Business...

Some targets I made at the start of the year:


1. Celebrate my favourite work - create a website for others to see
2. To get my work 'out there' -  promote myself
3. To sell some work - start with creating an Etsy store, sell a few pieces
4. Discover other websites and forms of social media that could be useful to promote work


To do these things I need to actually feel confident in myself as a designer and begin to like my own work, I don't know when this will happen but hopefully soon!


I'd like to set up a store to sell prints/my work. I'm still considering which website to use, choices include: bigcartel.com/signup or www.etsy.com


I also think that I need to build a website, as I would prefer to show companies that I want to gain work experience with, and just anyone that I wish to see my work, a website of final pieces that I am happy with rather than my blog, which is very personal and contains far too much information to make it easy to look through. Possible websites:


www.indexhibit.org
cargocollective.com
www.wix.com


Social networking/ other sites to join:


memyart
tumblr
behance
flickr
Create a facebook page for my design work
Create a twitter account

In enterprise I've been looking at ways of promoting myself, so by the end of the year I intend to have created a bit of an identity for myself!

More Tutorials

I had to give up with the initial week of tutorials (see blog post) due to the workload for the last module but now I have a bit more time I want to get back into a habit of doing a tutorial everyday. I learnt a lot about software in the last module, so hopefully if I carry on by the end of the year I will be an expert!

Sunday 27/11/11  &  Monday 28/11/11

Illustrator - Stamp Tool   &  Glossy Button

I have found following tutorials for things that I don't need to know to be a bit of a waste of time at the moment as I am so busy. I am learning interesting things but if I do not need to put them in to my practice I am unlikely to remember them as there is no purpose. So I have decided not to put pressure on myself to keep following tutorials, but I now know how useful they can be, so whenever I'm stuck with something, I will look for a tutorial, or a youtube video to help me progress.

Re-branding

It's nearly time to start sending out CV's and trying to get placements, so I need to have a creative CV, business card & website that I am actually happy with first!

It seems like an exciting challenge to brand myself and there are many directions I can go with. I want to make it as true to myself as I can, and seen my main interest is in illustration I think this is where I should start.

Idea 1 - Griffin Bird

I've researched the mythical 'Griffin' bird, as I'd like to draw one for my logo.

Experimentation

Idea 2 - Create Own Font

Similar to a project we did right at the beginning of the first year, I'd like to create my own font, this time representing my own personality, hopefully giving clues about who I am as a designer. 

So now is the point where I think - do I make it as true to me as possible, or do I do something that I think will appeal to many? I don't really know what the answer is so many it will be best to do both then decide.

Here's something I wrote about myself when deciding on a topic for my 'what is good' in the summer:

Me

Graphic design, illustration, photography, sewing, baking, food, cooking, cakes, clothes, jewellery, fashion, wardrobe, shoes, bags, shopping, make-up, drawing, love, romance, disney, lie-ins, bed, sleeping, girlie girl, organised, creative, ambitious, neat, planning, optimistic, angelic, magazines, books, pattern, prints, homely, illustration, comfy, stressed, busy, purposeful, helping, hardworking, friends & family, wine, beer, cheesy music, stumble upon, doctor who, sci fi, chick flicks, hiking, camping, rock-climbing, scouts, guides, jamborees, geeky, religion, holidays, clever ideas, drinking tea, memories, crafts

Idea 3 - Illustration of Me

To make it as personal as possible I've thought about including an illustration of myself.

PPD... PGCE Research

After the various PPD tasks and tutorials I have been thinking about what I really want to do after finishing this course. I've been thinking about doing a PGCE, so I've done some research on this to ensure I know what it is about.

Training and Development Agency

Graduate Teach Training Registry

Questions to ask myself:
Art + Design or Design + Technology? = Art and design
Primary, Middle or Secondary? = Secondary (14-19) College age
Where? = LJM

Things to look at:

Speak to a teacher first, gain experience in a school
School Experience Programme; teach first

Why I would want to be a teacher:

The age I would want to teach (14-19 years) is an important stage in a young persons life deciding what they should choose to study at college/university, so it would be rewarding to help them with their decision. I also think young people at this age are more eager to learn, and it would be satisfying to help them with this.

I felt at this age I was unsure about what I wanted to study, as I really enjoyed graphic design, but I hadn't been taught that well about it, so I had to teach myself, which set me back a bit, especially started at university where everybody else seemed like experts. I would like to be a good teacher to ensure others don't have this problem, and are equipped with the skills they need.

