OUGD502 - A Design Strategy: Session 2

Networking

• Sharing and gaining information that helps us gain something
• Our scale of professional existence - expand yourself
• Start to get to know people
• When contacting people, have a reason and a plan
• Your network is whoever is beneficial to your practice
• We network so people know you and your work exists
• Getting to know your 'peers' in the industry
• Advice
• Mentoring
• Feedback
• Visits
• Placements
• Collaboration
• Employment
• How do you get in contact?
• Investigate Yourself - Find your Voice
• Contact a Blog rather than a Website
• Above all, give yourself a reason to speak with them

They want to know

• Why are you contacting them?
• What do you want from them?
• How do you want them to respond?

We should consider

• An identity of some kind
• A different CV- what do you like? what floats your boat?
• A position to contact them from?

Task 1
Investigate a list of methods you can employ to contact other creatives, studios and agencies.

• Email - quick communication - potentially good for a couple of quick questions
• Letter - more personal form of communication - shows the time has been spent to contact them
• Skype - face to face, even if they're on the other side of the world
• Promotional Pack/CV - an interactive and more visual way of contacting
• LinkedIn - Professional social networking - allows to meet other professionals in the same field and others
• Behance - Most up to date work, their likes, appreciations etc.
• Blogs - most up to date work, a clear personal touch
• Visits - a much more face to face type of communication. A clear interest in their working life and how that applies to me as a designer.
• Exhibitions/Fairs/Events - meet a larger amount of practicing professionals at once.
• Invitation to College - Invite them to see your environment and how you work. Allows feedback on work, portfolio and advice.
• After lecture - interest and enthusiasm. A face to face conversations. Questions about their work.

Task 2

The second task to was to pair up and write a list of positive and negative points about each others practice.

I paired up with Charlie for this.

Charlie's list for me:

Positives

• Computer Wizz
• Helpful
• Patient
• Loads of experimentation
• Making typefaces
• Organised
• Actually enjoy socialising with outside college
• Is honest with me and my work - criting it
• can have a right chat with

Negatives

• Won't print by choice (hand rendered print)
• Ideas development
• Doesn't like research
• Will do design sheets after the work
• Doesn't appreciate a good high 5