Research - The Client

Below are concise details regarding the client. It is important for me to get a full and frank understanding about who the client is, the small business that she runs, the products she makes and how she makes them. Also, how the client is currently promoting her business and what I can do to help her by producing new promotional materials.

BACKGROUND:

Crafty Ginge Designs was founded by Kelly Joseph in 2010 and is a handmade craft business with an eco conscience. The business involves making and selling handmade cards, cushions, jewellery, clothing, decorations and accessories while also aiming to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

RANGE OF PRODUCTS:

-   Cushions

-   Birthday, Christmas and special occasion cards

-   Clothing

-   Bags

-   Badges and buttons

-   Door hangers

CURRENT METHOD OF PROMOTION:

Crafty Ginge Designs is currently promoted only by a Facebook business page. The client photographs all her new products and designs herself and uploads to this page -

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crafty-Ginge-Designs/219332154759166

NEW PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS:

The client wishes to expend the promotion of her business by creating her own business website and to open online stores at folksy.com and etsy.com

I will produce photographs of all her current designs and products to be used in online promotion.

These photographs will also feature in a handmade book created by myself.

From this research into the client's background I can look at the websites she wishes to use to promote her business and see how other craft designers have chosen to display their products. This will give me ideas on how I can photograph the client's designs and products and also look at other designers who have made handmade books.

Areas of research

It is important for me to narrow down the areas of research that I will be printing off to present in the research file. I have been saving many website bookmarks and links online using delicious.com and marking useful materials in books etc. I now need to compile this research clearly. The areas of research I have been looking into are...

The Client
- Client background
- Client ethos
- Range of designs and products
- Current method promotional methods
- Online craft store the client wishes to join

Product Photography
- Styles and techniques
- Studio based product photography
- Commercial photography
- Lighting

Sustainable Living
- What is sustainable living?
- What organisations and groups promote this?
- How is the client involved with this?

Recycling
- What can we recycle?
- How and what does the client recycle?
- What recycled products can I use in this project?

Printing
- Ethical printing techniques
- Costs
- Suppliers

Book Binding
- How are books made?
- Tools and materials
- Different methods, styles and techniques

Suppliers and Sourcing Materials
- Recycled paper and card suppliers
- Book binding suppliers
- Other materials and tools
- Pros and cons of each supplier
- Costs


All of these areas of research will aid my understanding of what the client wants out of this project and help me meet her needs. It will also help me in the development part of the project. All these areas of research are needed to ensure the development of the book and other promotional materials are executed effectively.

In the next blog posts I will post the details of each area I have been looking at.

Catching up with my blog

I have working steadily over the past few weeks researching and communicating with the client but I feel my blog has been suffering because I have been concentrating on other things.

I will now update the blog with all the areas of research I have been compiling. Updating my blog regularly will ensure I have enough material to reflect back on when writing a full evaluation once the project is completed.

All the different sections detailed in the Professional Practice brief are of equal importance and I do not want to fall behind on writing my blog and risk losing marks on such a key area.

Critical Incident

Due to my financial situation and the fact that Student Finance were delaying my loan I had to find a part time job. I found a job locally but it required 4 weeks of training over 5 days per week. I needed to take the job to support myself while Student Finance processed my application. This meant I was attending college classes 4 days a week as well as working 4 evenings a week and all day Saturday. Some days were 14 hours long.


The amount of time I had to spend at work directly impacted on my college work. I was unable to complete tasks that I would have normally been able to and I could not dedicate sufficient time to researching and reading. I also had to leave classes early on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays to get to work on time. 


I explained the situation to my tutors to ensure that they didn't think I was purposely falling behind with the project. 


Although my hours at work have been reduced to three shifts per week the impact of taking the job is still affecting me in terms of having to catch up with research and reading that could have been done in previous weeks. 


I feel that I have always managed my time well but this incident has taken time management to a whole new level. I planned the few hours I had spare each week during the training period to get important tasks completed. Although I didn't feel as though I was getting very much done these few hours spent concentrating on the project were very beneficial. 


I have learnt that even a few hours of concentration on a particular task can produce good results. I will learn from this experience and use my time wisely for the duration of the project.