Window graphics...

Getting paid....

This can be a nightmare and is very time consuming as well as frustrating.

After I have spent "X" number of hours working on a design for a client, it is annoying to have to spend further time and effort in chasing money that is owed to me.

Today I have been doing just that. Two of my current clients - in all likelihood, they will soon be ex-clients - have been reluctant to pay.

One of them, I will mention no names but they have 4 designs showcased on this very page - have not paid £75.00, despite the work being completed 5-6 weeks ago (Actually, I have just checked and the work was completed on October 20th). . I have had to send a reminder invoice which appears to have been ignored and have called my customer on his mobile to ask for payment - turns out he was in India when I called so more expense incurred! I have been assured he will pay when he returns on December 16.

My breath is not being held. I will happily start court proceedings to settle the matter.

The other customer instructed me to design and prepare graphics for his 2 vehicles; one has been completed and the other is all ready to apply but his employee never arrived at the agreed time.

I received a text message from him today saying he would pay for the first van but that they had got a 3rd party to do the graphics for the second van - despite knowing I had already prepared them.

Obviously, this annoyed me and I replied demanding immediate payment as the requested work had been prepared to his requirements. I called his employee and he has said that the work HAS NOT been done! My client has, surprise surprise, been uncontactable to speak to so I have left a voicemail asking what is going on and stating that I want payment or I will pursue the debt.

This prompted a reply saying that they want me to complete the work and will pay in cash next week. I will demand cash in my hand before I apply the graphics.

The question I have is - "Why lie to avoid paying what is quite a modest bill?"

This customer can f**k off once he has paid this bill as, quite frankly he is very time consuming and his jobs are not that profitable.

Recent work...newspaper advert...

A press advert for a client - the logo was created in 2006.

Recent work...newspaper advert...

Press adverts for one of our clients - colour and black/white versions. Both portrait and landscape versions.

Recent work...A5 leaflets...

Design work for A5 leaflets. I used InDesign to create the artwork, Photoshop to manipulate the images and Illustrator for the logo.

Recent work...vehicle graphics...

 
 

Vinyl graphics on a VW Transporter. This is the third vehicle I have done for this client, the previous two were both Ford Transit's.

On the right of the photo, you can see a fuel tank for TM Newburn Ltd; I put one vinyl logo on each of the four sides - each logo is 2 metres long.

Recent work...3D letters...

 

This work is for one of the largest manufacturers of fireplaces in the UK.

The logo spans four metres and is produced from 5mm white foam PVC faced with gray vinyl, closely matched to the company's Pantone reference, mounted to the fascia using simple stud fixings.

Recent work...window graphics...

This is a recent job for my tattooist, Roy Priestley, of Skin Shokz in Wyke, Bradford.

The window graphics are my handy work - design, production and application. The sign has nothing to do with me!

Roy wanted the "Tattoo" wording to be "old school" - the lettering is three coloured; black outline, red letter and yellow backing. The text on the two larger windows is red/yellow and white, yellow backed up in black.

Ho hum.....

Unable to make college on Thursday as we have got tickets to see Billy Bragg at The Leeds Academy.

It's in Leeds.....

"Waltz With Bashir"...

I really fancy seeing "Waltz With Bashir" - an animated film about the 1982 Lebanon War.

It looks to have some tremendous animation, set to a haunting soundtrack, and has been widely hailed as a superb work. As you can see from the attached images, the artwork is stunning - I particularly like the use of vibrant colours in some scenes set against others that ere less colourful, and sometimes monochrome.

I am quite partial to graphic novels - comics, as my wife calls them - and am looking forward to seeing the film.

I am looking forward to seeing the film in early December - it is out here on November 21st but only seems to have a limited release in selected cinemas; our nearest one is The National Media Museum in Bradford.

We have booked tickets for 5th December.

The synopsis is as follows:

"One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari Folman about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life.

Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images …"

"Waltz With Bashir"

The Art Of The Poster....

I quite fancy this exhibition, although it is in London and I would find it difficult to attend.

"THE ART OF THE POSTER - A Century of Design"

It is "a major retrospective exhibition celebrating poster design for the Capital's public transport network."

Dexter...

I quite like these fake magazine covers, recently designed to advertise the TV show "Dexter".

I like the way that they pay homage to some classic magazine covers - Rolling Stone and the New Yorker for example.

A decision....

I have decided to use the calendar that I have recently been working on for "Brighouse Pride" as the basis for my Personal Project.