I've been a Guide leader for a few years and have also enjoyed working with young people at the Scout Jamboree I attended this year. I also previously worked as a children's party entertainer. I know young people can be hard work but it would be rewarding to help them at this important stage of their lives.

Possible Choices. . . 

Well ideally I'd like to live at home so either Manchester, Liverpool or Edge Hill would be most convenient. 

LJM - Applied Art and Design

Edge Hill - Applied Art and Design

MMU - Art and Design

I think the Liverpool John Moore's or Edge Hill's Applied Art courses sound most like what I would want to do.

Step 1: Talk to a Teacher

- Talk to friends who are studying to be teachers

- Talk to my previous teachers

- Talk to people who I know are teachers

Step 2: Experience in School

Before I start thinking about applying for anything, I need to gain some experience. In everything I've read about PGCE's a factor to ensure you are accepted is having experience. I could ask about going back to my old High School or College and giving a talk about Graphic Design, or maybe even asking for some work experience for Easter or Summer holidays next year.

I am applying for job 'Mentoring/ Classroom Support Assistant' at Leeds College of Art. I need to write a paragraph which contains information about my experience and skills to help me get a placement or mentoring job. Whether or not I get this job, even the process of applying for it will be useful.

Update... I sent off a paragraph containing my information and have an interview for the job! Again, whether or not I get it all this preparation is useful.

The interview went well, however, there weren't placements available that fitted in with my limited hours of free time. Ill keep trying for something later on in the year.

Step 3: Open Days

The open days aren't til next year now, but its important that I attend them when I can, and read up all the provided information on the internet to make sure I know which course would be right for me.

End of Module Evaluation

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

Through this module I have learnt so much about designing for print, that I now feel confident as a designer for when I need to work with printers. I have learnt these skills from the seminars with Lorenzo, the software skills workshops, the books that I have read, as well as learning as I go along with my designs. I have applied these through my work, meaning that for the first time on this course, my work could be sent to a printer, and I have also demonstrated all that I know in my design for print manual.

I've also improved my software skills, in particular with Indesign and Illustrator. I previously felt like my lack of software skills were making me work slower than others, but now, through doing tutorials,  learning at software workshops and through the creation of my work for this module, I have challenged myself, and applied my new skills to my design.

The important of concept building is something I have developed through this module, and consequently, I think this is the best idea I've had so far on the course. I think I have applied these skills well, as I believe I have perfected my concept; I just would have liked more time to perfect my design work.

Ive learnt about the importance of hand drawn design developments, through the logo task. Producing so many different logo designs was a good way to eventually reach a logo that I was happy with. I have applied this skill to lots of my initial design work in the module, but nearer to the end, I began to panic about time, and rushed my design development, which in turn meant that I wasn’t as happy with the design as I know I could be. 

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

The research I have done has mainly been through the set tasks, looking at many examples of printed graphic design. It has made me a lot more aware of the print that is out there, and how the choice of finishes and stock and other factors really can enhance a piece of work. This has really made me think about what I would choose if printing the designs for this module at a printers.

Actually going on a print visit and seeing examples of the type of work I am aiming to produce has been a great inspiration and help, making me think about the choices I make.

I've also looked at designs relevant to my theme of guiding. For example, looking for the exact pantone colours used by Girlguiding UK has helped me to create designs which could fit in with what is out there.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalize on these?

As mentioned previously, I think my concept is strong because of all the development I did on this, so I will continue in future modules to make sure my concept is perfect, and that I understand it fully, before starting design work. This is something that has let me down in many previously modules so I’m happy that I’ve overcome this.

Continually asking for feedback on my work from other students, and tutors, as well as the amount of crits we have had has made sure that my work has been continually improving, so this is something that I will continue to do, as it has been a previous target I have set for myself.

Week by week evaluation of my work has been a strength to how I have work, ensuring that I keep thinking and reflecting, so that I don’t get stuck at a dead end, as I have with previous modules, so this is definitely something I will continue to do.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

Although I have learnt a lot, and produced a lot of content, I'm not happy with my final design for this module. This is because I felt rushed for time with all that I had to do, so they weren’t as developed as I would have liked. To address these fully next time, I will spend more time developing my design ideas, rather than rushing to create work for many different formats, as, quality is more important that quantity. 

Again, a similar problem to one I have recognized in previous modules, is that I haven't put everything that I have learnt to good use. I risk losing these new found skills, such as letterpress printing, if I don't put them to good use, so in future, I will link the new skills in to my design work. 

