OUGD 602// Email Sent to Deep Space Industries

I feel that it is time for me to begin approaching people who I am interested in working with in the real world. Rick Tumlinson is one of the founders of Deep Space Industries, an organisation aiming to mine asteroids sometime in the future. My interest in space exploration has got me insanely interested in the work they are doing so I would love to do some work for them, or at least have a look at some of it.  

http://deepspaceindustries.com/

I sent this email to Rick to ask just that:

THE ROLE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN IN SPACE EXPLORATION: AN OPPORTUNITY.

Dear Mr Tumlinson,

Hello, I’m Luke Rossiter, a Graphic Designer currently completing my third and final year of a degree at the Leeds College of Art and Design in England. I have a huge interest in space exploration, born from a love of science fiction and science fact alike, and I believe organisations like Deep Space Industries are capable of making these incredible concepts a reality.

I am currently working on a dissertation project about the role of graphic design within space exploration and a visual product must reinforce the written element. As we are currently experiencing a second ‘race’ into space by companies like DSI and Planetary Resources, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to put myself forward and ask the question - can I do some graphic design work for you?  

The work could simply be a conceptual project, with no real life application, but where a brief and some feedback from you would be very valuable. Alternatively, I could undertake a live brief, with the objective of my designs being used by DSI. Any work I complete would go towards my final grade. I would personally be interested in developing alternative versions of the DSI logo and the firefly and dragonfly mission patches; nevertheless I would be equally excited to work on any other projects that involve the branding or identity of DSI, mission patches, iconography or signage, for both online and offline usage.

Graphic design is a process of communication, how and what DSI’s visual identity communicates to investors and customers is important. I believe that I can help you achieve a professional visual identity, which also conveys a message of exploration, discovery, astronautics and of course scientific and human achievement. 

This would be a huge opportunity for me; I find what you do hugely inspiring and would love to be part of this industry in the future. If I have not been clear about anything, I apologise, if you have any questions please just ask.

If you would like to see some of my work here is a conceptual re-brand and visual identity manual for the UK Space Agency that I designed last year:

http://issuu.com/luke91/docs/uksa

Kind Regards,

Luke Rossiter

OUGD 602// Final Pitch Email to DHR

I have sent off my final design for the 2013 Christmas card to DHR the international search firm and recruitment agency. I have tried to explain the card in the most clear and concise way possible, perhaps totally over-blowing the whole thing but some of the stuff I've come up with really makes sense, it works as a piece of brand building for them so it is actually quite important. 



Hello Lauren, Frank and Ron,

The DHR Snowflake is my concept for the 2013 DHR Seasons Greetings card.

I understand that the practice of sending greetings cards at this time of year serves a higher purpose than just well-wishing; it is an important marketing tool, an opportunity to improve relationships and spread a positive message about the company and its values amongst clients and the DHR team.
With this in mind, my main focus is to deliver a professional and personalised message.

The card achieves this aim by:

1. Incorporating a strong visual DHR identity. The colours of the snowflake are taken directly from the globe segment of the DHR International logo, whilst the typeface I have chosen, Museo Sans, is used extensively on the DHR website. The DHR logo is immediately identifiable as an integral part of the design. 

 2. Reflecting the DHR business and values. The concept of the snowflake is of many parts coming together to create a beautiful image, celebrating teamwork, diversity and a successful outcome. Like DHR, the various diverse parts interact and support each other, providing a strong yet dynamic structure; the overall shape references the global reach of DHR.

3. Avoiding visual clichés whilst remaining seasonal. The stylised snowflake evokes an icy winter theme, but also contains warmer colours like pine green.  It creates the right emotion without relying on a kitsch Christmas scene. This also facilitates using the card for audiences with a range of cultures and beliefs.
 
4. Balancing simplicity and detail. The message is direct and straight to the point. The snowflake is recognisable but contains many patterns which offer a level of complexity and depth. In terms of design this allows the card to remain both interesting to look at and professional in manner.

In terms of using multiple languages the design is very open for that, I can just alter the 'seasons greetings' text. 

For any personal messages I would advise that you write them below the image, I will demonstrate how the overall E-mail would look below:
If you have any other questions or comments it would be great to hear them too.

Thanks again,
Luke.

Dear X,

This is where you would write your personal message.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce ac vestibulum erat.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Sincerely,

Consultant Name

Title and role

DHR International

Location and Address

T: 000000000 ext. 000|  F: 00000000 | xxxxx@dhrinternational.com

For over 20 years DHR International has been a leading, privately held provider of executive search solutions with more than 50 wholly-owned offices spanning the globe.  DHR’s
 renowned consultants specialize in all industries and functions in order to provide unparalleled senior-level executive search, management assessment and succession planning
services tailored to the unique qualities and specifications of our select client base.  For more information on DHR International, a “Top 5” executive search firm,
visit http://www.dhrinternational.com

 

OUGD 602// Second Email Sent to Propagation House

I have been cracking on with the project for propagation house and developed several logos for Mark and Marina to look over. Here is my second email to the client:

Hello again Marina and Mark,

I've been cracking on with the Logo and have come up with three early concepts that I'd like to get some feedback on from you guys if that is ok?

The first concept is very modern/ sleek, with an aim to be a stylish and rather professional design. The idea comes from the soil acidity icon 'pH', which I think links strongly to the history of Propagation House whilst also denoting the initials of the modern studio. I have balanced out the design with some stylised, descending, EQ bars. This design would work best on a wide range of products from the smallest business card to large banners and such due to its comparative simplicity.




