The thought of leaving the instituted had really hit home over the summer period. I felt the time to put my practice under scrutiny was approaching. The question and title “who am I and what do I do?” brought forth the perfect opportunity to question and evaluate my status as Graphic Designer. This proved to be a refreshing endeavour and a necessity if I am to ensure I get as much out of the final year as possible.

The first step of reflection saw me navigate through previous portfolios and highlight areas of success and failure, focusing on what worked and what didn’t. Through this a mood board of work was generated, displaying positive and negative elements to previous pieces of work. Having time to step away and distance myself from my work aloud me to revisit past creations with a different perspective. Through this came the realization that certain things could of been done differently, produced a far more productive outcome.

BRIEF 01/ RESEARCH

WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I DO

Factual infoMy name is Callum Bowdler and my star sign is Pisces. I am currently 21 years old, born on February 28th 1991. My height is 6.2ft and I weigh 11.7 stone. I don’t have strong religious beliefs however if asked I would consider myself to be a Christian. My political opinion and faith lies with the Labour Party. I currently live in Epsom having moved here to study at UCA in 2009. I enrolled on the four year course, attending year 0. I’m the youngest chilled of three with two elder siblings, one of each gender. Interests

The inner working of the mind has always captivated me and I am extremely intrigued by Psychology. This being said it is however art and design that is by far my biggest passion. Mike Nelson’s “Coral Reef” and Francis Bacon’s “Study for Head of Lucian Freud” are among my favorite pieces of work. Construction and architecture is a hidden passion of mine, especially the work of Frank Gehry. In terms of graphic design it was the Bauhaus which captivated me in my earlier years.

The medium Through great consideration the chosen format to present my response to the brief is a short self-reflecting documentary. To be projected is a brief incite into who I am, alongside articulating a realistic appraisal of my positioning within the subject. Hopefully a sophisticated practical and conceptual language will be presented. Film is something that has eluded me for some time but has been a personal interest of mine. With a two-week time frame I felt this to be the perfect opportunity to work with a medium of interest.

The question What is the question I actually asking? Who am I? What am I about? What are my strengths and weaknesses? What do I like, who do I like, what don’t I like? Who inspires me? How have I got here, where do I hope to be and what do I want? Most importantly the question is asking me to reflect and consider where it is I am going. To achieve this I crudely started asking questions to myself with honest and direct responses. This helped determine the best possible way to put myself across in a short time frame that would only allow a brief summarization of “who am and what I do” to be presented.

My work Over the duration of the three years studying at the institute I believe the ability to obtain an autonomous work ethic has provided a strong foundation for majority of my work. I thoroughly enjoy working with briefs and strict guidelines that heavily involve the dictation of a client however; it is self-directed work that is my forte. I have a lot of ideas and I like to get them out there. These ideas can be adapted for different briefs but when given a true sense of freedom I feel they truly come alive.

AspirationsMy main aspiration has always been become an established designer/artist within the industry but most importantly build a portfolio I can look back on and be proud. I want my design to mean something and have longevity. One of the most important aspects of a successful carrier for me would be to meet people and have memories to look back on alongside my work.

My thoughtsAt this moment in time my thoughts are focused on the disaster of the second year. It was a personal and a practical implosion but an invaluable learning curve. I am excited for the future and for the first time in a while I have been able to enjoy my work and myself to. The third year is a breath of fresh air and even in the early stages it has proved to be far more direct and beneficial than the second year.

The short film was thoroughly thought out and used many connotations. The reference of alcohol established a change in maturity whilst the TV projected a sense of never losing our inner child no mater how old we are. A train was used to reflected the journey I took to becoming the person I am today. The balloon stating “the big date” was used to represent the near end of this chapter in my life. Towards

the end of the film I had in my hand an anemone flower, which means undying love. This used to state the passion I have for my practice. The film was shot with a cannon mark II to ensure sustainable quality through out.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

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SUBJECT/CONTEXT

Secondary forms of research such as books and the Internet provide excellent sources of information however I find primary encounters to be fundamentally more beneficial. A key focus of mine for this particular brief was primary investigations. This allowed me to get out into the world and communicate through conversation. Due to this I was able to obtain knowledge, advice and experience directly from individuals who are at the centre of the industry on a daily bases. This factor also allowed me to tailor my findings to a personal level, resulting in the answers to many of my to questions and anxieties.