I think with this module I have done more work than with any of the modules last year, but with everything else going on at the same time like enterprise, PPD, and CTS, I have found time management really hard. This is something I am always working on, but I think I need to prioritize what is done when.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

-1- There is still more about print production that I want to learn. I went to Vernon Street to learn about letterpress printing, but would have also have liked to have learn how to laser cut. I would like to learn more about the possibilities of digital print, such as how to print stickers, and printing on to unusual stock. I think this could really help to enhance my work and make it more exciting. I would like to re-cap on workshops I had last year such as book binding to improve on my final presentation skills.

-2- Next time, I would focus on getting one format perfect before trying to cover lots of formats, to ensure that I had a design I was happy with.

-3-  I would like to improve my photography skills, and book out the photo room in future, to take better photographs of my final pieces, to improve the look of my presentation boards.

-4- I would like to make more time to research, maybe be continually looking at design blogs everyday for inspiration, rather than rushing with research. Making better links from my design context blog to my design practice blog is a target that I set for myself earlier that I haven’t manage to achieve yet.

-5- I would like to set more time aside for developing my designs, as this ‘playing’ about is the most  fun part, and so crucial, yet for some reason I have lacked with development on this module. I will greatly improve the look of my final pieces from doing this.

6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas
(5= excellent 4=very good 3=good 2=average 1=poor)
Attendance = 5
Punctuality = 4
Motivation = 2
Commitment = 3
Quantity of work produced = 3
Quality of work produced = 2
Contribution to the group = 4

OUGD201 Final Pieces

Information Pack

Final pages: issuu document

Final Book:

T-shirt designs

Proposed Final Pieces

Bag

Mailshot

Outside

Inside

Leaflet For Parents

OUGD201 Links

Here are links to the relevant blog posts for this module.

What is good?

Blog

What is design for print?

Manual Plan
Print Handbook Notes
Print Production Notes
Lorenzo's Seminar Notes
Colour for Print Links
Letterpress Printing
Final Print Manual

Research Tasks

Research Task 1
Research Task 2
Research Task 3
Research Task 4

Good Is...

What my good is...
Initial Concept
Initial Ideas
Concept Idea Development (Logos)
Identity and Branding (Development)
Identity and Branding (Nets)
Final Concept Sheets
Information Pack Development Designs
Information Pack Cover
Content for Information Pack Pages
Finalised Content for Information Pack
Other Formats
Print Finish Experiments

Final Pieces

Final Printed Pieces
Presentation Boards

Research

Girl Guiding UK
Existing Guide Designs Research
Logo Research
Stock Choices
Contextual References
Existing Product Research

Workshop Sessions

Software Workshop 1: Illustrator
Software Workshop 2: Photoshop
Software Workshop 3: InDesign
Software Workshop 4
Typography Workshop 1
Typography Workshop 2
Typography Workshop 3
Print Visit

PPD

Summer 'What is Good' Research Evaluation
Progress Evaluation
End of Module Evaluation
Final Pieces

PPD Action Plan

- Business cards need to be produced before applying for work placements. (Can print at college or look at Moo Online Printing)
- Create a CV, not a standard human resources one but a creative one. Look at creative CVs. Use a photograph of yourself to jog memory. Don't need to include all of your academic history and interests, but include relevant skills such as which software you can use.
- Create a contact list of professionals you want to get in touch with, and back it up so you don't lose it.
- Websites to look at: Core77, Design directory
- Build up relationships with professionals, arrange meetings at the studio (if possible) before asking for a placement.
- Think about how you would showcase what you do, for example, with an iPad, you can take your website around with you.
- Don't give in! Keep emailing, writing, ringing until you get a placement!

Enterprise Tutorial

Notes from group tutorial


- After christmas you will be preparing for your group presentation about your business plan. Pre-plan ahead where possible. You will choose your own groups and decide on your individual strengths. Marked on: - Research and analysis - Knowledge and understanding - Organisation of material - Clear Delivery
- Can include supporting material with the presentation such as flyer/ information pack
- Enterprise module is marked 50% on blog work and 50% on group work
- Keep re-reading the brief
- Who do you want to work for? E.g. Do you only want to work for environmentally friendly companies, such as innocent smoothies
- Send things out in manageable chunks, e.g. 5-10 mail shots at a time, as you won't be able to cope with all the responses if everyone replies
- You don't have to just send out work, be creative to get peoples attention
- Tailor make your portfolio to suit the needs of the company that you are presenting to
- Need to eventually find a good accountant


Action Plan

- Set up behance account, and join things such as twitter to market work. Stop putting it off, have confidence in my work!
- Get a business plan from different banks and get notes about business bank accounts
- Look at the recommended books: 'Principles of Marketing' and 'Funky Business' and the business link website.

