The Zoo!

 So I learned that being a graphic designer isn't all about working at a desk or in front of a computer. For one of my assignments I was asked to design a poster to advertise Dublin Zoo based on a certain group of animals and to do this my whole class had to take a trip to the zoo to take pictures. After I got over my disappointment of the zoo having no Koalas in it I decided to choose arctic/antarctic animals for my group because wolves and tigers are cool. I decided to see all the other animals first before going to my group of animals, this turned out to be a horrible decision because my camera didn't have much battery life.This whole experience taught me that I need to learn how to make better decisions. Also animals never stay still long enough for a good picture.

First Flash Animation Assignment

I was asked to create an interactive flash website to advertise the beer label I designed earlier in the year. I had never used flash before I started this course and when I did use it I learned it was possibly the most difficult to use program that I've encountered so far. Starting the assignment wasn't easy, I had forgotten how to do many things in flash and when I remembered them they'd end up breaking another part of the animation that I had actually remembered, but with a lot of help from my teacher I finished the assignment in time and I probably did a good job I think. Maybe.

Questions Answered by a Graphic Designer

For my first Professional Practise project I was asked to E-mail some questions to a graphic designer. I e-mailed someone who had only recently finished college so I was given insight into what it's like when you're just starting out.

What made you realise you wanted to pursue a career in graphic design?
Chance really, I had always been into drawing and things, I didn't really realise design was an option until I applied to art college and my port folio scored well in the design evaluation. I didn't want to do CD covers and posters and stuff which is why a lot of people pick design (and most of the people who picked design for that reason didn't make it through college). I had intended to do fine art but looking back now I see there was a practicality to my work and a clear interest in visual motifs, patterns and structures which were probably more suited to design.
 
What is your background? What types of degrees, skills, experiences are necessary for this field?

I have a H 2.1, which is a second class (basically I scored a B in my final year, as opposed to a first class which would mean I scored an A) honours degree in Visual Communication Design from IADT Dun Laoghaire. That's the degree, experience-wise design is so broad that a background in film making, any forms of visual arts practise, arts degrees, wood work, model making etc. are extremely helpful. Design is about the ideas you come up with, any kind of outside information or experience you can bring to a brief is very useful. Having said that I'd put a special emphasis on being good with working with your hands, mock-ups and cut and paste will help you come up with a much more developed idea every time than if you work solely on screen. You can always tell if a design was developed solely on screen, it'll look like a swanky ad for photoshop.

How did you get started in this field?

See above, but by chance. My brother an sister are both also designers and both had the same experience, applied to something else but scored better in design.

How long did it take for you to get your first job?

Since Ireland's not doing too well I've done only freelance stuff, but there's still a fair bit of design work out there, it depends how picky you are. There's jobs for snap and maintaining sites online and stuff. But not too long, most of my former class are in internships or working and the design industry is slowly growing in Ireland

What college courses have been most helpful for your career?

Well, I've only done the one, did my first pf at home on my own. So as far as design goes the course I did was pretty helpful!

    
Describe a typical workday and workweek. What do you do during a typical day?

Depending on where I am in a project each day is different. Generally it would be something like brainstorming / image making / copywriting or organising content / picking typeface, setting type etc. / finalising a design / contacting printers / making sure work is print ready and safe. It' very easy to procrastinate so I try set myself deadlines and work to them, often handy to do a half hour on tone thing and then move on to another.
    

List the most important skills that are needed for your job.
 For me it's probably having done technical drawing in secondary school. Since I like or designing packaging and working with it's really handy to be good measurements and enjoy being precise. Presentation is very important so well made prototypes are really important.
    

    Have you ever needed to work as part of a team?

    Yep, sure. Not in prof practise but in college. It can be tricky having to compromise an idea for a project to suit someone else so I'd prefer each person having a particular role, like they decide on the visuals, I set the type (or visa versa), consult and integrate both you visuals. And like any design you do that over and over and over again until you've explored each option and you have a robust design.

    
How many hours per week do you usually work?

Sometimes not very much, sometimes up to 25. But that's part time and freelance. In full time practise it would be forty plus, and you try not to take your work home but some people are more productive at night. Sometimes you eat, sleep, take the odd break to watch a Frasier and the rest of the time you work.

    
Could you give me examples of the type of projects that you have worked on?

Posters for a theatre, a brochure for Visual Arts Practise in IADT, an educational website for children on what caused the recession in Ireland.

Could you describe your work settings?

Like where? I work in my room. A quiet place is best I find, wouldn't normally listen to music.

What personal qualities do you think are necessary for someone to be successful in this occupation?

That's a tricky one, a lot of designers are extremely particular and tenacious which aren't good qualities to be a designer really because you need to deal with clients and take they're advice on board and stuff, which doesn't always fit in with you idea. You should be outgoing if possible, confident and have good people skills. Communication is obviously key so you need to be able to talk to your client and set them at ease.

What is you favourite part of the job?

It's a really cool job, you get to do what you like doing, making images, setting type, making videos and animations and after you see your work out in the public domain.

What is your least favourite?
   
You won't always like your briefs, they can be very boring or you can have asshole clients. You can get very stressed working to deadlines though so it's probably the stress.

First Corporate Identity Assignment

For my first corporate identity assignment I was asked to redesign the label for a real brand of beer and write a small report on it. I chose Coopers Brewery Original Pale Ale from the list I was given. I decided very early on that I'd keep the colour of the original label but make the design very Australian. I needed to create several different label designs before I could get to work on my final design, which ended up being shaped like a Koalas head. This assignment taught me more about creating something designed to appeal to certain groups.

First Digital Media in Art & Design Assignment

The first design assignment I was given asked me to create a new pattern design for the furniture company IKEA. I had to pick a theme and a target audience, so I picked a fantasy theme for a child's bedroom. I started by doing sketches of various ideas based on my choices, after I felt I had enough ideas on the page I picked my favourites and recreated them in Adobe Illustrator. After that was finished I picked my favourite design, a little blue monster, and changed it into a much more simple design, this allowed me to create many variations of the monster with different horns, colours and patterns. This assignment taught me a lot about using Illustrator.

First Thoughts

When I first decided that I wanted to do a graphic design course I really had no idea about the work involved. I had been interested in photoshop and drawing for years and I thought that was really all there was to it, then I find out there's about eight different subjects in the course with computer programs that I had never heard of before. It was a shock going in thinking I was just going to be making things like logos and posters in photoshop and then finding out I have to learn how to make websites, create flash animations and even write essays about the history of art, among other things. There are some parts of the course that I'm not very fond of but overall I'm really enjoying it so far.

 At least I'm getting to follow my dream of making silly pictures.

Introduction

Hi there.

My name is Keith Mooney and I am studying graphic design at the Bray Institute of Further Education(BIFE). I have made this blog to discuss various topics and maybe post my work. I hope you like Koalas.