Loosely based on famous figures

As everything is slowly coming to an end, I just can't let some things go.

Half-related GIF

As it's been made clear before, I do most of my posters in a solo manner but with the Loose posters it's a little different. I make these with my buddy James as a collaborative project. In fact, it's more of an experiment than it is anything else—we both make posters but we never really do them with each other.

With this, it usually works that James sources and develops the collage, then fires the hefty PSD over my way; I then start building colours, assets, type and the aesthetics for the collage. It's a strange process of two halves, which is often recommended against when working collaboratively; though it works for us.

I keep a hang on this, because I don't want to let go. We're seeing everything finishing around us and this is the one thing that we control the end date of—so for as long as I can hold onto doing the poster, I'll be holding onto working with James on it.

So if you are not quite at the verge of being thrusted into the 'real world' then I would recommend that you work with your friends on something. There is advice to never work with friends, but break that rule. It's difficult, it's strange and it's a learning curve larger than the equator; but DO IT.

Digging the pink

The Good Graduates Guide for Getting Generous Game

That's right! The 6 most important G's you'll ever feast your, tired, worn graduate eyes upon!

So you've graduated, you've got no university work left to do and now you want to find yourself a job; you've spend thousands of pounds on your degree, spent three years juggling employment, crippling debt, essays and basic nutrition and now you have to as your slightly distant uncle says and enter the real world.

The real world ey? £40,000 feels pretty real to me.

Well worry not, I have compiled for you the only list you'll ever need to be a great – fantastic even – graduate. A graduate that even you're cynical pre-thatcher working grandfather could be proud of.

I present to you The Good Graduates Guide for Getting Generous Game!

We aren't talking about catching a pheasant that pays his rent of time with a 10% tip, no sir. We are talking about how you leave the safety of your mold rotten kitchen to squeeze clients dry, that kind of game; ma boy!

Let the guide begin.

• Nobody knows better than you: You've had, at minimum three years of specialist education after-all. You need to assert yourself, even from the interview stage. Perhaps you are being interviewed by the senior designer of a particularly good agency; make sure to try and analyse all fonts in your peripheral and estimate pantones for all pieces of their clothing, but above all else if they tell you there weren't aware of anything you know to be a sort-of-fact, make sure to snigger in their stupid, non-graduate face.
• Working for free is good for your portfolio: It's just like your grandpappy said! I'm sure he did lots of free shifts when he was but a boy, when all this was fields and design was one of them concepts men in suits made up to sell expensive cereal. Make sure to take all the work you can and never, I repeat NEVER ask for anymore than zilch. Imagine how great your portfolio will looks for the next client who wants to commission you to rebrand their hotel in exchange for some of their lobby mints and an e-pat on the back.
• Trends are your friends: The last thing anyone wants to see if your so called 'creative output' and for heaven's sake don't even think about trying anything else. Everyone knows that REAL CREATIVES follow trends. So close your eyes, link your hands onto the shoulder of the man in front of you and jump just on the trend train, destination hyper-inflated instagram likes via unrelated hashtags. TOOOOOT TOOOOT!
• If it's not done with an Adobe product, is it really creative? Simple answer, No.
  Longer answer, No, it's not—silly child.
• Pricing work is super easy: It's nothing to do about hours, value or expenditures. No sir!
  It's a well kept secret that the best way to price work is by getting in 3 pints of Carling with the lads, furiously hurling a handful or darts (or any sharp objects for that matter) at the nearest dart board; adding up all the numbers you hit, multiplying that by amount of people speared through said process. Voila! 
• Always uphold a crippling mindset of self-doubt: How on earth do you expect and client to believe in work that you are pitching to them if you don't look down at your feet, cursing them for being so gosh darn Egyptian. Sure those dudes for Egypt made some pretty cool things, but you need to know that you aren't worth the carpet you are stood on, never mind the concrete holding up that meeting room; you lower-than-average maggot.
• And finally, the most important of all. Carry an inflated sense of self-worth with the degree that you achieved. You earned it gurl! Waltz around the place, ignore your superiors and tell payroll you want a raise. I bet Dave (Northern Area Manager) doesn't know about Georgia O'Keefe, the scrub. You are a gift, a treasure and rightfully so the most intelligent person he's ever seen. Pentagram as so below you that Home Bargains don't know what a champion they are employing. Those dirty muggles.

Follow these easy steps and I 100% certify that within less than 36 years you can be a glorious intern at your nearest kebab shop / commercial printers. You are not crying because you are sad, you are crying because nobody understands that you are a creative genius, the greatest designer to ever make vector shapes of various items in your bedroom. 

