Edward Williams- Placement Diary

iPhone 4.

2010-06-25T14:03:00.005+01:00

This afternoon I am a very happy Bunny. Why? Because, after months of waiting, I've finally got my hands on a shiny new iPhone 4.

I (by chance) avoided all queuing and somehow managed to pick up the "gadget of the year" from the o2 shop in Leicester a day after its release. There are a few reported problems but I haven't experienced any yet myself. Although I haven't had long to play with it there are a few stand out features - The Camera - amazing quality! The Screen - so so bright. And finally the Speed - WOW!

Now I'm looking forward to all the new apps that will no doubt be coming out.

Monday 14th June 2010 - Send a Postcard.

2010-06-14T16:08:00.000+01:00

Back in the 5or6 office today and working on some "self-promotion."

After the success of the 5or6 flyers earlier in the year we have decided to repeat the process but this time with a different flyer. I have come up with a postcard style flyer that we can send out to past and present clients. A personalised message can be added to each postcard which will give them that unique touch.

This is the first concept for the 5or6 postcard.

Friday 4th June 2010 - Loc8tors.

2010-06-04T17:57:00.001+01:00

Today I have been working with loc8me to create the artwork for one of the forthcoming projects - Loc8tors.

Loc8me plan to set up a team of student brand managers that will help promote the Loc8me brand to students around Loughborough, on and off campus. The members of the team will be know as loc8tors and I have been producing the logo for the team as well as other promotional materials. Below is a poster that I have created to advertise the positions.

To find out more about the Loc8tors team vist the facebook page.

Tuesday 1st June - TALK TO ME.

2010-06-01T16:29:00.001+01:00

This week I am working at the Loc8me office.

Today I created 5 unique email signatures based on recent flyers that I have created for the student letting agent.
The loc8me branding reflects the young, light-hearted approach that the company has to the traditionally "boring" industry.

This is one example of the email signatures...

Friday 21st May - Loughborough Football.

2010-05-21T15:15:00.000+01:00

This afternoon I have been working on ideas for a new branding concept for Loughborough Students Football Club. At this initial stage of the brief I have generated a number of "mood boards" that reflect the concepts we have generated. The boards are based on the key words - DEVELOPMENT, PRIDE, PASSION and HISTORY

This is one of the Mood Boards.

Electrik Sheep.

2010-05-21T11:07:00.005+01:00

I was recommended to this site by a friend and like it so much I though it was worth sharing it with you guys and adding it to my links.

They've got a lot of cool stuff for sale including, clothes, artwork and some really cool gadgety bits (camera's, iphone covers etc).

I've got my eye on a bright new iPhone cover to put a bit of a life into my old phone while I hold out for the new one.

IAMLUFBRA

2010-05-20T15:59:00.005+01:00

We have recently launched the fourth and fifth IAMLUFBRA videos to help promote the Loughborough International Athletics event this coming Sunday. In the videos both Paul Walker and Harry AA (both Loughborough Students) talk about what the event means to them. The videos have been really well received and will hopefully help to raise awareness of this already high profile athletics event.

To view the videos visit the IAMLUFBRA YouTube Channel.

I've really enjoyed working on the whole IAMLUFBRA campaign. It has been more successful that we could have imagined and it's been a great feeling to be behind something that has got everyone talking.

Logorama

2010-05-04T11:41:00.002+01:00

A short film directed by the French animation collective H5. Stumbled across this on 14 Bike Co Blog. It's a really cool film, the colours and animation are fantastic, well worth a watch!

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

Got my heart fixed on... A bike.

2010-04-06T13:13:00.008+01:00

So my bike has been ordered and I should be getting it within the next few days... itching to get on it now, I've been geeking up and checking out virtually everything the internet has to offer about fixed wheels, or "fixies" as they're known.

Found this pretty good video, check it out -

My Birthday Bike.

2010-04-04T21:20:00.004+01:00

I've fancied getting a new bike ever since I started University but more recently have decided to actually do something about getting one.

I've been having a look around at a few different bikes and gathered that the coolest bikes out there at the moment are fixed wheel/single speed bikes. This was confirmed after my trip to London on Friday, where everyone who's anyone seems to be peddling a super cool fixed wheel.

Fixed gear track bikes have become affiliated with the streets of New York, but they are the latest influence to arrive from America to the UK. Riding fix gear gives you a better connection with bike so you get more control making it very popular in cites like New York and London.

Luckily for me my birthday is coming up this week and I'm going to be getting a bike, I feel 5 again! I've spent most of the weekend deciding on what colour to get and I'm still not 100% sure but will be getting a create bike, they're a cool company that specialise in fixed wheels and have a slick little website - www.createbikes.com

Good (American Apparel) Friday.

