PPD Task Three: Creative CV Part 2 - Who I Will Send My CV to?

After searching for graphic design companies in the North West, here is the selection that I would like to visit, so will be contacting with my CV. I have chosen these companies because I like their design work and because I think I could learn something from visiting them. I have also had to consider where I can actually get to on a budget! Here are the links to the websites:

http://www.holdenandsons.co.uk/contact

http://www.studiobellytimber.co.uk/contact/

http://tigerprint.typepad.com/tigerprint/contact-.html

http://www.ems-internet.co.uk/contact-us

http://www.thebeautifulmeme.com/

http://www.madebyanalogue.co.uk/

http://lemonzest.co.uk/contact-2/

http://www.ubercreativedesign.co.uk/contacttalk.html

http://www.supafrank.com/contact

http://www.totalitygcs.co.uk/contact/

http://www.englandagency.co.uk/contact

http://www.wearevapour.com/contact-us

http://www.creativestate.co.uk/contact/proposal-request/

http://the-branding-iron.co.uk/contact/

http://www.theconsult.com/contact/

http://www.odd.co.uk/pages/contact

http://www.brainstormdesign.co.uk/design-agency/about

http://www.pixelroom.net/index.html

http://www.turn-key.co/contact/

http://www.impressiondp.co.uk/contact/

http://www.elmwood.com/home/one-elmwood/out-home-in-leeds/

http://www.creativespark.co.uk/contact/

http://www.designbygrain.com/contact/

http://www.gloriouscreative.co.uk/contact

http://www.madebyshape.co.uk/contact-manchester-design-studio/

http://www.liquidsolution.co.uk/ [not creative placement but client thinking]

After I have contacted these people I will review who replied and what they said.

[see progress report]

PPD Task Three: Part 1 - What is a creative CV? [CV Design]

After researching creative CV's (blog post), I have begun to think about what will go on my own CV because it is nearly time for me to start applying for work experience placements. I've had a lot of advice about what to put on my CV and ideas through the enterprise sessions and PPD sessions with John, so now I need to create the content then I can think about the design, to create something which will stand out and represent me. I think this will go well with the re-branding I want to do for myself, to create an identity.

I liked the simpler CV's, with a panel showing an illustration or something to represent the designer, next to a simple layout of the required text. These CV's were on white backgrounds, and the way they were set out made them as easy to read as possible. This is similar to the things we learnt in our type sessions with Graham. I need to consider the hierarchy of information, so that my details are memorable. As I am more of an illustrative designer than one focusing on type or layout, it may seem strange to want to start with creating a simple CV, but I want it to look professional and serious, and through my research of other creative CV's I think this is the best idea for getting ahead.

I think I will also try creating a more decorative CV, as this may represent my skills more accurately. I don't want to just rush in with my first idea as this creative CV is such an important thing as I am looking for work experience and will eventually be looking for a job.

Ideas for a CV:

Use the same branding as I have used on my blog and my business cards, create my own envelopes and laser cut these, create stickers to seal the envelopes, create a bellyband to put around the paper?

View my creative CV research

Here is a basic grid template I have created using the banner I created. Based on the plans we figured out about what should be in a creative CV, I will write and arrange this content, and then see if this design works or if I should change it. Before I decide my CV is final, I will continue to ask others for feedback so I can keep improving it.

I'm finding it really hard fitting all the information on to one page with the banner as well! It looks like far too much and doesn't do anything special to draw attention.

New Idea

Creating a one sided type based CV with patterned logo belly band printed on to tracing paper wrapped around. 

The other side of the CV would just have my name and contact details to allow the belly band to stand out.

I felt really stuck and unhappy with my CV so I showed in to Jane and this is what we discussed:

Content for CV:

1. contact details and name

2. education and qualifications

3. work experience (relevant to graphic design)

4. employment

5. skills & interests

6. personal profile

7. referees x 2

The CV won't work if all one page, needs to be two sided to allow for an organised layout of the information

After printing my CV out A4, I realised that the text was massive, but although I thought the CV wouldn't work as one A4 page, I thought two A5 pages could work well, so started on arranging the information on to two pages.

