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POSTGRADUATEAn MA in Graphics Design, Advertising, or Marketing is something I am considering after a year of work experience.

I have looked at a couple of universities such as Kingston, Bournemouth, Southampton, Not-tingham Trent. I may even go abroad.

It is not something that I have looked into depth, as it something that I have skimmed through with my parents. My parents are very involved with my eduvcative life, and feel it would be the best for me. My dad would like me to open my own company in Ghana once I have my experince and MA degree. As there are not many Advertsing companies in Ghana, I think I could have a chance.

This is a course for graduates who want to work in the Advertising and Marketing Communications industry but may not have studied a related undergraduate degree.

It is one of the leading courses of its kind in the country. Bournemouth was the first UK university to offer marketing communications at Mas-ters level. The programme attracts students from all over the world as well as from the UK and is delivered over three terms for those study-ing on a full-time basis.

Bournemouth is renowned for its Advertising programmes throughout the UK and our programmes are highly regarded by the agency world. Please note that the advertising component for this degree is from the management perspective and is not intended to develop either copy-writers or art directors.

The term Marketing Communications is the means by which a compa-ny relates to and communicates with its customers and clients outside of the major discipline of Advertising. It employs above and below-the-line communication - sales promotion, sponsorship, public relations, direct marketing and personal selling. These functions are shaped by marketing strategy and conditioned by a rapidly changing global media environment.

Many of the staff who teach on the programme have worked with large advertising agencies and client companies. These established connec-tions are strengthened by strong links with industry which include live briefs, guest lectures and master classes and employment opportunities.

Open days for September 2012 have not yet been set, but I have booked a place for the 9/3/2011 at 5pm for MA Graphic Design and a place for MSc Marketing (Advertising & Communications) on the 2/2/2011 at 4pm

CHURCHShowing my posters in Church, to the Pastor’s and the rest of the congrega-tion was the best feeling ever. I was just going to have them published in the churches weekely newsletter, but my Pastor pointed out that the news-letter was very low quality and would not do my posters any justice. So we came up with another solution.

I sent him a couple of my posters and the technition guys would display it on the display board. I explained to the congregation a little about what i was doing, and how it related. Whilst I was taking pictures, my Pastor ready through it to the congregation and explained it to them. Everything went really well.

It makde so much sense, and it really was not what I was expecting. Every-one was so understanding and I even got a round of a plause in the end, like I was a celebrity or something. It was a great feeling, knowing that i had ac-compished something, and everyone was pround and supportive. It was not what I was expecting at all.

People said it was amazing what I had done. My Pastor explained to the congregation that I had told him earlier that I dod not need to add any imagery because the text was effective enough, and I got an Amen!

To share this with the Church, was exactly what I wanted, and I think displaying it and getting the audiences’ attention was a much better way to go. If I had placed it in the newsletter, peo-ple my not even have noticed it. Qual-ity is definitely everything. I received a better response than I had thought, and I can definitely say it was a suc-cess. It was really nerve-racking but I got through it. My Pastor said to me my work showed that I was maturing as a person and more importantly as a Christian, this meant alot to me.

EXHIBITIONFor another part of my extrenal po-sitioning, as a group some of the graphic design third years decided to have an exhibition, to exhibit any piece of work that we had. It did not have to be completed, it could be work in progress. In total, there were 27 of us, and we came together about twice a week to discuss, where, when, how and what we were going to do.

We eventually found The Ebbisham Cente as a place to hold the exhibi-tion. They gave us one of their rooms, ‘The Zone’, to hire for two days. We all had to contribute money in order to hire the place.

Once we had the space sorted out, we decided to assign people to groups, Refreshments, Advertising, Workshop and Creative.

The refreshments team were in charge of buying refreshments with the money we had left over from hiring the space, for people to have at the private show, on the first night of the exhibition. I was apart of this team.

The advertising team, were incharge of making posters and flyers to hand out for the exhibition. They had to have all the details correct as well as getting the posters printed and out on the streets, before the exhibition. They also had to come up with a striking im-age, to get people interested.

The workshop team were incharge of creating things, anything whilst the exhibition was taking place. People of the public were free to participate or watch. There was screenpriting going on, Book binding and making, Lino printing, Portrait drawing, Pimp my face (were people could add features to their face to pimp their face. Mous-taches, lips, glasses, beards, ties, bows etc).

The creative team were incharge of

allocating the exhibitors their spaces in the exhibition, and also designing the space to our satisfaction.

In the exhibition, we had posters, animations, books, screenprints etc. The animations were put on a mac and shown on the wall using a projec-tor. We had a mirror were people could write their comments on what they thought about the exhibition. All the comments were positive which was great!

We also had a mini shop were the people of the public could buy post-card sized posters of what was exhib-ited, and other little gifts, but not every exhibitor participated in that. The shop was a great success and we made quite alot of money from that as a group.

Everyone participated in the exhibition equally and we could not have done it without each other. It was a great suc-cess and I am so proud and glad that I was apart of it. It is definitely some-thing I would do again. It was a great achievement and an amazing feeling to know that I could accomplish some-thing like this. I would say that the people who did not participate really missed out.

