I will be attending the 2017 London Book
Fair, and in preparation for that I need to create a couple of social media
platforms to display my work. I have therefore set up a professional Facebook
page and an Instagram page, which I aim to keep updating to inform my followers
of my latest work, and to get my work known. If I have time I also plan to
create an Adobe portfolio, which is a digital portfolio, displaying images to a
high quality, allowing audiences to view collection of work at a time. I will
investigate this platform to see whether it will be beneficial at the time.
I will also use these platform addresses to
print onto business cards to give out to people at the London Book Fair.
I have chosen I couple of images from the
recent work I have completed and have invented a couple of business card
designs which are displayed below.
In have created double sided business cards
to the industry standard size of … For inspiration and formatting style I referred
to a couple of online companies who print business cards for you. Websites I
researched included:
www.moo.com
https://www.instantprint.co.uk
From conducting this research, I learnt
that simple designs are the most effective, having limited illustrations and
lots of space around the writing, allows the most important information to be
seen. Another key point is to not included loads of text, only include to
essential information, ensuring the font size is clearly readable. With this in
mind I have decided to only use small illustrations to display a sample of the
work I create, use icons to represent social media platforms, and to have the
cards double sided which gives me more room to invent. Having played around
with a few design combinations, below are a few of my designs.
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| Front 1 |
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| Back 1 |
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| Front 2 |
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| Back 2 |
I was also advised by one of my tutors that
it may be a good idea to create some postcards, because as they are bigger are
illustrate more of your work, plus look a little more attractive some people
will be more interested and intrigued to pick them up or accept them from you.
So below are a couple of postcard designs.
I will print these cards off onto heavy
cartridge paper. To save paper a be more economical I laid out multiple card on
Abobe Indesign. The layouts are displayed below.
Below is a photograph of the final cards. I
will take these with me alongside a copy of the children books a made for a
previous module, and hopefully give these out to publishers and art directors I
may meet.
I plan to use my first trip to the London
Book Fair to explore/discover what it is like, in preparation for my final year
of study where I return to present my portfolio to a panel of art director. By
taking this opportunity to go this year I will gain a greater understanding of
what I need to do, by overseeing how students go about presenting to the art
directors, and possible select a few publishers or agencies that I could
research further in preparation. This hopefully will make my experience next
year a little less overwhelming and daunting, so I can perform at my best,
without being distracted by my surroundings.
The day of the London book fair
When we arrived at the London Book Fair I
was astonished by the scale of it, it was hard to really comprehend how many
people and stalls there were. After a quick briefing from our tutor, myself and my group decided to just wonder around the fair to see what was out there and
if we could make any sense of it.
Firstly, we came across many different book
publishers, publishing a wide variety of book from, children’s picture books,
educational and auto/biographies. It was a little confusing as there didn’t
appear to be any correlation between these stalls, there probably was we just couldn’t
spot it, yes they were all publishers, but markets were extremely different. We
then approached a table which was being run by the University of
Gloucestershire, on it contained a few of the 3rd years business card and other
promotional ideas, and a portfolio containing many different students work,
something again I see myself contributing to next year. Therefore, it was
interesting to see what styles of business cards and the images they were using
to promote their work, and the quality of work they were displaying in the
collective portfolio. As I had prepared and printed a few business cards and
postcards, I placed them on the table, in hope that they looked attractive and
someone my pick one up.
As we moved around the fair everything
became a little more confusing, I wanted to talk to people from the
illustration or publishing industry, but I didn’t know who to talk to,
everywhere seemed very formal and business like, people in suits with
briefcases were queuing alongside some stalls, appearing to have appointments
to take to major publishing houses. This was a little intimidating, I felt a
little out of place in this vase space, there weren’t many students it seemed
at this event, and appeared more like a business convention, than a place for
illustrators, like ourselves, to learn more about the industry and to build
contacts.
