So, you’ve decided to pledge your eternal soul to the ad industry? Good choice. Welcome.
But this life is by invite only. If you want in, you first have to attract the attention of an agency. How? By proving you can do the very thing you’re applying for – advertising (your work).
Most people will tell you that it’s all about your portfolio of work, and they’re absolutely right. Good portfolios get people hired. They prove more than anything else that you have talent, a good work ethic and that you’re capable of finishing what you started. But how do you convince someone yours is worth looking at in the first place?
After all, you may have the best portfolio in all of Inscape, but it doesn’t help if no one wants to see it.
Enter the almighty CV. Think of it as an ad, an ad that helps you advertise your advertising work so that you can be added to an advertising agency who’ll pay you to advertise someone else’s work.
To help you along, I’m going to give you 5 tips on how to craft the perfect piece of agency bait.
1. Keep it relevant. Your resume is not an ad for you, it’s an ad for your portfolio. Although a short blurb about yourself is a nice idea, no one has the time to hear about your pugs. (Except me. I will never not want to hear about your dogs.)
2. Keep it factual. The first person to see your CV won’t be a creative, so if your CV lacks substance, fancy graphics won’t be enough to save it. Remember to include your intern experience and any awards you may have – they highlight your ambition.
3. Keep it classy. A headshot helps the reader form a mental image of you. Use a well-lit picture that reflects your professional self, not a thirst trap that reflects your lit self. Save it for Insta.
4. Keep it minimalist. Agency recruiters receive a metric ton of applications every week if yours isn’t immediately clear then it’s already out. Use only one page and tell them what they want to know with as little as possible.
5. Keep it crafted. This is the first piece of design that your potential employers will ever see, so make it promise of the work they can expect to find inside your portfolio. Never start the design process before you’ve written down everything you want to include – and remember kids, always use a concept.
Written By
Gregory Walker
According to his website (jnd.org, nd), Don Norman is the director of the newly established, The Design Lab, at University of California in San Diego. He is probably best known for his books on design, especially The Design of Everyday Things.
In his book ”The design of everyday things” he highlights seven design principles that industrial and product designers can use, but these principles are also applicable to designers of all disciplines.
1. Provide the Necessary Knowledge
Gyömrei, A. (2014) VitaPack https://www.behance.net/gallery/17793529/VitaPack-
Norman points out in his first step that when you create something you should make the usage or function of that product or design is known or even obvious. Your design should not hide its function but make it obvious.
“Well-designed objects are easy to interpret and understand. They contain visible clues to their operation” (Norman,1988).
Norman (1988) claims that knowledge comes from two places the “world” and the “head”. Either the product is something you know, like opening a bottle or it has clear instructions on how to use the product, tear here to open the packet.
When you design packaging for example, always make sure that you provide the knowledge or instructions but be careful not to make the instructions to complicated. Mark on the packaging if it should be cut open, tear open or if there is a flap and a perforation that needs to be punched.
2. Simplify
Naked waitresses:Now that we’ve got your attention (Picture: Murpheister75/Imgur).http://metro.co.uk/2014/03/09/the-best-sign-outside-a-pub-you-will-see-today-4497127/?ITO=facebook
Norman (1988) suggests you keep your instructions simple and to the point. No one needs a user manual to know how to open a box of cereal or how to apply a hair product. Consider short step by step instructions or a simple infographic to inform the consumer how to use the product.
On sale promotion, banners or point of purchase sales make sure the message of the promotion is clear, the date, how long the sale or promotion is on and mention the terms or conditions.
Norman (1988) points out how the digital clock was a design solution to the analogue clock because it is simple to read. The same with Velcro shoe fasteners that are the answer to the difficulty of tying shoelaces.
3. Show How to Use a Tool and Explain its State
Juice Penny (2002) http://www.pennyjuice.com/htmlversion/whoispj.htm
There is nothing worse than a badly designed website that is difficult to navigate and even worse to understand. According to Norman (1988), users want to know how to make something, in this case, a website, do what they want it to do.