I came up with this banner which could be at the top of each page. Using the logo instead of the massive banner on the top of the page stops the CV from looking too much, and also relates to the stickers I have printed of the logo.

I kept playing around until I eventually came up with a style that I liked. I decided to keep the banner the same on both pages so my name and logo is clearly visible. I printed it at home to test the colours before I printed at college. This size folds perfectly in half to fit in a C6 envelope, and to wrap the bellyband around, fastened by the stickers of my logo I printed.

I realised that while the CV showed my branding, it didn't really give a lot of information about my actual work. So I put together two A5 pages with a few examples of my favourite pieces of work, which fit in with the style of the rest of the CV.

FINAL CV PDF//


It took ages to design but I'm really happy with the final CV and just hope it works. I think the fact I am sending it through the post will get more attention!

View Final Printed CV.

Content for Creative CV

Task

Finding out the content you have and need for your CV. Write a list of:
- 5 facts
- 5 statements about yourself
- 5 practical skills
- 5 creative skills
- 5 personal qualities to promote

Also, what evidence/examples would you include to prove it?
Clarify your contact details, as you need a professional identity.

5 Facts

- Name
- Contact details
- Work experience
- Education / qualifications
- Design organisations I belong to

Practical Skills

- Writing skills
- Idea driven
- Communication
- Organisation
- Evaluation

Creative Skills

- Software skills
- Image driven
- Hand drawn
- Digital
- Print


Personal Skills

- Motivated
- Hard-working / Determined
- Always wanting to improve
- Enthusiastic
- Reliable


Statements 

- I am a problem solver who enjoys generating ideas and thinking of clever concepts
- I am good at working in teams, having recently worked on creating a business with three other people
- I am a print based designer specialising in image
- I am always looking to learn more and improve my skills
- In the future I want to collaborate with others with different skills to me

After thinking of these statements I now have the basic content for when I need to make my CV.

Could include: studio visits; artists book fair; live briefs; competitions; member of creative organisations; freelance work; collaborations; professional research; shows/talks you've attended

The CV is a piece of work in itself, needs to work digitally and as a pdf

PPD Workshop: Industrial Experience & Professional Research

Today we have kicked off the PPD work for this term with a workshop. In the coming weeks we will be learning about creating a package to promote ourselves, including: creative cv; mailshots and branding; online presence; website (dreamweaver sessions), as well as choosing work to send out. For over the summer, we need to either find somewhere where we can do a placement or visit different studios to learn more about them.

Working in groups of six, we started out by writing ten things that we thought were industrial experience and ten things which we thought were professional research.

Industrial Experience

- studio visits - going
- competitions
- live briefs
- freelance work
- shadowing someone
- portfolio reviews
- setting up a business
- sending a print job
- internships
- networking

Professional Research

- studio visits - research
- networking
- studio talks / visiting professionals
- events - print festival etc
- graphic design exhibitions
- magazines / websites / library resources
- visit to printers
- college lectures
- how others promote themselves
- look at competitors using SWOT analysis

After this we discussed what we had all written - it is not industrial experience til you're out there doing it, outside of college.

Our second set of lists are about the concerns and problems for both of these.

Industrial Experience

Problems

- am I good enough?
- where do I start?
- what if nobody wants me?
- affordability of travel
- tone of voice
- a lot of competition

Opportunities

- enter live/competition briefs
- work out areas of interest
- look at stuff that is available
- look back over dc blog
- work out where you can afford to go

Professional Research

Problems

- where do you look?
- how do you network?
- who do you network with?
- having the time to look effectively
- am I looking at the right thing?

