I have really enjoyed this project because it has allowed us to interact with the outside world and get more of an idea of what briefs are like. It has allowed us to locate our work in an external context. There were a number of briefs for us to choose from that the course provided however, none of them were very Art Direction based. I decided that I would find a brief myself. I used information from a previous lecture and researched on different websites to find a brief that suited me. I researched on my own and found a project that fitted exactly what I wanted my brief to be and I touched on it in my last project. It is about try to look at having more diversity in the fashion industry when it comes to models: with size, gender, age and race. It is sponsored by the company 'All walks on the catwalk' and i-D. A company and magazine, which I really look up to and love the things they do. This project also had a deadline, which was the 15th of February, which meant I had to make my own time management and stick to it, as after this deadline you cannot submit any work. This added a bit more pressure which I felt was good for me. I made a clear timetable of when I had to have certain part done by because I wanted to two of the brief in the same competition one, which was photography, and the other, which was a zine.
I also wanted to show in both my projects my skills that have developed in Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. I used mainly InDesign and Photoshop with the making of my zine. However, I used Photoshop and Illustrator for the making of my four photographic images. The fact that the brief is quite short and not very detailed means there are many things you can do, however it also means that you need to make sure you are still fulfilling the brief. I was very conscious of this and made sure that my projects developed by still staying true to the brief. I had to critically analyse my own work and realise what did work and what did not. I had to make these decisions fast as I had the issue of time and wanting everything to be of a high standard not just doing something in the end because it was all I could do in that time.
One of the key elements to the project was the fact that it had an outside context and our tutors wanted us to make contact in the outside world. Will do this project I was also look for internships during this summer, I applied for one of the jobs at Conde Nast because did not get it. I knew it was very competitive but I thought I might as well try. I know from doing this project though that I would like to get an internship in a magazine or be a photographer’s assistant. I have not developed my contacts in the outside world as much as I should have. However, I have made many copies of my zine; I want to try to see if I can sell them to shops in the northern quarter or even cafes. I would like to develop my zine into have more issues, I have already started to plan the next one. I am also going to continue looking for internship that I feel I would really benefit from, from the month of May. I am also going to try to visit some Art direction companies while on our New York trip and see if I could maybe even get some experience there.
This whole project has been a real learning curve, I have thought about possible areas I would to go into. Realising that having technical skills in Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator is key to making it in the industry now. That you really need to get your brand/ self out there as much as you can via social media or going around and trying to present people with you brand and why it would be right for them. The focus of this project was the context, which is good because that is what it is like in the outside world. I very pleased with both of my project outcomes and would like to think that they will be considered to win the competition but this is the downfall to competitions you have no idea of how many people you are up against or their skills, which makes it even more daunting.