2010-04-02T21:35:00.003+01:00

After seeing the event all over facebook I decided to go along to the American Apparel Rummage Sale. Only thing was by the time I got there it had already been closed down by the police! The sale was taking place at a warehouse on Brick Lane but due to the sheer volume of people the event was closed early for the safety of everyone there.

According to the stories there were 25,000+ people- staggering. American Apparel have since issued a full update on the facebook event apologising to those who tried to attend today and also a discount code with the option to get up to 40% off their online store. Good move from them!

I've now spent all the money I planned to spend today on their website... Whether or not the sale itself went well today the amount of talk this will start has ensured the event has been a huge success for American Apparel!

Tweet Tweet Tweet.

2010-03-31T12:32:00.009+01:00

I have recently started to dabble in twitter. I'm a bit of an addict but I can't really tell you why. I was a complete sceptic but thought I'd sign up and see what it's all about. I'm not sure what it is exactly but there is something about it that has got me hooked.

The power that twitter has, or gives is overwhelming. It's a great technological development that is connecting people all over the world in a completely new way. Breaking news now travels faster than ever and everybody has the opportunity to comment. Ricky Martin has even come out on twitter... not that we didn't see that one coming.

Follow me on twitter, I promise I'll try and keep my tweets interesting.

Monday 29th March - Making the cool look un-cool.

2010-03-29T16:00:00.002+01:00

Today I have been set a new brief to design an anti drugs poster for Loughborough University. Specifically the poster has been commissioned to target the rise in "popularity" of the drug Mephedrone which is starting to reach epidemic levels. The drug has been grabbing headlines across the newspapers for the last few weeks and Loughborough have now taken it upon themselves to protect their students against these so called "legal highs."

I have started by brainstorming a few ideas. It's a difficult task, the poster obviously has to be eye catching and appealing for it's message to be effective. At the same time you are trying to "unsell" a product. Making the cool (in the targets opinion) look un-cool.

Hold Your Tongue(s).

2010-03-28T14:37:00.004+01:00

I've added a new link to my list today... Crooked Tongues.

I'm a bit of a sneaker freak and I've recently fallen in love with this website. They've got loads of great shoes on their store and even have a "What ones wearing section" - a monthly pictorial report of what the streets are saying.

I'm a big fan of trainer design, especially the 80's retro trends that are big at the moment. I also like these boots that remind me of a pair of kickers I begged my Mum into buying me when I was about 11.

Moulin Rouge AU Ball 2010.

2010-03-26T13:46:00.004Z

The Loughborough AU has now announced the date and theme of the 2010 AU Ball.

I worked on the artwork for this earlier in the week and as promised here it is, we will also be doing the AU Ball addition of WOW magazine and I believe my image will be used for the front cover.

Friday 26th March 2010

2010-03-26T12:28:00.002Z

The calm after the storm.

So we're at the end of what has been a very busy week at 5or6.

I've been working on three different project this week, all very exciting!

I started off on Monday working on the artwork for the 2010 Loughborough Athletic Union Ball, the theme for the ball hasn't been announced yet so unfortunately until then I have to keep the artwork to myself. I will however get it up as soon as I'm finished.

IAMLUFBRA has been the talk of the town this week with the campaign reaching it's first milestone on Wednesday evening when the dates of the Loughborough Rugby "Real" Varsity were announced. The dates were announced with the showing of the second Viral Video (have a look at my post from Wednesday).

Finally I have been finishing some changes and updates to the dance:street website. The project has been on going for quite a while now and it's good to be able to get to a finished point. Get your dancing shoes on and check out the site - www.dance-street.co.uk

A Blog facelift.

2010-03-25T12:43:00.003Z

After hours of pondering I decided that it was high time I gave the old blog a bit of a facelift.

I've changed the design around a little bit and added a link to my twitter so you can get even more regular updates about what I'm up to. It also means I can update my blog on the go, thank the lord for iPhones.

Hope you like it!

Thursday 25th March 2010. IAMLUFBRA

2010-03-25T10:48:00.003Z

Good Morning!

Lately we have been working on a big branding project for Loughborough Sport. - IAMLUFBRA.

My responsibilty within the project has been the series of viral videos that we are releasing running up to the main events in May.

So far we have released two videos, one of which was played on the big screen in Room 1 of the Students union before there superstars event.

IAMLUFBRA 1 from Edward Williams on Vimeo.

IAMLUFBRA 2 from Edward Williams on Vimeo.

For more information about IAMLUFBRA check out the facebook fan page - http://www.facebook.com/iamlufbra?ref=ts#!/iamlufbra?v=info&ref=ts

OR IAMLUFBRA.com

Monday 15th March - IAMLUFBRA

2010-03-15T15:11:00.001Z

Monday, Monday!