Tutorial A Day

After my tutorial with Lorraine, she suggested that I try a new tutorial everyday to improve my software knowledge, as this was one of the main problems I have experienced this year so far. Here I can record what I learn to help me keep up with it, and I can look back on the tutorial when need be if there is a link.

Links

Lynda Tutorials

Illustrator Courses

InDesign

Photoshop

Other Websites

Illustrator

ndesign

tutsplus

smashingmagazine

spoongraphics

vectips

abduzeedo

bittbox

illustrationinfo

learnai

InDesign

adobe

layersmagazine

designm

Photoshop

photoshoptutorials

psd.tutsplus

photoshopstar

good-tutorials

photoshoplady

pslover

What I have learnt - Week One

Starting date


Friday 4/11/11

Free Transform

Experimenting creating shapes with the transform effect, and dragging it into the graphic styles palette to apply to other shapes

Saturday 5/11/11

Christmas Hat

Santa hat made my using gradients to colour paths, and fur with the roughen effect

Sunday 6/11/11

Vector Flower

Vector flower made with altering blending options.

Hint - alt + drag quicker than ctrl + paste

Monday 7/11/11

Swirl Effect Tutorial

Hint: Blend tool (w)

Creating swirls with shapes, change anchor point corners, twirl tool on circles, swirl paths 

Object, path, offset path for creating borders

Editing swirls with mesh tool

Week One Evaluation

I've learnt a lot already from these few tutorials, but I've had to put them on hold until after the module hand in, as I just don't have enough time to concentrate on them. I've learnt a lot about InDesign just through using it to create my publication for this module, so I think I will continue to do Illustrator tutorials, as I think this could be the most useful tool for the type of design I am interested in. 

Enterprise & Innovation... (Task 4 - Who else is out there - how good are they?)

Task

Based on the principles that have been introduced in lecture 4 of the Enterprise module and your responses to the previous tasks, evaluate the Strengths and Weaknesses of three practitioners or design agencies as objectively as you can. What opportunities for your own practice have revealed themselves to you as a result of this analysis and evaluation? Do not use subjective language or make unfounded comments about other people’s businesses. It is essential that you make references to SWOT and evaluate its usefulness as an analysis or evaluation tool. In responding to this task you will need to consider the following questions: Who am I competing against? What do they offer? What makes me better? What makes me different?

