PPP2: Who Are we?

Our Business

A shop with on-site cafe(/bar?) which may doubles as a gallery space. The shop specialises in the sale of illustrative goods, such as prints.

Our Resources

Financial Resources Initially we would seek a start-up business loan to secure premises, equipment and furnishing. We would later attempt to attract informal investment.
Physical Resources  Small on-site printing facility situated in the basement/additional room. Marketing/website administration may be maintained off-site to remove the need for internet bills.
The cafe-space is essentially a sandwich bar with comfortable seating.
Human Resources Initially we would rely on our own skill sets to run the shop. By involving other practitioners we would be able to expand our stock variety significantly.
Intangible Resources  We would hope to gain a good reputation with our reasonably low prices, and ability to facilitate local artists.
Our Costs 
.By using low-cost methods of production such as a risograph machine and small screen-printing facilities, we would be able to sustain low prices. We would offer a respectable cut to practitioners who wish to sell their own designs.
.The primary cost would obviously be the premises. Central heating could be substituted with halogen heaters, or even a fireplace, if such things are still included in stores (potentially repurpose a closed-down pub).
.Sustainable wages, divided equally as the enterprise is essentially a cooperative of four people.
.The prices of food and drink may be reduced by sourcing from local markets
.Water bills

Additional Costs
.Potentially secure a premises with no central heating to save heating bills
.WiFi may not be necessary initially, as the website can be maintained anywhere
.If the building includes a fireplace we would obviously have to purchase fuel and be subject to emissions taxation
.Electricity bills
.The price of maintaining ink and paint levels

Our Prices

.Attempt to maintain reasonable prices, without scaring away potential practitioners who desire to sell their work
.Seasonal sales and offers to entice gift-buyers

Promoting Ourselves-


.Attending events such as ThoughBubble
.The distribution of posters, leaflets and flyers
.Branded bags
.Business cards
.Visits to universities and colleges

Monitoring Success-


.Annual turnover to justify existence
.Monitoring social media reactions will suggest areas of interest and potentially successful products

The Master Plan
 
Business name Brenda's Cafe / The Art Bar / Bar of Art / Fruity Art Bar /Illustrative Wares


Business activity Retailer of art, food. Facilitator of local talent

Mission Statement

.We aim to sell enough in order to be sustainable, as well as being a highly accessible location where practitioners may sell their wares

The Important Details

Business objectives


Intended sales/income for first 12 months- £7000
Products/services to be introduced in first two years Workshops and clubs to be hosted on premises
The long term goal (5 years and on)- Employ additional staff to alleviate our duties, eventually branch out by establishing a second store in a southern location

What is the structure of your business?

who are the people in the business- Four partners with an equal share
How many people are employed- Four
what are their roles- All four are capable of running the store (at least two staff members should be on site during opening hours). All four staff members have administration privileges to document and promote the store. We would seek to attain the licence to prepare and sell food for public consumption.

Legal Status

What's status? Equal Partnership
Why have you chosen this? This option allows for more capitol investment and reduces the financial strain as we are all responsible for losses and profit.

Your Resources

Products Service

Locally/individually sourced illustrative artwork, representing a range of aesthetics. Initially with a limitation on palette and scale to reduce printing costs.
Printing facilities to be opened to practitioners at a later date.

The Range-

.Artwork/ illustrated ephemera: prints, postcards, small books,
.Food: Initially simple cold meals, once turnover appears sustainable we would consider introducing generic greasy spoon food
.Framing service
.Gallery space provider

Percentage turnover each will provide;

Artwork/ illustrated ephemera- 60%
Food & Drink- 30%
Framing Service- 5%
Gallery space provider- 5%

What Resources do we require?

Shop space, kitchen, cafe area which may double as gallery space and small printing room.

Equipment needed?

