BA (Hons.) GRAPHIC DESIGN	LEVEL	05
Module Code	OUCE255
Module Title	ENTERPRISE

END OF MODULE SELF-EVALUATION

NAME

Simon Cherry

BLOG. ADDRESS

s-cherry1013-ie.blogspot.com

Before this module I found the idea of starting up a business extremely daunting. It felt as if I had to learn a whole different language. Words such as PEST and SWOT we're not in vocabulary previous this module. I had envied previous graduates such as Tom and Olly who went on to start up a very successful design agency named Catalogue but could never dream of me even going close to that territory.

But this module really opened my eyes to what can really happen post graduation. Some of the strengths in my work include thourough  research and contacting studios and agencies in a professional manner.  One of the crucial parts of being a graphic designer is that constant and professional contact with clients. Another crucial part of working as a professional graphic designer is the ability to work as a team. Although we were all very capable, we found ourselves not being committed to time schedules and action plans. This was basically down to poor time management and lack of contact. There were very brief moments where we kicked ourselves into gear and got tons of work completed. Our strengths as a group include allocating tasks for one another and thourough research . My personal strength would be the branding and deciding on the philosophy and ethos of the agency. This included USP and strong visuals.

Another weak point of the module was the presentation. The lack of visuals made it so the audience were losing interest and were overwhelmed by facts and figures. We also went over by a few minutes which let us down.

The main thing we should focus on in the future (if we were to carry on forward with "Fourth Wall") is our time management and making sure we had consistent

How would you grade yourself on the following areas: 

5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor

Attendance -5

Punctuality -4

Motivation - 4

Commitment -3

Quantity of work produced -3

Quality of work produced - 4

Contribution to group -3

Final business presentation.

Open publication - Free publishing - More enterprise

Our final slideshow for the presentation we gave on Tuesday. IN hindsight it's obvious that more visuals should've been included but I'm very happy with the groups thorough research to back the business up. Chris Lawson designed the layout of the presentation which I found personally odd as I had been given the job of branding and had wished for the identity, including the presentation to be consistent.

Final Business Card -

These are my final bsuiness card that I've designed for our agency. I'm really pleased with how they turned out. They were printed on mount board which communicates the strength of the agency. We plan to hand these out to Jane and Bridget on Tuesdays presentation.

MY PRESENTATION NOTES

These are the notes I'm currently rehearsing these by repeating them over and over again and also mock-presenting to housemates/friends.


Good Morning,


We are fourth wall and we are a design agency that focuses on branding on branding and identity for culture sectors in and around Leeds. This is our unique selling point (USP) for our clients. Because we are very specialist it gives us a competitive advantage over more general design studios.


We feel that having a niche will enable us to target clients in our chosen sector, which is still very broad and varied in itself.


We are located in the buzzing area of Holbeck, Leeds in a studio called Umbrella Creative, which believes in up and coming agencies like ourselves. We were really impressed with their low cost rent and inclusive bills which kept the overheads really low. We also loved the all white painted rooms which sent out a strong message of a blank canvas so we felt we could really put our own stamp on it.


Situated there are other creatives such as fine artists and photographers so there is potenetial for creative networking and collaboration.


We chose to be based in Leeds because it is considered to be the capital of the North (Yorkshire) and is central to big surrounding cities such as Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool which houses many of our potential clients.


The specific location of the studio is very convienient as it has very good transport links which ensures clients could easily visit us and vice versa.


We went into branding the agency with a strong yet minimal approach. As an agency dealing with a whole range of different and indiviudal clients, we strongly belive that the high quality work should speak for itself. We chose a strong simple sans serif typeface (nevis) and changed the "A" in wall to "4" . This effecivly communicates to our clients that we strongly beieve in simple creativity (clever ideas made simple) We chose to focus in on the number 4 as it became our very own lucky number for these reasons :

1. There are 4 of us
2. We are group 4
3. The studio room which we are based is "room 4"
4. We are called "Fourth Wall"

WE HAVE APPLIED OUR IDENTITY ACROSS A RANGE OF STATIONARY AND BUSINESS CARDS WHICH WE CAN BRING TO FUTURE NETWORKING EVENTS SUCH AS "WHAT THEY DO IN LEEDS"

Website/online presence

Here is the layout to our website. As you can see it holds the same simple and minimal approach as the business card and overall identity. Another reason behind this minimalist approach is so the website is user friendly and easy to navigate. From the screenshots below, you can see that we've included a blog which will run alongside the website. This is to further our online presence. This blog will contain any news for the agency but also inspiration. As designers, it's important we are up to date on current design trends. We are constantly looking at shapes, type and other elements of design to inspire our own design. This blog will showcase that.

