Crocodile Rock

I'm currently working on assignment that requires me to design something that could be used in Dublin Zoo.  The design can be absolutely anything from a T-Shirt design to a new Logo.  Here's something I've been working on.  

My idea was to design a fact card that could be given to school children on visits to the zoo.  As i decided to pick the Reptile House to focus on i am also working on fact cards for various different creatures such as Lizards and Spiders.


It is not a fully finished piece of work yet, i want to try and make the eye a little more realistic.  The shape and colour of it need to be adjusted.  What do you think?

It's the business end of the year

To compare college with football might sound a little strange, but like with the Barclays Premier League in England, it's coming to the business end of my college term.

Springtime is a time of new life and hope, a time for new and fresh beginnings.  It's the time when college and the Premier League reach the final stretch.

As with clubs who are at the top of the table and are pushing for the title and European places, We have students who are at the top of the class relishing the prospect of finishing assignments and starting new ones.

On the other hand we have clubs who are mid-table, there just happy to be safe after a long hard season.  I have class mates the same.  Its been tough at times for them but now there up to date but aren't quite at the level of the top students.

Finally we have the dreaded relegation battle, teams who are just not up to it and have not put enough effort in during the course of the year, Sadly this is the case with some class mates too.  They just haven't put the effort in during the course of the year and are now in real danger failing the year, or in football terms, relegation.

I'd like to think that I'm one of the top teams and I'll be pushing hard right until the end of the season.

Image: https://www.google.ie/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=885&q=Rooney+celebrating&gbv=2&oq=Rooney+celebrating&aq=f&aqi=g4g-m2g-sS1g-mS1&aql=&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=996l5066l0l6230l18l18l0l2l2l0l235l1879l7.7.2l16l0&gs_l=img.3..0l4j0i5l2j0i10i24j0i5i24.996l5066l0l6230l18l18l0l2l2l0l235l1879l7j7j2l16l0

Work for Free... Really?

You may think during these uncertain times that offering your services for free is madness when you might be able to take a small job and get paid for it.  But, it really depends on at what stage of your career you are at and who the clients you may be dealing with are.  Personally, I think you need to look at the bigger picture when it comes to Pro Bono work.

Before saying “yes” to offer your graphic design services free of charge you need to pick your clients very carefully.  You should take your time and understand the philosophy of the company. If you agree with what a company stands for you are more likely to produce better work, it will satisfy both you and the company, by understanding the company better you will also be able to stick to your own personal beliefs and ethics in graphic design.

Offering your services free of charge also gives you a chance to promote services.  I believe that if you are producing a piece of work you should always include a tagline at the bottom of the piece stating you name and details.

And probably most importantly of all, offering pro bono services will most likely lead to future paid work, which if we are being honest, is the reason why we ALL choose to work.

Above picture: http://epiffani.com/sharethisblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/will-work-for-free.jpg

You can call me...

Well, this is my new identity.  Like it?  Designed by myself of course and i'm in the middle of buidling a new website at the moment as well.

I kind of feel like a super hero now that i have my own logo... Freelance Fella to the rescue!

Don't take it personally, but...

There will always be someone better then you...

Not really what i wanted to hear when asking someone in the design business for advice! but when i thought about what he was saying, it made complete sense.  I'm only new to this and know next to nothing compared to others who have been in the industry for years. 

I've also been told to be realisitic about things, starting off it's hard to try and be the best in the world at anything, so i've decided to try be the best Grapgic Designer in my class... A fairly realistic goal i would have thought? I'm sure my class mates will have something to say about that though.

Never stop self branding

I recently came across this great little article, it’s a brilliant read that offers any budding designer or even experienced designer great tips and advice on how to become a top designer.

I especially like the section on “self branding”.  It is SO important for a designer to self brand as much as possible.  Design is not about what qualifications hand on your wall or what you CV says, at the end of the day we can all fluff one of them up.  A designer will always be judged on the quality of work he or she produces.  A top class portfolio is absolutely essential and takes time to get right, don’t include work just for the sake of it, make sure its up to scratch and adds to the quality of your portfolio. 

At the end of the day and the way the world is at the moment, you need to give yourself every opportunity of staying ahead of the chasing pack.

Get yourself out there!

Simple really, get yourself known in the design world.  As a Graphic Design student absolutely no one in the business knows who I am, sure why would they!  It’s my job to become known, people need to know my name and why what type of work I’m capable of producing.

The only way of doing this is by getting out there and joining design networking sites, following and leaving comments on design blog sites, setting up my own blog, launching my own website and logging onto design forums.

I’ve found using my own personal networking sites a useful way of letting people know what I’m doing and how its going.  Facebook and Linkedin have proven to be extremely useful in helping spread the good word of Anthony Rooney, design god in the making!