A great start to the week today...

Working on the IAMLUFBRA project starting to put together ideas for the second viral video.

I could tell you the ideas, but I'd have to kill you.

Tuesday 9th March 2010

2010-03-09T15:46:00.002Z

Today I have been working on a video for the 2010 Charnwood sports awards. The video is going to be used to promote the awards to potential event sponsors as well as the clubs and teams within the Charnwood Borough.

the video is made up of footage and images from last years awards as well as various other images of sport within Charnwood.

Wednesday 3rd March 2010 - Dance:street.

2010-03-02T16:35:00.000Z

So far this week I have been working on the dance-street website. Finishing and tidying up the minor details in order for the site to be complete.

I have updated the teachers profiles and there are now a lot more profiles including more teacher group profiles.

Have a look at the site now by clicking here.

Friday 26th February 2010

2010-02-26T16:12:00.001Z

Today I completed the March Issue of the 5or6 Newsletter. This month has been quite busy for 5or6 and next month is looking to be even busier especially with the work we will be doing for the I AM LUFBRA project.

You may notice the Newsletter has been redesigned to fit in with the new website design.

Check out the newsletter now by clicking here.

Thursday 25th February 2010.

2010-02-25T16:15:00.003Z

Today I designed a poster for the Loughborough Superstars Competition. The poster will appear in the next issue of WOW magazine.

Unfortunately the amount of text required didn't leave to much room for "artistic flare" but I was reasonably happy with the end result...

Wednesday 24th Febuary 2010 - Dance:street.

2010-02-24T15:15:00.003Z

After some last minute changes were made the new dance:street website was completed and went online this morning.

I think the new site is a lot more user friendly than the old site and showcases the companies wide portfolio of teachers far better. More teachers will be added to the site in a second phase of updates that will take place in about a months time.

Check out the site - dance-street.co.uk

Tuesday 23rd February 2010 - loc8me

2010-02-23T15:00:00.000Z

Today I worked out of the office for on of our regular clients - loc8me, a student housing agent.

I have been working on designs for their new website. I am aiming to improve the way the user can search for properties and the effectiveness of the search results. To make the search results easier to view we have taken simple steps, such as enlarging the property thumbnail images and added easy to view symbols to indicate features of the house, internet, tv etc.

I have also been working on a loyalty scheme that Loc8me are planning on launching in the new academic year. Details of the scheme are all under wraps at the moment but I'll hopefully be able to tell you more soon... For now here's a sneak peek at the logo.

Monday 22nd February 2010

2010-02-22T16:58:00.002Z

Today I continued to work on the new dance:street site. I have been adding the new teachers profiles. It is quite time consuming to make them all follow the same style but I'm sure they will look effective when finished.

In other news... Today is the first day of the of the Loughborough Students Union Exec Elections. A close friend of mine Lucy Hopkins is running for Union President. Lucy made a fantastic Hall Chair, she went on to become a great HSF chair and I am sure would make an excellent President! I wish her the best of luck!

Check out her website votehoppo.com or follow her on twitter at The_Hoppo

Tuesday 26th January 2010

2010-01-26T16:48:00.004Z

dance:street came into the office this morning to discuss their website. As their business has grown over the last few months they would like to update the design of their website and improve its usability. We discussed different ways that we can improve the site and things that can be added.

We will work on the sites SEO as well as putting a content management system (CMS) in place so that the client can make simple updates to the site themselves quickly and easily. I will be starting work on the site tomorrow, look out for more information on it over the next couple of weeks.

I also stumbled across something this afternoon that might get you mac fans excited, I know I did.

burgerized. from jason lefton on Vimeo.

Laser engraving your macbook, I think I'm ready to take the step!

Healthy Living Week. 2010.

2010-01-25T16:50:00.000Z

Today I also designed a poster advert that will appear in the next addition of WOW (loughborough Universities sport magazine).

The poster is to promote Healthy Living Week...

Monday 25th January 2010

2010-01-25T16:32:00.002Z

5or6 are due to launch a new website over the next couple of weeks and as a result we have decided to redesign the eNewsletter.

The newsletters new design (which I have completed today) is a lot cleaner and simpler to read. I think it now has a more professional appearance than before and will fit in with the brand identity of the new website. I have also added a link to our Design Handbook. If you haven't seen the Handbook take a look now!

I have posted a screen shot of the newsletter above... look forward to the launch!

Wednesday 13th January 2010

2010-01-13T16:45:00.000Z

Today I have worked on another poster for the Griffin Inn. I have done quite a bit of work for the Griffin over the last few months and really enjoy working with them as a client. The manager has a good idea of what he wants but is also open to ideas which means the whole process speeds up.

