The Bauhaus Building, Dessau, Germany – by Walter Gropius (1925)

In those 14 brief years, the Bauhaus created a design movement that is still inspiring people today.

My ‘creative hero’ is no specific person from the Bauhaus, more the ideals and ideas that it espoused. Founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany, it established one of the most popular styles in modern design; influencing art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, product design and typography.

The school was conceived for three main reasons. Firstly, to unite all of the different creative disciplines by encouraging individual artists and craftsmen to collaborate and combine all of their skills. Secondly, to turn everyday items into iconic designs. Whether it be a chair, house or poster, the Bauhaus declared that they should all be equally recognised and loved. And finally, to network with industry leaders, enabling designs to be sold directly (bypassing the communist German government of 1919).

After learning the Bauhaus theory, students entered workshops that included metalworking, cabinetmaking, weaving, pottery, typography, and wall painting. Gropius’ initial aim for the school was to teach “unification of the arts through craft”, but parts of this approach proved financially impractical. While maintaining the emphasis on craft, he repositioned the goals of the Bauhaus in 1923, stressing the importance of designing for mass production. It was at this time that the school adopted the slogan “Art into Industry.”

Various Bauhaus-designed chairs

In 1925, the Bauhaus upped sticks from Weimar to Dessau, where Gropius designed a new building to house the school. This building contained many features that later became hallmarks of modernist architecture, including the steel-frame construction, a glass wall and an asymmetrical, pinwheel floor-plan, which contained studios, classrooms and administrative spaces distributed for maximum efficiency.

The cabinetmaking workshop was one of the most popular at the Bauhaus. Run by Marcel Breuer, this studio deconstructed furniture, reducing forms to their absolute simplest. Breuer predicted chairs would eventually become obsolete, replaced by supportive columns or air. Inspired by the extruded steel tubes of his bicycle, he experimented with metal furniture, ultimately designing lightweight, mass-produced metal chairs, some of which are still recognisable today.

The First Bauhaus Poster, Joost Schmidt and Plakat zur Bauhaus-Ausstellung (1923)

Text and imagery were not initially a priority at the Bauhaus, but became increasingly important as time progressed. Visual clarity was key for typography, with san serif typefaces at the forefront. Photography grew to in importance when Gropius stepped down as director in 1928. He was succeeded by architect Hannes Meyer, who maintained the emphasis on mass-producible design, but eliminated other parts of the curriculum in favour of graphic elements, including typography, advertising and photography.

Following right-wing government pressure, Meyer was replaced by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe as director in 1930. However, in 1933, the Bauhaus shut down for good due to increasing political pressure from the Nazi government. During World War II, many of the key Bauhaus figures emigrated to the United States, with Breuer going on to teach at Yale, whilst Gropius went to Harvard.

The legacy of the Bauhaus lives on today, influencing the culture of modern mass-production. Whether it be your lunchtime newspaper, meeting room chair or office building, stop to have a look for the Bauhaus hallmarks of functionality, simplicity and asymmetry. And what would the world be like today if the Bauhaus hadn’t been forced to close? Would we be decades into the future with design and engineering? I guess we’ll never know…

If there’s one exhibition you visit this summer, make it the ‘Bauhaus: Art as Life’ at Barbican, London.

So you’ve only gone and got yourself an interview at a creative agency. Congratulations! You’ve taken a huge step towards your first Graphic Design job, but don’t rest on your laurels now. Prepare yourself thoroughly and give the interviewers the best impression you can when you arrive with your portfolio in-hand, leaving them with no option but to employ you.

Here’s a quick guide to ease you through the process. Some of the pointers may be blatantly obvious but others may not have crossed your mind, so have a quick read through to make sure you’re as well prepared as possible:

(1.) Research the company. The most important thing you should do before going to your interview is find out as much as you can about the place. This knowledge will enable you to answer questions more effectively, tailor your portfolio accordingly and stop you from asking questions that they believe you should already know the answer to.

(2.) Call them beforehand. Ring to confirm your interview and ask a question or two about the agency – everyone loves talking about themselves, and you’ll be in the interviewers’ minds before you even arrive.

(3.) Dress smartly. Most of the time you won’t be told what to wear. In these cases, dress smartly. It’s better to be too smart than to be underdressed! Remember, these people probably don’t know you, so how you look in the interview is how you will be remembered.

(4.) Arrive early, but not too early. Arrive early enough to show that you’re punctual, but not so early that it inconveniences your interviewer. Arriving five minutes early is spot on.

(5.) Shake hands and don’t forget to smile. It’s just common courtesy. The interviewer will expect you to be nervous, but don’t forget to smile!

