Who are They?

Product

Zines

Anthology Book

T-shirts

Postcards

Mugs

Badges

Stickers

Screen Printed Posters

Tea Towels

Book Marks

Digitally Printed poster

Price

Affordable

Dependant on process

Time investment

Resource cost
Zines radically cheaper than Anthology Book
Interest in products

Promotion

Social networks
Website
Posters within city
-- In social venues such as bars
-- On advertisement boards
Radio advertisement
Leaflets
Within localised magazines/newspapers

Place

Somewhere out of the way
Yet easy to find
Internet services such as Etsy etc for zines


Leeds Zine Fair

What are their strengths?
They are well known within the creative areas of Leeds. They welcome guests to participate in producing a zine during the event which can be brought for a small price. Creative types can sell their products there by getting a table. This also creates free advertisement for the event via those participating being vocal of it.

What are their weaknesses?
Small venue which is somewhat out of the way. Can appear to be unapproachable by those outside of the creative community. Not very well advertised. Not much there other than to purchase zines or eat vegan food.

What opportunities have they taken?
They've built an event around zines and look to appeal to those that like to read/create them. They have also incorporated food into the event that jumps on the hipster band wagon. The initiative to produce a zine with contributors is also a neat idea.

What threats do they face?
Overshadowed by Thought Bubble where people also have zines and such to sell. Not very well known outside of creative industry, maybe even just Leeds creative industry. Not a strong location, can be difficult to find. Other than a point of sale method there isn't much else to it.

Political
Individual sellers will have to consider their own VAT etc. There will be additional VAT for renting the property.

Economic
See political concerning VAT.
Was on during a period of austerity and seemed to run okay.
Food was high priced, possibly because of economy, possibly because it was hipster food.
Based around zines, cheap - easy to make etc.

Social
A hidden away place, I only really saw ads on social media/via email.
About zines, a current market trend.
Had a risograph printer, a trend at the moment.

Technology
Had a risograph printer.
Zines varied in quality due to use of differing technologies.

Creative Strategy: Anthony Gormly Ink Drawings

Recently I have been researching the work of Anthony Gormly for OUIL504. His work generally plays upon the intangible, something that I don't feel I'm very good at. I may push forward with this theme, however it seems unlikely that I will make it a pathway for my illustrative career. I'm just not trip enough.

Creative Strategy: Flip Books

I discovered this on Tumblr today.

The idea of making a flip book from animation frames in an interesting one and ties into the ideas we've been exploring in PPP in which illustration can be placed into different categories of use.

For example, this work could be used for television or made into book.

Creative Strategy: Thought Bubble 2014

Soooo… Thought Bubble came and went. Didn't sell much but to be honest I wasn’t expecting to. Some people may be disheartened by this but I’m not. I’ve come to realise that I’ve lost focus with what I enjoy about drawing (and Illustration as a whole).

I tried hard to get stuff ready for Thought Bubble when honestly I don’t think I was or am ready, and that’s not a bad thing necessarily. It just means I have to take a step back to refocus. I need to remember what I love about my work. But most importantly I need to spend more time on my work rather than hurrying to have something in my hand.

A few positive points to point out though. From a networking point of view it was good. I spoke to a gentleman that works for Gosh! Comics who showed interest in me making a zine to sell there and told me to get in touch when I have something I want to sell. I also found I have a few more followers on social networks nearly all of whom attended Thought Bubble. I'm putting their interest down to seeing my work. Finally I spoke to Phillipa Rice about her Soft Spot animations. She was really nice about discussing them with me and informed a large part of her process was finding ways to cheat (this is relevant as I'm currently creating animations for OUIL504). I'm really struggling with my animation brief at the moment so am happy to take on as much advice as possible!

Creative Strategy: Glasses

I purchased glasses on Friday. I've attributed frequent headaches, tiredness and overall lack of focus on my need to wear glasses. I'll now see whether having these improves my productivity and practise.

The glasses I brought came with anti-glare, heightened intelligence and x-ray vision, all of which work rather well.

Sectors and Services

There are two main avenues of production:

The Industry Sector which consists of:
The Primary Sector - Raw materials etc.
The Secondary Sector - Manufacture, turning these materials into goods etc.
The Tertiary Sector - The Service Industry, retail and distribution.
Quaternary Sector - Intellectual activities such as eduction and libraries.

The Service industry consists of:
The Public Sector - providing public services, such as the NHS, libraries etc.
The Private Sector - run by businesses for profit.
Third Sector - voluntary, such as charities etc.

When taking into consideration with other products we can see what the result is:



When we think about tea cups there are generally for profit. I cant think of a circumstance in which they aren't. To that effect they would be part of the Tertiary Sector of Industry and the Private Sector of the Service Industry.

Creative Strategy: Big Heads - Jon Burgerman

I really enjoyed todays Big Heads with Jon Burgerman. What I found most interesting about him was that didn't want the discussion to be put online as he is concerned about his 'brand image' so to speak. I can understand why, his work generally looks very child like in aesthetic, but Burgerman himself came off as quite cynical (which is quite refreshing in all honesty).

I need to start thinking of how I brand myself. I'm aware I can be quite cynical myself, but I also want people to like me. How can I toe this line as Burgerman does?

Here are a few examples of Jon Bargeman's work:

Follow Tommy 'Zoom''s board Jon Burgerman on Pinterest.

Creative Strategy: Tutorial

After today's tutorial I've come to realise I need to be more concise with my blogging, what I'm thinking isn't being conveyed well in my blog. I also need to be more vocal in my ideas, thoughts, proposals and evaluation within this space.

I'm also starting to manage my workload more effectively due to the use of time management forms. This has benefited me as it has allowed me to pin point what work needs to be done and when I'm going to do it.

Creative Strategy: Turtles Imagery

Now I'm not one to watch cartoons and then read reviews about them... but I did happen across this imagery today whilst (not) reading a review for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode (that I didn't watch).

The image is clearly composed of several layers to create a foreground, mid-ground and background. In the foreground we have the turtle and in the the background we have the city. But it is the mid ground that caught my eye. There is an interesting use of halftone that makes the background look grittier and a bold spatter technique that could suggest either splashed paint or even blood.

I may play around with these techniques myself in the future.

Life's a Pitch: Proposal

During this session we were asked to get into our pre-arranged groups (mine consisting of; myself, Hollie, Rowena, Joe S., and Sophie W.). The purpose of this was so that we could think of a proposal for an imaginary product or event etc as a collective group.

After a bit of thought our group came up with the idea to create a limited run quarterly zine/book that would use the work of up and coming artists/illustrators/designers etc. The best received works of the four zines throughout the year would be collected together and included into an annual anthology book. This book would be released at an event in which the participants could come to and sell there works similar to the Leeds Zine Fair or a small Thought Bubble event.

Creative Strategy: Product and Packaging - Point of Sale

This morning I went to Morrisons and made note of some of the point of sale illustrations I saw there. I found it quite interesting to see the different ways illustration can be used to sell a product. How can I explore this? If I was making a zine, could I make a standee for example?