Above is a copy of the poster, it is missing some minor info at the moment but that will be added as and when we are clear on prices etc.

As well as the poster I have drawn up a plan for my dissertation today which I will put in to place over the coming week.

Tuesday 12th January 2010

2010-01-12T17:20:00.000Z

Today Pete and I went out to a selection of businesses around Loughborough that we believed might benefit from the services 5or6 can offer.

We handed out the shinny new flyers that I designed last week and discussed the different aspects of what we do and how we could help each business individually.

I think that it was quite a successful trip, we manage to establish a few leads for future work and hopefully get people talking more about 5or6.

Thursday 7th January 2010 - The Challenge.

2010-01-07T15:01:00.001Z

This morning I have been set a challenge to design 3 possible flyers that can be used to promote 5or6 to outside businesses in Loughborough and the surrounding areas.

I really enjoyed the task as I was able to design from a blank canvas and had no restrictions that are sometimes put in place by the client. One of the three designs was then chosen and has been sent to print this afternoon.

I have posted the 3 designs here... See if you can decide which one made it to print.

Wednesday 6th January 2010

2010-01-06T16:42:00.000Z

Continued to work through my dissertation this afternoon after finishing off the 5or6 eNewsletter this morning. The newsletter will go online tomorrow and then sent out to all of our clients on Friday. Check out the newsletter here.

Tomorrow I am being set a design challange... I'm pretty excited to find out what that will be.

Tuesday 5th January 2010 - Happy New Year.

2010-01-05T15:37:00.000Z

The first day back in the office after Christmas and the first blog post of 2010...

Started work today on issue 3 of the 5or6 eNewsletter. As well as do some more reading for my dissertation which I have I eventually decided is going to be centered on the topic of Social Networking.

Social Networking is something that really interests me and will hopefully be a good topic to research. Some of the statistics are unbelievable, and anything powerful enough to get Rage Against the Machine to a Christmas No.1 spot is surely worth looking into.

Loc8me iPhone App - House m8

2009-12-16T15:37:00.003Z

Yesterday I worked with our client at the Loc8me office building on the tenant loyalty scheme - House M8.

We are working on several branding idea icluding T-shirts, Keyrings, fridge magnets and stickers but are also looking to take the brand one step further.

I have proposed the idea of an iPhone Application that will be available free of charge to all tenants that have iPhones.

the iPhone isconstantly growing in popularity and as a result so too are Apps. I believe that the m8 App could set Loc8me apart from the other letting agents in the area and really offer students something useful that they would be able to connect with.

Monday 16th November 2009

2009-11-13T16:15:00.000Z

Today we met with a new client who has recently taken over a local bar (newshouse).

We will be heloing to rebrand the bar and the weekly nights that they are putting on. In the meeting we agreed to come up with six names and logos for the six different nights they have in mind. Eventually these logos will be added to flyer and poster designs as well as being used within their own online marketing.

Friday 13th November 2009

2009-11-13T15:49:00.000Z

Finished the Griffin's New Years Eve poster today... Quite Happy with the final result.

Thursday 12th November 2009

2009-11-12T15:40:00.000Z

Today I completed what will hopefully be the final additions to the dance:street website.

This afternoon I worked on the Griffin New years Eve Poster which I hope to complete tomorrow. The theme for their New Years Eve event is "Telly Addicts."

Wednesday 11th November 2009

2009-11-11T15:17:00.001Z

Today we had a lunch meeting with Cox Web design. We discussed some approaching work and also talked about what we had booth been up to recently. We work closely with Cox Web Design who help out with the back end on a number of our sites.

Tuesday 10th November 2009

2009-11-10T16:46:00.000Z

This morning I designed the 5or6 company Christmas Cards that we plan to send out to our various clients in the run up to Christmas.

An interesting Christmas eCard idea that I have seen online is by Stella Artois. The Send a card, Save a tree idea is a great campaign. Perhaps the future in greeting cards?

stellaartois.com

Monday 9th November 2009

2009-11-09T16:11:00.000Z

Today I worked out of the office with our client at loc8me Student Accommodation. We worked on there websites SEO and also designed a new simple search page for the new website.

On another note, the Apple ads. They seem to have been popping up quite a lot recently I think it's quite interesting how the ads directly attack there competition, very american in style but quite subtly done. Pretty cool.

Friday 6th November 2009

2009-11-06T16:00:00.001Z

The Newsletter was completed this morning. Take a look!

The video that made for the Charnwood Sports Awards is now also available to view...