The process and techniques of video interview has always intrigued me and been a personal interest of mine. It was this that persuaded me to conduct three video interviews with three separate individuals, allowing me to work within a medium of desire. The interviews provided three different perspectives on the realities of the design industry.

Interview Dan Ellis Orckid Design & Marketing

The first of three interviews was conducted with Dan Ellis, the Deputy Managing Director of Orckid Design & Marketing. Orckid is an established and respected design studio with over twenty years of experience. I personally felt this was an overwhelmingly beneficial encounter which produced an exquisite professional incite into the design industry. The response to each question was articulated with pure conviction. There was a level of knowledge projected in front of me that I believe only becomes plausible through years of involvement as a practicing designer.

Question 1How difficult is the process of securing new clientele and holding on to existing contracts?

Question 3In terms of graphic skills what are the most valuable to a studio such as yourselves?

Question 6What advice can you give to a graduating design student?

Question 5What is the hierarchy of a design studio?

Question 4On weekly bases how many projects do you balance?

Question 2What qualities do you look for in potential employees?

1

CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

uncertainty. One of the most rewarding aspects of the interview was gaining the perspective of a client. It also provided a perfect opportunity to obtain an insight into how restrictive corporate clientele can be. The multiplicity of aspects to consider when designing cetin pieces of work is greater than I previously considered and something I did not fully understand until conducting this interview. In terms of relevance the Marketing Coordinator deals directly with the design studio, they create briefs, sign off jobs and express any altercations needed with the design. It was a rewarding experience to get a incite into such an individual and also observe the relationship between a studio and client.

After the first interview with Orckid Design & Marketing’s Deputy Managing Director Dan Ellis, I was offered the opportunity to approach one of their clients to conduct a second interview. This led me to meeting Verbatim’s Marketing Coordinator Emma Darbon. Verbatim is a globule wide organization and considered to be the leading manufacture of digital goods. The entire graphic output and artwork of Verbatim’s products is exclusively contracted to Orckid Design & Marketing. The financial reward attached to securing exclusivity with a client was a key factor stressed to me, especially in times of financial

Interview Emma Darbon Verbatim

2

Question 1What is the overall outline of your job?

Question 3What are the Freedom & restrictions of corporate clientele?

Question 6Examples of time frames and deadlines you impose for your design work?

Question 5How does a studio keep relations between your selves and them strong?

Question 4Estimated annual financial expenditure of your design work?

Question 2How does a worldwide company such as yourselves delegate design work?

Question 7What advice can you give to a graduating design student?

CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

Interview Hyde Dun Post

The third and final interview involved talking to post graduate Hyde Dun. She has had successful transition from a student to employee. I gained direct advice regarding the realties of stepping out of education and into the working world. Although this interview has been presented as the third and final conversation it was actually the first interview conducted. Out of the three videos this interview provided an invaluable learning curve. An audio malfunction and lack of experience in conducting interviews resulted in 15 minutes of footage with no audio. Although I was disappointed with myself this mistake aloud me to be far better equipped for the next two interviews. I was able to rescue the responses to each question through a Dictaphone recording, brought as a last resort back up. The audio quality was left static and unprofessional however aloud me to at least hold onto what was said.

Answer to Question 1 The university experience is completely different to the reality of the working world. It is an excellent source of preparation for the reality of the design industry but is still a completely different experience.

Answer to Question 2 Each module ended with a formal presentation allowing me to develop the ability to present with confidence, which is a fundamental skill when trying to put ideas across to clients.

Answer to Question 3 The million dollar question, at the time I wouldn’t of got anywhere with out a degree. Everybody wants experience and to get experience you need a degree, so its like swings and roundabouts really.

Answer to Question 4 It would be lovely if it was free but it never will be, there is no financial burden attached to the money you pay back as monthly its barely recognisable. When you come to getting a mortgage, credit cards or even a loan it doesn’t affect you, if anything it helps.

Answer to Question 5 Defiantly the start of an exciting new chapter. Once you have your degree you should be immensely proud of your achievements but the degree is only the start, the hard work begins after.

Answer to Question 6 I would have managed my time differently. I found out what I didn’t want to do through having jobs I thought I would love. If I had carried out more work experience when I could of afforded to I would have been able to understand if a job was for me or not, all at a time where the was little financial responsibilities for myself.