Every exhibitors work was really interesting. To quote Bev Whitehead, “I dont like when people ask me what I think, but I would definitely say that Lavine’s work surprised me the most.”Bev was really impressed with my posters and said they were very con-traversial. He did give me some tips on what else I could have done, but he also said it was perfect how I had done it. He gave me a lot of praise, which I was really happy about but also quite surprised.

Next to my posters, on a plaque, I explained what they were about, how I had done, why I did them and what I wanted from them. After having this

exhibition, I learnt that it is not easy at all, there is alot of time, effort, hard-work and money that goes into it, but in the end it is all worth it.

On the Friday after the exhibition, I took the rest of my postcards to my friends church, and I was able to sell 50 postcards. A Sunday school teach-er of the Church bought them say-ing he could do with some for a topic that he would teach in class. Which I though was great, another way to get into the midsets of the young ones.

I have always been interested in advertis-ing, mostly print based. Lately, I have had the passion for outdoor advertising. I know that whatever direction I go in, it will involve advertising. Over the last few months, I have discovered public art, which I also think is in the category of outdoor advertis-ing.

I would like to work for a design company who work with advertising, print based or public art and intervention. I also think about opening my own company, probably in an-other country, doing public art and advertis-ing.

For me public art is all about getting your opinion out there, and seeing how peo-ple react. Whether they react or not it still counts. You get combine your likes together, art and your opinion. The thing with public art is that it never gets old. Your opinion can always be updated, and so can your design style. I also have a thing about large scale, which is the reason why I have been so interested in public art. To have the urge to do art outdoors, is amazing, which is what I want to do. I have never actually put my de-signs out there, put I think I will really enjoy it. I think it will be slightly nerve racking, but i am definitely going to go for it.

My aim is to at least have something of mine on the streets.

Jenny Holzer, Bob and Roberta Smith, Why not associates, Clear Channel Outdoor, CBS Outdoor, Gillian Wearing, Banksy, Liam Gillick, Abram Games and many oth-ers.

I really love Jenny Holzer, although I just re-cently got to know about her. Her work is so

amazing, for someone to think that way. It’s not that she uses her own her opinions, but her ‘external positioning’, is bizarre. I mean how can you think to project your point of view on huge buildings? How does she do it. That is my aim in life now. I have to do that before I die. Ok thats a bit extreme,

but I do have to do it though. Its a must. I haven’t the faintest idea how, or when but it shall be done. Of course I already have my opinions, so that’s a start hehe. Holzer questions, what our eyes can see and what we can’t see in media, whether con-sumers today have any real control over the information that is provided to them.

I mean its all about collecting different quotes and putting them together. Mixing up references together: a method and a message.

ADVERTISING AGENCIESI do have a number of agencis I have been looking into such as Adam and Eve Lon-don, JWT, Mother London, RKCR, Uber Agency, BBH, and many others. The two I am most attracted to are JWT London and Adam and Eve London. I have looked at their work, and have read what they are all about. I would say I got more information on JWT than Adam and Eve. It is very dif-ficult to get such information, as everyone is busy, especially at this time of year. So I am just going to talk about JWT for now, until I get some info on Adam and Eve.

What I can say about Adam and Eve is that thy have worked for cliets such as John Lewis, which was one of the reasons I fell in love with them in the first place. The ideas the came up with for John Lewis campaigns were just amazing, and that is the kind of mindset I want to be in. So creative, so imaginative, just wow!

But to move onto JWT London, although I did not get an internship with them, I found out alot of information about their gradu-ates programme.

Firstly, all grads at JWT London join as Trainee Account Managers. Account Man-agement is the focal point of the agency’s relationship with the client. They’ll work to meet their business agenda with a sound communications strategy, ultimately devel-oping an effective creative solution.

Account Managers are the axles in the wheels of the agency. As such, they work with all other departments, from planning and creative to TV and digital production, champi-oning the strategy from concept to execution, and driving the project from beginning to end.

At JWT, all their people live by the 4 Cs – Courageous, Curious, Creative, Courteous. They look for others who share these quali-ties, who are intent on seeking out new ideas and making them happen.

You do not have to be a graphic design stu-dent to work there. They have taken grads that have majored in Quantom Physics to Engineering - as long as you bring a fresh perspective to what they do.

You need to be able to stand up for your own point of view; but also be good at listening to other people. You need to think on your feet and constantly find new and more effective ways of doing things. And you need to be every bit as fanatical about great ideas as we are. What’s more you’ll bring bags of enthusi-asm and commitment – because tt is never a nine-to-five job.

They’ll start you off with a competitive salary and a £1,000 bonus on your first day. Plus 23 days’ holiday, life assurance, long-term disability insurance and health cover. Your salary will increase in line with your perform-ance – along with other benefits like further holidays and bonuses. (Although, that is not really important).

BBH’s first ad was for Levi’s and it showed a black sheep going against the herd. It be-came their agency icon. They are best known for creativity.