.Small screen printing facility
.Digital Printer
.Risograph printer

Your Customers

Proof of existing audience

http://www.onthewall.co.uk
http://www.awesomemerchandise.com
http://www.colours-may-vary.com
http://artprints.leeds.gov.uk
http://www.nobrow.net/nbhq

Popularity of product/service shown in existing businesses-


Seemingly more demand for such services now that the economy has apparently stabilised. 

Any room for Originality?


Many of the businesses seem to value the process of production as the basis of the product appeal. Why not exploit processes to make more products at a cheeper price?

Is there an increasing demand for your product?

Who's the audience/ market- 

Gift buyers, art enthusiasts, specific fan groups, practitioners/artists

What are the facts, figures, statistics about your market?

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/leeds-stores-joy-over-new-year-sales-surge-1-6364467
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21877655
.Post Trinity, sales have increased across LeedsWhy would they buy from you rather than anyone else?

.Competitive prices
.Locality
.Collaborative with other businesses

SWOT of business-


What are our strengths?
Low prices, involvement with local practitioners and businesses. Approachability for post-graduates and students who wish to sell their work and promote themselves

What are our weaknesses?
When starting a new business there is the danger of being disregarded by potential customers due to unfamiliarity

What opportunities have we taken?
The situation of the shop in a city-central location. By using on-site printing facilities we reduce to the costs of printing externally

What threats do we face?
Competition from established companies of a similar nature

Average customer spending per visit- £10


Average spending per customer in a year -£40


Loyal customers may simply return for a cheap lunch, but may be enticed to buy illustrative wares.

Possible external factors that will effect sales-

.Sales will most likely improve during the christmas period
.The majority of Birthdays take place between July and September
.Having worked in a shop, I have noticed that there are distinctly less shoppers when it is raining
.The majority of shoppers at mid day appear to be the elderly, as most others are at their place of employment/education

How will they Know? How will we advertise our products/ services?

Marketing methods-

.Secure the involvement of local businesses, such as bakeries in order to reduce food expenses.
.Pop-up shops at events such as ThoughBubble
.Maintenance of social media
.Interaction with online customers

PPP2: Workshop Session

During this session we discussed our analytical responses. Having established the commonalities of these responses we applied the same method of analysis to our own fictional pitch.

PPP2: Colours May Vary, an Analysis

Colours May Vary

What are their strengths?
Seemingly renowned, with a highly accessible location. One of the few shops that specialise in the trade of illustration and graphic design in Leeds.

What are their weaknesses?
The prices appear somewhat high, as they take into account the levels of craft and labour involved in the design and production. Although this seems appropriate, a large amount of expensive products may put off customers.

What opportunities have they taken?
The shop hosts numerous events, workshops and exhibitions to involve a wider audience, such as practitioners in the local area. The inclusion of an on-site cafe draws in additional potential customers.

What threats do they face?
Seemingly high prices and growing competition from the online environment may prove to be problematic. The content of the shop can be viewed as inessential, this may prove problematic during times of economic recession when shoppers are less inclined to make more adventurous purchases.

The Four Ps

Product
.Children's books
.Illustrative posters
.Prints
.Printed Photography
.Postcards
.Illustrated books
.Info-graphic Posters
.Stickers
.Cards
.Stationary
.Illustration Magazines
.Photography Magazines
.Ephemeral items

Price
The prices appear seemingly steep, however are realistic in consideration of labour and process involved.

Promotion
.Internet presence (website and social media)
.Gallery openings
.Events
.Competitions
.Collaborations

Place
The shop is somewhat detached from the main commercial high-street, close the the Leeds Bus station, this may hinder it's ability to attract random shoppers.


PEST

Through this method of analysis one may review the success and failings of a business against a variety of factors. During this discourse I shall consider our own pitched enterprise.

Political Factors
.Governmental bodies allocate funding to small enterprises
.Value-added tax is altered by the size of the business

Economic Factors
.During times of economic recession it would prove difficult to shift products to consumers who are less willing to purchase what are in effect unnecessary products
.During periods of prosperity there is more likely to be additional competition from similar businesses

Social Factors
.Aesthetic trends appear to sway the public's investment in the value of art

Technological Factors
.The online environment is an extremely useful area to publicise and and sell products to distant customers. The internet potentially opens up an international market.