Due to its weight this logo works well overlying photos. We could get some nice big pictures of the studio and lay the website over the top in white, this creates a great opportunity to show off the studio and display large amounts of content on the same page:

The second concept is more laid-back but follows the same principles as the first design. This one incorporates the full name of the studio with an icon. The icon could either represent a speaker facing upward, a rainbow sitting over some terrain or even a sunrise. The aim was to express the idea of the studio being residential/ out in the countryside/ amongst nature, in as simple a way as possible. I have shown the logo here in a dark grey but it works well in just about any colour.

This design also allows for the icon to be used separately to brand items where the text would not be necessary or desired. This offers a high level of adaptability, which is very important if you are into creating a 'brand' out of the studio.

The third and final logo concept I would like to run by you is very different, this idea is inspired by blues and folk style hand-drawn typography. The style is probably more topical to the sort of musicians that you may want to attract however the trade-off is a slight loss of usability. This is because of its comparative size, I don't think is is quite as versatile, although this may not be a problem for you?

I understand that this one is fairly rough at the moment but I think it has a lot of potential, it has a lot of movement, although it could be refined a lot further! You might want to right click and 'view image' to see the larger version if you can.

Thanks for having a look through these, as I said these are works in progress at the moment but if you like any particular idea, or would even like me to go down a totally different route it would be great to know so I can focus my ideas and start mocking up some working examples of the design in various applications (i.e. Website, Brochure, Business cards).

All the best,

Luke. 

OUGD 602// Project Brief Sent to Client: DHR

DHR are a global Executive search firm. I worked for a small office of theirs for around 8 months before coming to university so have an in with them. I have managed to get the head office in Chicago interested in me developing this years corporate Christmas card. This may not sound like a big deal but they send these cards to the heads of some of the largest organisations on the planet, so it is a huge opportunity for a bit of self promotion for DHR and of myself. 

http://www.dhrinternational.com/

Below is the brief as I have put it to the clients, DHR.
I have tried to outline what I think they want within the time constraints of this relatively short brief. I have also tried to use neutral language and outline the rules of the brief in a simple way. For example I have offered for an additional 5 languages to be given. 
Lauren is the head of marketing in Chicago, Frank is the head of European operations and Ron is the head of IT and will be in charge of the distribution. 

 

Hi Lauren, Frank, Ron

 

I have just been catching up on the e-card brief, I have discussed the details of the brief as follows – please do review and let me know if you want to change any aspect of this –

 

E-card will go from DHR consultants to their clients, BD targets, candidates.

Card will be available for all to use, globally, where the theme is appropriate.

Standard wording will be ‘Season’s Greetings’ – keep it holiday neutral as per Lauren’s email.
Theme will be holiday neutral too – ‘winter’ theme.

Aim will be professional and clean, using DHR colour (blue) if possible, and incorporating the DHR logo within or under the image.

Will be a flat image, no animation included, designed and developed by myself. 

E-card will be produced in English language.

I can create a version in other languages if this is required - max 5 languages additional, will need to be short two-word greetings and these will be provided by DHR to myself.

E-card will be seen in the body of the email by preference, so easy to view by recipient.

At this stage I am not planning to use any ‘paid for’ images but will let Lauren know if this changes.  

 

And a few questions for you please Lauren, 

I am planning to make the e-card compatible with Outlook - does everyone use Outlook? 
Are there any restrictions on which typefaces I should use?
Any other points to bear in mind?

Luke.

OUGD 602// Catching Up With Summer Placement

I thought that it would be good practice to stay in touch with Marc at 42 Square. I have sent him an email to see how things are going and to see if the work I did for them ended up being useful at all.

 

 

Hi Marc,

Hope everything is good and things have settled back to normal for you all at 42 Square? I was just wondering if anything happened regarding the 'Tower Hamlets Healthy Living stuff' I was working on, and how it all panned out in the end?

Best Wishes,

Luke.

OUGD 602// Email Sent to New Clients: Propagation House

Propagation House is a residential recording studio in Cornwall. I have got to know the owners Mark and Marina over summer and have worked out a plan for me to create a visual identity for the studio and redesign the website. They have been running the studio science 1996 and have had some amazing world famous acts record there in that time so this is a huge opportunity for me.

You can find their current website here: http://www.propagationhouse.com/

Hi Marina,

Firstly I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to work on this project and also for helping with getting all the bits together for me to have a look over!

I've just moved back up to Leeds and the 3rd year starts tomorrow morning, so if yourself and Mark are still happy with me doing this I'm good to start as soon as possible.

My plan of action would be to have a look over the stuff you send to me and use this as framework to produce a few examples of logos and identity that I think would work well for propagation house. If you guys like some of the ideas I come up with we can move forward from there, which would be great. At the same time there is no obligation for you to use any of the work I produce at all, it will still be a great bit of experience for me, and will still go towards my grading.

Thanks again for everything,

Luke.

OUGD 602// Summer Placement at 42 Square

 I managed to get a summer placement at a design agency down in London Bridge called 42 Square. It was a great bit of experience and taught me a lot, both about being a professional designer what it would be like to commute into London every day. My contact at the studio was a guy called Marc, really helpful with setting me up and going thorugh the processes with me.

The plan for the week was to help develop a new website for healthy living in London schools. On Monday morning we had a briefing and then got to work. I also spent some of my spare time drawing sea monsters. Below are just a few images of the development of the front page of the healthy schools site. I also worked on some graph pages and interactive options pages.

Overall the experience was extremely helpful to my professional practice, giving me a level of experience that I would not have got from doing a simple studio visit.