OUGD502 SB2 - Presentation

OUGD502 SB1 Evaluation

Overall this unit as a whole has been very beneficial to me as it gave me a chance to interact with some creative practitioners that I aspire to be like and that work in exactly the same field of design that I dream to work in, I usually never have this interaction and it has helped me massively to solidify which way I want to go with my career after university asa without this I still think I would be clueless and would have no idea with where I would like to go with my education.
I think it will transpire in to the final year of my education as from this unit I have come to realise that I need to concentrate on editorial in the third year through practical projects and cop theoretical work as this is truly what I want to do in the future.
Speaking to these creative practitioners has helped me as I learnt a lot of about what people go through in their journey to becoming an editorial designers and what I may face a long the way. It has also given me an insight in to how different people tackle different problems in their own different ways and truly overall that to be the best designers I can be I need to find myself and what I really believe in as this personality and attitude will not only transfer in to the graphic design work that I create but also in to how I can over come and problems I may face a long the way and the process I will go through when completing a brief.

It has also opened my eyes to a few new possibilities that I will have within my role as a designer in the editorial industry as through the message of various different practitioners I have gained an insight in to what the graphic design industry can be like not only in the UK, or Europe but even further afield in places such as the United Arab Emirates and this has opened my eyes up to the possibilities of where I could possibly find work in the future.

The final aspect that it hasn't yet decided but has only just got me thinking about is the possibilities of where I can work, not geographically but actually situation based. This is due to the fact that after conversing with designers of which work as solo independent and free lance designers, designers who work as part of a small local and large international studio and furthermore designers who work as a head at an in house design studio within a large corporation and this has opened my eyes to the many possibilities of places that I could work in the future.

Overall this has been very beneficial to me as I believe through it I have taken a massive leap in how I see myself as a professional and not just a student and hope i will be able to further this next year.

OUGD502 SB1 - Mohamed Samir Answers

When did you decide that Graphic Design was for you? Has it been something that you always loved or was it an unexpected avenue to take?

The first point from which I decided that design was for me was in 2009 when I started to appreciate graphic design and editorial design around me and finally made the big step to pursuing it as a career when I shifted from engineering studies to graphic design 2011. It has been something that I always loved as a child but never originally saw as a career when I was young, I was one of the top drawing artists in Egypt when I was fifteen years old and I believe my gift for art was realised then.

Was their any point in your journey to becoming a Graphic Designer in which you encountered problems?

I never faced severe problems being a designer. The only thing is at the beginning I struggled to see where it was going to take me but it took me around one year until I realized my strengths in the subject and then I knew it was for me.

What advice could you give to a young designer when encountering these problems?

As a young designer, you need to experiment with different design categories, try and develop your own personal style through which your personality can be displayed. Another thing I would suggest is read more and watch a lot, you can learn from everything around you.

What advice could you give to a designer still learning the trade and trying to get in to the industry?

Many creative people start out as fine artists and then have to struggle to transition to commercial artists where it's not really about their own creative expression but about meeting a communication need of someone else. That is why the best thing is to start working early in an agency or as an internship, this will help a lot making this transition period shorter by readying you for the industry you are about to enter.

How would you describe the process that you go through when completing a brief, from concept generation to final delivery? Do you follow a set routine?

Studying the brief well, without an in-depth knowledge of what the brief requires you will never be able to complete it properly. Asking, to continue the whole image in my mind… without asking why about everything you do and reasoning every decision that you make.

Brief – Think – Research – Concept – Idea – Development – Delivery

Do you even feel like your workload is becoming too much? With what methods do you combat this?

When this happen, I always tend to isolate myself from the surroundings around me so I can truly focus, when you are isolated start brainstorming how I can focus myself to finish in a limited time and still deliver something I am proud of, PLAN.

Do you like to say that you design within a certain style? Or are you open for almost anything you can try?

Good question, For sure I am open to try lot of things for the sake of exploration. But I always like to have a signature in my work.

As I have noticed that the majority of your work includes typographic and editorial style design, and this is a side of design that I truly love, what draws you to this area of design?

Actually Most of my work is branding - editorial - illustration consequently. As I pre mentioned, this will always come after exploration of different design categories, I to incorporate a lot of editorial work but I see this as a necessary tool any designer needs to convey their ideas.

As a designer who would you say has been your biggest inspiration in to getting where you are today?

What not graphic design related aspect of life gives you inspiration?

To be honest with you, I don't have this major person that I got inspiration from, I always follow good work regardless the designer behind it, I strive for good graphic design and not big names.

What non-graphic design element is for sure nature! I am a big fan of birds, butterflies, mountains ... etc. The creatures in nature are always giving me the inspiration in form, colour, attitude and even layout and structure.

Where do you see yourself in the future? Is there anything you can think of that you would like to achieve in the future? 

I would like to be one of top ten designers in the world within those who are adding value to the design and creating the trends, not so people know my name and who I am, so that people simply enjoy the work that I create.

Thank you for your time!

                  No Problem at all, glad I coud be of help in your studies!

OUGD502 SB1 - Davide Rossetto Answers

Hello! Hello to you to!

When did you decide that Graphic Design was for you? Has it been something that you always loved or was it an unexpected avenue to take?

Actually I didn’t really have much of a choice, my uncle had a small atelier (design studio) so when I finished obligatory school I started working for him. I was impressed by my uncle’s skills since a small kid so I tried to give my best to reach his level in designing and eventually I grew to love the world of design and knew it was exactly what I wanted to do.

Was their any point in your journey to becoming a Graphic Designer in which you encountered problems?

