Psyop and Massmarket

Earlier on this year we had the opportunity to visit New York. Although the city is amazing and i thoroughly enjoyed my time there, the main attraction for my return would definitely be the studio visit to Psyop.

Psyop are responsible for some iconic pieces, including the coke advert called 'Happiness Factory'

Although Psyop created this piece, it isnt my favourite as their is another piece which i found much more inspirational.

http://rorysnaddonmi.blogspot.com/2009/11/psyop-guinessdot.html

http://www.psyop.tv/

This studio visit is by far my favourite as the atmosphere and professionalism was matched by a laid back atmosphere which wasn't distracting but instead, necessary for the work flow. This laid back atmosphere wasn't with the work effort or even designers, it was shown by the fact that the studio had 4 or 5 dogs walking around it, almost like pets, helping create an atmosphere which wasn't overpowering.

We were shown the studio and the show reel by the PR side of the company, a woman called Kimmy who had been part of the company since its initial development. This was helpful in learning about how the company had developed, how it had branched off as well as the future of the company.

The main reason why i enjoyed this studio visit was because the atmosphere around the building was friendly, with people happy to talk to us as well answer any questions that we had about the work, the programs as well as any inspirations that have helped in the development of certain pieces.

To tie off a great studio visit, Kimmy also informed us that she would be happy with some us sending over some of our work in order for the company to review it/ see how we could progress within industry. This is an offer which i will be taking up in the near future.

Lauren Moriarty

One of the visiting lecturers this year was a design and textiles based designer called Lauren Moriarty.

Although her market and area of design are apart from my own, i found that some of the things she was talking about were informative and interesting. This was mainly when she was talking about the things that have inspired her work, and how the inspirations have enabled her work to develop and become accessible within industry.

The main inspiration which took form in a lot of her work is the idea of Illusion. Lauren liked the idea that something could be one thing, but look like something else. The main problem that she faced when using these ideas was, how could she communicate this within her products?

The reason why i liked the majority of this lecture was due to the fact that she, as a designer, had played around with a lot of ideas and materials, some of which were successful but she also wasn't afraid to talk about the less successful pieces. Lauren didn't stop there though, she also explained how, through development, she was able to take some of the less successful pieces and create something new and fresh.

Although i found a lot of good points in this lecture, i also found that for some of the the time, i was uninterested and bored. This was mainly due to the time in which she was talking about how she sells her items online through the use of PayPal. This area of her talk didn't interest me in the slightest and found her talk much more interesting when she was talking about her career as a designer.

All in all, i found this lecture informative when thinking about industry, especially the part on magazine editors, that they always want the work immediately and so, a series of high res photos of your work, can always come in handy.

Thoughtful Presentation

Most lectures that we have viewed involve the work of artists, their inspirations as well as how they've come about throughout the years.

Thoughtful changed my perceptions on these lectures as they spent the majority of their time talking about things, little and large, which have inspired their work, their style as well as their outlook on work.

This, in my eyes, was much more interesting as it meant that we, as the audience could see how they, as the company and individuals, have developed. An example of this is when Chris explained how he was inspired by Beckhams free kick goal that meant either victory or defeat for England. This event inspired him, not because its design but because its a tale of inspiration and necessity.

The lecture was broken down into bite size chunks through the use of videos in which designers were posed a question, and the answers linked into what Thoughtful were talking about next. This was a interesting change to the lecture as it meant that they had physically gone out of their way in order for us to gain insight into industry and industry leaders.

Another reason why i felt this lecture was more appealing to me was the fact that they didn't always talk about the positives, they talked about the challenges that they had to surpass in order to become the company that they are today.

All in all, i felt that this lecture was insightful and helpful to me as a designer