This afternoon I started work on the branding of a New Years Eve event at a local town Pub. Hopefully the design will be finished early next week and I will be able to post it on here for you all to see.

Thursday 5th November 2009

2009-11-05T11:01:00.000Z

I started to put together the 5or6 Newsletter today. The Newsletter comes out every two months and this is the second issue so far. The newsletter is built in html, using dreamweaver. When completed it will be emailed out to all of our past and present clients as well as various other contacts to keep people up to date with the exciting going ons at 5or6.

View the Newsletter.

Wednesday 4th November 2009

2009-11-04T16:55:00.001Z

Today I have returned to work on the dance-street website. Although the site was completed some time ago there were still a number of updates that the client requested. I have added more photos to the site as well as a selection of more individual teacher profiles.

Tuesday 3rd November 2009

2009-11-03T16:54:00.000Z

Today was my day at the Loc8me office where I worked on developing more of the website. I worked on a feature for the individual property pages that lets the user know which local amenities are “around the corner”. This lets the user know which supermarket is closest or where the nearest bar is, all depending on the options they select.

Monday 2nd November 2009

2009-11-02T16:54:00.000Z

Today is the Charnwood Sports Awards. We are all working hard to put the final touches to the different bits and pieces for this evening. The video is now finished as are the certificates and the presentation.

This Afternoon we will head over to the Loughborough Town Hall where the event is being held and test the video and presentation.

….

I attended the awards in the evening and had a great time! The awards were attended by a variety of sportsmen and women as well as coaches and volunteers. My video went without any hitches and it was really good to see it on the big screen with a whole room of people watching and (I think) enjoying it! I even got to share a table with two of the nominees for Senior Sportmen of the Year- Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Liam Tancock (winner)… The almost “glamorous” side of being a designer!

Thursday 29th October 2009

2009-10-29T16:52:00.000Z

The video was sent to the Charnwood Borough Council yesterday for an initial proof. They were happy with the video but requested a few different photos and some small alterations. I made these corrections this morning before moving on to design the certificates for the awards.

This afternoon we met up with two more employees of the Charnwood Borough Sports Dept. who we interviewed for the video. I will input this footage on Monday.

Wednesday 28th October 2009

2009-10-28T16:52:00.000Z

The video started to come together today, as I was able to put in the footage we collected yesterday from the interview with Arron. We hope to get one or two more interviews over the next couple of days which will hopefully complete the video.

As this is the first time the Awards has been held getting hold of footage and images has been quite difficult and what we are able to achieve with the video has been limited by the lack of quality/number of images.

I have also been working on the Awards Presentation that will play as the awards are taking place. The presentation will list the category and nominees for each section.

Tuesday 27th October 2009

2009-10-27T16:50:00.001Z

Today I began work on the video for the Charnwood Borough Sports Awards. The video is to be showed at the beginning of the Awards, which are planned to showcase the sporting talent of the Borough. The video will be made up of images and video clips as well as some short interviews.

This afternoon we met with Arron Coggan of Charnwood Borough Council who we interviewed for the video. The interview was filmed and will be used in the video.

Monday 26th October 2009

2009-10-26T16:49:00.000Z

I spent the day at the Loc8me Office today working on more pages for the new website. I hope to be able to release some of the designs soon but at the moment they have to be kept under wraps until the site launches.

I also designed a compliment card for the No.7 bar today which was created using the bars Logo and branding that I worked on back in September.

Friday 16th October 2009

2009-10-16T16:53:00.000+01:00

Today I returned to Elson and Hall. Today I learnt more about the technical side of printing and finishing.

For as long as I can remember I have always found printing my design work a bit of a headache. Nothing ever seems to print quite the same as it looks on screen and you can often waste a lot of time going back and for between the computer document and the printer to get the perfect end result. At Elson and Hall this is something that became even more important. To try and make things a little bit easier they encouraged me to use Pantone colours where possible which I selected from there are selected from a Pantone Chart printout.

Thursday 15th October 2009 – Elson and Hall

2009-10-15T12:03:00.000+01:00

For Thursday and Friday of this week I am taking a technical placement at Elson and Hall, a privately run Print Shop in Long Eaton (between Loughborough and Nottingham).

The Printers do a small amount of design work in house for jobs that come in “off the street.” This morning I worked on designs for a birthday invitation and a business card. I then used quark to set up the artwork for print. I found it very interesting to be able to see the process through from design to print and then finally cutting and finishing.

Wednesday 14th October 2009 - Graeme Swann

2009-10-14T11:52:00.003+01:00

Today I worked on the Graeme Swann video, finishing it late this afternoon to ensure there is enough time to take a copy to Ilkeston FC for it to be proofed for the event in a weeks time.

