STUDIO BRIEF 2 - PART 2 - What I need to do next

• Upgrade the cargo site so I can add more product specific pages
• Promote BowDown on social media
• Make more work for the site
• Decide exactly what I'll be making in the first year and then how I can expand on it ( a proper plan )
• Promotion pack for Bow Down 
• Portfolio for Bow Down

STUDIO BRIEF 2 - PART 2 & 4 - Setting up Bow Down - Cargo, Gmail, Etsy..

Making a Cargo Collective account

Creating an email address

Creating an Etsy account

Linking etsy to the site

Editing the page names

Upgrade or not?

Ideally I'd like more than 3 pages down the side so I could have a page for cards, prints for your crib, contact, shop. 

These are the things I can easily start up as for now and make myself, then I could expand to other products such as t-shirts, iPhone covers, wrapping paper, gift tags, notebooks..
Ideally I'd like the shop to have a paypal account to it on the site and not have to link it to easy.

I'd also like a personal domain name but these all require the upgrade which I'm not sure I want to commit to just yet.

I think it will definitely be worthwhile doing to add more pages and have my own domain name. 

Adding Kris Jenner & Kanye to my etsy\

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/buybowdown

STUDIO BRIEF 2 - PART 2 & 4 - Bow Down domain names

Bow Down.com is not available. 

STUDIO BRIEF 1 - Presentation prep

Structure

• Start off with my pack last year - what I liked about it what I didn't 
• What I set out to do this year
• How extended practice has informed PPP
• The type of work I started to create
• Bow Down bubbling along the year
• Who I've contacted - artists, agencies, submitting work and failing
• Linkedin being big for me
• Google
• Wanting to work outside of the UK and how that's influenced being online
• Bow Down the idea - what it is what works on there
• Comissioning logo - Oliver Sucho, my attempts 
• Website - Cargo Collective
• Social Media - Instagram, Facebook. Ridding tumblr and instagram for AP illustrations. 

Last year - What did I like. I liked how professional it looked, if I was a graphic designer.. 

It made me take myself more seriously, and get my head around business cards and cvs etc. I invested time in making things look professionally finished. I looked into products and how you can put your illustrations onto them. What I didn't like - it wasn't me. I sucked the fun out of it, it was boring, it was too graphic, it didn't represent my work. I didn't like using my name. I thought I had to, when I didn't. 

What I set out to do this year - This year I wanted to gain a better sense of myself and what my work is. I wanted to stop making work for briefs that don't suit me. I wanted to stop getting bored of my work and really have a play around. I wanted to represent myself as a brand rather than an illustrator. 

How extended practise has informed PPP - Extended practise is forming the brand. The work I produce in that is the beginning of what I want to be known as. In the past I've never been proud of my work. At the start of the year I made a portfolio and when it came to choosing the work I didn't think the majority of it represents what I want to be doing in the future so I didn't want to showcase it. Extended practise is giving me that room to play with what it is I really want to be doing. 

The type of work I want to create - I like people. I like the news. I like trends. I like being current. I like being funny. I like knowing what people are talking about. I am nosy. I don't like being told what to do. I like to know what people are buying into. THIS INFORMS MY WORK. I want to make funny illustrated products based on things happening around us, what people are talking about, what isn't normal, what can't be bought in your average shop, what's fresh and funny and reflects people, real people, celebrities, musicians, politicians.. I don't want to make a book cover, I don't want to make a label for a product, I don't want to make an album cover because it BORES ME.

Bow down bubbling along - Looking through my old PPP posts it's interesting to see how Bow Down has been bubbling away all along. It started off in first year with Mr Bingo making the penny drop for me with his style of drawing and how you can be funny and put funny things onto products and have people buy into them like hate mail. Then it came to Life's a pitch. I thought of the name and in our group it was going to be quite a satirical website based on cultural trends and overly offensive. 

I made the name Bow Down as a comment on how society bows down to what they read and are told, they go along with it. This is saying, bow down to this new way of thinking. Stop buying into a boring greetings card, have a laugh. Without even realising, I'd made greetings cards for a module and on the back for a fake website I'd put bowdown.com. I keep noticing little things where bowdown has been the idea, and now I am actually making it happen. 

Who I've contacted - Mr Bingo. Chris Simpsons artist. Marketers x3, threadless, ohhdeer, brainbox candy, paper chase, spiceuk, google. 

Linked in - As Adele Pierce, Linkedin has been good for me to start to get contacts, but then I want to promote Bow Down on there keeping my 500+ contacts. I add bits of work and it can cause a stir, so If I promote Bow Down on there that's another good platform for showcasing the brand.

