OUGD502 - Networking: DigitaLeeds

This was by far the most successful event to date, and I was so happy afterwards! Felt like I was actually getting somewhere, and my hard work is paying of.

Me and Sarah went, and at first we were really nervous and felt awkward as everyone was talking to each other and we didn't know anybody. However, we soon found Matt, who we met at Forefront and went to LCA. We got talking to him, and he introduced us to his workfriends. He also encouraged us to mingle. 

We then spotted someone else who went to LCA called Luke, and started speaking to him. He was giving us some really good advice, and made us feel really positive about graduating and getting a job. He then introduced us to the creative director of his company - twentysix digital!! This is a company I had stalked prior to going to any of these events and really wanted to talk to someone from there as I liked the look of their company. So I got talking to him and a senior designer and that was really interesting. I gave Luke my card and he said he'd look at my work, and also said that they are looking for placement people and to ask the creative director for one. But I felt a bit too nervous for this just yet. He then introduced me to another guy, who recruits digital people for digital agencies. He told me he worked for Orchard - this clicked in my head, as I remember these are who sponsored Hey!Stacs free bar, so I started talking about that, and we got on really well actually. I asked for his card. We got talking to a few more people, and then one of the guys who offered Matt a job last week came in and said he recognised me. I said I was at Forefront and that I remembered him and where he worked and got talking about that. I had done a little stalk of his companies website after last week, so I had a lot to say to him about that and his company. He gave us some really good advice, and said that he is more likely to hire someone who comes to these events cause it shows enthusiasm over someone who doesn't, and that he doesn't care about what degree you have as long as your portfolio is strong. He also said that it is more valuable to be a brilliant designer than a coder as these are harder to come by, and get paid more. I didn't expect this, but that is encouraging too.

Overall, I loved this event and I can't wait to go to more now!! This is held once every two months.

Then, the next morning I got an email from Luke saying that he thought my work was strong and could give me some feedback if I wanted, and also sent my Behance to the creative director!! This isn't something I wasn't expecting and was so happy. I replied saying I would be grateful for any feedback, it was great to meet him and the creative director and thanks for the advice.

OUGD502 - Networking: Forefront

This event was the week after Hey!Stac and I knew that some of the same people was going to be here that was there so I knew I would have a couple of people to talk to.
The talks themselves were really interesting, but aimed at front end developers so I didn't have much of a clue what they were talking about. Made me want to learn more about the topics though.

I think I was more comfortable at this one even though I didn't know anything about the talks and I think me and Sarah were the only students there. 
Between talks I met a new person who actually went to LCA, so we had a lot to talk about, and he told me about where he works as a developer which sounded AMAZING. It was really encouraging to hear he got a job after three months of graduating, and only started learning how to code in 3rd year. Especially after he told me the perks of his job, which sounded really cool. He said he was going to be at the next DigitaLeeds so at least if I go there that is another person to talk to. He also got offered a job by two people from another company in Leeds based on his enthusiasm in the debate after one of the talks, which was so surreal. This made me really excited about going to these events and getting myself out there, because my hard work and dedication could get noticed, and is the kind of things employers value which I thought was amazing. I also introduced myself to the men who offered the job.
I also saw someone who was at Hey!Stac so got another chance to speak to him about the talks and I thought this was valuable because I know I am starting to build a base of contacts who have really interesting things to say.
I then got talking to another guy who is a developer just outside of Leeds, and he started following me on Twitter that night and tweeted me saying it was nice to meet me. I gave him my card too.

I also spoke to Russell again, who was the final speaker at Hey!Stac, and ran Forefront, so this is another contact I have started to make. I feel like if I get more comfortable with people and get to know them better, I will feel more at ease asking about placements.

Overall, this was a great event and I met more people this time and gave out 3 cards which is better than the last event! I can't wait for DigitaLeeds now.

OUGD502 - Networking: Hey!Stac

This was the first event that I went to, and I was really excited/nervous about the prospect. I took cards that I prepared, and planned to speak to people after the talks. 
The talks were really interesting, and there was a big turn out of people. After the talk, I went up to the last speaker and spoke to him about his talk (about kicking the Photoshop habit in web design) and actually found it really easy. He had some good advice, and I think that I managed to make some good points. He then followed me on Twitter on his agency account which is good because he knows who I am now. In future events I might ask him about a placement, but I know there is only two people who work at his agency so I don't know if this will be possible.

