Recognition Day...Shortlisted

Was really chuffed to find out I'd been short listed for the Recognition Day competition.
I think that the postcard might be sent out as the original idea (the blank maze on it's own). Anyway it should be one of these 3 different versions that gets published...

Type and Grid - Thumbnails

Print induction at Blenheim

The screen printing at Blenheim was quite inspirational. We were shown different types of glues and methods that would allow for raised prints on fabric or paper, which is something I'm keen to try out. We did some screen printing onto fabric - the different stages are shown below. We also did some screen printing onto paper (I'll upload the pictures from this another day)



( first colour printed onto fabric )



( lining up where to put the next print using assotate )



( the two colours printed )



( our second print)

How to... (resolutions)

One of the most common reasons people gave for slowing down their job hunt was a lack of confidence and motivation. (confidence referring to CV writing and interviews in particular). So for my resolution I had initially decided to produce something people could use in the format of a pack. With two days to go before the final crit I decided instead to use a format I had originally considered which was producing a website. I don't actually know how to produce a website and so I got round this by using a *blog*. I then used postcards and business cards to promote the website. The cards seem to work well, but I wish I had decided to produce a website earlier on in the brief so that there was more content. In particular I wanted to include information about interview techniques and time management. But because of the late stage of doing this I didn't have time...irony? Anyway...pictures.

To see the website either click on the *how to* link on the right or visit http://www.speedupajobhunt.blogspot.com

How to...

...speed up a job hunt.

Thanks to the number 27 I have been allocated this task.
Pretty chuffed with it, as it has a target audience that is quite accessible. HOWEVER, since researching into it, it seems like it's going to be a pretty hefty piece of work. There is a lot to cover. And since I genuinely would like this piece of work to be able to help someone I don't want to leave half the stuff out. Plus, you know, in a few years time I might be desperate for this sort of information so it's planning ahead.
So far I've done the following things:
Identified my target audience (people looking for a job)
Set up a survey and started to collect results - to do with what tends to slow down peoples search for a job
Identified some common problems
Researched into how to write a CV and covering letter
Started to research into useful websites for people
Thought about different ways I could present the information
Thought about some of the content

I've found that if I ever want to finish this brief I am going to have to use a lot of time management skills...

Recognition Day...

...a day to show your appreciation to others. However, some of us find it more difficult to do so than others. SO. I decided to target my design at those who did find it more difficult in the attempt to make it easier for them...

At first I wasn't really sure who these people were, and who they would want to thank. To find this out I set up a survey. Some of the results were actually quite touching and for a moment I felt myself thinking that people were quite nice actually...until I read the rest.
An interactive postcard was my chosen approach and I toyed with the idea of forms people could fill in and forward on...but following a crit I developed the idea of puzzles instead.
I thought that the puzzles would be a good idea as they get the target audience involved...and also I like puzzles. Using a series of taglines I tried to link the idea of puzzles to recognition day. Examples of these include;
Instructions: Find the words to say *Thank You*
Instructions: Find a way to say *Thank You*
and
Instructions: Try to fit in the words to say *Thank You*

Anyway enough chat...here's some pictures.



This image was a dot to dot themed postcard, one the dots are joined up it spells out the word *cheers*.



This is one of those puzzles where you have a list of words and you have to try and fit them all in the spaces available...



Unlike the others this image didn't have a tagline. I did consider doing it in the style of a hangman style clue but it didn't look as good so I left it as it was.



This one was a word search that required the target audience to find the words, all of which were other way's of saying *thank you*.



And here is the idea which was developed further into a *final* resolution. This maze took me a whole day to construct so that the only path available to get from start to finish meant that when filled in it actually said *thank you*.



...and finally. The one that was uploaded. It shows the empty maze and the one filled in. I chose to do it like this following our final crits, as they thought the filled in one was more visually engaging. I have to admit I don't particularly like the maze as a visual piece, but I like the concept. I think actually having a hard copy scanned in adds a lot more to the image.

...and finally (again) I would just like to take this space to say THANK YOU to everyone who helped me during this brief.