The final part of the design was only finished yesterday and posted to the printer last night. More info to follow.....

Update...

I have been busy with work for my business and have been working on the designs for a calendar for Brighouse Pride - a local organisation promoting the town of Brighouse. The calendar had been a challenge as I have struggled to get the details of many of the 36 advertisers that have placed ads in it.

The InDesigner - no news to report on this I'm afraid. I think that Michael Murphy probably has too much on his plate at the moment with the recent arrival of his daughter. Fingers still crossed though!

Major Project - I have added a new page onto this blog for the Major Project; this project will be a collaboration between Joanna Flynn, Louise Doubble and myself. We have called ourselves Airtight. Our tutor, Patrick Dolan, is included in the group.

Calderdale Creatives - an online group set up by Patrick and accessed via Facebook.

Personal Project - I cannot find my notes for this (in fact I am unsure if we were given any hand outs at all!). I am struggling for a concept/theme. I will look at the D&AD site for some ideas. The briefs for their awards competitions are available.

Does this work...?

yes....

Jeff Koons...On The Roof

Whilst in the USA to attend my cousins wedding, we stopped in New York for a few days. We visited the Metropolitan Museum to see the work of Jeff Koons that is displayed on the museum roof.

New York is, without any doubt, my favourite place that I have visited. The scale of the buildings and the diversity of their design is incredible; the sheer volume of people and the throb of daily life is thrilling and the steam out of the pavements is great!

The Met is so big! I was stunned at the scale of the building and the size of the rooms that display the sculptures and exhibits. Like most things in America, it is done on such a vast scale that you feel such a sense of awe. I loved mooching around the museum, but we did not have anywhere near enough time to see even a fraction of the items displayed. I must go back soon.

The pieces are huge and brightly coloured. I really liked them...am not sure why, they just seemed right at that size and in that space.

Two birds, one stone...see some interesting pieces of art and check out the great views over Central Park.

Contact made....with TheIndesigner

As part of the course requires that we interview design professionals, I have today contacted Michael Murphy to ask if he is willing to answer a few questions.

Micheal is the genius behind The Indesigner podcasts that I regularly tell other students about. His work is fantastic and I hope he agrees to help. But, he is a very busy chap with many projects, seminars etc to attend to and has recently become a father - so, fingers crossed!

Less than 10 months to a BA....

hip hip hooray!

Missed...

I had to miss college yesterday due to too much work on at the moment. Hopefully, I have not got too far behind and Jo will update me.

All present and correct...

I think that I have everything I need for tomorow*. I am going to my printers to get two sets of my Playboy essay printed on a good quality gloss paper; then the GDIC project will be presented in the best possible way.

*Just spotted the time - for "tomorrow" read as "today".

Things to be completed for tomorrow...

PDP5:
Personal Branding Completed 19th January 2008
Action Plan Completed 20th January 2008
Reflective Log Ongoing
Research File Ongoing
Business Plan Completed
Copyright Project Completed in class
Ethnical Project Completed in class

Graphic Design in Context (GDIC):
Futures Project Completed in class
Cultural Project Completed in class
Presentation of GDIC idea Completed in class December 2007
GDIC Research Completed
GDIC Essay Completed 7th January 2008
GDIC Essay Designed Completed 20th January 2008

Deadlines...

The deadline for current work is Thursday 24th January 2008 - this week!!

But, I am only at college on Monday - so my deadline is.......tomorrow!

Feeling really good about course today...

Today I feel so good about the course.

Following on from my blog entry last night about yesterdays discussions, I stumbled across the contact details for Paul Nini. We have exchanged a few emails and he has given me some very useful information regarding the ethical side of design.

As a fantastic bonus - as if getting a bona fide American professor to personally contact you was not good enough! - Paul sent a link to another of his articles "Typography and the Aging Eye" that will be rich material for another part of this course.

My decision to take a gamble on emailing Paul has reaped huge awards! Thank you Paul.

Last night at college...

I handed in my Graphic Design in Context essay as a printed A4 document. I think Patrick thought that the printouts were my finished "designed" final submission!

This evening we looked in Ethics in Graphic Design and Artistic Copyright.

We went through all the things we need to submit by January 21st - my what a lot there is still to do.

Monday 12th November 2007...

Saturday 10th November 2007...

Wednesday 7th November 2007

Too much to type...

I do not have the time to type up all my handwritten log entries. So, I will simply upload the scanned pages.