Berlin Film Photographs - 13.2.18 - 15.2.18

Whilst in Berlin I experimented with using black and white film, I found this really exciting and inspiring and I'm pleased with the outcomes below. This made me want to experiment with photography more as an aspect of graphic design.

Berlin Highlights - 13.2.18 - 15.2.18

The Jewish War Memorial - This was something I'd visited before in Berlin but this second trip I found to be incredibly inspiring. Wandering round I found it incredibly consuming and isolating and rarely had something sculptural create such an effect on me. Afterwards I found myself in a discussion about the fact we had seen children running round through the rectangular pillars. Was this incredibly disrespectful or does it actually show new life growing around such a tragedy? It made me want to reexamine how we talk about those we have lost, and in some ways it should be with sadness but also with hope for the future. This was a significant moment for me, despite the fact it was less to do with design itself.

A German magazine cutting that I thought employed an interesting style.

This was a spread dedicated to the Boros collection, which is a collection of art displayed in an abandoned Nazi bunker. This was an incredible experience, with strange and wonderful pieces of art, offset by the historical surroundings around them. I particularly liked the business shown below, with minimal shapes but interesting detail. There was also an interactive part of the exhibition were we able to try woodblock printing with knife shapes - this created an interesting effect and I hope to experiment with this more in future. The second image was another flyer from one the exhibition pieces, telling the story of a man who traveled Africa just by exchanging goods he acquired along the way.

These are some spreads I did to document the Berlin underground system. The card is from the Bauhaus, I have used it to isolate an aspect of the map and bring shapes out of the design. The second spread is a about a dream I had on the journey home from Berlin - falling unconscious on the coach I had dream where the bars of the tube twisted and stretch like vines, it was interesting seeing this in their bright yellow tone.

This is a spread dedicated the Berlin Museum of letters, a collection of letter signage held under a Berlin railway. It felt almost like exploring catacombs looking at all these letterforms. Walking round it made me realise that letters do not need to be perfect or shiny new forms to have an effect, a lot of them were damaged and old, but this only added to their impact.

The Bauhaus - Berlin Trip - 14.2.18

One of the best parts of the trip was visiting the Bauhaus, that was particularly interesting and inspiring as the design work is, of course, very old, and has pretty much made the basis of a lot of design work today. I hope to do more research into the Bauhaus as this had such an impact on me during the visit.

Patrick Thomas - Berlin Trip - 14.2.18

Patrick Thomas has been in the graphic design industry of years, with a particular focus on printing methods and techniques. His talk was the most finely tuned and filled with interesting content. His production of work was very fast paced and experimental, this has allowed him to explore all different types of design across the industry and the world. Find your passion he said - 'go to uni early, leave late' and this is something I want to employ in future.

Studio Pandan - Berlin Trip - 14.2.18

Another studio we visited was called Studio Pandan. This was run by two women which I found particularly inspiring as sometimes I think there isn't as much representation for women in the design world. Their design work was also very focused on editorial which I found pretty interesting.  

Studio Yukiko - Berlin Trip - 13.2.18

For part of the Berlin trip I decided to keep a journal of the things I saw and the studios we visited. This is the first entry for the Studio Yukiko visit, the sketch on the left is an interpretation of their style used for a Nike campaign. Their passion and drive for their practice was incredibly inspiring and in some ways the visit really made me want to consider working abroad as well in the UK.

Mistakes Designers Make in Presentations

1. Don't be the clients friend. You're there to solve their problem, don't try to please them/make them happy. Help them meet their goals! Don't avoid confrontation.
2. Don't be lazy in the presentation and take charge of the situation. Confidence is about making the client feel better, securing their trust. 
3. Don't start with an apology - this will cause them to distrust you.  The best way to fix a meeting is to cancel it and then rebuild the work until you can present it confidently.
4. Set the stage properly. Let the audience know why they're a part of this conversation, thank them for their time, make them feel like experts. Tell them how long they'll have to be there - 'we're looking for client approval today' and they'll be looking towards the goal of the meeting's end.
5. Don't patronise/bore the client by 'over explaining' the design. Sell benefits of the work, the money it will make them, how it will compete with competitors. Make the client relate the work to their own lives and tell the story. 'Present like a snake-charmer'. 
6. Don't take notes until afterwards.
7. Don't read from a script - you are making a performance. It's the excitement that sells the product.
8. Don't get defensive. 'I am not my work', the work is not a personal expression - the client is free to criticise it. Good people do bad work sometimes!! When you're getting feedback keep your mouth shut.
9. Don't mention typefaces - they don't give a shit about that. They don't know anything about this and don't want to be made uncomfortable. 
10. Don't talk about how hard you worked, it's not like you're getting graded on effort. Don't show them the process of getting to the end result.
11. Don't react to questions as change requests. 'Why is the logo small?' - 'I can make it bigger!!' Sometimes the client just wants reasoning.
12. Always guide the feedback - tell the client what kind of feedback you want/need. 'How well does this reflect your brand, your users' needs and your ad strategy?'
13. Never ask - 'do you like it?' Far too subjective, it disregards all the reasoning and logic behind the design. Don't seek the safety of being told your design is liked, your design need to solve a problem. What they really want it success. 'Work you did not sell is no better than work you did not do.'