If you are in a website wanting to book concert tickets, there is nothing more annoying than not knowing how or when to pay for your tickets. You need to understand the purpose of every tab on the website and make sure it does exactly what the viewer expects it to do.
It is also important to understand the state the user finds him or herself in. Does your website indicate where you are by a change of tab colour, or maybe the words became bold? No one likes being lost, especially on a website, prevent this by indicating the state your viewer finds themselves in.
4. Map Correctly
New York Times documentary, Obit (2016)http://www.avclub.com/article/here-are-10-most-beautiful-movie-posters-year-one–247308?utm_content=Main&utm_campaign=SF&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing
Our human minds naturally map things out or follow an implied path. In graphic design, we call these implied lines or visual cues.
When you are in charge of doing the layout for a newspaper you would always put the most important advert or news article on the 3 rd page. Our natural instinct is for your eye to shoot to that page automatically. This page needs to be bold and eye catching to help the reader along.
The same rule goes for article layout or any designs with heavy text. Type hierarchy leads your reader through the article; your type hierarchy maps out the order in which the reader will read the text and receive the information.
5. Use Constraints
Ward, C. (2011) Good Typography is invisible. http://www.typetoken.net/typeface/good-typography-is-invisible/
Just because we have an amazing colourful colour wheel with any colour under the sun to choose from does not mean you should use every single colour. The same rules go for typefaces. Be selective, and make sure you choose the correct typeface and colour for your design to ensure you send the correct message.
Constraints become significantly useful when designing for a business with existing branding. The company would have their design manual in place, and you as a designer would have to implement these constraints to create designs that speak to the company’s target market.
6. Expect Errors
O’Rourke, A. (ND) http://articles.bplans.com/10-tools-design-best-product-yet-giveaway/
No matter how detailed or well designed your product is some people will fail in using or reading it in an intended way.
There will always be someone who will open the box upside down, or will force open packaging. According to Norman (1988), most errors are either “slips” or “mistakes.” Slips are automatic, unconscious errors. Mistakes, in contrast, are conscious actions, usually involving having the wrong goal, or having incomplete or misleading information.
7. Consider Standardisation
Zahnzinger, M. (2015) http://refrigerators.reviewed.com/news/coca-cola-tests-out-a-new-unified-look-for-cans
Having a standard brand user manual enables the designer to design anything under the sun and still stay true to the look and feel of the brand. Standardising your design leaves no or very little room for error. Magazines and newspapers usually have a standard layout or a standard template they use.
In web design, designers use a standard width for their websites and a custom length to allow for scrolling. Type and colours are also standardised for the internet.
Using these seven principles of good design as your philosophy, will enable you to create better and more effective products and designs.
Hein Liebenberg is a Graphic Designer and all round DIY fanatic. He is currently a full time lecturer at Inscape Midrand Campus where he lectures Graphic Design. Hein enjoys twitter, anything that shines and architecture.
The culture of Africa is varied and manifold, consisting of an amalgamation of tribes that each have their own unique characteristics. It is a product of the diverse populations that today inhabit the continent of Africa and the African Diaspora. African culture is conveyed in its arts and crafts, folklore and religion, clothing, cuisine, music and the numerous dialects. Africa is so engorged with culture, with it not only changing from one country to another, but with a single country, many cultures can be unearthed.
Africa, obviously, has influenced and has been influenced by other countries. This can be portrayed in the willingness to adapt to the ever-changing modern world rather than staying rooted to our static culture. The westernized few, swayed by European culture, first denied African traditional culture, but with the increase of African nationalism, a cultural recovery occurred.
Africa has a phenomenal influence in the luxurious brands of the world, especially in the clothing or fashion industry. According to the Times Live online newsletter, the prestigious French brand and luxury retail company founded in 1854, Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly referred to as just Louis Vuitton, has a new collection in their men’s wear influenced by the Basotho Tribe. News broke out on the 13 th July 2017 and this was no better indicator to confirm Africa’s influence on luxury brands.