One of the guys who ran the event then came up and spoke to me, and we got talking which was good and I told him a bit about me and why I was there. I also gave him my business card.

I then spoke to the first speaker of the event, and that was really good speaking to him as he worked at Mixd and was part of the Work In The Web event. I told him I was gutted I couldn't go and he gave me some good advice. He said it was good to come to these events early and he got his job through these events. He also told me about DigitaLeeds which is where developers and designers meet up at a pub where there isn't actually a talk, it's just for networking.

After the event I followed a couple people on Twitter, and did a couple of tweets about the event.

Overall, I was very pleased about the event. Although I only gave out one card, it was a big step for me talking to people as I get really nervous about that, but it actually turned out to be really easy. I think what made it easier was that the speakers themselves were nervous, and they were all dressed really casually and made me feel more comfortable and remember that they are just human as well.

OUGD502 - Networking: Own Business Cards

As I am going to two web design events this week with speakers from the industry, I wanted to have my own business cards ready.

Although I wanted the business cards to look good, I have limited time and money so I can't add any nice printing finishes such as letterpress. 
I was thinking about screenprinting and embossing as these are two things I can do myself, but 1. I can't find any nice thick stock apart from mountboard, and 2. I need the cards to be registered in line and for them to be trimmed completely straight. Two things that might not happen if I do them myself.

I ordered some stock from Ebay, which is 350gsm and pre-cut into business card size so I don't have to worry about cutting them myself which was my main concern. For printing, I can screenprint no problem.
However, when it came it was coated and didn't have the right texture. It's too smooth and I want a more textured finish. Also, 350gsm isn't as thick as I had hoped.

I then came across moo.com which does superthick (700gsm) business cards on high quality paper, which is exactly what I want. Plus they had a 25% sale on, and when I quoted what I wanted it wasn't expensive at all!

However, the catch was the delivery time. Even the rush pricing was 6 business days, and the shipping price shot up a lot too. I needed them in 3 days so this wasn't an option. However, now I know about it I could use them in the future.

I then came across printed.com. They do business cards, and let you choose a lot of different options for printing digitally. They have the choice of recycled card at 350gsm which I think would be better than the stock I ordered from Ebay because it is uncoated.

These are some of the options you can choose.

And the quote I got - so cheap!! 

To make things even better, the turn around you can get is very fast, so this is the perfect option for me.

I ordered my cards of here in the end, and if they look as cheap as they are, I will still have time to screenprint before the event.

Here is the design for the front of my card. I wasn't sure what to title myself as, but I have produced a live website, done a web design placement and designed a lot of websites so I thought it was appropriate to use web design. I was just worried about using this as the people going to the events are obviously professionals. I also put graphic because that's what I study and I'm not limited to web. I also included my Twitter name because everyone uses it and it is a more informal way to get to know me.

I created a custom typeface for my name to act as a logo, and it is fine just for this week. I will do a better job when we self branding later on in the year.

OUGD502 - Networking: Work In The Web

Work In The Web

I was on Twitter and saw a tweet to a web designer I follow about something called Work In The Web. I went on their Twitter, and realised it's a 3 day workshop based in Harrogate which teaches you all about web design - right up my street! But I then realised the deadline for submission had already past. I am absolutely gutted, as it would have been a great opportunity, so I tweeted them asking if they are going to have anymore throughout the year.

I then read further on the website, and saw that the day before the workshop, there is a free event in Leeds with talks from local web professionals and a chance for networking! So I am definitely going to go to this, and will hopefully be able to get some contacts. I will make some business cards and get them professionally printed in preparation for this. 

Hey!Stac who are running the event favourited one of my tweets to workintheweb, and started following me on Twitter.

ForeFront
I then came across another event the next day while on the workintheweb's Twitter! This is based at Brewery Tap in Leeds, and is at the end of January. There is going to be three talks with chance for a talk and coffee. I am definitely going to go to this.

I then registered for my tickets, and I'm going with my classmate Sarah.

It then listed the attendee's and I started to look at the people who were going on Twitter and seeing where they worked - this way I could do a bit of a background check on agencies and see if I would possibly want to do a placement anywhere, and just get a general look at what's here in Leeds.