Tuesday 13th October 2009

2009-10-13T12:00:00.000+01:00

This morning I have been adding more updates to the dance:street website. I have been adding new photos to the site as well as adding five new profiles.
This afternoon I have been working ideas for a video that will be played at the Graeme Swann evening at Ilkeston town. The video will be played as a short introduction before Graeme Swann comes on to the stage. The video will be made up of video clips, photos and short voice over’s.

Monday 12th October 2009

2009-10-12T11:58:00.001+01:00

Today I began a 1day a week, long term consultancy project with local client Raffael Russo. I will spend one day a week working with the client on his website and any other design work that is required.
Today I have been doing work on the loc8me brand including flyers and posters.

Friday 9th October 2009

2009-10-09T16:45:00.000+01:00

After working on the dance:street website for the last month I finally met the client today in person. It was a good chance to discuss different points of the website as well as being able to gauge the clients personal reaction to the work I had completed. He was seemed very happy with the site so far and the only adjustments that need to be made are relating to format.
The new pages I have added this week are now online and the site is nearing completion.

Thursday 8th October 2009

2009-10-08T16:44:00.000+01:00

Today I returned to the dance:street website. The managing director of dance:street is coming into the office tomorrow to look over the site and discuss some of his ideas with us. In the mean time I am working to make sure all of the newly added pages work well together. The is the part of dreamweaver that can be the most frustrating as it often involves playing around with a lot of (boring) coding.

Wednesday 7th October 2009

2009-10-07T16:43:00.001+01:00

Although dance:street work is still ongoing that has taken a back seat today as the work I have been doing for loc8me (student estate agent) has taken priority.

I have designed two separate flyers to advertise the loc8me housing list for the coming year. Based on the loc8me “8” the flyers use an eye catching bright orange with a contrasting grey. I feel this gives the flyer a fresh look as well as effectively mirroring the brands young identity.

Tuesday 6th October 2009

2009-10-06T16:41:00.001+01:00

Today I continued to update the dance:street site. I have added the testimonials that have been supplied by the client as well as creating a new “in the news” page. This page will contain links to news stories that relate to the work dance:street is doing.

I also spent a short time this afternoon working on some poster ideas for a local pubs Halloween evening. The idea I was most happy with was based on the most recent Batman Film and the Joker Character.

Monday 5th October 2009

2009-10-05T16:40:00.000+01:00

This morning I put the final touches to the 5or6 Newsletter, which we have now decided to delay sending out until next week.

This week I am working to complete the updates of the dance:street site. The brief has changed slightly over the weekend as more pages and functions have been added. I have started today by updating some of the existing content and began to build the testimonials page. In order to fit in the amount of content that is needed I have decided to use an inline frame. This allows the user to scroll down without disrupting the overall look of the site.

Friday 2nd October 2009

2009-10-02T16:50:00.002+01:00

This has been the busiest week at 5or6 since I started with a number of deadlines that have kept us all busy.

Today I have been putting together the 5or6 Newsletter. I have also been adding updates to the dance:street website. The updates are mainly to the content but there are also some bigger changes that need to be made that incolve changing and adding new pages to the site- these changes will get started next week when we have more time.

Have a good weekend!

Thursday 1st October 2009

2009-10-01T16:20:00.003+01:00

I started a new project today for a Loughborough based student estate agent-loc8me. The main aspect of the project is the redesign of their website but there will also be some graphic work, posters, flyers etc all with the aim of promoting a fresh student image. The website most be easily navigating whilst still conveying the image they are trying to achieve.

I have started by mocking up some website pages in photoshop but will add these at a later date.

Wednesday 30th September 2009

2009-09-30T11:59:00.003+01:00

I have just finished designing a poster for a Charity evening with England Ashes Cricketer- Graeme Swann. The Charity evening is taking place at Ilkeston Town FC , local football club and 5or6 client.

Tuesday 29th September 2009

2009-09-29T14:32:00.006+01:00

This morning I finished the Forbidden Fruit poster for No.7. I have used the same pin-up girl as in the flyer along with the same colour and font to ensure continuity and build on the brand image.

Monday 28th September 2009... Week 6.

2009-09-29T14:15:00.001+01:00

This morning I have been working on a poster for the No.7 (local bar) Forbidden Fruit night. I hope to finish this tomorrow. The poster is based on the original flyer but contains slightly more information.
I also created two separate invitations for No.7 which are going to go out to students to promote the opening of two new nights.
This afternoon I made some slight changes to the dance:street text content by request of the client.

Friday 25th September 2009

2009-09-25T16:30:00.003+01:00

My very first website! Finally finished the dance:street site today. After testing a few faults were spotted which then took a little while to adjust before it was working perfectly. I am quite happy with the site which will be updated more and more over the coming weeks. The client already has some new ideas in mind and we will add these to the current site as we go.