(6.) Tailor your portfolio. Edit your portfolio to fit the agency’s disciplines and it will do half the work for you. If the design company is a multidisciplinary agency, make sure you show a good mix of projects. If they specialise in branding, make sure at least 50% of your portfolio is branding. You should have five projects in your portfolio – place your best project last and your second best project first.

(7.) Present your work professionally. The format that you choose to exhibit your work in is almost as important as the work itself – paying to get your work printed on high-quality paper at a printers rather than on multipurpose paper from your A4 inkjet makes all the difference. Also, use a leather-bound portfolio or something similar to show off your work – this shows that you take pride in your work and gives the impression of quality before you’ve even opened it. Leather-bound portfolios can be expensive, but you should consider it a worthwhile investment, especially if you get the job!

(8.) Have confidence in your work. Your work is not rubbish, so don’t tell your interviewers that it is. If you don’t have confidence in your work, they won’t either.

(9.) Ask questions. At the end of your interview, you’ll be asked if you have any questions that you’d like to put to the interviewers. Have a couple lined up ready to ask, as this shows that you’re interested in the company. You can always write the questions down if you need to – the interview isn’t a memory test!

(10.) Leave a calling card. Offer your business card after the interview, or you could even leave a copy of your portfolio for them to keep. Having your work permanently in the studio’s library is a great way to be remembered. And the more imaginative the format, the better – for example, a portfolio book, calendar or a 3D object of some kind.

If you don’t get a call offering you the job straight away, don’t just give up. If you don’t hear anything for a week afterwards, give the design agency a follow-up call (and don’t be offended if they’ve forgotten you – agencies see a lot of people – it’s up to you to stay on their radar, without becoming a pest). Take on board people’s criticism of your work – remember this is not personal criticism. If you’re given negative criticism, try to ask why they don’t like it and how it could be improved. Make use of the invaluable industry opinion on your work, but don’t lose confidence in it. Go away and improve your portfolio as best you can, and you’ll be even better-prepared for your next interview.

Ultimately, you have to be happy with what you are touting around, and if someone likes your work, don’t let them slip through the net. Get back in touch to send or show them work updates. Aim high and try and get to see your dream design agencies, if only to get valuable portfolio input, but remember it’s a numbers game as with getting an interview, so be persistent and don’t give up!

We hope you have an awesome interview, and good luck!

So, now that you’re a good way through studying your Design degree and are ready to start the job hunt, here’s what you should be doing:

(1.) Internships. Probably the most common way to get a junior creative role is through interning. Apply for an internship and get your foot in the door.  Don’t stay in the same placement for more than three months unless you don’t have a new placement or a permanent position to move on to.

(2.) Portfolio website. If you’re a soon-to-be graduate and you don’t have a decent portfolio online to direct potential employers to, then you are seriously reducing your chances of being noticed. Include a downloadable PDF of your CV on your site and a link to your website on your CV.

(3.) Networking. The design industry is a lot smaller than you think. Take advantage of every guest lecture at uni or creative event nearby, and get networking. Getting a job interview through friends, family, university or industry contacts is how many people find their first graphic design job.

(4.) Jobsites. Check your collection of jobs websites on a daily basis for jobs and internships. They should include; general jobsites, such as totaljobs.com; creative industry jobsites like those on itsnicethat.com and formfiftyfive.com; university careers pages (not just your own uni’s); local jobsites like jobsinkent.com; and don’t forget to check the newspaper’s jobs sections, such as jobs.guardian.co.uk.

(5.) Professionalism. Get used to shaking hands with people when networking. Get yourself a business card – you can get small print runs of your own designs at moo.com. Use an email signature – make sure you have a professional-looking email signature on any email sent to potential employers.

(6.) Social media. Do you have Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn? Of course you do. And potential employers know you do too. Make sure you haven’t got anything on your online profiles that could put off potential employers. Used in the right way, social media can increase your chances rather than hurt them – tweeting about a new advert you love that you just saw on TV shows that you’re interested in your subject area, and getting recommendations on LinkedIn is an excellent way to improve your credibility.

Before you even start looking for Graphic Design roles, you need to be building yourself a strong and varied portfolio. Do this and your portfolio will do half the work for you. Never give up and the right job will be waiting just around the corner. Remember that Design is a very competitive career path to take, and that you may hit a brick wall along the way but your persistence will ultimately pay off.

We hope this guide has been useful, and good luck on the exciting career path that lies ahead of you. Graphic Design is a hugely rewarding and entertaining career, so don’t let this put you off, and ultimately, remember to never give up!

UPDATE: Becoming a Graphic Designer #2: How to have an awesome interview

The campaign has been devised to raise awareness of the work of Womankind’s partner organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Every visitor to the Womankind website who joins the virtual march moves a marker forward 10 miles. The journey started on 7th March 2012 on the Greenwich Meridian and it is hoped that enough people will sign up to travel all the way around the globe.