Nostalgia and Progress Exhibition

After a few recommendations, a few of us visited the Nostalgia and Progress exhibition, which focussed on post Second World War British illustration.

It was peculiar to see illustration in a gallery environment, as galleries often create the impression that they are reserved for the fine arts.

Of all the examples, I was most interested with Emily Sutton's book cover designs, as they directly relate to the project I am currently developing as part of the Printed Pictures brief.

'Dickens at Christmas' in particular used a window motif to create a seamless image across the covers, which directly relates to one of my own earlier concepts. Emily has used exterior objects to contextualise the window; the snow and mistletoe suggests the Christmas season, while the warm palette balances the austere Victorian architecture.

Printed Pictures: Aesthetic Reference

For the printed pictures brief I intend to produce six book covers which focus on distinctive windows featured in Agatha Christie books.

In addition I would like to make use of more than the usual two colours, such as the prints below:

Liam Devereux

Burlesque Design / Mike Davis

Richard Perez

Moebius 'Voyage d'Hermes'

In this project, Moebius was approached by a perfume company to produce a series of artworks on the theme of 'The Voyage of Hermes'. The artworks contain no visual references to the actual products, and simply communicate the themes of travel and exploration.

I find the use of line particularly stunning, the addition of colours has been used to extenuate the illusion of depth. 

Viewing the imagery has provoked me to consider the way in which I use colour and line. In future I aim to use line to create the impression of texture rather than relying on a confusing array of brushes in photoshop.

True 8-bit Colour Cycling

True 8-bit Colour Cycling

I have made a few .gifs to showcase the animations, however I would recommend anyone to view the website linked above, or even the youtube compilation below

Mark Ferrari has been involved game development since the late 80s, producing two-dimensional limited palette environments. During his career he has developed a process of animation which does not require manual frame-by-frame manipulation, rather the process makes use of colour-cycling to create the illusion of movement.

I find these animations particularly evocative of their fantastical environments, each communicates an individual atmosphere with the use of minimal movement and lighting changes.

Thought Bubble 2014

Arriving at 8am on Saturday, we had plenty of time to organise the table. I was initially pleasantly surprised by the amount of space available. We were one of the very exhibitors who chose not to use a table cloth, as we felt bare wood was more akin to the X-Files office set. I brought several props to add to the character of the table, including a rotary dial phone, the 'I Want to Believe Poster,' a desk lamp and a small filing shelf.

We received a lot of positive comments about the table's X-Files theme and we posed for many pictures during the day. I would suggest that our profits would not have been nearly as successful without the additional theme to attract customers. 

The two-day event was a great opportunity to network with practitioners, students and general attendees. During the quieter parts of the day we managed to look around the halls and purchase artwork and pick-up business cards.

The most successful pieces of work were the X-Files screen prints, Clint Eastwood posters and Cosmonaut prints. This would seem to indicate that ThoughtBubble attendees are generally more interested in fanart that relates to their own interests, but are receptive to new visual ideas.

Next year I would rather have a board behind our table to attach the poster, and additional work, although perhaps the position shown directly faced the entrance, which may have attracted more customers.

PPP2: Study Task 3

Yoosli Packaging (Together Design &Andrew Bannecker)

The product is an example of point-of-sale embellishment. The private sector organisation of Yoosli Ltd is selling a product in order to generate profit. Yooslie commissioned the graphic design group Together Design to establish a unique brand identity, which involved the collaboration of the artist Andrew Bannecker to create the individual characters. The product has then been sold to supermarkets such as Waitrose for further distribution to the public.

The product relates to the following services:

.farming industry

.food industry

.distribution

.supermarket industry

.online shopping industry

I would suggest the design successfully communicates the concept of personalisation, as the founder intended. In this sense it has fulfilled it's purpose, however the true test is whether the product itself generates a profit. 

