SWOT & PEST McDonald's

P.E.S.T - fore casting what's going to happen.

Political

- Government regulations.

- Trade.

- Environment policy.

- Employment laws.

- Shopping centres, where something is situated.

Economic

- Economic growth.

- Shifts in minimum wage.

- Inflation, etc. 

Social

- Demographic and cultural aspects of companies market.

- Population growth.

- Age distribution.

-Immigration.

- Religion.

- Ethics, lifestyle.

- Education and health.

Technological

- Delivery of service, etc.

- Role of internet.

- Self service (robots replacing people).

- Apps, etc.

SWOT

Strength

I think my strengths lie mostly in craftsmanship and being able to create an overall tone/atmosphere within my work, which is also the aspect of my practice that I enjoy most. The overall look of something and making my work look clean-cut/professional is very important to me, however I want to start to think more about how I can apply a feeling/message more clearly in my work.

Weakness

The main weakness within my practice which I identified during first year and am making an effort to work on is the generation of ideas, thinking too quickly about how I want the final image to look - the aesthetic, before I have refined my roughs properly. I think this is sometimes due to getting too excited about making things straight away so I skip a set in between. As I progress through Level 5 I want to have this in the back of my mind, exhaustively drawing out every idea I have until I am completely happy with the concept before proceeding to the final illustrations.

Opportunity

The opportunities I am interested in taking are mostly to do with books/narrative and enhancing my own digital skills, which is something I am making an effort with at the moment. I would also like to take my practice into more editorial briefs, recently I have been really interested in this and want to start creating images, working from articles. Another thing I realised recently was how much I enjoy working from literature and writing in general.

Threat

Threats to my practice could include other practitioners who are high in demand or have a similar practice. Also, taking on too much work at one time, so balancing my own time between projects is a big thing I need to remember to manage. I think the main threat to my practice is myself, I often stop myself from putting my work out there and I tend to shy away a bit when people ask to see what I do. This year I aim to change my attitude towards this and become more confident when presenting and talking about my practice.

Study Task 2

Publishing & Book Design

Editorial & Reportage

Character & Narrative

Product & Packaging

Retail & Merchandise

Object & Environment

Advertising & Promotion

Where does my work sit within the creative industries?

At the moment I think my work sits mainly within the 'Publishing & Book Design', 'Editorial & Reportage' and 'Character & Narrative' industries. I am not too sure about the specialism of my work yet, but hopefully this is something I can continue to develop and hone in on as the year unfolds.

Where do I want my work to sit within the creative industries?

I would like to focus on making my work more relevant to other industries as well as developing my skills in the ones I feel I am already attached to, especially 'Product & Packaging' which sits well with 'Retail & Merchandise'. Hopefully I will begin to visualise how my work can evolve to fit these sectors with the professionalisation of my practice. Following this, I think especially with the collaboration of other practitioners in other design courses I could develop my work so it is malleable to a variety of other industries.

Thought Bubble

Morning

As all my house mates & co. were going to Thought Bubble on Saturday I decided to go in with them to look around before my shift as Student Ambassador started at 1pm. This year worked out really well for me because I got a free wristband for the festival, last year I remember spending an awful lot of money!

sneaky photo of Richard drawing in my book

Richard Ball - Vectormania

I found this beautiful book in the royal armouries room. Richard was a very nice chap and after chatting to him for a bit he did a little drawing in the front of my copy! I am fascinated by people who can use vectors so creatively.

Afternoon

I spent the afternoon on the LCA stall working as a Student Ambassador. Me and Naomi (third year) had a chat about the course and I asked her a few questions about what I can expect next year. We also took it in turns to have a wander around the stalls where I bumped into my buddy Robbie from my Art Foundation course in Nottingham!

Louise Lockhart Guest Lecturer

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/469078117417838977/

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/195273333820790378/

Printed Peanut

I found it really interesting to learn about Louise's inspirations for her work, especially in other practitioners such as Henri Matisse Jackum Nordstorm, Jonny Hannah, Madalena Matoso and Freja Erican. Her insight into the difference of researching with books rather than entirely on-screen was also something I completely agree with - there is a richness and physicality about a book in your hand. Let's not all becoming robots whose only inspiration derives from a screen.

Textures

Textures are something I really enjoy making and want to start collecting more of. Especially against a digital process, a texture can add so much to a piece of work.

At the end of her talk I asked Louise some questions about her process. I thought it was interesting that her work was made using white paper cutouts, textures and colour are added afterwards on Photoshop. I even got a free badge!