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