Practitioner Comparison

Fudge Vs. Truth

Fudge is a Graphic Design company based in Bolton. When Gavin came in to talk to us instead of showing pieces of work what was finished and talking about the company, he instead took us through the branding process of the England Squash identity. Straight away this was something which was more interesting because this showed us how he as an individual worked and how designers work. 

Truth is a Graphic Design company based in Manchester made up by a partnership between Darren and Jane. These two previously worked at a different design company so they already knew each other really well. When these two came in to hold a talk with us, they decided to show us work they have been creating, the experiences they both have gone through in the industry and to give us some helpful tips. Yes, this was a good talk but I prefer it when we see how the designer has actually worked, the different stages he has gone through to get to the final stage and the selection of idea's what have been thrown away along the way.

Gavin started off by showing us a selection of the rough sketches he had created for this brief. This included photocopy's of little sketches in like a diary to sketches on A3 paper. This was good to show because in the industry you never turn off you are always switched on, so you never know when you will get an idea for a brief, and you might see something in the street what gives you an idea. Gavin told us how there is six stages to designing; project scope, research, naming, design concept, design development and design application. Gavin and a few other's spent two days researching England Squash, this is important because you need to find out the history of the company, how the company likes to function - as a business and a sport - and the previous identity of the company. Gavin advised us that you need to have a full understanding of the client, what they like what they don't like etc, also we should always consider other branding in that area. It took Gavin three attempts to actually sell the idea, this was down to how the client didn't like the red rose incorporated within his design. Gavin's response to this was "The rose isn't for you, it's for the customers." After this the client accepted Gavin's idea, this is the one that he went on to finalize.

Going back to Truth and how they presented to us, Darren and Jane spoke about different things, this is down to how Darren does most of the design work and Jane does all the organizing, meeting the clients etc. When Darren started talking he spoke about a lot of typefaces he had created for different briefs. This was something I was really interested in because I really enjoy working more type based. He then showed us work he has created for such clients as Amir Khan (Reebok,) Versus Cancer '08 and Coca - Cola. This work was really interesting especially the Versus Cancer '08 campaign. Something Darren did suggest to us was that we should rationalize our work - explain why we have done such a design and to create something with a purpose. Another thing which was said, was that we shouldn't have a set style, we should learn all the fields in the design industry because this will have a bigger impact on the work we create.

Over all both talks were very interesting, both was very presented different which is good because it would be very repetitive if everything was the same. Out of the two I preferred how Gavin presented his work. This is down to how I like to see how the designer work's, the different stages they have gone through to get to the final piece and the good idea's what had to be put a side no matter if they had there heart set on them. Another reason I liked this, is because when a designer comes in and show's either the work they have created or the company have created, and this is a good standard of work, then a lot of the time the students will all swarm around the designer asking questions - why do this when you never do it any other time? Are they trying to make a lasting impression on the designer? Or they just generally ass licking?! 

A found that with Gavin's talk I learnt a lot of things. I learnt how we are expected to work in industry - which isn't that different from we are currently working now - I quick we are expected to work to and most of all how hard it can be to sell an idea to the client. With Darren he didn't talk about anything to do with the clients, what it's like to sell idea's to them etc, he just spoke about how he's created different type faces for different briefings. To some people this would be good but I'd prefer to find out more about what it's like working for different clients. Over all both presentations was very good, both had positives to take from and to keep in mind.