Black Keys poster by Jose Berrio

The poster is an example of promotionally imagery for the private sector band the Black Keys, as a musical group they fall under the jurisdiction of the music industry. The artist was commissioned to promote the groups appearance at a festival event.

The product relates to the following services:

.the music industry

.the printing industry

.the festival industry

.the catering industry

.third sector organisations (such as voluntary festival workers etc)

Again, the product may be seen as successful as it communicates the oceanic scenery of the festival, whilst drawing attention to the headline act. The generic A format has made the printing process seemingly less laborious, and thus more economically viable.

'Korea; Something more' by Hyun Sik Kim 

The Korean Tourism Organisation was commissioned by the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Culture and Tourism to promote tourism in South Korea. A recent campaign included the employment of an illustrator to create a promotional poster to communicate the diversity of Koreas culture to foreigners. 

The product relates to the following services:

.the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (public)

.Korean Tourism Organisation (private)

.the print industry

… all sectors that benefit from visiting tourists

I would suggest the poster isn't particular communicative to a total foreigner, the motifs suggest famous landmarks which are obviously unidentifiable to the common layperson who is yet to visit South Korea. 

Character Designs by Cory Loftis

These visual developments have been made for the private sector company Carbine Studios, the developments are intended for in-house usage as reference for primarily for game developers  such as animators, and modellers, in addition the designs may later be used to prompt voice acting, and in this case to promote the artist.

The product relates to the following services:

.Animation Industry

.Software, computer games and electronic publishing

.Game Industry

.Advertising

The illustration is mostly functional, it has been used as reference for other collaborating creatives, as well as adding to their own portfolio.

                                                     Rear Window Poster by Kevin Tong

These posters are examples of fan-art, the illustrator has self-initiated the project in order to sell prints.
They are for sale on their website, and sold in-person at conventions.

The product relates to the following services:
.(primarily the illustrator)
.events management (such as conventions the illustrator pays to appear at in order to sell)
.the film industry

Although on appearances the product does not exactly spread the wealth around the industries, it is important for practitioners to create work for direct and private transaction, as well as working through clients and other third parties.

To summarise, illustration exists in a variety of contexts, it is used to embellish the products of companies, giving them a unique identity to the ends of creating the impression that their products are better than their competitors. This is achieved by communicating a specific tone of voice through visual language. Illustrators are ultimately private sector workers within the creative industry, they also create work for free in order to spread their prominence within the community and to appease their own aesthetic development. Both public departments and private companies approach illustrators directly, or through a third party such as graphic design companies for commissioning purposes. Ultimately, illustration is another asset to sectors and services to provide healthy commercial competition and to draw the attention of potential consumers.

Student Ambassador: A Claymation

During this session I had the opportunity to make a quick claymation using the models we had created in previous sessions.



Keanu and Patrick from Adam Allsuch Boardman on Vimeo.

Having never done a claymation before I was moderately surprised by how easy it really was. In a relatively short amount of time I created 14 seconds of footage, while I struggled to make 5 seconds using hand-drawn animation.

Student Ambassador: Claymation Figures

Each Thursday I have attended animation workshops as a student ambassador in order to assist the tutor and students. During this session I created a plasticine figure with the intention to make a short animation in future.

 The figure I created was based on Keanu Reeves.

Paisley, another ambassador created the figure on the right, based on Patrick Stewart.

PPP2: Brief 2 (Life's a Pitch)

During this session we gathered in pre-arranged groups in order to conceptualise and pitch a fictitious illustrator collaboration. For example; one group had the idea of managing mobile illustration-van which acted as a pop-up shop.

Our group decided to focus on making a high-street presence; a shop not dissimilar to colours may vary, but with a wider variety of goods, such as T-shirts. We also decided that we'd rather run a greasy-spoon-type catering service in-store than a healthy delicatessen or cafe.

PPP2: Product and Packaging

During an excursion to Waitrose (other supermarkets are available) I documented the more interesting examples of point-of-sale illustration. I went with the understanding that the majority of products are targeted at aspirational middle-class consumers.