Question 1Your opinion on the university experience in comparison to the working world?

Question 3Do you think you could of got where you are today with out attending university.

Question 6if you could go back in time and give your old self some advice what would it be?

Question 5Is graduating a daunting prospect or the start of an exciting new chapter?

Question 4Do you think the cost of further education is a viable investment or a financial burden?

Question 2In terms of skills what is the most valuable asset you took from university into your job.

3

Graduate

SUBJECT/CONTEXT JUNK MAIL

With three separate perspectives of industry established from the previous interviews, I started to consider alternative ways of generating direct information from those within the industry. This allowed a completely different composition to be created. I decided to use two conflicting mediums to hopefully establish multiple answers to one question. The digital age brought forward predictions of the demise in the physicality of design. The record cover,

the magazine, print, all predicted to be replaced by the digital product, however this has not yet been the case. This factor inspired me to create three separate designs that reflected visuals from “who am I and what I do”. The designs where presented as a postcard, with the question “how do we determine great design?” on the back. The design then asked for a response to be posted as a Tweet to@callumbowdler, which then further explained

the reason for the question. Each of the designs were professionally printed and sent to 14 different design studious and individuals. The 14 selected studios were generated through personal preference and came from the tutor’s direct feed, they also reflected the type of work I inspire to produce.

1.

Why Not Associates Limited22c Shepherdess WalkLondonN1 7LBUnited Kingdom

2.

NB Sstudio4–8 Emerson StreetLondonSE1 9DUUnited Kingdom

3.

SEA (Simon Evans Associates)4 Lansdowne RoadFalmouthCornwallTR11 4BEUnited Kingdom

4.

SPIN Studio33 Stannary StreetLondonSE11 4AAUnited Kingdom

9.

DNXHigh House FarmGomshall Lane ShereGuildford SurreyGU5 9BUUnited Kingdom

10.

Alphabetical6 Printing House Yard ShoreditchLondon E2 7PRUnited Kingdom

11.

Bibliothèque Design Ltd10–16 Scrutton StreetLondonEC2A 4RUUnited Kingdom

12

Luke HealyThe Old StationStaines, Middlesex,TW18 4BBUnited Kingdom

13.

Orckid Design & Marketing Ltd,The Old Station,Moor Lane,Staines,Middlesex,TW18 4BBUnited Kingdom

14.

Popcorn Studio1st Floor Neptune House68 Standard PlaceRivington StreetLondonEC2A 3BEUnited Kingdom

5.

Tomato14 Baltic StreetEast LondonEC1Y 0UJUnited Kingdom

6.

Neville BrodyRoyal College of ArtKensington GoreLondonSW7 2EUUnited Kingdom

7.

Williams Murray Hamm10 Dallington StreetLondonEC1V 0DBUnited Kingdom

8.

Very125 Great Suffolk StreetLondonSE1 1PQUnited Kingdom

The question this design puts forward is how do we determine great design? Who defines the criteria of great design, is it the audience or consumer in a commercial sense or perhaps its left for the client or maybe even the designer to decide? It could be dictated by how you view the purpose of design or simply just down to personal preference. In no manor am I stating these three designs fit the category to be considered great design, they maybe destine for the bin but the purpose of this design is to persuade an answer from someone. Whether you like it or not if generates an answer surly the design a success?

GREAT DESIGN

/ TWEET@callumbowdler

03 ACTION / RESEARCH The third year has put the thought of exiting the institute at the foreground of my mind. This deliberation has provided a strong focus on considering where my work sits within the design industry. It is a key focus of mine that the work produced for the FMP should be directed and tailored to reflect the direction I would like to take come the end of education..

produce a body of work that is professional and thoroughly thought out. This being my focus I believe the fundamental focal point and outcome for brief 3 is to test ideas. In the past I have undertaken ambitious projects that have fallen short of my original intention due to not considering all the factors that may be involved. I want to truly focus on testing the general ideas I have playing about in mind for the FMP. How far can the piece of wood bend before it snaps or can no longer reform its original shape? Failure at this moment in time is possibly the best form of success when considering future endeavours.