I think there are always times that are a little bumpy but I don’t think its related to the graphic designer job it self. It can be as hard to be a good employee in a bank, it depends what you want to reach in your job, and with out these struggles I wouldn’t be the designer I am today so all I can say is don’t be afraid to make mistake while you’re still learning.

What advice could you give to a designer still learning the trade and trying to get in to the industry?

There will be times that teachers, professionals, friends or family will tell you that they don’t like the design you did. It’s important to not take it personal and try to improve on every new project. The other thing is to build a personal design attitude, an attitude you fully believe in and can be proud of. The Aesthetic will be created automatically but you have to really believe in what you do to find it. 

How would you describe the process that you go through when completing a brief, from concept generation to final delivery? Do you follow a set routine?

What I do on every project is masses of research. At times the research part is bigger than the design part. For me its important to deliver the content in the design otherwise it makes no sense. The heavy research helps me to find elements that I can transfer into my design. Based on this the design process varies every time. The research basically tells me which materials, colors, design elements to use and maybe even composition.

Do you like to say that you design within a certain style? Or are you open for almost anything you can try?

Maybe you can say that my work pretty minimalistic but I don’t know if I can put my work in general in a style. I mean the Swiss international style is deeply rooted in me and maybe that is pretty visible. I try to start with fewer elements as possible to communicate the content straight forward and super direct. Sometimes it works with just type; sometimes I have to add other elements.

As I have noticed that the majority of your work includes typographic and editorial style design, and this is a side of design that I truly love, what draws you to this area of design?

As said, for me it’s really important that the design as direct as possible, I am a true believer in form over functionality. I can only explain that it has to do with my education as I had in my studies in Zurich where the Swiss typography is still a big part of the lectures and so this style has been imprinted in me from day one.

As a designer who would you say has been your biggest inspiration in to getting where you are today? What non-graphic design related aspect of life gives you inspiration?

Well there are a lot of designers I like a lot from the 60s. The school of Basel members like Emil Ruder, Armin Hofmann or Robert Büchler had a big influence on me. Then of course Karl Gerstner, Josef Müller-Brockmann and the Dutch designer Wim Crouwel. Architecture is pretty similar to graphic design, the handle with shapes and what stands where in a defined space. So the architects that inspire me would be Le Corbusier, Mies Van Der Rohe and Marcel Breuer. Music is also a thing that is really inspirational for me.

Where do you see yourself in the future? Is there anything you can think of that you would like to achieve in the future? 

I would be happy to stay in my field and establish myself even better. I would like to spend more time doing type design and further my skills in the creation of typefaces. Maybe this is something I will do more in the future but I can not say exactly how the future will be, hopefully I will just be able to continue doing what I enjoy so much!

OUGD502 SB1 - Laurence Kubski Answers

Hello, how are you? How has your work been going at the moment?

Hello, I’m doing well at the moment, thank you. I just came back from my five-month residency that I have been completing in in Hong Kong. So at the moment I’m reorganizing my life back in Lausanne.

When did you decide that Graphic Design was for you? Has it been something that you always loved or was it an unexpected avenue to take? Where does your interest come from?

For many years I thought about becoming a journalist, but I realized that I preferred creating images rather than texts and so I swapped to graphic design. In a way, these two professions have similarities: to communicate an existing content, it’s equally important to find a relevant tone of voice than an appropriate graphic language. I also enjoy having clients in different fields, from the Lausanne University Hospital to the Lausanne Museum of Photography or a retail chain – for me it’s like a collection of various small reportages.

Was their any point in your journey to becoming a Graphic Designer in which you encountered problems?

Not really anything I can immediately think of but I do remember being sometimes worried that the projects I worked on as a student were quite far away from a real job of a graphic designer but as I advanced through my education I realised they were mentoring us so that we would be ready for the real world industry and this wasn’t too much of a big step in the end. 

What advice could you give to a designer still learning the trade and trying to get in to the industry?

The first and biggest piece of advice I can give to any young designer trying to get in to the industry is do internships as much as you can and at as many places as you, if possible in small studios and big agencies to see a bit of everything and the difference between all of the places I interned at helped me to understand what the industry is like. Finally be curious, question everything, not only in the field of graphic design but in your day-to-day life around you, without this you will never develop.

How would you describe the process that you go through when completing a brief, from concept generation to final delivery? Do you follow a set routine?

Each project and each client are different and so I struggle to create one set routine that would apply to all projects, I find it better to assume that there is no routine and to take on every brief as you think best while doing it.

Do you like to say that you design within a certain style? Or are you open for almost anything you can try?

I have no preconceived idea about style when I start a job. I try to be as open as possible from the beginning. However I have a background of cultural references linked to my upbringing in Switzerland where modernist graphic design is still very strong and so unconsciously I tend to stray towards this as it is imprinted in me but I also find it satisfying to go against this thought process when necessary.

As I have noticed that the majority of your work includes typographic and editorial style design, and this is a side of design that I truly love, what draws you to this area of design?

I love editorial design because it allows me to tell stories and build up a narrative through the very flexible medium of a magazine. The use of type has always be natural to me, probably it comes from my Swiss culture.

As a designer who would you say has been your biggest inspiration in to getting where you are today? What not graphic design related aspect of life gives you inspiration?

For the graphic design related inspiration my main idol’s are Ludovic Balland, Cornel Windlin, François Rappo simply because I just love their work. For the non graphic design related I’m a big fan of television documentaries – especially about wildlife and the environment around us, this bases a major contributor to what inspires me.

Where do you see yourself in the future? Is there anything you can think of that you would like to achieve in the future?

I hope I’ll be able to publish Domesticate (my Master graduation project: a culture-oriented magazine about man-animal interactions) over several issues and see where it can take me! Thank you!