opportunity for collaboration due to positioning in Leeds and similar client base.

Threats
- Could take business.

 oooh...

Enterprise task 4 - Who else is out there? How good are they?

Music

Another creative agency that could be seen as competitors with me staying within Yorkshire could be Music, a Manchester based creative agency with a focus on bringing life to brands through effective communication in any media they deem necessary. From their website it is clear that they are an incredibly bunch, with a good sense of humour and love for what they do. Which is exactly what a website should do.

Below are some screens from their holding website as they are in the process of getting a new website. Really like the informal, yet professional tone that they use and the way it portrays them when reading through.

Strengths
- Average size practice with a lot of experience under their belts.
- Great tone used throughout branding, giving professional yet humorous side to business.
- Lots of awards, these speak for themselves in terms of business and reputation.

Weaknesses
- Website is lacking a little due to it being currently down.

Opportunities
- May take some of the larger clients, leaving those available to a smaller practice

Threats
- Reputation, and practice size allow them to take on almost any job across Yorkshire.

Top 10 final crit

Questions I wrote for answers in terms of feedback. 
 Is the text in the animation readable? on the screen for long enough? big enough? moving too quickly? etc.

Is my blog clear? is it evident what the top ten is?

How could the transitions between the each of the guitarists be improved? (at the minute I have an animated slideshow...)

Is the pace of the animation OK? or does it need to be more energetic?

Does the sound work on the idents?

any suggestions for alternative music/soundtracks for the title sequence (currently going to use the song Kashmir from the Jimmy Page ident.


Will & Frankie 

Strengths 
- Very well put together, transitions
- Idents match music perfectly. Especially the jack white one.
- blog very clear, good use of issuu and vimeo. evident what the top ten is.
-Vectors match imagery and compliment photographs.
Considerations 
- Song for 60 second clip, maybe use a track that hasn't been used yet, Nirvana? Could use audacity to fade tracks together.
- Consider transitions from frame to frame, gaussian blur?
- try stretching the 49 seconds to 60, or an introduction to the title sequence.

Alex & Claudia 
Strengths 
- Well done on getting so much done
- Idents are looking good - can imagine them being on TV
- Blog seems up to date
- Good picture choices, colour works well as links into the photos, well put together
- Type is a strength - brings everything together
- Guitar vectors - really well made.
Areas for improvement
- Need to show more storyboards to show how you've come to the final.
- Pace of animation does need to be more energetic
Considerations 
- text seems fine - is readable  and big enough
- Sound works well on idents
- 60 second one seems like what would be in the actual program - needs to be conveyed more as a title sequence - having the words 'most influential guitarists' would help to explain this - and speeding up the other actions to make room for this
- guitar vectors would look good on the packaging.