Client project evaluation
- 2. FINDING A CLIENT • For my project I decided that I wanted a client who was within my local area and somebody that I would be able to contact frequently and be able to go to meetings with easily, so I searched around, finding somebody who was within reaching distance of me. In the end I considered several different locations which was A) A local Chinese restaurant, B) Local pet shop or C) Local theater company. Whilst searching I made sure that all of my possible clients were local and thought about which would be best suited to create a product for based upon my skills and what they would possibly want making. In the end I chose to go with the local theater company as it is one that I attend myself weekly so I know I would be able to see my client frequently and be able to contact them without any difficulty. As well as knowing the client I had an idea of what products my client would like and how they should be created based upon my clients previous work that exists. I felt that my skill set fitted the style of the products that my client has had in the past and that I would be able to make a product that would continue to fit into the style with some slight differences to make them more noticeable. Knowing this I decided to talk to the director of the company who said they would be my client once the project had been explained to them as they wanted some more advertising material creating due to looking for new casts members for an upcoming show. A short while after this I got in touch with my client again and sent them a brief which they filled in and sent back to me, showing what I needed to create for them and what I should to do match all of it.
- 3. CONTACT WITH CLIENT • Throughout my project I have had several different interactions with my client, this has ranged from meetings to emails and chats online so that I can show my work, discuss ideas with my client and gain any resources off them that they wanted to be used within my work. My first interaction with my client during the project was on Tuesday the 9th of may where I was paying a visit to my clients company, I showed them the work that I had drafted up for their product along with the other variants that I had created for them. During this my client told me what they liked about the product and what they wanted to be changed in the product, they told me they wanted more music notes adding and curtains on the image to give the product a more theatrical feeling rather than having it rather empty and blank. They also told me they wanted some of the font changing to be more appropriate and laid out across the page in a way that it would capture the attention of an audience. As well as updating old information that I had been given as my clients email was to be changed within the coming weeks, and I had put the old one onto the work without knowing this piece of information. Taking this into account I took the product home, starting to make any changes to it in the course of the next two days, when I made the changes that I felt were correct and appropriate for what my client was wanting, I then sent them the pieces of work as an attachment. However I did not hear from my client for a short while afterwards as they were reviewing the work that I had sent them. During this time I drafted up a few more pieces of work with possible changes incase my client was to want any more adjustments to their work or to have any other variants of the product I was creating for them. My next face t face meeting with my client was on the 16th and 17th of May, where we discussed the work and I showed off everything else that had been created for my client. On May 17th my client told me that they were pleased with the work that I had created for them and that they did not want anymore changes to it and that they were happy with the overall product in the end. Although I had a few online interactions with my client throughout the course of my project, most of them were verbal but I was able to take everything they said into account to create a product that was suitable for their needs.
- 4. LEGAL & REGULATORY • Throughout my project I have been creating a piece of work that my client is wanting to use to advertise their company. This means that I will be creating a piece of work that is going to be seen by the public when it is being used to advertise what my client is offering. This meant that I had to take this into account when creating the work for my client and that if I was going to use any images that already exist I would have to use images that are not subjected to copy right and that I would be able to use them for my client without making changes or with making changes to them if needed. When I went to create the product for my client I chose to rely on Photoshop and used any of the fonts within the program so I would not have to find a font that is not subjected to any form of copy right. I found this useful as on the poster I produced I used several different types of fonts on the poster to help make the text stand out. When creating the poster I chose to try making the images on Photoshop to begin with however unable to make an image that suited what my client wanted, I searched to find images that weren’t subjected to copy right and that could be used for promotional work. In the end I found two images that I was able to use on the poster for my client, this was an image of two theater masks along with a pair of curtains. Checking the sources I found out that I was able to use these images without any copy right issues and that I could change them for the poster. Knowing this I made a few adjustments to the curtains which was changing their colour to match what my client wanted as well as changing their style so they matched the theme of the poster I was creating. I changed the images to suit what my client wanted as well as making sure I followed any re-use rules that were put onto the images I used, making sure I followed these I have been able to avoid any legal issues on the piece of work that I created for my client as most of it is unique and any existing images that have been used have been changed and followed any regulations put onto them. This means that if my client chooses to publish the work I have created for them, they will be able to avoid any legal issues to do with copy right due to the ways I have handled the pre-existing images.