If there’s one sphere where the politics of cultural appropriation can be tested, or contested, it’s definitely fashion. Traditionally, designers have raided world history and culture in search of inspiration. In reality, the further a designer’s eye roams from their home territory, the better. Fashion is grounded in finding an escape and trying on alternative identities & lifestyles.
Louis Vuitton’s designs for their recent 2017 menswear collection prove that not only does the African culture have influence in other spheres, but fashion is one of the greatest. The LV collection features designs that derive inspiration from the generational Basotho blanket. In addition to this, the Ndebele’s zigzag patterns have been making their rounds in trending in the fashion world. These designs definitely pay homage to the tribes they draw inspiration from. The imagery is flawless & how these brands pay tribute to the African culture is mind-blowing.
With over 50 countries on this continent, Africa surely has a rich cultural diversity and with it comes various and numerous characteristics that western brands can draw inspiration from. Women’s traditional clothes in Ethiopia cloth called Shemma and are used to make Habesha Kemis ; their native traditional attire. The Zulu tribe wears a variety of attire, both traditional for ceremonial or culturally celebrated occasions. Traditional male clothing is usually light, consisting of a two-part apron used to cover the genitals and buttocks. The front piece is called Umutsha and the rear called Ibheshu . The women in Kenya wear a cloth called a Kanga, while the Masai men wear traditional clothes called Matavuvale.
Of course, these are intricately woven and designed with native patterns and designs, thus, creating uniqueness and phenomenal clothing forms. This, then, draws the eyes of western brands to Africa for both inspiration and influence.
Mosa Ntwampe holds a BA Communications Degree from North West University, Additionally, he has a higher certificate in Graphic Design from Oakfields College. Mosa is the Marketing Coordinator at the Inscape Education Group (Midrand Campus) and is currently pursuing his BA Honours Degree in Strategic Communications with the University of Johannesburg.
5 Design Industry Myths
There are a lot of myths about the design industry and with some industry experience you will get to know some of these myths very well and how to handle them. For students these all sound like a fairy-tale that happened once upon a time…
The first myth is the Knighthood. You have studied hard and got your design degree, you are now ready to go out into world to slay your dragon. The myth is that you only need your qualification to do this job. Yes, your qualification gives you the right tools, training and understanding for the job but it’s the experiences and the ability to learn that will count the most. The truth is that you will learn more in your first six months of working in industry than ever before.
The second myth is the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow or that your first job is your dream job. This might be true for the odd lucky person but for the rest of us this might not be the case. See this job as a stepping stone towards your dream job. The experience you gain will get you there in the end.
The third is the Ugly Duckling or that your own design standards don’t count in industry. Meeting a client’s specific requirements and expectations is very important but you don’t need to give up your own standards to make this happen. Sometimes you need to guide and help your client into the right direction to turn the ugly duckling into a swan.
The fourth myth is the Gremlin or that mistakes only happen in the first part of the job/project. The client is happy, the delivery date is set, you have checked your proof and everything is good to go at the printers. Nothing can go wrong now! But no one notices the Gremlin of a spelling error. Sometimes the Gremlin can be out of your hands like the case of the Hijacked delivery truck (this happened last year when the truck that was delivering the final project to the client was Hijacked, the content of the truck was dumped on the side of the road). Mistakes can happen at any time through the process, so be prepared.
The last myth is the Unicorn or the perfect client that understands what you are doing or know what they want. You might think that you found one in a client that knows what they want but it can easily be a donkey in disguise. These rare creatures are difficult to find and remain elusive. If you do find one, treat them well and they will return.
Written by
Stefanie Krynauw
Who are Open Days for?
Open Days are the ideal opportunity for you to visit before applying. All areas of our campuses will be open for you to get a real feel for our courses and student life at Inscape.
What happens at an Open Day?
Open Days give you the opportunity to find out everything you need to help with your decision. You will be able to:
To learn more and book your place, click here
Often, we are faced with the harsh reality of running-out-of-time especially when under pressure. For some strange reason we always manage to finish, be it minutes before an exam or hand-in. The downfall; we end up crashing for 3 days after.