I looked at Daniel Manton on Twitter, and looked at his website and saw he wrote some links to some blogs:

 I then saw he posted some local events. Most of them had already gone, but one caught my eye - code and coffee. This is because it is a regular occurrence and seems quite informal.

I clicked on the link and found a bit of info about it. It is held every wednesday morning at a cafe in Leeds where people code and get a coffee before they go to work. This seems like something I could at some point when I have a website to code to join in.

I went on their website and saw that it is at a place called Mrs Athas, and that there is actually meetings like this all over in the world in America, Sweden and France, not just this one in Leeds.

I then went back to look at the attendee's list, and looked for Alastair Hodgson. He works at a place called twentysix digital, so I had a look at them. 

 I looked on their websites, and saw that they had a big list of clients which was impressive, and that they have offices not only in Leeds, but New York and Singapore too!!!! It is a big dream of mine to work in Singapore so this has made me very excited to talk to Alastair at the event.

OUGD502 - Freelancing Talk

John gave a small talk on freelancing, and I wrote down a couple of notes:

Invoice

• Order number
• Date sent
• Reference no.

Do payments by bank transfer

Read terms and conditions

Copyright you work

If they don't pay you, email them saying you withhold your copyright and if they use your work you can take them to court 

By having an official order this indicates you're a business and a professional

Always talk by email because it is date and time stamped, and you both have a copy.

Even if you don't sign the contract, the first paycheck you receive indicates you have signed it.

OUGD502 - PPP2 Task 1

John asked us to answer these questions for our first PPP2 task.

1. Reflecting on your Summer what is your most memorable event and why?! !

For the whole of Summer I did a web design/development placement and had a job. The web placement was really useful, as although it was mainly self taught and I found it very challenging, it is a skill I want to further and become capable in. It has definitely influenced the kind of designer I want to be and what I want to focus on. I think that web is a really good thing to be interested in because there seems to be a lot of jobs and is advancing a lot. I never thought I was interested in it before this, but I now see how fun and intriguing it is. I think being able to code is a valuable skill as well, and I want to start learning about different web languages such as jQuery and PHP, as I only learnt about HTML5 and CSS.

I also worked over summer in the Pub I've worked in since I was 16, and it made me realise how glad I am to have a degree to go back to. I want to make sure I am a competent and skilled designer so I don't ever have to work there again, even in holidays - I would like to get into freelance work during these to earn money instead.

At the end of Summer just before I came back to uni I booked a last minute holiday to Barcelona with my best friend which I think was needed as I had worked so much over Summer. I loved everything about the city and I actually think it would be really great to work there as it has everything - city, beach, parks etc. 

2. Have you made any contacts over the Summer that you feel could be helpful over the coming year or so and what outcomes did you feel you achieved?! !

As I did the placement I have contacts there but I don't think I would go there again, due to it being quite small and learning most things myself. But when I mentioned I was doing a web design placement a few people said they did coding and would help me if I ever needed it which is good to know. I also live with four people who do a computing degree and do coding, so that is also useful because a couple of people have asked me to create a website for them and I can collaborate with my housemates to make this happen. I have been asked to do a photography portfolio website for a friend and one of my housemates has said he will help me code it and that was a good feeling because I know I can make doing what I enjoy happen imminently.

3. How did you meet/contact these contacts (methods used or how it happened)! !

My previous college tutor mentioned that I should email the owner of the web design agency as he usually takes on a couple of people for placements. I emailed him with some of my work and he told me to come in for a chat when I was back for Summer. Me and a friend who I went to college with did this and we both got taken on, and so it was good to do it with her. 

4. If you didn’t make any contacts, why? too busy working? holiday? commitments?! !

I didn't make many contacts, but I was so busy over Summer with work and the placement that I didn't feel the need to right then.

5. What methods of contacting creatives can you think of and what would you ask?

I would email or comment on their work on Behance etc, but I don't know what I'd ask right now. I don't really like sending emails and I worry about what I say too much so that is something to work on. Although for the Design for Print module I have messaged some creatives on Behance saying I like their work (monoprints) and asked them what techniques they've used and got a good response. 

Here are some questions I would like to ask:

• How would I go about getting a placement abroad?
• Have students done this previously in their second year?
• Where should I start looking to get a web design placement?