Google - I have two friends that work for Google and I've been saying for ages get me in there, how do I get in. Following people on linkedin, bugging them with questions (they never reply) but they are obviously a really successful company to work for. I set myself the challenge of making some designs for them of their homepage, the same job as the google doodlers do. One of my friends asked the google doodle team if they had any positions available and they asked to see my work. I was over the moon, but also extremely terrified. It was at this point in time I had no confidence in the work I'd produced so far (not to show Google!) and realised I needed to make more professional work that reflected my practise more. I created a portfolio, with one of my Google designs at the end of it to show them that I was capable of being a Google Doodler. They said they would take a look and be in touch for contact details. They never ever got back. Looking back though, as good as Google is, being a doodler wouldn't be ideal for me. I am too funny. I struggled to even create 10 images because the brief I gave myself, again bored me because I didn't want to make work about Queen Elizabeth having an anniversary, I want to illustrate the queen having a poo or picking her nose or something… Which Google was never going to accept.

Wanting to work outside of the UK and how that's influenced my career decision - I want to be online and the shop for me seems a good way of being able to be mobile. I will move home for a year to set this up, but once it's up and running I want to be able to  move away with it and promote it in other countries. I don't like the UK and I'm getting on now 26 wanting to start a family in a few years I want to be away to do that. I will still be an illustrator and have a separate portfolio for that to send out but the focus at the minute or at least for the next year will be selling my own stuff.

Comissioning logo - To kick it off I needed a logo. To set up my website and gmail accounts I've used the original logo I made for life's a pitch for now because it's plain and reflects the typography that I use within the illustrations. However, I have commissioned a graphic designer £100 to create a new one for me. I think his work represents the kind of fresh, current vibe I've got going on within my drawings and he would be able to create one to a higher standard which will look more professional across all of the formats such as the website, social media etc. I did try myself… and it went shocking!

Website - Cargo collective. Again without realising I had set up a website at the start of last year which I thought would be under Adele Pierce but when I went on it was under the name bow down so that freaked me out. The website is definitely a working process. I am not a web designer, all of this stuff goes over my head, but I have done my best up until now. I upgraded the site to have a personal domain name www.buybowdown.com and to add more pages which I definitely needed.
It's pretty basic at the minute because I don't have all of the work made ready for the site. I have gave myself the deadline of July to get this finished and ready to launch, promote and advertise. This gives me chance to finish extended practise to have all of the work ready to put on, and also extra bits of work such as cushions etc. It also gives me time to contact marketers, get a business loan, do all the behind the scenes stuff ready to launch. By july I will be moved back home and have my own studio set up so I can focus on it completely.

Social media - I am setting up a meeting with a marketer about this because I will need a new instagram account, perhaps a twitter etc. I have set up an etsy for the orders, but for the rest I am holding off for now because I am not sure whether it's professional to have those as a brand.

STUDIO BRIEF 2 - PART 2 - Commissioning my logo

I got in touch with OliverSucho for my logo design asking him how much he charges and this was his response:

I decided £100 was reasonable for something that I am going to be using long term but I can't pay it for another couple of weeks, and since he wants to get started on it I thought I would let him know that for now before he starts making the artwork. He was okay with that though, and said that he would be in touch with ideas whilst I am away. 

This is great because I have a logo so far a rough one to set things up and running but it means I will have a much more professional logo representative of the type of work I create. 

The mood board I sent him :

COLOUR, CONTENT & SCALE 

I explained to Oliver that I wanted my logo to be black and white because I feel this will work best along all platforms. KEEP IT SIMPLE. Simple is key on the site so it's easy to read, simple so it can be broken down into BD for favicons, smaller logos. Black and white so it will work well on business cards, letterheads etc. Black and white also because that will work on any product and still be relevant. Keeping it monochrome and simple also opens up a wider audience base. My logo also needs to work across a variety of scales too from tiny favicon next to the website link, on different shaped products, to letterheads and business cards, web banners etc, and hopefully one day a shop logo! 

I tried different colours for the logo and it simply doesn't work

Although it looks more playful, it is not as professional. I told Oliver I am open to colour if it works alongside my artwork and can work across all platforms. 

STUDIO BRIEF 2 - PART 2 - Agents

Folio Society

They look after 50 artists which is nothing compared to AOI who represent over 1,000 artists.

Lemonade 

STUDIO BRIEF 2 - PART 2 - AOI

I couldn't make the AOI lecture but I got some helpful notes from my friends who attended.