Check it out! dance-street.co.uk

Thursday 24th September 2009.

2009-09-24T16:29:00.001+01:00

I worked all day today on the dance:street site. The construction of the site is now complete and now has to be tested in different web browsers to indentify any faults that can then be removed before it is finally published tomorrow.

Tuesday 22nd September 2009

2009-09-22T16:28:00.001+01:00

Today was again taken up mostly by work on the dance:street website.

As you can see below the design is framed by the same box for each page. Once this has been drawn up in dereamweaver I think that the remainder of the site should fall into place quite easily.

Monday 21st September 2009

2009-09-21T16:27:00.002+01:00

This morning I received all of the content for the dance:street website. I have now started to piece together the website in dreamweaver and think that we should hit the end of the week target comfortably.

I also did some research for 5or6 this afternoon into different forms of Social Networking and how we can offer this to our clients as a useful business application.

Friday 18th September 2009

2009-09-18T16:21:00.003+01:00

This morning I worked on the final ideas for the dance:street website (see below) and spoke to the client and have decided to go with the current design and hopefully get the website online towards the end of next week.

This afternoon I also set up the blog for the England Universities Football.

Thursday 17th September 2009.

2009-09-17T16:20:00.002+01:00

Worked on extra pages of the England Universities Football Site today, as well as a bit of dance:street stuff. I am quite happy with the “look” I have created for the site and think it could look very clean, and professional once online. The client has also requested a blog and twitter account which I will eventually set up and link directly to the website.

Wednesday 16th September 2009

2009-09-16T16:19:00.001+01:00

Alongside the ongoing work I am doing with the dance:street website I have started to generate more idea for the GB Universities Football website, inparticularly the England section. Basing the Website theme on the colours of the FA. I then plan to create identical sections for Wales, Scotland, and Ireland using the colours of the FAW etc to give each page an easily recognisable identity.

Tuesday 15th September 2009

2009-09-15T16:18:00.001+01:00

Following on today with more dance:street work. As I am still picking up the basics in dreamweaver I feel like it is taking longer than it maybe should to put simple sections together, although practice makes perfect!
Talking with the client today we have decided to alter the brief slightly so that the website can get online sooner. Certain features that were originally discussed have been simplified and with the option to go back to at a later stage when there is not such a rush to get the site online.

Monday 14th September 2009

2009-09-14T16:17:00.002+01:00

Start of my fourth week. I started today on the website for dance:street. I got in touch with the client and worked with him to put together a brief for the site. I then began by mocking up some views of the different pages of the site. I have also been working on the 5or6 Facebook page as well as updating the twitter.

Friday 11th September...The end of my third week.

2009-09-11T13:00:00.010+01:00

My first blog. Exciting stuff.

So, I'm at the end of the third week of my placement at 5or6 Design Consultancy in Loughborough. Seems to have all gone very quickly so far and I'm really enjoying it. It's great to be able to work on live briefs and to be able to liaise with clients to better understand their needs. Over the past three weeks I've been doing a variety of different jobs. I've started to use dreamweaver which is new to me and should hopefully be getting my first website up and running next week. I also used dreamweaver to produce a 5or6 eNewsletter. The work that I have been most happy with so far is the promotional flyers I have done for No.7- a new bar opening in Loughborough (tonight actually). I've put these up for you to have a look at.

I plan to use the blog as a daily diary from now on so you'll be able to see a lot more of my work soon. I will also put up some back dated posts so that you can see what I've been up to when you have time.

Have a good weeekend...Ed.

Thursday 10th September 2009.

2009-09-10T16:08:00.001+01:00

This morning I concluded work on the dance:street website holding page after a conversation with the client. I also supplied him with two logo variations which he was happy with.

I set up an account with blogspot and have decided to blog my placement journal online as well as uploading work and discussing other designers and their work. I think this will be a good exercise as it will help promote myself personally and ultimately improve my web skills.

This afternoon I worked on a small calendar advert for Lakha, a local student estate agent. I came up with three different adverts, two of which are brand parodies (durex and monopoly) that I believe will catch the student eye. A good day.

Wednesday 9th September 2009...Dance:Street

2009-09-09T16:05:00.003+01:00

Continued work on the dance:street project today. Finalised the logo design with the client, the client has a set idea in mind for the logo and as a result we decided to go for a font that had been chosen by him.

Once confirming the logo I put together a holding page that will go online tomorrow whilst the website we are creating is under construction. I also set up a twitter account for the brand and designed a twitstamp that will eventually provide a live twitter feed on their website.