Opportunities

- lots to look at
- create a social presence online
- find exhibitions to attend
- look for new studios
- look back at who we have looked at already

The third set of lists is about things we will gain from professional research and studio visits, and then ten things we will put in a creative CV.

Ten things we will gain from studio visits 

- professional contacts and networking
- an insight into companies
- an insight into the design practice and whether or not its suited to you
- a realistic view of the working practice and studio environment
- potential to gain an industrial placement
- potential to gain portfolio
- encouragement to plan for your future
- chance to visit new places - location as well as the studio and whether it would be suited to your life post graduation

Ten things we will gain from professional research

- gives you a better understanding / idea of what you want to do
- makes you aware of whats going on in the industry
- inspires your own practice
- find out the expectations of the industry
- makes you more aware of life after uni
- can find out about other areas of the industry such as photography
- can search for companies you'd like to work for
- can gain industrial contacts
- visiting exhibitions makes you more culturally aware
- encourages you to plan for the future

Ten things we would put in a creative CV

- work experience
- ambitions
- contact details
- skill set (software etc)
- personal interests
- about me
- reflect your design approach
- what you could offer the specific studio
- references
- work availability
- qualifications

After this workshop, we will start to think about making our creative CV.

Business Cards

This is an initial business card I created based on the banner design for my blog which was made from a pattern created for my image book, but I have continued to edit it with small changes.

Here you can see some business card ideas from last year. 

Favourite Design:

Feedback:

- The font size is too small, needs to be pt size 8 to be readable

- Pattern works well

- Good font choice

- Create a more professional email address

- Think about what you can put on the back

Here is the new business card after my feedback:

More Feedback: (From John)

- Don't put a link to the course blog

- Put a link to tumblr website instead

- Include mobile phone number

- Suggests you are a pattern designer

- Keep the back blank for writing notes to give to someone or if they have it and want to write notes about you

- Be careful the text doesn't get too close to the edge

- Make sure the claudia griffin title will work in b&w in case it gets photocopied, faxed etc...

Here is the updated business card:

I spent ages altering the kerning size and the pt size as I wanted to make sure the text was in line with the pattern, it was also hard as there was more information to add on with my phone number.

Where will I print it?

Tried printing it on moo.com and the blend mode didn't work for some reason, and I also realised that some of the design was outside the safe area! So again I had to spend ages playing around, and worked out that the image would work with the blend mode when it was saved as a PNG but not as a PDF. 

After many attempts of uploading the image, I finally got it so the important information was in the safe area and so everything was aligned. 

Here is the print proof you get from moo, which I thought was helpful. I printed this off and cut out the template to check everything was right.

I have ordered them on green paper as its environmentally friendly and easier to write on, and I have added a blue background just to test out what it will look like. I want to make sure it is easy to write on the back and that the text can be seen, as this is something John pointed out to me that people like to do. If the blue doesn't look right when my samples arrive, I will just keep it blank.

Here I have just printed out the proof as an example, and tried writing on the back to see if it shows up. I'm a bit unsure whether the blue is a bit overpowering or not!

I've ordered a luxe paper sample kit from moo, to help me to decide whether to order my business cards with a finishing effect when it comes to bulk ordering a quantity. I decided just to play about with a few tools of my own to see what these subtle touches could look like, from embossing, to foiling to die cutting. To decide whether or not I will add an effect to my business card, I'll wait to see what the sample pack is like, then work out whether it would be worth it with the additional costs and if the design actually needs it. I'm excited to get my business cards so I can start sending them out!

Samples from Moo

Normal business card sample kit

Luxe business card sample kit

Here are my ten free samples. 

Digitally Printed

I was a bit stuck about whether to have the background with the blue drop colour on it, or to keep it white. After experimenting with printing both out, I have decided to keep the background white, as it seems to make more sense as the front has a white back ground. It will also make it easier to write on. For now, I have decided to print my business cards in digital print, on white card, as while it means cutting them all out, it is a lot cheaper.