In a few week’s time several thousand design and advertising students will graduate and be competing against each other for book crits, placements and jobs. And there aren’t many out there at the moment.

We get contacted by a fair number of students, all with different styles and approaches, so it puts us in a good position to let you know what works (for us) and what doesn’t. What follows should be common sense, and we really shouldn’t have to write it, but sadly it seems common sense is no longer quite so common.

DON’T be nervous.

DO be courteous and polite.

DON’T expect other people to make all the effort. That’s your job.

DO believe Newton’s third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you put in a lot of effort, you’ll get out a lot.

DON’T cut & paste the same letter into several different emails.

DO make it personal. Think of ways that will get you noticed from the other 15,000 students.

DON’T send all your work in one pdf.

DO save something for the actual meeting.

DON’T ask for feedback on your work via email – it takes too long.

DO make an appointment to see them. Talk to them face-to-face.

DON’T expect an instant response from hello@ addresses.

DO remember that even the most well-meaning of agencies mess up sometimes.

DON’T get arsey/ disappointed with this. It’s life.

DO send them a polite reminder after a few days. If you don’t hear anything after three efforts, they’re probably trying to tell you something.

DON’T expect to get a placement after your first book crit.

DO try harder.

DON’T go around for 6 months with the same portfolio, waiting for someone to like it and give you a job.

DO change your portfolio for different agencies. All agencies are different, so why would you expect them to all like the same portfolio?

DON’T think that people are right or wrong.

DO remember that it’s just their opinion.

DON’T put awards work in your portfolio unless it actually won.

DO put it in a separate section at the back if you’re really desperate.

DON’T expect all the advice given here to be correct.

DO feel free to add your own advice.

DON’T worry.

Be happy.

A word of advice for typographers and designers out there.

Specifically typographers and designers creating posters for Oscar-nominated movies.

Even more specifically, typographers and designers creating posters for Oscar-nominated movies directed by Oscar-winning Directors.

WHEN YOU PUT THE CAPITAL LETTERS ‘L’ AND ‘I’ TOGETHER IN A SANS SERIF FONT THEY LOOK LIKE THE LETTER ‘U’.

This is fine if your Oscar-nominated film has been directed by Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone , but there’s more room for confusion if it’s Clint Eastwood.

I’m sure I can’t be the first person to notice this, but it made me do a double take on the way to work this morning. And chuckle.

Other possible titles for this post include:

Meat and Greet 

Meat with Approval

Meat your Maker (Actually that doesn’t really make sense)

Meet in the Middle (Nor does this)

Meat One’s Eye (This is rubbish)

Meet the Bill (See above)

Make Ends Meat (You’re an idiot) 

Meat the challenge (This has to stop now)

Meat your Match (You’re fired)

Some clever (?) people in the good ol’ US of A have come up with the novel idea of printing your business details onto some beef jerky with a laser. If you don’t know already, beef jerky is:

And here’s the finished product:

If you’ve got plans to set up a new agency this year, and some of the names you’re considering are: MEAT, Beef Studio, ConnectBeef, Cheetham Bell/JWBeef, An Agency Called Beef Jerky, (this is such good fun) TBeefWA, CodeComputerCow, Star-dot-Beef, BeefJL, Moooosic (It’s out of the park!!!) St Beef’s, Beefy Mother (OK… starting to lose interest) then these are the perfect business cards. You can then enter them into D&AD in the Best Use of Beef Jerky category, which I have on good authority will be a new addition for 2010.

It’s been almost three weeks since the Roses Advertising Awards, and no one’s take the time to write about how we did on here. You should be ashamed. Here are some groovey shoes for you to stare at, in case you’re not wearing any yourself.

And the news blackout wasn’t because we did badly either: we had six nominations and we picked up five awards. Admittedly we were a little low on Golds, but three Silver and two Bronzes is pretty good for a night’s work. The winners (OK, technically we didn’t win) were:

LOVE: Silver: Best Website.

Warburton’s National Bread Week: Silver: Best Website.

It’s a Boy/It’s a Girl: Silver: Chris Bowen Award for Best Copywriting.

It’s a Boy/It’s a Girl: Bronze: Best Art Direction.

PSP: Bronze: Best Use of Illustration.

And the next day (Friday 1st May) we were informed by the powers at D&AD that we’d got three pieces of work into the 2009 book.