However, this said it was very interesting
to see many different publishing houses, and what kind of books they were
publishing, the style of illustration they were advertising. We spotted large
publishing houses such as Penguin, Walker, Harper Collins Publishers and
Osbourne immediately with their elaborate, large crowded stalls, with
impressive set up and illustrated. However, I was more so drawn to the smaller
publishing houses, and the interesting collection of books, which were
different from the general population of picture books. These included, Little Tiger
Press and Sterling Publishing, companies which I intend to research more into.
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| Sterling Publishing Stall |
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| Usborne Publishing Stall |
We were approached by a stall, Bonnier
Publishing, who were some kind of recruitment agency and publisher, they not
only hired artists or writers but helped them find work, and guide them in the
right direction. He asked us what we were doing, and who we were, and what we
were interested in. He invented us to a talk regarding recruitment, but we
weren’t able to attend because it clashed with the art directors panel, which
we thought may be more beneficial as we will be presenting of portfolios to
them next year and wanted to gain a upper hand on what to expect. I also signed
up to a newsletter from them, which I’m not sure what to expect from. I exchanged
details with the man who I was talking to, offering him a postcard, in exchange
for his leaflet as he became interested in the work I was holding. This seemed
like a step forward in my experienced, I along with my group had managed to
interact with someone from the industry, he had taken a liking to my work and
had exchanged details. This experience was particularly useful as we were also
given a few publishing houses and illustration agencies (Lemonade Illustration
Agency), and were advised to head towards the Children book sections, as it
would be quieter and more likely to be relevant to us.
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| A few leaflet and business cards I picked up, along with my day pass. |
We broke for lunch and headed out of the
venue, we came across an art shop, which we couldn’t resist not visiting. As I
was purchasing art supplies at the counter, the cashier noticed my work which I
had rested on the counter while I paid, and asked if he could take a look. He
seemed really intrigued about it, asking me lots of questions, regrading my
practice, why we were visiting etc. At this point my business and postcards
became very handy, as I invited him to take one, which he did, and said he
would look at my other work. This small incident was a little confidence boost,
that a stranger actually liked and enjoyed the work that I was producing and
wanted to see more of it, something I hadn’t really experienced, and means that
I have started networking and making contacts.
We also headed in to the Design Gallery art
shop, which contained lots of inspiration as to how our illustrations/design
and craft skills can be produced into objects, this trip was particular useful
for a module we have entitled ‘Self-Publishing’, where we are expected to
produce a finished product to a high standard which can be mass produced. Below
are a few pictures of objects and in particular book covers that captured my
attention.
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| Photographs from the Design Museum Shop |
Back in the venue as advertised by ‘Bonnier
Publishing’, we headed to the Children’s book section. This appeared a lot more
like what we were expecting, there were countless stalls of companies who published,
printed and sold children’s books of all genres, from educational learning
books, to children’s first picture books, to older teenager books. There were
many stalls who were selling older/second hand book which we rummaged through,
but didn’t end up buying anything.
As it was a little quieter we wanted to try
and approach a stall and ask them a little about what they do, we came across
‘Lemonade Illustration Agency’, another one of ‘Bonnier Publishing’ suggestions
who was happy to talk to us about what his agency does. He gave us a brief
overview of what his company does, but what I found most interesting was when
he asked where we had come from, he commented that University degrees don’t
best prepare you for industry life, you are taught and encouraged to develop a
style and get your work out there, but it doesn’t give you much experience in
the field, especially if you want to join an agency, but did say we were right
to come to this convention to experience, and was right to ask him questions. I
can’t say I totally agreed with what he was saying, but could understanding the
point he was making, however, it makes me question how else are you to learn,
what other path ways are you to take in order to become an illustrator, if I
had decided after my A-Levels to go straight it and become a free-lance
illustrator or apply to an agency, I wouldn’t have a clue where to start, so in
our defence you surely need to learn about the industry, from tutors who have
worked in it, before you start. But this was a good concept to think and
discuss. He also spoke about how we have to apply ourselves and our work to
business, as we know we enjoy practising our art, but we want to make a living
from it. So I warned that having an agent doesn’t always suit everyone, it
takes a certain person to keep up with the pace of working to brief and
deadlines. He also said that you could produce the most beautiful work and had
a distinct style but if it isn’t publicly liked, suitable and adaptable to
multiple briefs you aren’t really going to be successful, but you mustn’t turn
down jobs offered because, you work for your agent, they are a business and if
you aren’t pulling your weight or simply putting the effort and dedication in,
then your business isn’t going to thrive. This experience was a little damaging
but was a real eye opener, while to speaker was brutal he was truthful and
honest, he didn’t sugar coat what working with an agency is like, highlighting
that it isn’t for everyone and doesn’t always suit that style of work you
produce. I picked up a leaflet which was displaying some of the artists they
represented, and I found it interesting to note how similar the artists were in
their style, their way of working and character designs were very similar,
which suggested that agencies, tend to look for illustrators with a particular
style, knowing what clients would like their work and how promote their work
to. This is therefore something to consider next year when I intend to send my
portfolio to agencies, to target agencies who artists seem to have similar
characteristics and target audiences in their work, to mine.