The results of your research should be posted to your Enterprise blog. and summarised by a 250 word statement/evaluation. You should am to illustrate your opinions with relevant examples of contemporary design practice. Answer As at the moment we are working as a group business, setting up our own branding and identity company in Leeds, I thought it would be useful to answer this task for the group, looking at who our competitors are. I thought I would start off by doing the Pest and 4P's on our business first, so I had clearly defined who we are as a company and what affects us. Re: Ltd 4 P'S P - Product - The service they offer / work they produce Our service is a branding and identity graphic design company, focusing on re-branding and reviving older companies whose identity is in need of a refresh.  P - Price Our package for a new logo will be about £400. We aim to be as cheap as we can at first, to gain a good customer base, and we understand that we won't make much money, and have prepared for this. We need to each charge £15 each an hour to ensure that we can pay our salaries and our overhead costs. P - Place - Sales environment We will be based in Leeds City Centre, at the Unit, in a virtual office. This is beneficial as we get a great business address is a professional building, with good facilities and is close to the train station, but it keeps the price down, as we are hotdesking rather than staying there permanently. When we are established and have enough money, we will be able to hire a space. P - Promotion - Marketing / value proposition As a branding and identity company we believe we are experts in promotion. We will create an identity for ourselves, then follow the methods from the marketing communication checklist to promote ourselves. PEST P - Political  Have to be law abiding citizens and pay for expensive licences, tax, VAT and other things, meaning that our services may end up being more expensive - but this is a problem for everyone E - Economical It will be hard for us to start up as there aren't any grants available and it will be difficult for us to get a loan, so to get ensure we get business, we must charge the cheapest prices. This could work in our favour as we build a big customer base as we could be known for our value for money, and people are looking to cut back. People with their own businesses may be in need of more customers, so to do this, they will need our help to re-brand them to get them more business S - Social As seen with many examples around us, brands are always having to reinvent themselves to stay modern and to stay in touch with their customers, so this means that with our 'fresh' knowledge, there is an opportunity for us to create identities for older businesses T - Technological As design for screen is so popular at the moment, the customer may have their own business but not their own website, so they may want us to design an identity and a website for them so they can cover this area to promote themselves Design Agency 1 http://www.studiobellytimber.co.uk I have chosen to do the SWOT analysis on SBT as they are based at the Unit in Leeds, which is where we would like to base our business. They aren't a specialist branding and identity graphic design company, but they specialise in print. 4 P'S P - Product - The service they offer / work they produce Graphic designers specialising in print, with good relationships with printers to ensure customers get the best quality  P - Price Doesn't specify P - Place - Sales environment There location will be the same as ours, in The Unit P - Promotion - Marketing / value proposition Promote themselves on their website and through business cards, I found out about them through The Unit website. Found owners profile on LinkedIn, and he attends networking events around Leeds and studied at LCA, so may be a well known name PEST P - Political  Same as us E - Economical Has good relationships with printers so can get the customer better quality deals, this will attract customers who are looking to get lots of business cards printed so could be competition S - Social Committed to being eco friendly, may attract customers who this is an issue to T - Technological Using modern equipment, but not specialising in screen, with is a popular factor at the moment SWOT Strengths - Expertise in print - Relationship with printer means cheaper / higher quality prints - Staff with knowledge of: graphic design, photography, print management and copywriting - Well designed website (Designed by catalogue from LCA) - Contains testimonials saying how good they are to work with Weaknesses - Don't design for web so potentially losing customers - Doesn't specify prices - Not a specialist in a particular area - May need more promotion (hadn't heard of them before visiting The Unit website) - Website doesn't seem very personal, want to know more about the staff Opportunities - Customers wanting design for screen - Not specifying a price may put some customers off and may make us seem more attractive if we can offer a package deal - Opportunity for us to collaborate and bring our different skills together as we are in the same building - Customers like to know they are in safe hands so may come to us as we are specifically branding and identity - Our opportunity is that we are 'fresh' as we will have just graduated so may know more modern things Threats - Already designs for lots of local Leeds companies and things for the local council, so this may be a threat as this could be a large chunk of our potential customers gone - Can offer more than us in terms of print, such as we don't have any one specialising in photography - Already has a loyal customer base - Links with printers means they could print things like business cards cheaper - In the same building as us so could potential steal customers away from us Design Agency 2 http://www.thisispworks.com I found this graphic designer from a google search. I wanted to do the SWOT analysis on him as he is a freelance graphic designer rather than being part of a business, so I wanted to see how this would effect him being competition to us. He focuses on branding and identity. 4 P'S P - Product - The service they offer / work they produce Paul is a freelance graphic designer specialising in creative problem solving in particular branding and identity, so therefore, he is offering the same product as us P - Price Not sure of pricing, but it says on his website he offers free consultations (something I had thought about us doing as a business), and requires a deposit at the start of a job (a good idea for making sure you don't get ripped off). As a freelance graphic designer, he possibly won't be earning enough to charge VAT, which means that his prices as an individual may be cheaper than what a company would charge, meaning that he his more appealing to customers P - Place - Sales environment Doesn't contain an address so it suggests that he works at home, which is good to keep costs down, meaning that you don't have to charge customers for these costs, but some customers may not find this very professional and may want to meet the designer in their office  P - Promotion - Marketing / value proposition Paul comes up near the top when I did a google search, so it shows he has used google search