I have attached my findings in the form of an issuu presentation (a direct link is available if there are embedding issues).

http://issuu.com/aa108020/docs/packaging?e=10701417/9973555

Kodama Woods Workshop

As a student ambassador I attended a workshop ran by representatives of the upcoming ThoughtBubble convention. During the session students were asked to create lanterns which somewhat related to the kodama spirits featured in Princess Mononoke. What we actually created were a hoard of popular culture icons. I contributed my own in the form of Keanu Reaves. The workshop was most enjoyable and the students were very productive, it also provoked me to consider 'illustrated lanterns' as a potential product.

We had an awesome time with @LeedsCofArt last night for our @LeedsInspired Kodama Woods workshop! pic.twitter.com/l1rh8009v1
— Thought Bubble (@ThoughtBubbleUK) October 31, 2014

PPP2: Categories of Illustration

During this session we referred to the previously created lists and sorted our examples into predefined categories. We soon discovered that many existed across multiple categories, in addition each example could be broken down into a exhaustive variations.

For example, 'magazine' may be separated in 'fashion magazine,' 'interior design magazine' and so on.

Using Pintrest I have begun to hoard many examples of three of the categories.

Follow Adam Allsuch Boardman's board Character and Narrative on Pinterest. Follow Adam Allsuch Boardman's board Publishing and Book Design on Pinterest. Follow Adam Allsuch Boardman's board Product and Packaging on Pinterest.
I have found that my investigations have prompted me to consider the context of illustration and it's varied real-world applications. I should not limit myself by imagining that illustration is simply a two dimensional medium confined to print or screen, but as a key element of products and environment.
To summarise my current findings I have created a handy issuu presentation below:

After School Club

 As part of my student ambassador duties, I have signed up for weekly sessions at the after school club. Each week we have assisted Karl and Gareth with lessons involving animation and illustration. In this session we set up time-triggered cameras to capture large collaborative drawings in order to produce a time lapse animation. 

I made the addition of my own drawings (the skull in a space suit) and helped students develop ideas, whilst attempting to dissuade them from throwing pens at each other. 

It is most convenient that the club is focussing on animation, as it has allowed me to consider low-fi methods of making pictures move for my current briefs at college.

Geo Law Exhibition

During my student ambassador duties I was able to view the Geo Law exhibition at Vernon Street.

The works consisted of roughly twenty character-based illustrations which all followed a similar formula; an anthropomorphic figure holding a staff or sword. I found these works somewhat repetitive

I found the two large murals far more interesting; each was drawn in front of an audience, and for that reason they seem far looser and variable. The use of line is highly developed and confident; the mistakes I noticed were incorporated into the design rather than ignored or erased.

Geo Law is often commissioned to create murals in dull office environments, which is the reason the established aesthetic is so pleasant and wild. So, perhaps the reason I find the murals more interesting, is because I appreciate their purpose, while the portraits seem more like a well polished series of visual developments.

PPP2: Posters and their Potential Audiences

POSTERS

TRAINS

Ben Kirchner

(this poster pertains to festival goers that travel by train)

F. Donald Blake

(targeted at day-tripping families)

Abram Games

(specifically for those who wish to travel within Britain)

RENFE Poster 1959

(specifically for German-speaking tourists who wish to visit Spain)

MUSICAL EVENTS

Jose Berrio

Status Serigraph

Dan Mumford

(this particular poster was used to attract the attention of rock enthusiasts)

Pinghua Chou

(specifically for jazz enthusiasts)

Anderson Design Group

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PPP2: Blog Groups

In this session we were arranged into new blog groups (selected somewhat randomly).

In these groups we discussed the previous task, and created an exhaustive diagram which explored the many contexts, audiences, functions and areas of illustrative practice.

Each group adorned the walls with their respective diagrams. The tutor for the session was amused by how we had created spider-diagrams and instructed us to create formal lists.