Reply from Volumeone

Really excited about this, I've been a huge admirer of Matts work for a while now and it's great to hear back from him. Can't wait til I'm in NYC!

correspondence with Massimo Vignelli

I was so happy to find out that Massimo Vignelli had not just read my email but also critiqued my portfolio. I will definitely try and meet up with him when I get to New York. 

Evaluation

This module was really helpful in providing me with new knowledge in terms of the business side of the design industry. Quite often in design modules we don't get to see the non design aspect and it was a good insight to what we might expect when we go into the industry. I got the feeling though that this was aimed at students wanting to go freelance or set up a business, or that we were being encouraged to do so. With my personal practice though I want to work in for a studio or agency but some of the information was useful such as SWOT analysis on professional studios, which got me into the habit of critiquing potential internships and jobs.
The group presentation gave me the chance to have key responsibilities within a team and develop communication skills both to my group members and an audience. My area of research for the presentation was competitors to our business and information relating to premises and location. It also gave me the challenge of applying all the processes and skills that I'd picked up from the 5 enterprise tasks. This task made me explore the pricing and cost involved in buying property for businesses, including business rate charges, property value, functionality and convenience of location and rent. Looking into the competitors I applied the SWOT and PEST analysis to each off their businesses.

I feel we could have done a bit more in terms of research but on a whole I think our business plan had good potential and was a lot more realistic than a few other groups.

Updated portfolio

research into business rates

After locating a suitable location for our company I set about finding out what business rates would be applied. 116 cheltenham road turned out to cost us £2078.40 which was reasonable for the space, location and value of the property.

Portfolio

competitors

Baby Cakes //

> Baby cakes is a Manchester Based online t-shirt company, it's USP is the iconic image and colour palette that is uses across they're apparel.

Johnny Cupcakes.... the perfect business model? nearly. starting from the boot of his car Johnny 'Cupcakes' (insert real surname here) progressed to the online apparel trade and now has 3 store fronts in the USA and a newly opened store in London. He has created an iconic and unique brand which has an ever increasing following.

Threadless//

> The market leader in online t-shirts, selling t-shirts with designs from illustrators, designers, artists and even user generated content.

Deadburydead//
> Limited edition t-shirts at an average cost of £25