For years I was convinced that my ‘method’ of coping during assessments is the solution. I’m saying ‘was’, because as much as it was successful, it wasn’t efficient. Honestly, we are all convinced our ‘method’ of coping is the answer. We end up training our bodies and minds to adjust to it. But then again, if your ‘method’ is working for you, why change it?
The important questions to answer are, ‘is your method effective and do you remain motivated and productive?’. Below are a few key tips which I feel can assist you to achieve the maximum outcome and reach the end.
Having enough sleep
The entire notion of ‘I do my best work during an all-nighter’ is a complete lie. Studies have proved that only a certain percent of our brain is actually functioning at 2am. The body requires a minimum of 7 to 8 hours of sleep a day. It is important that you train your body and mind to achieve this. Having enough sleep equals being more productive during crunch time.
Create a ‘spider diagram’
Map a diagram of your tasks on a large white board or sheet of paper. Do this a few weeks before your hand-in, in this way you can keep track of all the deliverables. Colour code your tasks form either – largest to smallest, easiest to most difficult or most to least important.
Eat well, keep active
Avoid fast foods, sugary drinks or stress eating. Try binging on healthier snacks such as baby carrots, nuts, water etc. Research can assist to finding which foods help with brain stimulating and productivity. Try to set aside at least 30 minutes to an hour for a brisk walk, run or a quick visit to the gym. Exercise acts as a stress reliever.
Choose a comfortable environment
We established that we all have a certain ‘method’ of working. Part of this is where we choose to set up, our comfortable place. It is important that we choose wisely are we fine to work alone or do we prefer to be part of a group? I personally prefer groups, it’s great to be motivated by others who are in the same situation. Let’s say you hit a creative block, it’s always helpful having a friend assist you in breaking through that barrier.
Take breaks
Taking breaks during the day are extremely important. Have a coffee, take a walk, a quick chat or my favourite; have a cigarette. Allow these breaks to come as a reward. Set small goals for yourself while working and when you reach these goals, claim your reward and take a break. Its imperative that you avoid trying to cram large volumes of work in at a time, this leads to unproductivity and procrastination.
Procrastinate, its good…
I see procrastination in two forms, the good and the productive. Let’s admit, procrastination is amazing; Facebook, Instagram and 9GAG amongst others. The key to productive procrastination is to find something to procrastinate on, but at the same time let it be beneficial. Choose a website, a book or an Instagram page relative to your studies, maybe even a chore. As ridiculous as this sounds procrastinate on inspiration or maybe finally get through the pile of dishes, it’s still regarded as being productive.
Keep the end goal in mind
Lastly, dealing with deadlines are tough, we all struggle to keep afloat during stressful times. The most important thing to remember is your ‘end goal’. Adapt a mindset, be sure to focus on what is important in your life; what do you want to achieve? Hard work without a doubt always pays off.
Good luck.
The Inscape 1st year Design Thinking brief ‘How to save the world’ asks students to explore their immediate social and environmental situations in Cape Town. Challenging questions are posed to these budding young designers who must seek solutions and raise awareness through a proposed design intervention and present final design concepts as an A3 poster. After reading the May-June 2018 edition of the Big Issue about the #zerowastemovement and Sir David Attenborough’s quest to raise awareness of the serious threat plastic marine pollution poses across the globe, my thoughts turned to the ubiquitous and universally utilised party balloon. Lately, my tuned in eco-conscious focus has banned them from my celebrations…. unless they are biodegradable!
