Module Evaluation

This year has been a big step forward in PPP for me. Whilst I’ve always understood what the module was trying to teach, I’ve often been stubborn about taking it on board in the past. Since Christmas I’ve really come on in this module because of the reality check I had when I approaching the end of the course. I know I could’ve done much more for PPP this year, but I feel like what I have done has been very important in terms of identifying a niche and preparing myself mentally for progressing beyond uni, which was a real struggle in the previous two years.

The niche I’ve identified is a design role somewhere within the sports industry, an area where I’m likely to be the target audience of any briefs. This is important as I’ve found that over the three years on the course, this I’ve enjoyed my work much more when working on briefs that I’m the target audience, and I find that my work benefits from this. Whilst I’m pleased with all the work I’ve done where I’m the target audience, I’ve sometimes questioned the quality of other bits of my work. Given that confidence in my work has been something I’ve struggled with at times, it seems senseless to me to undo the progress I’ve made in this area by trying to be something I’m not or do something I’m not comfortable doing such as working in a branding or web design studio for example.

Design for the sports industry generally serves three main purposes; selling merchandise, promoting a sport/event/competition, or information design for fans of the sport. The briefs I’ve been doing for extended practice fulfil these areas of design within the sport industry, but also show and ability to apply myself to things outside my comfort zone and my ability to come up with functional and creative solutions. When looking into job opportunities in this area I’ve struggled to find many opportunities, but my recent interview with William Hill where I narrowly missed out on the job has given my confidence that I’m more than capable of being employed in one of these roles, and I can compete with other applicants with more experience than myself.

Given the lack of opportunities for this area of design speculative applications are going to be important for me. Whilst this isn’t something I’ve started yet, it’s something that PPP has prepared me for - like previously mentioned, I’ve not done as much as I could’ve done for PPP this year, but the importance of the work I’ve started within PPP means that it will be continued after graduation up to the point where I start applying speculatively - I believe the promotional video produced in collaboration with Joe Shiels and Kit Cowey will be a big help with this, but the length of time taken for it’s production has delayed me starting this process. In the time between graduating and finding a job I will be continuing to work freelance with Harri Larkin and any other clients who end up coming my way - I have the appropriate resources for this all prepared (website, invoice slips etc), but I’d rather try and find work outside of the design industry whilst finding the right opportunity comes up for me rather than risk the enjoyment I’ve found in graphic design this year by working in an environment I’m not comfortable with.

In summary, PPP has been really valuable for me this year, as I feel like it’s helped me find my role within the design industry, albeit so slowly that I’ve not had much time to apply this knowledge towards the ILO’s as much as I’d have liked. This module has given me both confidence and much-needed direction within my work. So whatever the academic outcome my be for this module, it’s been invaluable to me on a personal level. 

Contacting The Modern Game

Earlier today I messaged The Modern Game about potentially featuring the work Joe and I have done on their blog, this would be good exposure and an extra achievement to put on our CV's.

Business Cards

Given I've recently re-designed my CV and Portfolio, I tweaked my business cards slightly to match them. The font sizes match, the line weight is the same as the line weight on my CV, and the logo is the same size as it is on my CV. The logo on the back is towards the bottom rather than placed centrally as it looks sturdier there, which helps reflect reliability.

William Hill Interview Preparation

I've been offered an interview with William Hill following my application. As part of the interview they'd like me to looks at their press advertising and that of their competitors to suggest how theirs could be improved.

Ladbrokes

These posters for Ladbrokes were the only real press adverts I could find for any bookmakers recently, they have a strong and recognisable aesthetic with messages that try to entice customers into betting using ego-boosting suggestions. 

The tone and aesthetic of the posters also matches that of the TV/Internet advert, which makes for a clear and coherent campaign.



The window advertising follows the same bold colour scheme as the posters, I feel like Ladbrokes print advertising successfully matches their TV campaigns and enticing customers.

Paddy Power

I also found this Paddy Power print campaign from 2002/2003 which uses inoffensive and somewhat slapstick humour to familiarise the audience with the technicalities of betting and to gain favour with the predominantly male audience.

However, the problem with this is that when it gets pushed too far it can cause complaints and bad publicity, the below examples show this.

It's easy to see how this sort of tone lead into the Oscar Pistorius poster below, which caused a lot of controversy at the time.

Whilst this doesn't give off the same sort of message William Hill want to get off, the tone of recent TV adverts has the same "laddish" and potentially offensive tone as the Pistorius advert and the more offensive 2002/2003 posters.





William Hill

William Hills advertising tends to promote considered betting, potentially turning the audience into a customer by sending them messages that they're in control. The below in-play TV adverts do this by rationalising the bet and making it appear sensible.  

This concept is reflected in the main advert at the moment, although the aesthetic and tone is very different, instead it tries to attract customers through excitement.



The printed material in the shop windows does neither, and feels very disjointed from the rest of the campaign, especially when it's compared to the relative success of Ladbrokes.

Betway, Betfair, Betfred and Coral

In my mind the strongest point of William Hill's campaign is their TV advert because of how it uses excitement to draw the attention of the audience and then pushes the message of control. This creates a much more individual tone than the adverts for online bookmakers Betway and Betfair which are very generic. The individualism and personality a physical bookmaker can provide that an online one can't is something that should be reflected in the print advertising. 





When you compare the advertising in the windows of William Hill (above) to those of Betfed and Coral (below), they all look more or less the same, showing not only are William Hill missing out on creating and individual aesthetic, but their competitors are as well meaning that were William Hill to improve their shop windows, they'd stand out amongst bookmakers for it.

BetVictor

Like Betway and Betfair, BetVictor is a purely online bookmaker, but have a similar message to William Hill, but the differing aesthetics of William Hill and BetVictor will ensure that were William Hills shop windows made to match their campaign, there's no chance they'd be associated with any other bookmaker - BetVictor would've been the most likely candidate for this to happen becuase of their similar message of control.



Summary

Their are very few press adverts for bookmakers, and the ones that do exist tend to be very similar and have no personality or link to the main campaign of the bookmaker, with Ladbrokes arguably being an exception.

My suggetsions for improvement would be to change the print advertising in the shop windows to reflect the message, tone and aesthetic of the TV adverts, creating a more exciting and enticing display. Doing this would lift the moods of customers, making them more likely to spend more money.

Promotional Video Editing

The promotional video underwent some changes today, including the addition of the title and credit screens I designed which are shown below.

The updated video now looks like this after the changes were implemented.

Giving Our Game The Beauty It Deserves from Kit Cowey on Vimeo.

The ending still feels a bit disjointed. It shows a clip of David Beckham while the commentary continues over a photograph of our work featuring a different player, with the credits screen sort of stuck on at the end.

After discussing this with Joe and Kit, we decided to remove the photograph of the weakest poster and replace it with the poster from the end and remove the David Beckham clip and commentary that plays over the credits screen. We'd replace this with a clip of an important goal from Leicester City's premier league recent title win with accompanying commentary, with the clip cutting out to the credit screen while the commentary continues. This simplifies the ending, keeps it in line with the rest of the video, and makes it a lot more current.

The end result is shown below, we're really pleased with it.

Job Applications

Having received generally positive feedback from the portfolio surgery yesterday I've started applying for some jobs I'd bookmarked over the past few weeks.

Midwight Designer via MET Marketing

Graphic Designer at RFE International via Brand Republic Jobs

Junior Press Designer at William Hill

Things To Do In The Final 2 Weeks List

1. Start applying for jobs
2. Finish design boards for current work
3. Prepare/update material required for freelance work
4. Work more on extended practice making adjustments based on the feedback from the portfolio surgery earlier today