optimisation. As a designer in branding and identity he probably knows a lot about promotion. Promotes himself on twitter PEST P - Political  Same as us E - Economical Provides cost effective graphic design, so he appeals to both large businesses and smaller ones without much money, as he tailors the job to what is being asked, which is good as no business wants to waste money in todays economical environment S - Social Working by himself may be a downfall as he won't be able to bounce ideas around with other people, people feel like they trust companies more T - Technological Seems to have good technical knowledge and be up to date, such as with his knowledge of search engine optimisation, so this could gain him more customers SWOT Strengths - Has worked in both print and web - Specialism in branding and identity, seems trustworthy - Also works with illustration - Works freelance, possibly working from home to cut costs - Website contains testimonials to show he is good to work with - Website seems personal by containing a picture and a detailed about me section, makes customers trust him - Seems to have knowledge in lots of areas of graphic design Weaknesses - Can't take on as much work as there is only one of him, so might miss out on opportunities - Most featured work seems to be quite commercial rather than creative and that might not appeal to some customers - Might be missing out on some skills that one of us has as theres only one of him Opportunities - Doesn't seem to have an address, so may lose out on customers due to this - If there are jobs available that he doesn't have time to take on they may come to us - List of clients doesn't seem to be that big or specific to Leeds so not necessarily taking on clients that could potentially be ours - As there are four of us, between us we will probably have skills that he doesn't have - Again, we will be recently graduated so our skills will be fresh - Work style seems quite different from ours so potential clients may come to us instead Threats - May charge less as he will have less charges to pay as a sole trader compared to a Ltd company - Already experienced, and seems to have a good knowledge of different areas of graphic design Design Agency 3 http://www.dsemotion.com Again, I found this company from a google search. I have chosen to do the SWOT analysis on them as they aren't just specifically branding and identity, they offer other services as well.   4 P'S P - Product - The service they offer / work they produce They offer many different services within graphic design and marketing,  P - Price It doesn't mention a price and with their expert knowledge and well known client base I think they are probably quite expensive, however, they do offer a free 1 hour consultation P - Place - Sales environment Located in a good address in Leeds, but also have a location in London. This could work two ways, gaining them more business, or put off smaller companies who want a local company P - Promotion - Marketing / value proposition Came up high on a google search so know about search engine optimisation, uses Facebook, twitter and Linked In to advertise company PEST P - Political  Same as us E - Economical Need to get business in today's economical environment and that is hard, so they off a free one hour consultation, however, they work for well known brands, so may able to charge more S - Social Are very modern, and keep up to date with what people want. T - Technological Seem to be experts on a number of different technical factors, which are all very relevant today. These are things that we don't really know anything about, such as mobile marketing, so if a company is looking for this then this puts this company ahead SWOT Strengths - Seem to know about just about everything to do with marketing and graphic design! - Has lots of experience - Already has a client base, with some well known businesses on it, and some clients they have had for ten years - Detailed blog containing lots of information, makes them seem like a reputable company Weaknesses - They are located in both Leeds and London, and I think smaller companies may feel more comfortable doing businesses with a local company - People tend to prefer with companies that specialise in something as they feel they can trust them - Aren't as 'fresh' as us - All staff are male - I think its good to have a mix to help balance - As there is a lot of information to take in on their website it might be a bit off putting, and a simpler website may be more effective Opportunities - If we can make our website really personal, I think this will make us seem more approachable and trustworthy and may help us to attract local companies - Our vision of ourselves as a company is quite different to theirs, so we may be what some customers are looking for - As we only specialise in one thing customers may see as us being more trustworthy Threats - They know much, much more than us about certain areas - Worked for local companies such as the Victoria Quarter - Very professional looking website and examples of work Opportunities for my own practice Who am I competing against? There are so many other graphic designers in Leeds that there will be a lot of competition for us, however, at the same time, there is quite a lot of demand today for graphic design. Therefore we need to promote our USP of being 'fresh' to help us gain business. What do they offer? While we aim to specialise in branding and identity, other companies offer everything and some specialise in different areas, however there are others that specialise in the same area. What makes me better? What makes me different? What makes us better is that we will be recently graduated from a well known and respected course at Leeds College of Art. Therefore our knowledge of graphic design is fresh and up to date and we know about branding and identity. We will also offer competitive pricing, and make sure our customers feel special, to keep them coming back. Summary I am happy that I have managed to link this task to what we are doing as a group business, because it makes it much more realistic actually having a company to compare to, and so has been really useful to us as a business. I realised how important it is to do SWOT analyses on your competitors, to help you to define what your USP is, and what will set you out from the others. It is also useful to help you think of other things you can offer as you realise your competitors don't offer them, and this is taking the most of an opportunity, as well as warning you about things that have already been done before. I think if I was really starting up this business I would need to do many more SWOT analyses, as there is so much competition, we need to make sure that what we think is unique to us isn't already being done by someone else. I think we would need to continue to use the method of SWOT analysis, as businesses are constantly changing, and as our business is about being fresh, we need to keep on top of the competition and make sure we are offering the 'freshest' branding and identity service around to make us better than our competitors. I think doing the 4 P's and the PEST analysis for our business at the start was also a good idea meaning that the comparisons between us and our competition could be accurate.