We ventured to the place where the art
directors panel was being held. We couldn’t go into the area, but we did stand
at the back overhearing the conversation, as we wanted to understanding that to
expect of the process in preparation for next year. It was very noisy so it
wasn’t difficult to hear, but I didn’t pick up on the point one of the
directors mentioned about the importance to advertising your work, especially
using social media platforms. I have just started my social media platforms, a
professional Facebook page, and an Instagram account and what to try and keep
posting my work, and advertise for commissions. The panellist mentioned that
most of his artists he works with he actually found from Instagram, and this is
the way to get your work noticed, and it instantly creates a chain of
connections within seconds, and more people are likely to view it. I thought
this was a very valid, yet simple point to make, and someone I will try and do
more often.
Shortly after the talks were finished the
portfolio presentation commenced. Each student I appeared was given a number,
which were called out and you who sit opposite a panel of art directors. I was
thoroughly surprised by the amount of directors who were there I was expected a
couple, but there were around 8 tables, with a few people on each. Talking to
the third years later on it seemed that you were selected to present you work
to certain directors who specialised or were involved in your line of work for
example, graphic novels, comics, children’s books or editorial work. As we hung
around the outside of the area the whole set up and presenting your portfolio
didn’t seem as daunting as I first anticipated, I thought we would have to sit
really formally in a room by ourselves with the directors, but because it was
an open space with lots of people and much noise the atmosphere appeared rather
relaxed and colloquial even though those presenting were rather nervous, but
experiencing it from an outsider has allowed me to become a little less nervous
and overwhelmed by it in preparation for next year. One of our tutors also
offered to take our work and present it to the art directors on our behalf, after
the section as there wouldn’t be enough time for us to speak to them, an
exciting opportunity. After this we decided we would have another tour around
the venue. I think this was the most informative part of the day, we were able
to see first-hand what we would be facing next year and actually realising from
an outsider perspective that it wasn’t that intimidating after all.
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| The Art director panel, from afar. |
Evaluation
My first experience of the London Book Fair
was full of confusion, excitement and encouragement. This has been an inspiring
experience I have made a couple of connects expanding my network, have noted a
couple of agencies and publishers I wish to research more into, and have gained
some truthful information and opinions about the design industry. But most
crucially I have now become aware of what to expect when I return next year to
promote myself, and what I need to do to prepare myself. I understand that it
will be daunting but will be a valued experience. I will need to promote my
work on social media more regularly and effectively, and will need to research
and work out what I want to achieve by the end of next year and where my career
may start. Next year I intend to create a profession portfolio ready to
represent it to the art directors, and have new business cards and promotional
items for people to take interest in. I want to become more confident in
approaching and talking to people, as I feel I was a little overwhelmed and
taken back by the scale of the event, but hopefully next year as I know what to
expect and what to look for I will have greater confidence. To conclude I have
seen a wide variety of publishers, printers and agencies which have sparked my
motivation to push myself into the industry, after this experienced I feel more
prepared and aware of the difficulties and excitements of becoming a book
illustrators and thrived to continue working on my professional practice
skills.
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