It’s a Boy/ It’s a Girl: Graphic Design: Catalogues & Brochures

It’s a Boy/ It’s a Girl: Writing for Design

Small Kids/ Big Boxes: Packaging: Packaging Design

Well done/hats off/pats on backs/high fives/up above/down below/you’re too slow to everyone who worked on the projects with us. And well done to the other Manchester agencies (Mark & Music to name two) who also had a healthy amount of work featured.

Here’s an odd one. I like Oasis – the drink, not the band. But I’ve never really liked their advertising. The Big Mouth thing was weird, the Cactus Kid felt like it was trying too hard, and the whole “For those who don’t like water” just seems like it’s been Apple C/ Apple V’d straight from the brief.

Mother’s latest ad is at least entertaining.

At least, that is, until that dog-turd of an endline appears at the end.

While I was off on paternity there was a fair amount of junk email sent around from various members of staff. Here are the best bits for your perusal in these closing minutes of the week:

1) Amazing Beat-box kid:

2) Amazing Carousel Video:

3) Rubbish Album Covers done in MS Paint:

More found at Paint My Album.

4) Amazing rubbish found all over the world. (Amazing in a bad way…)

If you need more reasons to recycle you can find them here.

5) The Hoff doing what he does best:

6) Crazy bottle banks in Gran Canaria (I think):

More here.

7) And of course illustrator Philip Nicholson:

If you need pictures of pigeons in hats carrying bags, HE IS YOUR MAN. (Quick head count of anyone else who received over 250 emails from Philip and his illustration company?)

Two posts. Two rather poor attempts to adapt song lyrics into titles. All a bit formulaic really. Must try harder.

Anyway, those of you who know a place called Common in Manchester’s Northern Quarter will know they change their decoration more often than [insert name of someone who is famous for wearing lots of different ties] changes their ties. Although decoration probably isn’t the right word to use. Perhaps gallery would be more appropriate. Or exhibition. Or interior installations. Or murals. Or illustrations. It really doesn’t matter, so let’s move on.

Last night we took great pride in seeing Toy’s Chris Gray join the ever growing list of illustrators/ interior installationers to grace their walls. Chris’s illustrations took inspiration from the graffiti in Common’s toilets. Well the Gent’s toilets anyway. Is there any graffiti in the ladies’ toilets? Surely ladies wouldn’t stoop so low? Not in this day and age?

It’ll be up for the next few months, and is well worth a quick trip to see. You don’t even have to buy a drink if you don’t want to – you can just wander in, take a seat and pretend you’re waiting for someone (for best effect play with your mobile and check your watch every 30 seconds). But we’d recommend buying a drink* – that way everyone’s happy.

*LOVE and their associates encourage you to always enjoy alcohol responsibly.

Will Smith once sung of a great man – Jim West – a desperado – a rough rider – who was so quick with his gun that (and I quote):

“Any draw on West best with a pen and a pad.”

BLAM! Sadly we fear even Jim West would have come off second best to Bob Munden and Bob would probably be the first person to tell you that. (Or actually now the second, after us.)

What Bob does is amazing, to put it mildly. To put it not-so-mildly it’s f*cking unbelievable. It’s just a pity he couldn’t be a little more humble about his talent. As my PE teacher told me at school “No one likes a show off”. (Except Kirsty Clayton who snogged Pete Needham behind the sports hall.) Anyway, if anyone reading this is thinking about becoming a professional gunslinger, we’d recommend putting a poster of Bob up on your wall pretty sharpish.

Apologies for the lack of posts recently. There’s a list not-quite-as-long-as-my-arm-but-still-very-long of things to post about, but we haven’t had the time. Here is a side-by-side comparison of my arm and the list, incase you don’t believe us.

Obviously we’ve had to obscure the list to avoid spoiling it for everyone. There is a prize for anyone who can guess what the picture is that I’ve drawn on my hand. Just don’t expect it to be a very good prize.

Now, we’re not talking about this Maurice, and that’s because despite the uncanny likeness to Simon Griffin, this is not his new baby boy. He is in fact, the Secretary and Treasurer of the Toronto Parking Authority. These are pictures of Maurice Anthony Griffin, the beautiful new son of proud parents Simon & Jo Griffin. So congratulations to all involved.

Simon Says:

Born on Thursday 30th April at 0619 weighing 4lbs 15oz.
Jo’s doing fine and is itching to get out of hospital, but will have to wait until the wee man has put on a bit more weight first.

And we’ve also moved home. New address is (hidden – we don’t want stalkers).
If you ever get the opportunity to move house and have a baby at the same time I’d thoroughly recommend doing it. It’s great fun. Honestly.

Hope you’re all well.
Lots of love,
Si, Jo, Matilda & Maurice
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