Where does the connection between balloons and children originate…a connection so powerful that a children’s party without balloons is rare. It might be traced to the delightful and magical vintage children’s story The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse penned in 1956, later made into a short film, which traces the adventures of the story’s two main characters: a boy and a bright red balloon. A deep intangible relationship develops, described as a “love affair” by an online reviewer, ensured that this emotive, moving and unforgettable story forged an image so imaginative and beautiful that since then the cheerful and uplifting qualities of balloons are invested in for a variety of celebratory occasions, but prolific at children’s birthday parties around the world. Since balloons were first mass-produced in the 1930’s air or helium filled brightly coloured rubber balloons literally means PARTY. Foil balloons appeared in the 1970’s and have gained instant party cred…more expensive and lighter they add status to any gathering. Yet whether it is a children’s party, a restaurant outing, an office party or bigger themed party or sports event which involves apartheid era-biscuit tin design, Humphries Ltd, N’Dabeni, Cape, Republic of South Africa, date unknown designers creating balloon archways or dressing the façade of buildings with fanciful arrangements, balloons inevitably escape into the atmosphere returning to earth/sea/rivers or end up being thrown away in landfills at some point and this is devastating for our environment and well-being.* Raising awareness around the availability of biodegradable balloons is vital in minimising the effects for bird life on our landfills and marine life who often feed off rubber balloons as they appear very similar to natural food sources such as jellyfish, but cause starvation and ultimately extinction among a diversity of species.*Eco-responsible design is evident at The Cape Town Balloon and Event Company who utilise biodegradable balloons in their balloon creations that “are made from natural latex which biodegrades within about 6 months, they are also traded fairly and have been certified as coming from a sustainable source of natural latex. Their range of natural ribbon is compostable and dyed using natural dyes therefore have a minute footprint on the environment”.
Hayley Hayes-Roberts
Inscape Design Thinking Lecturer, Cape Town
WIN A HOME, South Africa’s favourite interior design reality TV show is back with a brand new 5th season and the show’s producers are currently looking for three pairs of aspiring interior designers to participate as contestants in this year’s design challenge.
This season will be based in the Western Cape, with three new Design Duo contestants decorating three identical penthouse apartments at the Paardevlei Lifestyle Estate in Somerset West to compete for a grand prize of R100 000.
Three of South Africa’s top home décor magazine editors will once again give inspiration and direction to each duo, assisting them in turning their white-box apartments into bespoke designer homes. Each of the three participating design pairs will be assigned a magazine title, who will guide them through the design process and will each do a feature spread on their mentee’s completed apartment.
This is an opportunity for passionate and qualified interior designers, with less than five years of professional experience, to make their mark in the interior design industry. Win a Home spring-boarded the careers of the previous designer winners Donald Nxumalo (2014), Jacoline Sema (2015), Rudolph Jordan (2016) and Brad Muttitt and Abiah Mahlase (2017) who have since made a big impact on the South African design scene.
Anybody over the age of 18 may enter provided they have less than 5 years of professional experience working as a designer. Design Duos can consist of any combination of two people: parent and child, siblings, couples, friends – anyone!
– At least one contestant of the design duo must hold a tertiary degree in design or a related creative field (i.e. architecture, fine art, interior decoration, fashion design, etc). – Contestants must reside in Cape Town or be able to relocate, as well as transport themselves to the development in Somerset West, for the duration of the competition. – They must be able to make themselves available full time for the duration of the Designer Challenge from 13 August to 10 December 2018.
All application details, as well as Terms and Conditions, are on www.winahome.tv
Selected contestants will be contacted by the Win a Home production team for an on camera audition interview.
Win a Home 2018 will be a stand-alone show on SABC3 Prime Time, airing Thursday nights at 19h30, starting on the 20th of September. By the end of the season, one lucky SABC3 viewer will win their choice of one of the three completed apartments as decorated and furnished by the Design Duos – a prize worth over R3 million!
Take a look at the promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGKuiVYqPoY
This is a life changing opportunity for any aspiring interior designer to gain exposure and experience!