Sarah Jackson, Womankind’s Communications and New Media Manager, said:

“Nowhere in the world do women enjoy the same rights or opportunities as men. But they can transform their lives and their communities if they have the right support. We are asking people to show their support for the women and men around the globe who are fighting against discrimination, poverty and violence.”

International Women’s Day is the biggest date in the calendar for the women’s sector, and Womankind needed a strong idea to capture people’s attention and to engage with new audiences.

Lisa Casson, Remedy’s Managing Director, said:

“We worked through some top line ideas with the Womankind team and their input was invaluable in helping us to fine-tune the journey concept. We are proud of the campaign and with over 6000 miles achieved in the first two days, initial results are encouraging. We hope the campaign will continue to spread the word about Womankind and the very important work that they do.”

Sarah Jackson added:

“We’re very pleased to have been able to work with Remedy on this project. I’m not sure there are many other agencies that would have been able to turn it around in just six weeks! They were flexible and listened carefully to our feedback. Plus their design was spot on, it has hardly changed since we first saw it.”

To join Womankind on their journey, visit www.womankind.org.uk/world

-ends-

For further information, contact Lisa Casson at Remedy Creative on 0845 108 1251 or visit www.remedycreative.com

For further information about Womankind, please contact Sarah Jackson on 020 7549 0381 or visit www.womankind.org.uk

In keeping with tradition, we will now pull it all down and start again from scratch. For posterity, we’ve recorded it here. Hope you enjoy it.

Professor Green, The Good Times, Noel Fielding, Google’s advertising campaign and The National Theatre made it onto our latest wall of inspiration.

You can see our original wall here

Valentine’s Day is coming and to celebrate, we want you to show off your romantic side by writing your very own lonely hearts ad.

We love a GSOH, so once we’ve found our perfect match we’ll be sending the lucky winner a bottle of bubbly (with their lonely hearts ad on the label).

How to Enter
Simply leave a comment below, drop us a line, or send us a tweet with your entry.

Terms & Conditions:

1. You can submit as many entries as you wish.
2. Automated entries will be disqualified.
3. Entries must be received by midday on 16th February 2012.
4. A winner will be chosen by an independent panel from all the entries received.
5. The winner will be contacted via email on 16th February and delivery of the prize will be arranged.
6. Delivery can only be made within mainland UK.
7. The winner consents for their name to be used for publicity purposes by Remedy Creative Ltd. in printed and/or online formats.
8. Remedy Creative will not pass on your details to any third party without your prior consent, but your name may be shown on our blog/Facebook page.

User experience has to be at the heart of any website. So, are you keeping up?

For organisations that need to engage with their audiences online, the pace of change can be daunting. Websites designed just two or three years ago can already look tired and worse still, can frustrate time-poor users into giving up and clicking elsewhere. Dated typography and colour palettes, poor or overly complex site navigation and a lack of social media integration or interactivity are just some of the signs that a website has had its day. If this sounds familiar, then it’s time for a re-think.

I CAN’s commitment to continued improvements

Remedy has been working with I CAN, the children’s communication charity, on their Adopt a Word campaign since it’s launch in 2008. The online fundraising site www.adoptaword.com allows users to adopt their favourite words for a year, and has generated over £100k for the charity. The success of the site can be partly attributed to the client’s commitment to continued improvements, resulting in several functionality updates and front-end facelifts over the past three years. Along with social media integration, this has ensured that site visitors keep coming back, spread the word amongst their networks and re-adopt their words.

Trafalgar Leasing gets a website upgrade

Recently, vehicle leasing specialists, Trafalgar Leasing, asked us to bring their website up to date. We designed their original website back in 2004 and were delighted to have the opportunity to work with them again.

The Trafalgar brand identity, also created by Remedy in 2004, had stood the test of time, so the new site was designed to complement the existing logo and colour palette. As part of the re-design, the entire site was moved onto the WordPress platform, providing the client with far more editorial control and a more user-friendly interface.

Trafalgar Leasing website design – before and after

Managing Director David Gould admitted some initial reluctance to updating the website, but after its re-launch was delighted with the results.

“… looking at my new website, it is light years away from the original one. I can now proudly direct others to my site as evidence of what can be achieved.”

So whether you feel your existing website has kept pace or not, there is one thing for certain – the web is going to continue to evolve, as will user expectations. Websites that keep up, will ultimately be more successful in attracting visitors and hanging onto them.