• Keep your blog up to date because it's unprofessional when it hasn't been posted on for a while 
• Keep personal work to show your interests
• Twitter - if you don't do it well and keep up with it then don't do it
• research exactly who you want to work for
• accounts - register for income tax within 3 months of starting - once a year, keep invoices printed out, keep up to date, retain all claimable receipts, cultural expenditure. 
• Copyright - its better to create own visuals than use someones reference you don't know
• if you collaborate make a contract
• copyright can be assigned to a client - strongly advise against doing this, if you do the cost of your copyright should be extremely high and must cover all possible future usages so it can be used whenever without your permission and you won't be able to use it in your portfolio
• online rights - low resolution file 72dpi and name the file. use copyright symbol on every page of your social media
• contracts - make an agreement binding, give clarity and certainty
• have confidence! you have every right to ask questions of the contract
• a verbal arrangement is key, keep that informal and then give a formal contract - acceptance of commision form
• if you are receiving money for a job it needs a contract - who's doing what, by when, by whom, who its for and how much youre getting 
• t's & c's - cancellation fees - legally you should still be getting paid. Look at sheet - delivery dates, roughs, artwork. Used to avoid arguments
• If you don't show professionalism you will fall into trouble later on. 
• Before you start the work sign the acceptance of commission form
• Pricing - do not work for free, ever. Have confidence and value yourself, don't accept a lower price just because you are younger. Quote accurately, accurate pricing and licencing.
• Ask them about the client if theyre being vague - UK based, worldwide, how many companies they have?
• A licence is separate to selling original artwork or print, no rights transfer and no licence is granted for such transaction. 
• Licencing - to accurately price you need to know : client profile - multinational or local shop? Usage - postcard for small business? nationwide campaign? re-uses of the design can be negotated later on if necessary. 
• Budget - does the client have a budget in mind? If you incorrectly sell yourself at the beginning, when the client comes back it is hard to change it. 
• Advertising price - above the line advertising, publicity material appearing within paid space advertising. Print - magazines, newspapers, poster, billboards. Digital - banner ads, promoted social media posts, digital mags. Editorial - quite fixed prices. Free newspaper - single use £350-400 per illustration. 
• Packaging pricing - usage: food and drink. territory: regional/national/worldwide. Duration: limited addition - 1 3 or 5 yrs. Large UK supermarket - range of 12 printed packages only £400/450 per illustration. Large drink brands worldwide licence 1 year for all package - £2000
• AOI - what they can do, dedicated support, access to members only sections, interview advice. 

STUDIO BRIEF 1 - CONTACTING Mr.Bingo

STUDIO BRIEF 1 - CONTACTING Chris Simpsons artist

On his site there is nothing available to get in touch with him so I checked on his Facebook page for emails. Couldn't find anything on there either so it's clear this is a guy that isn't taking on commissions or getting involved with clients, just purely selling his work online which is interesting. However, I decided to Facebook message him.

He replied within an hour:

STUDIO BRIEF 2 - PART 2 & 4 Becoming Bow Down

I had a one to one which really helped me figure out where I'm at in terms of how I want to represent myself.

THE PROBLEM
I started to get really confused between promoting myself as Adele Pierce and promoting myself as the brand I want to be which is Bow Down.
I was confusing the cross overs with 602 and PPP because the work I am making in extended practice is what will form the website Bow Down so things were becoming confusing in my head.

WHAT WENT DOWN IN THE 1 TO 1
I was told to lay out all of my briefs and talk through how they have informed who I am and what my practice has become for PPP. It was interesting to see how I started off taking on briefs that were not really of interest to me just for the sake of doing them or because other people were. The big briefs I thought were substantial like YCN, editorial and book publishing briefs that are what it appears to be to be an illustrator, doing what everyone else around me is doing.... but its not me.
I get bored of it, it doesn't keep me entertained.

WHAT IM INTERESTED IN
You can see my journey from start to finish where I've really battled with who I am and how taking on one brief informs another and I start to really establish what I am interested in.
I like topical events, I like to know what's going on around me, what people are talking about, what they're picking up on, how I can twist it, how I can make it funny, how I can get people thinking about things, how I can shock people. I like human behaviour and I always have done.
Translating these interests across into illustrations I like to see them on products, I want to sell sell sell.

WHERE IT CAME FROM
Bow Down originated from Life's a Pitch last year, I'd thought up the name and it was based on how we as a culture bow down to what society tells us to do, how to act, what to believe. This was a new wave of illustration, bow down to this idea of what life is through our art, take note of this instead of what you read or hear in the news or around you. I like to question things, I like to mock things.
The idea has stuck with me as something I really want to take on. I want to create a website whereby I can sell my illustrations on products under this name. I want to be known as Bow Down instead of Adele Pierce illustrations.