Application details:
Applications close Friday 27th July 2018 at 12h00
HOW TO APPLY
To apply, please email the following info to [email protected]
1. A short bio including your name, age, city you live in, what makes you unique, your hobbies and passions and contact phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
2. A photo of you and your design partner (it can be your mom, uncle, brother, sister, friend, boyfriend, husband, wife)
3. 10-image PDF or Word document portfolio of design work you have done in the past (mood boards, previous projects, plans, designs)
For more information, please contact: Josh Downes Email: [email protected] Phone: +27 21 700-1020
You may or may not wonder how design is used in everyday life, but let us share with you a lesson about how Graphic Design has the potential to save your relationships. Whether you love them or hate them; use them or abuse them; you are likely to have encountered emojis. Not to be confused with emoticons, emojis are those cute little pictographs you use when texting your BFF (Best Friend Forever) or SO (Significant Other). You know, like the face with the heart eyes, or the eggplant, or the pink heart with the gold bow around it. These emojis were designed with the intention of helping us get our message across more effectively and efficiently when communicating using technology (Blagdon, 2013).
A little bit of background theory:
Lasswell says that communication can be explained as “Who, says what, in which channel, to whom, with what effect” (Fiske, 1990, p. 30 as cited by Barnard, 2005, p. 22). In the case of sending a message via a social media platform such as WhatsApp, “who” would refer to the person sending the message; “what” would refer to the content of the message – the actual typed out words; “channel” would refer to WhatsApp (or whichever platform the sender is using); “to whom” would be the intended recipient of the message; and finally, “effect” would refer to how the message is interpreted. This is where Emojis can come in handy.
Is it too late now to say ‘sorry’?
Miscommunication can have devastating effects on a relationship. Consider the following uncomfortable hypothetical situation: You’ve done something you shouldn’t have done, and your SO calls you out on it. You send an apologetic text message saying, “I’m sorry”, but instead of the sad-face or heart emoji, you send the rolling-eyes emoji.
It’s likely that your message will be interpreted as being insincere, which may in turn land you in very hot water. You may go home to find that your favourite cashmere sweater has taken a swim in the washing machine, or your perfume bottle has been accidentally dropped on the floor. But, had you included that red heart emoji at the end, your SO is likely to have forgiven your behaviour.
A bit more theory:
You may think the way we associate certain meanings with little pictures is arbitrary, and you would be totally correct in thinking this way. There is no fixed relationship between a signifier (in this case, think red heart emoji), and what is signified (love). The is no real reason that a drawing of a red heart should be associated with the idea of love, yet through processes of sharing and following certain ‘rules’, a community of people can come to collectively accept this association (Barnard, 2006). In this way, we have have come to accept that certain emotions are associated with certain emojis.
So next time you’re sending a text message to your mom, pause for a second and consider the power of a simple red heart emoji.
Although this article is not endorsed by Mariah Carey, we encourage you to dance around the office and sing along to her 1991 smash hit, Emotions. Click here to watch the music video.
Sources Consulted
Barnard, M. (2005). Graphic Design as Communication. New York: Routledge.
Blagdon, J. (2013, 4 March). How emoji conquered the world. The Verge. Retrieved April 5, 2018, from https://www.theverge.com/2013/3/4/3966140/how-emoji-conquered-the-world.
Nathan Thomas & Jenni McKenzie
Inscape Lecturers
We have always studied the timeline of art, architecture and graphics in their historical periods in terms of social, cultural, economic, political, technical and stylistic contexts as well as what is considered beautiful. Each period has been experimental and explorative in its own way.
Design is cyclical, trends come and go, and often repeat. Designers have to find innovative methods of interpreting current conventions to own them and be proactive, making informed decisions where there are no rules or precedents. As Laszlo Moholy-Nagy said – “Design is not a profession but an attitude”. Design will become multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, a collaboration between all the sciences, no longer a specialization in a particular branch of the industry, demanding the ability to listen, to be interactive, be curious and to adapt. In the post-industrial world, change is quick, the new is soon old.
Technology transforms the way we work, live and interact. Designers need to reskill themselves constantly and to reimagine the future and to apply strategic thinking to improve products and processes. Never newness for the sake of the new.
Design is meant for people, values must be maintained. Design needs to be functional, be honest, be enduring and every detail should be fully considered.
Importantly, it should have an aesthetic dimension. Design is about purpose, intention and planning as it always has been.
Written by,
Jenny Hearn
lecturer from Midrand campus.