ISTD tips and advice, video version

How to get an ISTD accreditation

So this year I managed to get myself an ISTD accreditation which I was very proud of, so I thought I would write a post giving some advise and tips to anyone attempting an ISTD project. This is based on the student assessment not the professional which is a whole other kettle of fish.

Research: Do not underestimate the amount of research you need for ISTD! I thought I had plenty of research but it turned out that it was poor and/or insufficient yikes! So once you have chosen a brief make sure you research every single thing about that subject and DO NOT forget about primary research. Tutors will already be telling you these things and it can be easy to just think "yeah this will be enough" after maybe half a sketchbook but you will need at least one sketchbooks worth to cover the subject... possibly more.

Ideas: Obviously you need lots of ideas but don't just settle straight away. Write as many down as you can possibly think of, even if they seem silly. From what I gave been told a lot of projects fall short because they don't follow the brief, so make sure you are constantly looking at the brief and make sure you know it inside out.

Attention to detail. Obviously if you are doing this you will already know that ISTD is very particular about attention to detail so make sure you take a lot of time and consideration into this. The binding, the paper stock, the typefaces you choose and the typographic detail itself is all so important. Take time and care when crafting your final piece, I wish ?I had done this more myself.

Time management: This seems like quite an obvious thing but don't
leave everything to last minute! It can cost you dearly and I feel that if had managed my time better I could have come out with a better overall piece.

Most of all have fun with it! pick a brief that is going to keep you interested and hold your attention for a long time, 11 weeks worth of attention, otherwise you will go nuts. I mean you still probably will go nuts but at least it's about something you care about. If your more of an ideas kind of person then this is not the brief for you, I promise.

So there we go, a few tips for you from a graduates point of view. Your tutors will say all these thing to you but believe them when they say it. This is a really rewarding assessment scheme and I would definitely recommend it. As much as I was going mad by the end i'm glad I stuck it out.

Thanks so much for taking the time read this and I hope it was at least a little bit useful. I also made a video on my YouTube channel if you would like to see that as well (it will be up very soon)

http://youtu.be/hBI2L353jvo

Just my type, a good read for any typographer

Hello again folks. So... I suppose I have a little book review type thing for anyone interested in typography. I was recommended this book by a tutor at university and am glad that I took them up on it.  Just my type by Simon Garfield is a funny but factual book about where many famous typefaces have come from as well as other type facts. I'm not sponsored by anyone to say any of these things but I wanted to share my opinion on this book with you all.

I have only gotten half way through this book but I can see me finishing it and picking it up again pretty quickly. The information is all pretty general, but gives enough to make it a useful thing to have in your book collection. It's kind of like a book of short stories about these typefaces and how they have famously been used, for example the reason Barack Obama used Gotham in his first presidential campaign.

I'm not going to blabber on anymore about this but I would definitely suggest getting it especially young designers looking to get an entertaining and easy to read book on typography.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, please leave a comment if you have an opinion on this book or if this little review was helpful.


Get this book on amazon (probably the cheapest place): http://goo.gl/xJm5Uj

First blog post... hello everybody!

So here we go... my first post on this blog. I have done some blogging in the past but have never put much effort into it, so I thought that since I have finished at university and don't have a job yet now would be a good time to really put some effort into this (as you all know it's not always an easy task for graduates to get jobs) I have been studying Graphic Design for a while now and can't imagine doing anything else. So...this blog will be all about projects that I am doing for my portfolio as well as sharing some of my inspiration with you all.

I started a Youtube channel recently as a way to talk to other people about what I am interested in, whether that be design, beauty, games or just general stuff in life. Some of my favourite Youtubers are what inspired me to give all of this a try, Markiplier, Zoella, Sam Schuerman and many more.

I am aiming to write a blog at least once a week and hope that if you come across this blog you will enjoy it. So if you have read this then thank you so very much for taking the time and I hope to see you all soon :)