BBH work in a happy workplace where ideas are encouraged from any source. where eve-ryone has a right to be listened to and where honesty, decency and integrity are the guid-ing principles of our behaviour.

Their people are free to express themselves, to produce the very best work they can - and crucially, to enjoy their lives while they do it. Always keen to hear from like-minded souls who want to work alongside the very best in their industry.

The word ‘Uber’ means over, above, more than. Be-ing an award winning integrated advertising and de-sign agency, Uber have a fresh, creative ability and their assured service have resulted in an expanding client list, such as Casio, Best Western Hotel, X-box, Allied carpets and flooring and many others.

At only 6 years young, Uber have leapt to the fore-front of agencies in the northern creative landscape, collecting awards, developing brands and delivering results along the way.

It you don’t work for yourself, it’s better to work for the best.

D&AD is aboutI decided to do a D&AD brief for a number of reasons:1. To further my understanding of advertising and working to a brief.2. I had never done one before.3. It would be a great and possibly life chang-ing experience, whether I won or not. If I won I would get a D&AD pencil, which I could add to my portfolio.4. Agencies would be interested to know that I entered.

I decided to go with the ‘Westfield Stratford City’ brief, as it is in relation to advertising. The brief is to create an integrated campaign driving awareness of the launch of Westfield Stratford City as the new East London shop-ping destination. The call to action is to drive customers to the Westfield Stratford City website to add their names to a subsctiber list.

The idea is ‘East meets West: Stratford City represents the marrying of two distict aes-thetics, the vibrant, eclectic world of the East with prestige of Westfield’s brand heritage. How will they sit together in the communica-tion? They are looking for work that commu-nicates the arty, creative undertones of East London in a way that is relevant to the estab-lished Westfield brand.

Firstly I went to Stratford to see what the place was like, and to get a feel of the envi-ronment, and the kind of place I would be ad-vertising. The feeling I got from the place was choked, congested, flats upon flats, a run down shopping centre already existed. After seeing all this, I definitely thought that having a Westfield would brighten up the place, and there would be no problem with customers, as there were so many flats.

Westfield wish Stratford City to be associ-ated with the positive aspects of East Lon-don. However, Stratford itself is a problem.The area has a negative perception among shoppers-it’s a long way from Central London and there’s nothing currently drawing people there.

With the Olympics, there will be a huge amount of excitement (and media frenzy) in the build-up to the games, not to mention the tens of thousands of people walking through Stratford City every day of the competition. How can my campaign capitalise on this to ensure the centre’s continued success after the games are over?

The campaign must clearly articulate the location of the centre and ofcourse have the Westfield Stratford City logo.

I found on the website words I could use as buildings. Cultural, Fashion Forward, Urban Style, Food Fushion and A new metropolitical centre for East London. Each word would be on a building, to show that was what the new Stratford would be made of.

The other idea was similar. Apart from the fact that it would just say ‘A new metropolitical centre for East London’. With a model looking over Stratford.

For this design, I thought of having the old Stratford and the new Stratford merged together, so the difference would be obvi-ous. East meets West.

Another idea that I came up with, was to have a West-field flag piercing into the grounds of Stratford, to show that Westfield has landed and Stratford is going to be changing. Wesfield is stand-ing its ground, with the line ‘A new Stratford City Centre’.

For the next three images, I decided to go with the idea of family, and also the idea that Westfield Stratford City is for every-one. I decided to use cartoon characters to give the impression that everyone i welcome, even the people you would not expect i.e cartoon characters.

It is a place for everyone to enjoy the leisure activities. I used the simspons as a classic animated family that everybody knows and loves, I did the same with win-nie the pooh.

For the last image, I used the same con-cept of Westfield being a place for eve-ryone. I showed different people, men, women, old, young, from different places in England, that could or would travel to Stratford City for to show at Westfield, the new attraction in Stratford City. I think I would like to elaborate more on this con-cept.

There are still more ideas to come. The deadline is not until next year.

EVALUATIONI can honestly say I did not have a clue of what to do for this part of the unit for a good couple of weeks, which was really bad. Eventually when I did get to grips with it, I found quite a few ways of where and how I could posi-tion my work.

I am interested in advertising, so I obviously looked into ad agen-cies and saw what they had to offer, and how they worked.

The exhibition with the other GD third years was another way to go, as it is something I have never done before. Thirdly, the D&AD brief was another thing I though I should do because it ties into advertising, it would give me the experience of doing an intergrated ad campaign, and also again it is something I have never done before.

Having my posters displayed on the projector board, was an appropriate external position-ing for it. It made perfect sense, and is something to share with the community, a way to get the audience involved. It may be difficult positioning them in other Churches, but it was a great start.

I was worried that i would have to do two D&AD briefs, as I thought I would not be able to handle it, because I was already having trouble with the one brief that I had. But I think I have proven myself with my list of positionings as satisfactory.

Having had ideas of where I

could position my work, I think it was a really great idea as a unit. It got me to really think of where I saw myself/what I saw myself going next year. Although I had a rough idea, it put things into perspective for me.