Here’s part 3 of Remedy’s presentation delivered at the Not For Profit Technology Show last November. To get up to speed, see part 1, preparing a website design brief and part 2, choosing the right design agency

So, you’ve gone through the pitch process and chosen the ideal agency to design your website, but how do you make sure your project stays on track? Stick to these steps and you shouldn’t go too far wrong:

1) Agree a realistic project schedule
“As soon as possible”. That’s the answer we invariably get when asking the question, “When do you want your new site to go live?”. That’s all well and good, but bearing in mind you will have to be part of the process, you need to take into account your own workloads and timescales. How quickly can you collate draft copy? How quickly will you and your team be able to agree and sign-off the various design stages? A website schedule has to be workable both ways, so try to avoid setting unreasonable deadlines that will put unnecessary pressure on you or your agency.

2) Get the site architecture right
Get the site map and functional spec right and don’t proceed with the design process until you are 100% sure everyone has agreed what your new site is going to do, it’s overall structure and how the user is expected to navigate their way around. Although not always totally practical, one simple rule that will make your site user-friendly is if you are never more than two clicks away from where you want to be. Once the architecture is agreed, then you’re into the design concept stage.

3) Insist on choice
Unless your design agency has to stick rigidly to an existing page template or hard-and-fast design guidelines, you should insist on a choice of design routes (budgets permitting of course). For the initial concept stage, a Home page and one other page should be enough to base your decision on.

4) Allow room for creativity
You will most likely have seen websites that you admire. By all means, share these with your design agency, but try to avoid being so prescriptive that you stifle the designer’s own creativity. Try to remain open-minded at the concept stage and try not to force a design aesthetic on your agency that leaves no room for experimentation and means you end up with a website that looks like everyone else’s.

5) Judge creative work against the brief
You have gone to the trouble of agreeing a great creative brief (see part 1 for details), make sure it is at hand when judging the design concepts. It’s at this point that personal likes and dislikes can get in the way of rational thinking. If the design concept answers the brief, then it probably isn’t far wrong. Of course, you and other key stakeholders need to be happy with the design, but as soon as the decision process starts to get tricky (which it often does when there is more than one person involved), the brief will add clarity.

6) If you don’t like it, say so
You will have to live with your website for quite a while. All of your clients/supporters/service users/staff/volunteers/competitors will look at it and have an opinion. It will probably be one of the most important elements in your marketing mix, so you’ve got to be happy with it. If there’s something you don’t like, make sure you say so at the concept stage, but equally, you need to say why. Is it a personal dislike, is it inappropriate for your brand’s personality, is there a lack of visual focus…? Whatever your objections, talk them through with the design agency so that they can understand your issues and find a better solution.

7) Ask for other opinions
Even if you are very single-minded and are convinced the design concepts are spot-on, it doesn’t hurt to get other opinions. Whoever you wish to confer with, before they give you their ha’penny’s worth, make sure they understand the brief. The website design should be judged with a proper understanding of what you are trying to achieve and who you are talking to.

By this stage, you should have a website design that meets the basic criteria of the brief and that you are happy with. If you’re not completely there yet, it may be a case of tweaking one of the design concepts. But all of the preliminary work in getting the brief right and choosing the most suitable design agency should have made getting to this point as smooth as possible.

With a couple of pages designed to everyone’s satisfaction, your agency will now need to design other page templates that can be applied across the whole site. Oh, and by the way, have you supplied all of the copy and other content yet? If not, this is the point where the schedule can grind to a halt.

So, now we go from the design stage to the build. Definitely not the time to take your eye off the ball. There are some simple guidelines that you can follow, but that will have to wait for another blog post.

In the meantime, please let us know if you have found this series of posts useful and of course, if you have any tips to add that will help anyone through the website design and build process, we’d love to hear from you.

It’s Friday 13th, everybody’s favourite scary day. So to take the edge off, Remedy are giving you the chance to face your fears and visit Phobia Land home of the UK’s top phobias.

Significant policy changes in their sector, along with Pepenbury’s ambitions for growth, mean that there is an increased need to raise funding for major service developments planned for the next five years. This includes building an outside gym for adults and adjoining play area for children, extending their art studios and developing training services to market to other organisations.

Pepenbury’s annual report presented a great opportunity to not only provide a financial update for their supporters, but with the right content and design approach, it was felt that they could achieve much more from a marketing perspective.

We helped them devise a new design and structure that would stimulate greater engagement with key stakeholders. These include new and existing supporters, major donors, trustees, strategic partners, corporate sponsors and volunteers. Our role in producing the new-look annual report entailed advising on content and structure, graphic design, copywriting and commissioning new photography.

Pepenbury’s annual report will be used as a powerful marketing tool throughout the year.

And it looks like 2012 is going to continue to be busy for Pepenbury and Remedy, with 19 new leaflets and brochures already in the studio, so watch this space.