Tuesday 8th September 2009

2009-09-08T16:01:00.004+01:00

Took a proof of a flyer to a local customer this morning who apporaved the alterations that had been made to the design. I contacted the printer on my return and put an order in for the flyers.

The Ilkeston Town FC programme for the Saturdays home game is being put together and I researched some questions and answers that will be printed in this weeks quiz. I also continued work on the dance:street logos which I have been putting together for the last two weeks alongside my other projects.

Dance Street Logos...

Monday 7th September 2009...Week three

2009-09-07T15:49:00.001+01:00

Put the final touches to the eNesletter this morning and before releasing it updated the 5or6 twitter and facebook page. This was important as we had a link to the facebook and twitter profile on the Newsletter as well as a live feed of the twitter that I customised using twitstamp.

Check out the Newsletter now!

Shortly after the newsletter was sent out we had a number of enquiries about work and one potential big lead to a job designing a new website for the Welsh Athletics.

This afternoon I sent the final No.7 Flyers and Business Card to print which shall hopefully be ready in a few days.

Friday 4th September 2009...My first full week

2009-09-04T15:48:00.002+01:00

Continued to work on the Newsletter. Thought it was close to being finished but when we got together (with Pete and Ryan) we decided to rejig the layout slightly so that it can be easily viewed by people who have smaller computer displays without having to scroll down too much before getting to the contents section. Getting slightly frustrated with Dreamweaver today as it can sometimes be quite complicated to do simple steps but once the first newsletter is done the following months will be simple, as it will just be a case of uploading the relevant news.

My First Full week and still having a good time, really enjoyed getting stuck into dreamweaver this week, although the Newsletter isn’t completely finished yet I think that the final version is going to look quite impressive and hopefully do it’s job in generating more business for the company.

5or6 eNewsletter...Thursday 3rd September 2009

2009-09-03T15:46:00.001+01:00

Carried on work on the newsletter today and took my design from Photoshop into Dreamweaver. It is my first time using Dreamweaver and although the work I am doing is relatively basic HTML stuff I felt that with some instruction from Ryan I picked up the general steps quickly. Hope to finish the Newsletter by the end of the day tomorrow so that it can go out Monday. Enjoyed using dreamweaver and think that the general look of the newsletter is good and should hopefully catch people attention.

Wednesday 2nd September 2009

2009-09-02T15:45:00.001+01:00

Started work today on the 5or6 eNewsletter that we decided to go with as part of the 5or6 marketing campaign. The newsletter will be emailed to previous and potential clients as well as friends and family in an attempt to keep people updated and keep the company in the front of people’s minds when they are thinking about design. The newsletter will be made using dreamweaver but I started first by generating a mock view in Photoshop.

Had another look at the dance:street logos at the end of the day after receiving feedback from the client about last weeks logos

Tuesday 1st September 2009

2009-09-01T15:36:00.002+01:00

Private Hire Advertisment

Monday 31st August 2009

2009-09-01T15:33:00.002+01:00

Finished the second flyer for No.7 today that advertises their Private Hire Service. The focus of the flyer was to convey their “subtle luxury” image. I'm quite happy with the result. On the reverse of the flyer they wanted to advertise there Saturday Night. I created a simple graphic based on the almost poetic description of the evening supplied by the client.

This afternoon we had a staff meeting to discus ways in which 5or6 can market themselves to other businesses to generate more work. I found this interesting and began to appreciate the difficulty of a design company who spend their time creating adverts for other people actually advertising themselves.

Friday 28th August 2009

2009-08-28T15:25:00.004+01:00

Today the partners of No.7 came in to the office and with there comments I was able to complete the invitation design and also the first flyer.

In the afternoon I worked on logo design for a university research project entitled OWL (organising for working late.) Together (5or6) we have come up with a number of different logo options that will be shown to the client.

Thursday 27th August 2009

2009-08-27T15:24:00.001+01:00

Continued work this morning on the invitation for No.7 as well as starting work on some flyer concepts for two other nights at the bar.

This afternoon I moved on to start some logo design for dance:street (an online break dance teachers network), this will eventually lead to a website. I also came up with a layout design for the first page of WOW magazine, one of the companies current on-going contracts.

The Big First Day... Wednesday 26th August 2009

2009-08-26T15:19:00.002+01:00

The Big First Day. Started this morning with a brief run through of current jobs that are on going and discussed future work that is coming in. I Was given my own company email account and showed how to use the email system, I've even got a pretty cool email signature.

This afternoon I started work on an invitation to the opening night of a new bar- No.7. The logo had already been created but in terms of invitation design I was given complete freedom and liaised with the client to come up with a concept. I decided to go for a scroll design and with a custom printed No.7 ribbon to tie it together...