With great consideration my plans come the end of the third year will be to take a year out of education to gain experience in the work place. This should allow me to generate financial backing to go on to apply for an MA in fine art. For this I have considered respective establishments such as Goldsmiths & Chelsea. The FMP provides a perfect opportunity to

The why not Associates David King William Tucker Liam gillick Michael bolus

Gordon young

Lawrence Weiner Anthony Carao

I have set my sites on completing three projects for this final brief. Each of the assignments will act as test pieces for my final major project. Two of the projects will involve constructing physical objects; this led me to the examination of sculpture. Through this I was able to obtain a brief generalization of the subjects history. My findings brought forward the excellent work of Anthony Carao, a prominent ambassador for contemporary sculpture for half a century. Carao is considered to of inspired such

sculptors as David King, William Tucker and Michael bolus. It was this group of individuals who foraged ahead of the rest in the 60’s, going on to redefine the language of sculpture. The stereotypical perception of sculpture being stone and bronze sitting on a plinth had been redefined. Taking sculpture away form a plinth changed its interpretation and level of interaction. In terms of what I found most interesting about Carao was his comparison of sculpture to a piece of architecture. He has

a fascination with interior space and this led him to create a sculpture titled open secret. The piece of work opened up revealing a completely new space and was actually later referred to by Frank Gehry as a rightful piece of architecture itself. Sculp

/ itecture

The first piece of experimentation is the creation of Three-dimensional type. Much like sculpture transcending its stereotypical perception to form exciting new representations the possibilities and perception, function and form of type is also constantly evolving. The Why Not Associates have an array of examples of different ways type can be used and what materials can be used to make it, the comedy carpet as perfect mainstream example. The Why Not Associate explore the physical possibilities of type as well as its place in the digital realm, a particular favorite of mine is the nationwide print campaigns they produced for Smirnoff.

I hope to achieve a strong body of experimentation with type, focusing on different forms of representation. I want to avoid any form of reference or meaning and start by solely focusing on form. For this reason I have deliberately selected five individual letters to experiment with, instead of words. Part of my fmp will involve a large amount of three-dimensional type being used to generate words or even sentences. I focused on playing with shapes freely, which later created segments to then generate the design of each letter. Once the letters were constructed the addition of colour was implemented. Colour was assigned in this manner for the next step in the experimentation.

Project / Three Dimensions

1

With the emergence of 3D printing an infant number of possibilities have become apparent. This is a truly intriguing time and is opening many doors. The ability to master software or at least be able to illustrate a vision digitally is becoming ever more important and is a tool in its self. In order to establish the physical form of the each letter I generated three-dimensional representations of the designs. I look to explore the realm of 3d printing in the future however unfortunately the new 3d printer was not accessible in time for this project but would have been a brilliant platform for experimentation.

3D/ MODEL

Letter P - SurfaceSandpaper orange peel wallpaper eggshell

Letter S - Consumptionchocolate brand labels money packaging keypad

Letter T - Healthcondoms tablets fruit chips

Letter C - Lifeeggshell dead mice grass flowers

Letter X- AddictionPoker chips cigarettes facebook logo condom

Once each letter is constructed and is a physical object the experimentation will develop further. Each letter will be assigned a word to represent and then expresses the meaning of a word through physical appearance and texture. For example the word “beautiful” could be covered in a selection of materials or objects brought together to reflect it’s meaning. Conations of beauty could be such stereotypical things as flowers, colure, sand, butterflies and so on. These elements will be allocated to individual segments of each Three-dimensional letter which is illustrated using colour.

3D/ CONNOTATIONS

Each shaped segment was laser cut through 3mm thick plywood. They were then staked on top of one another and glued together to generate the depth intended for each letter. A solid letter was cut to the correct side, which then acted as a base for each segment to be glued to.

An array of interesting shapes was generated from laser cutting the multiple designs. It was stressed to me in conversation in a one to one tutorial to not solely focus on striving for a concept or the finished article but to play with what was around me. In the past I have been consumed by the idea of needing to get to the final outcome forgetting the importance of simply turning something on its head and looking at it from a different angle. This inspired me to begin playing with what I had in front of me focusing on challenging the original forms of each letter. I felt the images displayed on this spread represented some of the most interesting visuals to come from this experimentation.

PLAY/

Alongside challenging the original forms of each letter I felt it important to focus on abstraction and shape. Each design is made up of multiple segments of many different shapes and sizes. I wanted to use the off cuts to produce a series of layered shapes, again staying free and playful with ideas. I placed the segments on a light box snapping the changing forms on a regular bases, this provided a series of interesting outcomes.