Website designed for iPhone.

Our Target Market

 We aim to market our services mainly around the Leeds area, where we will be based, but will also look into designing for theatres and venues around Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool, Sheffield and York: all cultural cities that are relatively local to our headquarters.

Having done some research, the Leeds Arena is due to open in 2013, and will be yet another marketing possibility.

The Carriageworks is a theatre located next to the Millennium Square in Leeds. Although this area receives a substantial amount of attention from the public, The Carriageworks isn't blindingly obvious and is not marketed that well. We see this as a brilliant opportunity for business, and would be a perfect client for us to work for.

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Here are potential venues in the cities that we have researched into:

Manchester
Palace Theatre // Opera House // Lowry Theatre // MEN Arena // Apollo // Band On The Wall // Stockport Plaza // Oldham Coliseum // Pyramid & Parr Hall // Bridgewater Hall // RNCM, Royal Exchange // Library Theatre // Contact Theatre // Dancehouse // 02 Academy // HMV Ritz // Waterside Arts Centre // Bolton Octagon // King George's Hall

Leeds
City Varieties Music Hall // West Yorkshire Playhouse // The Carriageworks // Leeds Grand Theatre & Opera House // 02 Academy // The Cockpit // Leeds Arena

Newcastle
Metroradio // City Hall // The Sage // Northern Stage // Theatre Royal // The Journal Tyne Theatre // The People's Theatre // The Hyena Comedy Cafe // Live Theatre // Little Theatre

Liverpool
Echo Arena // Empire // Everyman Theatre // Pacific Roads Art Centre // Philharmonic Hall // Playhouse // Royal Court Theatre // St. Georges Hall // Unity Theatre

York
Pilot Theatre // Grand Opera House // York Theatre Royal // Friargate Theatre

Sheffield
Sheffield Arena // Sheffield City Hall // Lyceum Arena // Library Theatre // Crucible Theatre

Derby
Guildhall Theatre // Derby Playhouse // Assembly Rooms

Nottingham
Royal Concert Hall // Theatre Royal // Trent FM Arena // Nottingham Arts Theatre // Nottingham Playhouse // Lace Market Theatre // Bonington Theatre // Albert Hall // Rock City // The Studio Theatre

http://www.theatresonline.com/find-a-theatre.html

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Our Potential Competitors

http://www.sumodesign.co.uk/home.html
http://www.hoohaadesign.co.uk/
http://www.johngood.com/index.asp
http://www.scarlet-design.co.uk/

Agencies in Leeds

http://www.punch-creative.co.uk/
http://www.odd.co.uk/pages/home
http://www.icmcreative.co.uk/
http://www.designbomb.co.uk/

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SUMO

Strengths
Professional website, well laid out.
A back history of clients
Respectable, built up a reputation
Not much high-end competition

Weaknesses
A jack of all trades within the culture sector, not being an expert on one

Opportunities
Ability to collaborate with other prestigious companies

Threats
Competition from smaller, less expensive companies
Recession

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John Good

Strengths
Work for a lot of clients
Very specific - mass appeal for theatres
Located in the centre of the country
Nationwide appeal

Weaknesses
Website isn't as well designed

Opportunities
Repeated seasonal work through pantomimes and plays.
Collaboration work with other companies

Threats
Competition from local, cheaper companies
Recession

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Scarlet

Strengths
Established 18 years ago, industry experienced.
Specific part of the culture sector
Website aesthetically similar to the services they offer

Weaknesses
Located in the corner of the country - not much opportunity to spread

Opportunities
Regular customers located in the south-west part of the UK.
Expand to Ireland and Southern Wales

Threats
Recession
Not enough chance to develop due to limited customers

Business card

Final business card design.
The overall identity if very minimal and simple with a touch of colour.
We want the stationary and everything that the logo is going to be applied on, to be consistant.