This guide is your key to success, follow it. Unless you want to be one of those 'original creatives'. Ugh. What a load of old tosh.

Why don't you just grow down?

Anyone ever told you to grow up? Tell them to feck off, it's not nearly as fun.

On Sunday I bought a pack of 24 Crayola Crayons—best decision I've made in a long time.

Cracking open the packaging and looking at the waxy arrangement of colours took me back decades. I've just finished formal education – after 18 years of it – and the first thing I want to do is pretend to be a child again; I don't always want to be an adult and this was the ultimate escape.

I started drawing stupid shapes, weird animals and things that I haven't seen since my days of primary school; the things I would imagine in my subconscious state otherwise named 'Vincent LaLa Land'. I made a hoover cat, a party hard pig and various nonsense creatures. It was marvellous.

For the first time in years, I was making things with no plan, without a care and with sticks of colourful wax. As far back as I can remember I've always received the feedback that I over-think things and spend far too much time on irrelevant things and this did not change with my feedback for the final semester of my final year. I was told by my tutors that I over complicated things, over-intellectualised most my work and just made things far more than they needed to be—a problem that I plan to defeat. Defeating this devil with the power of crayons was my first step. More coming soon.

Patrica Noodle? What am I talking about.

When you have a crayon in your hand, it's really hard to overthink anything or even think at all. There is an urge to draw silly, naive things. Nobody wants to paint masterpieces with a crayon and they certainly were not designed for anything more than a detailed scribble for mummy to hang on the fridge. You spend your life as a creative trying to learn more and more complicated, complex methods; but why does it always have to ascend that way?

My point here is, once in a while, allow yourself to grow down. You'll love it.

Through all your years of growing up, paying bills and wading your way through education; allow yourself to put down the smartphone and instead pick up a spud gun; put down the fountain pen, instead grab the classic rouge waxy delight.

Puking ghosts and the likes.

It was like a form of liberation, drawing stupid things in big, bold, rough lines. I urge you to grow down once in a while, it'll make you a much happier person. This concludes part one of The Great Walden Decomplexity Program.

Stress, Posters, Jobs, Beer etc.

And I know it's over, Still I cling
I don't know where else I can go
It's over, it's over, it's over

Have you ever tried to sell your work with little confidence, in a boiling hot room with sweat patches that resembled the geographical shape of Russia? It sounds like a nightmare, but man when you are stood surrounded by 200+ people who have turned up to an event that you birthed from the ground; all those other things feel irrelevant. So irrelevant.

So to put it in other words, although I was a stressful mess – our exhibition – Grillust etc. was a huge success. I've never seen more people shuffling around twenty business cards as they try their best not to spill their beer and also pose for a photograph. I previously had not seen 8 sets of grandparents all turn up to smile at their grandchild's work as if it was the first time they had met; and I have never, ever seen so many people get excited about OSB.

Photographing the photographer

I won't go in too far about how well it went, as honestly it's not particularly interesting writing but I will tell you what went wrong; and if you are a second year who is starting to plan their exhibition or anyone who will be in contact with the running of one I have a few bits of advice for you.

Being Art Director of said exhibition has given me lots of perspective, medium amounts of knowledge and a little ego.

But before I do, our exhibition is actually still standing until Friday 10th of June. So get yourself down to the land of trees, colour and excitement. More information right here.

It was both packed and boiling hot—what a treat!

So here are my bits of advice, warning and general information.

• If you offer free drink, people will take the piss
• People really rather like free food though, as long as it's just nibbles—nobody is here for tea.
• Business cards are important, but conversation is king
• Make sure all your branding, marketing and advertisement is clear, concise and visually similar.
• Make it exciting and give your audience something other than student work to look at.
• Don't invite anyone, invite people who you would like to see at the event
• Be selfish—it help nobody else but you'll do better off from it
• For the love of god, don't try and plan it solo.
• But make sure you do it, and you do it well.

Lines of people

Now it may be apparent by now that I bit off a bit more than I could chew with this exhibition and my grades would have been much greater if I had been selfish and and not planned this exhibition to the level I did. Sure; it still would have run and it probably would have served it's function but in my mind I don't believe it would have been anywhere near as good as it was.

So don't try and do it unless you are willing to sacrifice a lot of your time – or if you are a Grillust student, your grades – but there is something to be said for the reward of bravery and leadership.

I didn't lead an army into battle and I never won a war, but I hope that even somehow I was 10% of helping someone get a job from this event—and that is totally worth it.

p.s. if you are yet to come we are open 10am – 4pm, Monday to Friday until June 10th. See you there!