- 5. MEETING THE BRIEF • I was given a brief by my client that I had to stick to when creating the product for them, the brief highlighted what they wanted to be created and what they wanted on the product and if there was anything I should/should not be doing whilst creating the product for them. This was the outline and requirements section of the brief that my client filled in, informing me of the product that they wanted me to make and included a list of things that wanted putting into the work so that the final product would fully suit their needs. My client wanted a product that shows off the business for possible clients (which would be people who may want to join or see any of my clients shows that they put on) they wanted it to be eye catching and theatrical. They wanted me to contain the colours used for Stagedoor Academy which is black and white and to also use theater masks and music notes on the work. Knowing that my client wanted me to create a poster for them I had been given mostly free reign with creating it as they did not give anything exact that they wanted putting on their product asides from a few pieces of information and images which had given me the freedom to lay out the image how I wanted and to make it best suitable to my client and their needs. During my production I stuck to what my client had said in the brief and I only used black and white for the poster but with some different shades so that I could make some parts of the image more distinct than the other so they would not blend into the background with block colour. With the way I laid out my products for my client I made it rather bold and stand out, I highlighted the most important text and bolded them to make it eye catching at first glance, I used white on black to make it contrast to help back up the piece of work being eye-catching. To make sure I stuck with what my client ask for within the brief I make sure I included musical notes and theater masks within each image, however changed about the positioning of them at times to help make them stand out or appear more theatrical depending on layout. I feel that I have worked very close to the brief I had been given by my client and that I was able to create a product that suited all of my clients needs.
- 6. This is one of the final designs for the poster I have made for my client, when creating this poster I stuck close by to the brief following what my client wanted and making sure I included everything they asked for while including all of the information on the poster that my client wanted. One of the main things that my client asked for with the poster I was going to create for them was to have the use of the traditional stagedoor colours which were black and white, although I have used different shades of black on the poster to allow certain parts to stand out and to stop images and background from blending in with each other, I have been able to use the colours that my client had asked for me to use within the brief. Within the image I have also included the use of music notes and theater masks like my client had asked me to do so, the theater masks appear at the side of the page along with the music notes, coming across almost like a boarder. During meetings with my client they had asked if I can include more music notes on the page rather than only having a few, which is why there is a majority of large music notes on the side of the page over the curtains. In another part of the brief my client told me that they wanted the posters to appear as eye catching and theatrical, I feel that I have been able to do that throughout the creation process and have met what my client has asked for in the brief. To make the poster appear more theatrical I have included a pair of theater curtains and a stage at the bottom of the page which gives of a theatrical feeling due to the way a stage relates back to theater. I feel that the poster is eye-catching due to the way the posters text contrasts off the black background and also has a bold eye-catching font at first glance. Overall I feel that I have been able to meet the needs of my client whilst sticking closely to the brief and giving them a final product that matches what they had asked for.
- 7. TIME MANAGEMENT • For my client project I was given two weeks to create my product for my client and to have meetings with them, leaving some time at the end for me to make any further changes to my work if my client was to want any created. The first week of this project was aimed at drafting up different versions of the product that I could send to my client and then creating any changes to them to come up with a rough final version of the product for my client. Within the first week I had a meeting with my client to discuss what they liked and what they wanted changing, with this taken into account I worked on drafting up different ideas until the end of the week. Within the second week I had another meeting with my client, showing them what I had created in a much neater and more professional version and found out what they liked and if they wanted any changes made to the product. As they did not want any changes making and were happy with the final products I had created I had finished the project two days earlier than I was expecting to. However the two days were left behind for any extra changes or improvements my client wanted with my work, so taking this into account I had finished the project in time to my clients standards with time spare to make any changes to my work if my client changed their mind last minuet about the work. Overall I worked well with time and was able to follow my production schedule and have meetings with my client throughout the course of creating the products for my client.
- 8. WHAT HAVE I LEARNT? • What I have learnt from this project is how to fully work to a brief that somebody has set me, and how to take this into account to create a product that somebody is wanting if I am not given much information. • I have learnt more about time management skills to be able to complete the work for my client in the time I was given without going over the limit. • I have been able to learn more communication skills with somebody who I am working for as I had to be in frequent contact with my client to find out what they wanted and to show them the work I have been working on. I also learnt more on negotiations as I was able to negotiate with my client what they wanted and what I would be able to do for them. • From this project I have learnt skills that would be able to help me in the future in the media industry as these are the skill sets that I would need to use for the field I am wanting to go into as these types of skills may be used on a daily basis to discuss what would need to be done, talk about ideas and how they can be adapted. In the world field I would also be working to a brief with a time constraint that I would need to follow in order to come out with a final product that my employer would want.