Competition Briefs

Today we looked again at the competition briefs we will be working on this semester. I have changed my mind and chosen different briefs to the ones I have already looked at because I think my new choices will benefit my practice more.

I would like to complete all of the penguin Cover Awards if possible but would like my main focus to be on the children's book cover as I would like to illustrate children's books. I think these briefs will provide me valuable experience of the industry I want to be a part of and possibly some exposure. The three books are vastly different and would each present new challenges, I would need to read all the books and do research into previous cover as well as how the books are viewed by readers to understand the tone that I should use. Communicating different tones and emotions effectively will be key in these briefs and I will need to research the target audience to help me understand how to do this. I will also need to make sure my work stands out as I think these will be popular briefs, I need to have a good understanding of both the books and the audience to find a unique ways to illustrate their characters, themes and messages. I would like to talk to people that love the books to see what they see as the most memorable elements of them to try and find something that is not necessarily obvious.

As well as the Penguin briefs I would like to try some smaller ones such as the Secret 7 and Illustration Friday, these briefs will provide me with an opportunity to work on my organisation skills and get used to working towards short deadlines. Being able to generate ideas quickly through research and roughs will be beneficial to my practice. Having new briefs to work on, on a weekly and monthly basis will allow me to apply my work to a wide range of topics. I think that these smaller short term briefs could help me with other more in depth projects by providing new perspectives and forcing me to think differently and constantly be looking for new ideas.

These briefs will help me develop skills I already have and add new ones to my practice, such as

-Working to industry standards and set specifications

-Exploring print methods

-Improving digital skills in Photoshop and Illustrator

-Improving time management

-Combining type and image effectively

-Researching the marketplace and target audiences

-Learning how to use InDesign

-Learning to apply my voice to a greater variety of subjects.