CREATIVE PACK & PROMOTION
Last year creating my pack I really struggled. I am not a graphic designer, I can't make business cards, I can't do logos. It's not my thing.. so I put together a pack that was non representative of me and who I really am, I just put it together for the sake of the module which is wrong. It doesn't tell you anything about me or what my work is like. Yeah I made some keyrings with my work on, but the pack itself wasn't fun.

SOCIAL MEDIA
This year I don't want to be Adele Pierce.. that's boring. Bow Down allows me to take on this persona and I think is far more interesting. When contacting people I will be Adele at BowDown. All my social media sites under Adele Pierce illustrations will stop. I won't delete them because they were a part of me becoming who I am but I will make new accounts under Bow Down.


PORTFOLIO
All of my work from now on will be focused on work that will be sold on products on the site. I will create a new portfolio for that, and a separate one for my personal work under Adele Pierce that I may wish to send to clients.

CONTACTING PEOPLE
The main reason I think I want to make this site and become a different brand is because when I try to  show people my work and get involved in sites such as Threadless, Brainbox Candy, Scribbler etc they all decline my work and this is due to either copyright issues, being too crude, or not fitting in with their aesthetics. Last year I tried to mellow this down with my greetings cards not being so crude and trying to fit in with what I can get away with selling in companies like that. However this year I thought, I don't want to water myself down. I want to be who I want to be and do it for myself. I now see these people as my competition, not someone I want to work for... queue the 'if you cant handle me at my worst you don't deserve me at my best' speech! Just because my work doesn't fit in with what they want, doesn't mean it won't sell and theres not a market out there for it. Say for instance I have Bow Down up and running, if someone emailed me a really cute bunny card that wouldn't fit in with what I am trying to do either, but I am not saying there isn't a market for cute bunny cards.
I want to become more like Chris Simpsons artist, Mr Bingo, these people that have a name for themselves for being a little bit out there and crude and different. Work you wouldn't expect to find in store. I guess that makes me a little bit nervous though about how I am not leaving myself much scope to work for other people.

STUDIO BRIEF 2 - PART 4 - Joining Redbubble to sell work

The only problem is I think if you upload your image, they put it onto all products. Which is a nightmare because not all of my images would make sense across other products, some are going to be product specific. For example the mug idea for extended practice, or notebook will only work on a notebook. 

Things I want to sell

Briefing

Notes

• Minimum of 10 people/studios/agencies been looking at for the future
• jobs/places
• engage with career track tuesdays
• AOI lecture
• Visiting professionals
• actively researching/planning the future

Presentation

• 15 mins powerpoint/PDF
• 14/15TH April deadline for that
• branded professionally
• use specific case studies of what you've done

Portfolio

• Who is the target audience
• Who sent it to
• Who intend to send it to

Boards

• 21st april - 5x A3 boards - personal branding, portfolio (not whole just idea of), online presence

300 word summative statement

• what you are
• kind of clients
• what you'll do 
• how you'll operate

Written summative evaluation 

• extract from presentation key elements

Issue presentation

Issue boards

Issue portfolio of work (10-15 pieces)

STUDIO BRIEF 1 - Spice UK getting in touch

After uploading my work across various social media sites Joel Boroquaye of Spice UK radio station saw my BOWDOWN2 Topical Illustrations from extended practice and messaged me asking if I'd like to have a place on their website uploading my work, like an art blog, because he feels my work is so current. I'd made friends with him after doing previous work for him last year animating a logo for him so it was good to keep him as a contact, despite him being a bit of a pain last year getting me to edit the logo so many times! I vouched I wouldn't do any commissions for him again, but it's nice to have a silver lining to that in that he's remembered me and wants me to get involved.

I thought this was really nice of him to do and also gives me another platform to put my work across on, and that people could be discussing my illustrations on a radio station, which is pretty exciting. 

STUDIO BRIEF 2 - PART 4 - Putting my work on Linkedin

I'm still putting my work onto linkedin and it's getting some likes and comments which I am really pleased about. I like the fact that people I am not a connection with can see it and like it also, so I then connect with them, as a way of saying thank you.

STUDIO BRIEF 1 - Getting back in touch with Brainbox Candy

Brainbox Candy said that they would look forward to seeing more ideas I come up with in the future, so I decided to send them my Leonardo DiCapricard.

Even if they don't like it for themselves, I thought if I keep in contact then I've made a friend. Keeping it on first name basis too.