/ PlayAbstract

Once each segment was glued together the letters were then finally able to be constructed and spray-painted accordingly. I felt this produced a strong ecstatic and helped highlight three-dimensional aspect of each letter. The idea was to almost make it appear that the letters had been dissect and pulled apart only to be reassembled in a completely different manor. The legs were now where the arms once sat and the arms where the legs should be. In my mind when I first considered each letter it was this notion that I visualized.

Finishing / Touches

Fin/al De/sign

The first of three representations for this series of type is now completed. To signify this I placed the design within the context of a white room indicating the possibility the design could feature on a wall or in a gallery space.

The next step of vigorous experimentation played with texture and background surfaces. I wanted to see how different backgrounds would react with the design and whether or not they changed the complexion of the overall ascetic. It was interesting altercation to the design adding an alternative representation than the intended original white background of a wall.

any further. The failure of this did how ever however inspire a new idea of using the successful modes to create edible type. Four different variations of liquids that formed as solid states when cooled were produced, jelly, water, chocolate and strawberry milkshake. This produced an alternative ascetic with interesting results.

I begun thinking how to start duplicating each letter I created in order to make the possibility of creating actual words a viable investment. Each letter roughly cost on average £10, which is not a large some of money if the letter can be used to create duplicates. The only possibility of this that I

could see working was to vacuum form the letters. Unfortunately the success rate was fifty/fifty due to the complex nature and depth of certain letters. This factor caused air bubbles to form as the acrylic rapped round the letter causing it to split. As this proved to be unreliable I decided to not purse it

Edible / Type

Each three of these letters have been assigned an individual word to represent and display it’s meaning through physical representations linked to the word. The P represents the word surface; this is conveyed through multiple different textures, T is the word health and S represents consumption. Out of all the experimentations this is the piece of work that pushes the boundaries of types perception the most. The intention was to produce representations for each letter however I personally felt the idea just didn’t work. The design is simply not pleasing to the eye and I feel the concept needs reevaluating. As this is the experimental phase I am pleased I realized the flaws now.

Connotations

This second and final project was by far the most beneficial piece of experimentation I could of asked for. It was a somewhat ambitious task but proved to be a brilliant platform to generate a complex piece of work with out the fear of catastrophic failure. I am however deeply frustrated with myself for creating a massive mistake which has resorted in me losing all my visuals of the experimental process, which demonstrated how I got to the final piece of work. Even more frustrating is the fact I threw away everything that I photographed under the elusion it was finished with. I can only do my best to now explain the process involved with creating this final piece of work.

Project / Life

2

This piece of sculpture was a direct test for multiple ideas regarding the fmp and has proven paramount to how I go about creating certain ideas for the final major project. I needed to test the infrastructure of acrylic tubing and created this design to ensure the ideas I have will work. I originally wanted to bend the tube to create curved edges for an abstract shape. Through a serious of tests melting different piping into the shape I intended proved to be far too difficult. I couldn’t find a suitable filler to ensure the tube kept its shape and the walls did not collapse. This resulted in me cutting angles into the 2meter long pipe to produce the final shape. Four separate pieces were cut and then welded together using liquid solvent cement and then left for three days. Once the piping became one object I applied a silicon aquarium sealant to ensure a watertight container. As this took multiple attempts to get right the photo had to be taken in a bath hence the white paper in the background covering the tiles. I did not let this put a negative on the end product as my sole goal was to successfully establish the knowledge of this form of construction to take forward to the fmp.

/Testing

The fish reacted to the container in an insightful manor, as I was able to establish that they would not venture up the vertical parts of the tank, so for future the shape has to be situated on a level bases. The most valuable asset to take from this experiment was the construction itself, which has proven to be the most valuable part of this entire brief.

At this moment in time my proposal for the final major project is very much going to be created over the Christmas period when I have time to truly reflect on this semester and conclude what is realistically possible. However at this moment the fmp is to be a body of work touching upon the dived I find my self in between art and design. One thing is finalized and that is the manor in which the final body of work will be presented which will be a interactive book exploring the two mediums of art and design.

In conclusion feel this semester has been truly beneficial and I believe I have tried to test my ideas as much as possible. I have however got my regrets and disappointments. It seems to be a recurring issue of trying to achieve to much forgetting the magnitude of a portfolio. This is something I must act on come next semester, I need to focus on time management.

Proposal /